Andy Murray's hospital treatment sparks post-op row as US and UK doctors clash

Doctors from the US and UK have clashed over a picture of Andy Murray recovering in hospital amid suggestions it raised concerns about his care.

The tennis star, who recently announced his playing career could be over due to injury, shared an image on Instagram telling supporters he had undergone surgery on his hip.

However, while the update has won hundreds of thousands of likes from well-wishers, the placement of IV drips and dressings on his arm caught the attention of US medics.

The Association for Vascular Access, a trade body for clinicians specialising in the medical use of tubes, added its own annotations to the picture to highlight perceived errors.

It suggested that the British former Wimbledon champion could potentially be in danger, as “50 people die every day in America as a result of complications related to hospital tubes”.

Among the litany of concerns were “blood visible in IV tubing”, “arm hair should be clipped” and “blood pressure cuff should be on the IV-free arm”.

In a post on Twitter, the AVA claimed that the likes Murray achieved on Instagram were unlikely to have come from “vascular access clinicians” - prompting a British doctor to disagree.

A consultant in intensive care and pre-hospital care, who asked not to be named, posted his own corrections to the AVA’s image, suggesting it was riddled with errors.

The 36-year-old, who has 12 years of experience as an anaesthetist, told the Telegraph: “I thought it was funny, we do hundreds of these procedures a day in the NHS and the majority of patients will have this sort of set-up - it is not uncommon by any stretch of the imagination."

On the AVA's interpretation, he added: “They are applying the wrong set of guidelines, it is like trying to apply a stock car set of rules to Formula One driving, basically.

“The stuff they are trying to suggest refers to ward-level care, which is not what he’s had done in the picture - he’s essentially just come out of theatre.

“That is what you would expect to see in recovery.

“I think someone has got a little bit excited in terms of trashing it without knowing half the story.”

He suggested that shaving the tennis player's arm hair - as the AVA suggested - could actually increase the risk of infection.

The doctor quipped he “certainly hoped” Murray would not end up adding to the mortality statistics as a result of his tube placement.

Murray announced that he had a metal cap in his hip following the procedure earlier this week.

He wrote on Instagram: “Hopefully that will be the end of my hip pain.”

The procedure - his second on his hip - will mean Murray is likely to miss Wimbledon this summer.