The time is fast appoaching where I should be receiving the first of my letters. Yay! ;D
Basically last time I saw Dr Perring i brought it up and we'll discuss it next time I visit.
I think I'd prefer to stay in the UK, going abroad can have advantages but there are significant disadvantages as well...especially if there are complications. So I now need to do my research.
does anyone have any advice or stories?
Quote from: Helena on February 23, 2011, 11:51:20 AM
The time is fast appoaching where I should be receiving the first of my letters. Yay! ;D
Basically last time I saw Dr Perring i brought it up and we'll discuss it next time I visit.
I think I'd prefer to stay in the UK, going abroad can have advantages but there are significant disadvantages as well...especially if there are complications. So I now need to do my research.
does anyone have any advice or stories?
Hi Helena,
Well, I'm sure Jenny would say, Bellringer because of her experience but I would recommend Philip Thomas who did my surgery. He does his surgery in Briton. The staff there are also fantastic. I guess because my outcome has been very good I'm biased, lol. Are you going to be funded via the NHS?
Stardust
I'm self funding...which is daunting, but at least I'm in control rather than some accountant in the PCT
Right well as I was operated on over 25 years ago my original surgeon is of course long since retired however as Stardust has said Mr Bellringer did me a nice little update to the old girl last year. (I'm so old that when I was done even Michael Royle, the man who trained both Phil Thomas and James Bellringer hadn't started yet! :o I was done by a surgeon that very few people have even heard of these days.)
So my own recommendation goes to Bellringer.
One word of caution though about relying on the... ahem... photos that you can find on the web. In the case of Mr Bellringer at least they seem to be quite old photos, and I would say from what I experienced in my revision that he has improved his technique. I am sure the same goes for any Phil Thomas pic you can find. Also you must remember that people usually post photos when the result is either unusually good and they want to boast, or unusually bad and they want to complain. So web photos are simply NOT a very good guide.
Likewise helpful people like both of us may send you our pics, but you must bear in mind that YOU are an individual. No two people come out the same and the variation that occurs between two people with differing starting anatomy and different healing responses is VAST. So the same technique applied to two people will produce two very different results. Thus, if we send them, use our pics as a guide by all means but don't assume that they are definitive.
Bottom line, and I am sure Stardust would agree here. Both Uk surgeons have their fans, however as the both produce good work the best way to decide is to be guided by the "interpersonal" aspects. Email them BOTH, and if necessary go see them both, and see which one you click with, and which one inspires the most confidence.
For me the fact the Bellringer was operating in Charing Cross, a big and well equipped hospital, was one of the things that tipped the scales. You need to be able to communicate with your surgeon. It helps if you are on the same wavelength.