A BLAENAVON woman, 70, died from a perforated stomach ulcer caused by a "rare but serious complication" following abdominal surgery, a coroner has concluded.

Elizabeth Swanton died in September 2017, a few days after having an operation at the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, to treat a vascular condition.

An inquest into her death was held at Gwent Coroner's Court, in Newport.

Senior coroner for Gwent Caroline Saunders was told Mrs Swanton's surgeon, Peter Lewis, had requested an endoscopy before the operation, but this was not performed.

Ms Saunders said she was surprised this had not been done, but accepted that Mrs Swanton's blood tests had not indicated the presence of a bleed.

Ms Saunders concluded that the surgical team had made the "entirely correct decision" to go ahead with the operation.

Mrs Swanton fell ill a few days following the operation, which had been successful, but Ms Saunders was told that medical staff believed the patient had not been well enough for further exploratory surgery.

The coroner concluded that despite medical staff's concerns at the time, a further operation would not have been in Mrs Swanton's best interests, and she may not have survived.

Mrs Swanton died on September 27, 2017.

The coroner recorded a narrative conclusion.