I've just had a 2nd ultrasound . I was told I have quite a few
gallstones and they are large ! I'm on the waiting list for removal anyway.
Anyone know if they will be contacting me soon for the op
due to them sending me for this 2nd ultrasound out of the blue !
Thanks
After my ultrasound I was told it would be six to nine months on the waiting list. As I was in a lot of pain and having lots of symptoms I kept ringing up and they agreed to put me on a cancellation list. I was contacted last Tuesday and had my gallbladder out on Friday, three months or so after my ultrasound.
I think the NHS website says it's 18 weeks to treatment, but i think many people here have been waiting longer.
Good luck
Hi Lynne, So how long was it in the end you waited?
Matt
Sorry just re read your post 3 months.
It should be 18 weeks from when you were first referred but I'm aware that some trusts are alot longer than this depending on the urgency. Sometimes the only way to get in sooner is to keep phoning like you did.
Hope all goes well.
Who knows how they work? And it varies according to where you live. They are a law unto themselves.
I had ultrasound, MRI and ERCP all in one week last September and it was confirmed I had a lot of large stones, some of which were in the common bile duct. Even a second ERCP in November couldn't shift them, they were so big. I'd assumed I was on the waiting list, but when I had a bad attack in December, just before Christmas, I found out I wasn't! I had to sign my consent form and agree to have any HB surgeon perform my surgery. I got a cancellation in January and open surgery in February.
Are there any stones in your bile duct? If so, and you were a patient here, they'd probably attempt to remove them first by ERCP. They will only perform laparoscopy if the bile duct is clear, otherwise it has to be open surgery.
I was told if you haven't signed a consent form, you're not even on the list.
My ultrasound found the stones in October, another ultrasound confirmed the same In March when I took myself too hopsital. My surgery is in 13 days now.
I believe that you are in Leicestershire which I am.
Could you let me know which hospital you had your gallbladder taken out at and what surgeon you had please. ?
Thanks
If you are NHS, you are referred to Leicester General Hospital- no choice!
The hospital itself is a bit grim. Parts are very old and not suited to the needs of a modern hospital. The facilities in the wards I was on were generally poor and in need of modernisation. There weren't any TVs on the wards, so take plenty of reading matter and stuff to occupy yourself because you do a lot of waiting around for tests etc. It has been widely reported that this hospital may be closed, so little is being spent on it and staff are a bit demoralised as a result. Some have also had no pay rise for five years. Having said that some of the nurses were very dedicated. I was touched by the kindness some showed me: the housekeeper on HDU who found cold yogurt because I couldn't swallow due to my throat having been damaged during surgery, the nurse who gave me her arm to help me from my bed etc. But it is a depressing place compared to the Royal and the Glenfield.
I started out with Mr Lloyd, then had Mr Metcalfe and ended up with Mr Garcia performing my surgery. All three are well respected HB consultant surgeons. Mr Robertson also has a good reputation. I had met some of them previously through my work. There is nothing wrong with the surgery you get, it is the wait to get it that is the problem.
You have to continually ask questions as, generally, communication is poor. Food wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, though some of it was unsuitable for HB patients e.g. Fish and chips, curries, so you had to choose carefully. They changed the beds daily and curtains weekly, so level of cleanliness was good. Clean towels were provided daily too. Also nightdresses if you needed them.
I spent about four weeks in total in hospital. Five months on I'm doing well. Only minor issues post op. I had open surgery followed by a liver resection, so you may not be hospitalised for as long.
Good luck! I hope you get sorted out soon.
I know the General well and don't want to go there! !
I've mostly found the staff pretty good, it's the old building
I don't like, it gives the creeps !
Thanks for the info.
Good luck with your surgery. Let us know how you get on.
All the best x
Don't think you have much choice unfortunately, unless you can get referred to a private hospital under the NHS. I know several people who've been fortunate to do this - not all HB patients, but not sure that it's possible currently. I looked at going private but the cost was prohibitive and as I had to have open surgery in the end, I was better off medically in the general. Certainly I was better off there for my liver resection. I know it's not a nice place but I had no choice. I just gritted my teeth and got on with it. It was better than having the gallstone symptoms and certainly better than having the cancer.
You're supposed to be able to choose hospital and surgeon but think that went out of the window with the 18 week wait for treatment. Basically you're lucky if you can get surgery at all these days. its a very sad state of affairs.
By the way, the surgeons at the private hospitals are the same ones as in the NHS as they work in both.