Referral to BGSE centre after first lap

[Olivethecat]

Hi girls!

I had my first lap last Monday. I had cysts in both ovaries, lower back and bladder, ovaries were stuck to my womb, endo near the diaphragm... I was told I have stage '3 and a half' of endo. It wasn't a BSGE centre.

The surgeon told me there is some endo in on my bowel that she couldn't treat and told me to go back in two months for an MRI, where they'll see whether I need another operation soon or not. Considering the stage and the bowel implications, I know that the best option is asking for a referral to a BSGE centre. But I wanted your advice on how to do it:

- Do you think I should wait until I have done the MRI with this consultant and see what she says, or should/am I able to ask for the referral to a BSGE centre from my GP now?

- If I ask for a referral to a BSGE centre, I know that my GP might say he needs to wait for the results from the hospital first, and that might take ages (it happened before). What would be the right words to use in this case?

- There's a really good endo specialist in the area where I live, and he works privately and in the NHS. I thought I could have a private consultation with him to see and then ask to be in his NHS list. What do you think about this?

Sorry for this questions, I'm new to this and being a foreigner and not knowing the NHS system here doesn't help.

Thanks!

[Tillyfloss]

hi. Hope you are recovering well from the lap. Nice have guidelines on when a bsge centre is the best option which would be worth a look. For me we got the name of the Endo specialist and saw him privately. We didn't have any choice but to go on his NHS list as surgery was going to be complicated ( was far worse than any of us expected so he made the right call). I found the specialist to be a breath of fresh air, sorted out my pain management along with the pain team so I was more comfortable whilst waiting for surgery. If your in the position to pay to see the specialist i would, they ( in my experience) have so much knowledge and just small things can help. Good luck xx

[vmagpie]

Hi,

I think that’s a good idea about the local consultant.

I’d advise using PALS if you’re told they need to wait for results.. it’ll either push the results or override the need to wait if that makes sense?

Hope you’re feeling ok after your op. Were they able to remove all the other stuff other than on your bowel?

And if you don’t mind me asking, did your surgeon make any suggestions before your first op that they thought they’d find endo or was it exploratory surgery? I’m waiting for a date for first lap and I’m worried the surgeon won’t look properly as he’s only really acknowledging a lump that needs removing from my abdominal wall and brushing off all other symptoms already as not likely to be caused by endo

Sorry for going into my story, you’re recovering. Take care xx

[Olivethecat in reply to vmagpie]

Thanks! Do you mean you find a good idea to go to the private consultation? Thanks for the advice about PALS, I'll definitely contact them if necessary.

I went to the lap knowing that I had an endometrioma because they found it in a ultrasound a few months ago. I had another one an many other things that yes, they removed during the surgery.

I hope everything goes well with your lap. Has your surgeon any training in endo, just in case?

Xx

[vmagpie in reply to Olivethecat]

Yes I mean I think it’s a good idea to ask for a referral to bsge centre/consultant, if they need next mri results use pals to speed things up if possible.

I think getting a private consultation would be a good idea if it gets you answers and further up the nhs list with a specialist xxx