Hi, my husband has been waiting for mitral valve repair since last December. After chasing, he was offered a date for surgery at the end of July. That was cancelled the day he was due to be admitted. The week after, he was gowned up and ready to go when it was cancelled. The following week, he got a call the day before he was due in to say the surgeon was ill. He was rescheduled for 5th September because the surgeon was due to be on holiday for two weeks from 17th August. We have now received two weeks notice that 5th September is cancelled.
Has anyone else had a similar experience?
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Amberharmony
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Ahh I really hope it does happen 😕💔. Ive had that experience when I was like 13 and they kept cancelling when they basically saying that I wouldn't last long with out the surgery 😩😪.
My MV repair wasn’t cancelled but I did wait for 11 months after being told it needed doing urgently within 3 months. Unfortunately, the surgery is so specialised that there aren’t many surgeons who do it.
The waiting is so much worse than the recovery. I feel for you both.
I ended up with 4 days notice which was not a bad thing.
Thanks. I must admit, I was beginning to wonder if we had imagined the ‘you need surgery within a couple of months’ speech.
We are now worried about how long it will be before the surgeon returns to work. It’s none of our business why he is off but it’s easy to imagine that somebody who is off for a month might not be returning any time soon.
The consultant at our home hospital has said she can refer elsewhere, but is not keen to do so as it would mean starting at the beginning of the waiting process.
I had the same offer to refer elsewhere. It seems to me that there are lots of surgeons who are able to undertake certain procedures but far fewer for others and it’s just luck of the draw.
Thankfully , my care could not have been better although I have not seen my GP face to face since discharge at beginning of February and I would have welcomed some medication review.
I waited it out. My original hospital was Papworth and the alternatives were not in my opinion of the same reputation. It’s a tough decision though. I hope it all works out for you soon xx
Yes it would be worth asking when they’re expected to return. A lot of the top cardiac surgeons are regularly on the conference, training and research rounds so there may be a date in mind xx
Hi, I was cancelled twice, once when I was ready to go to the theatre. It seems emergencies come in and they have to deal with them first. It is very frustrating. I hope he gets a new date very soon.
The emergencies are frustrating but mostly understandable. We know that people can’t help being ill, but it was sad that they had no way of covering the two members of theatre staff who called in sick on a Monday morning and it’s worrying that the only surgeon able to do the op is currently off work and they don’t know when he will be back.
Good morning...I waited 9 months for my valve op...cancelled 3 times...twice being gowned up. I got told the third time that I would now be put onto a different wait list and that I would have to be operated on within 28 days...which thankfully I was. I was told each time the cancellation was because of emergencies and it wasn't until I was actually in hospital that I realised this was the case. The lack of beds in ICU can change in an instant because of an emergency ... Or people can deteriorate suddenly and need to stay in there. As there are only very few beds in ICU because of the specialist nursing required this then causes the problem and it snowballs onto the wards where people are also waiting for beds. I myself had a prolonged stay of 4 weeks in hospital because of infection that would have resulted in someone else's operation being cancelled. It's not how it should be but unfortunately it is nowadays. However, I have to say that once in hospital and finally operated on, the care was exemplary both in ICU and on the ward. Make sure you get onto the waitlist team and check the guidelines for cancelled operations with them...especially ones that have been cancelled if you have been gowned on the day. I hope you get sorted...good luck and let us know how it goes xx
Thanks. The problem now is that the only surgeon who is able to do the operation is not there. He wasn’t there from 10th August and they don’t know when he is back, so they can’t offer a new appointment date. We don’t know whether to take the gamble that he will be back soon and well enough to do the op successfully or to cut our losses and start again on a waiting list at another hospital .
Personally I don't think I would take the chance of a waitlist at another facility as the wait could be just as long. You could ask the waitlist team if there is any intention of another surgeon doing operations at the hospital whilst the other one is off...ask if there are any fallback plans. It's a horrible situation to be in and having had the wait and cancellations myself I know the worry it causes. My condition also worsened during that time which adds to the worry of the wait. Perhaps if you can't get an answer from the waitlist team, contact PALS at the hospital. I found them very efficient. Really hope you can get things sorted. Xx
Thanks for the advice. I think you are probably right about moving somewhere else. It’s so frustrating when nobody at the hospital ever answers the phone or responds to messages. I think we will see if PALs can help.
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