A medical hypnotherapist who died of a deep vein thrombosis seven weeks after having a hip replacement will be missed by many people who she helped, her husband has said.

Marian Snow died aged 71 at her home in Lister Terrace in Falmouth on August 5, 2013, after complaining that she felt ill and her leg had started to change colour.

An inquest in Truro heard that in June 2013, Mrs Snow had undergone a total hip replacement at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Treliske, as she was in pain due to a loss of cartilage in the joint, which had already been partially replaced in 2011.

From a statement written by Dr Stephanie Jackson, Mrs Snow’s GP, the inquest heard that she had been told by a surgeon after the second operation that the first had been “terrible” and the muscles had not been reattached properly.

She told the doctor that she felt terrible, and “felt all the stuffing had been knocked out of her.”

She also reported that Mrs Snow had returned home after the operation, and was feeling better, and her mobility had improved as she was walking with the aid of crutches, although she was on antibiotics for a chesty cough.

However, on August 5 she called to report that she had pain in her groin and the leg which had not been operated on was discoloured and “dusty.”

Dr Jackson arranged a home visit, and agreed to make Mrs Snow an appointment at the clinic the next day, but her husband said that evening she died after feeling unwell and going “for a lie down.”

Mr Dan Williams, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon who performed Mrs Snow’s second operation, said the operation was low risk, with the main issues coming from her medical history, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and the fact the operation would put “added stress and strain” on her heart and lungs.

He told the inquest that the while it was true the first half hip replacement would have led to wearing of the cartilage, it would not be expected to happen as quickly as it did, and the operation was preferable to the increased risk associated with the longer full hip replacement.

He added that x-rays taken after the first operation showed the cartilage to be fine, and that there was no indication that the hip had not been put in correctly, adding that “if that was one of my relatives I’d feel reluctant to put them through the full operation.”

Dr Creagh, a consultant haematologist at the hospital, said he felt that the second operation could have been a contributing factor in Mrs Snow’s death, but the thrombosis may have happened anyway “in someone that was immobile and unwell.”

He added that six weeks after an operation it is less likely to be a contributing factor in someone’s death, although it is still a possibility, and Mrs Snow had been out for seven weeks.

Assistant coroner Barrie van den Berg confirmed the cause of death as deep vein thrombosis, and recorded an open verdict as he could not confirm whether the operation had contributed.

Mrs Snow’s husband Derek said: “She was fantastic. She was one of the leading medical hypnotherapists in the country, and she saved many, many people’s marriages, and lives in some cases.

“It’s been a very sad loss for a very large number of people.

“Half of me has died. I miss her.”