Has anyone had an Inspiris Resilia valve on the NHS?

[Robtrader]

I am being told it is only available privately, which will cost around 35K

[Nic25]

Yep. Dec 2018. St Thomas's in London. All NHS. Surgeon said he always went for the best one he could get away with (though he also laughed when he said it!). That kind of price is what I heard too, but money/cost wasn't part of any discussion I had with the surgeon at all. If I can help with any advice more than happy to? Nic x

[swingyourpants]

Told by who? Yes, its more expensive than the norm so I understand. I had one via my Insurance but after talking to my surgeon he said he needed to present a business case for NHS patients to have one. 35k is rubbish. My whole treatment inc pre and after Diags cost less that this.

[StevepH2012]

Hi

I'm having an Edwards valve tomorrow morning! Although am private patient I went through NHS up to booking surgery.

Valve choice was made as NHS patient in March when referred for surgery.

It may vary across Health Authorities but definitely available in London/SE.

Steve

[Robtrader in reply to StevepH2012]

Hey, thanks for replying, and the best of luck to you today!

[francesw47]

Hi. Certainly available in SE London last June. I asked for Inpiris valve and there was no discussion - thats what I got. I cannot imagine they are handed out on NHS if that price! Best of luck,

[Mart_B]

Hi,

Had my AVR in Nov 2019 at Leeds Infirmary - the Inspiris valve wasn’t standard but my surgeon was happy to make the request on my behalf and it was granted. Cost considerations will always be a factor in our stretched NHS but patient studies, such as the ‘Commence Trial’ (now coming up to 6-years old), indicate that the valve really does deliver the promised long-term durability and lower real cost.

Very best wishes,

Martin.

[Tubbylardo]

I asked for one and the surgeon said the metal one was the best option for me. I queried why and was told that they have only been available for a few years and were not "proven" yet.

[Ageingfast]

I have had an inspiris resilia on 2nd May 2020. I had to go private (covid had closed all the NHS hospitals) . The cost of £35,000 is about right, but thats for the whole treatment and hospital stay.

I let the two surgeons decide what to do and they opted for that valve and did not opt for a tavid. They did talk a lot about "unproven" valves, especially when tavi is involved.

Brilliant surgeon. My scar is just 8cm long. How do they do it ???

My life was expiring rapidly so I paid private. Maybe I would have survived and been done at the well respected Basildon heart hospital on the NHS. But at the time I didnt know when the NHS might reopen.

What was difficult for my decision was that you dont get any ball park figure for likely costs.

I have a good pension on my life only, so by extending my life, it makes financial sense.

So all I now have to do is accept I dont have the new car that I was going to have and I now have to ensure I live for a couple more years !!

Charges for private health care are a minefield.

In the end I am very happy with the ultimate bill, but I think the phrase is "if you have to ask then you cant afford it".

[Robtrader in reply to Ageingfast]

Hi there, tha ks for taking the time to respond, and I understand your thoughts on getting it done. Which hospital did you actually get the private procedure done at? I know you mentioned basildon, but not sure if that was just your NHS option. My stepfather just has a bypass there.

[Ageingfast in reply to Robtrader]

I ended up at the excellent Cromwell hospital in Kensington. Very posh. And had all the facilities to look after me. Plus a few niceties, such as staff that had lots of time to talk to me.

I started at Colchester coronary unit and was told I needed the op urgently. But no NHS could deal with it. I would have been referred to Basildon, which is a separate building from the Basildon main hospital.

My friends speak very highly of Basildon. And they all had a private room on the NHS.

The hospital has also added me to their lists, so I am expecting to be offered rehab soon. At Basildon.

Colin

[Tessie28]

Hi, yes I am the proud owner of one. Gained it at Harefield in March this year. They are very reluctant due to the cost. My surgeon said £50 thousand , including cost of operation and hospital stay. Anyway whatever Mr de Robertis asks for he gets! Good luck.

[Tessie28]

Sorry didn't say mine was NHS. Just read the other answers. So unfair that someone had to pay. Some disparity that. I saw my surgeon privately in the first instance and he transferred me to his NHS list. Reading this I was very lucky getting it done when I did.

[Ageingfast in reply to Tessie28]

Yes indeed, you made it in to Harefield just in time. My surgeon had a try at booking me in there, but it was already Corona only. As was West Brompton.

It wasnt exactly fair that I had to pay, but it was my choice. Pay or wait for an unknown timescale.

The total cost would have been about £58,000 but the NHS contributed a big chunk and my total was £38,000. This included £1,000 for my transport and £6,000 for my surgeon.

What was alarming was that I didnt know the costs until six weeks after I got home.

I suspect I would not have survived without the urgent operation.

A main chunk of costs were the tests. I also stayed for three days in the hospital, whilst the tests were dealt with. Corona was rampant at the time and I wouldnt want to risk commuting from deepest rural Essex to Kensington at that time.

Colin

[Robtrader]

Many thanks to everyone who has replied, really it has helped massively that you guys are out there to talk to.I am surprised that so many have had it on the NHS, but then annoyed at my surgeon, and more so myself. Multiple emotions actually. I didn't find this site until yesterday, should have looked previously. With the operation so close, it makes my options limited as does Covid 19.

Conclusion: I'll do what I can to get this done on the NHS without burning my bridges with my current plan.

[Robtrader]

Hello all, I thought I would send an update after my original post. After hearing from you all regarding NHS procedures I went back to my original NHS hospital. The Resilia is available on the NHS, but through a funding committee agreement. The other issue is that currently the waiting list for a normal valve is 5 months post lockdown. Add to that the decision time by the committee. I had originally been told it was time for the opp in February at Papworth, but ended up going privately at Royal Brompton for the Inspiris as I understood incorrectly this was the only option.

The bottom line is this. I can get the Resilia done for 11K less at Papworth with a surgeon and team that I am very happy with. I really wasnt happy with route that I was going down. It is a brand new state of the art facility. Effectively I jump the que and get it done in 6 weeks, which is fine by me as I am already 5 months late.

My tha ks to everyone who responded it gave me the info I needed to get the care which I am happy with, plus save on the procedure.