Health watchdog the Care Quality Commission looked at the deaths and concluded there had been no breach of regulations.
University Hospitals Sussex said: “Our investigations did not raise concerns about the surgeries themselves but did identify common themes for improvement, which we acted on immediately to ensure our services are as safe as possible.
“These included better communication with patients before and after surgery, improved training for end-of-life care, and strengthened processes especially when care is transferred from one site to another.”
Prof Poston said these operations usually had a 1% chance of ending in death.
After reviewing the surgeon’s employment record, which included a long wait to become a consultant, Prof Poston said: “I do not know this individual, but you would be concerned that there were problems during the course of that training and progression through training.”