Serious medical question

[Troll]

Thanks moi dearies

Seriously all the best - but could you also let us know what the total costs turns out to be - not sure if they have quoted a fixed price or a la carte menu - just curious about how much going private costs

And I suppose we should all be thankful that should needs be, we are all affluent enough to be able to flash the cash to get to the front of the queue for our nearest & dearest

[d000hg]

Oh and P.S. be sure to vote UKIP at the next election, regardless, for the best chance of reducing the number of foreigners clogging up the NHS!

We'll also reduce the number of doctors and (I assume) menial staff too.

[malvolio]

Thought the procedure was to smash the gall or kidney stones with ultrasound


Try these if they are near you


HTH

Nope, wrong. Kidney stones are calcified salts and therefore brittle. Gall stones are waxy accretions and therefore aren't. Also the kidney is regulalry flushed, whereas the gall bladder is basically a dead end. Keyhole surgery is the only resolution

But why the OP hasn't got private health care is beyond me; it's precisely for queue jumping this kind of highly debilitating but not life-threatening condition.

[wurzel]

But why the OP hasn't got private health care is beyond me; it's precisely for queue jumping this kind of highly debilitating but not life-threatening condition.

We both have private medical care. The problem is that BUPA said that the procedure would have to be performed by the same team in the local NHS hospital & that she wouldn't be bumped up the list as they were snowed under.

It was only by looking a bit further afield that we found someoebody prepared to do it sooner, thanks to Troll's suggestion.

Unfortunately, an infection has set in now so they can't operate today so the saga continues....

[Troll]

Nope, wrong. Kidney stones are calcified salts and therefore brittle. Gall stones are waxy accretions and therefore aren't. Also the kidney is regulalry flushed, whereas the gall bladder is basically a dead end. Keyhole surgery is the only resolution

• Lithotripsy.(There's lots of flavours to this & worth a google)This procedure uses ultrasound waves to break up gallstones. It may be used alone or along with bile acids to break up stones. The procedure, which is now rarely performed, has been used for people who have long-term (chronic) inflammation of the gallbladder (cholecystitis) and who are not strong enough for surgery. But it is not appropriate in treating sudden (acute) cholecystitis.
  
• Contact dissolution therapy. This treatment uses a thin, flexible tube called a catheter to place a chemical in the gallbladder to dissolve gallstones. This therapy is rarely used because of the risk of complications. And unlike with surgery, gallstones may return.
  
• Percutaneous cholecystostomy. This procedure may provide temporary relief for an inflamed gallbladder until an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatogram (ERCP) or surgery can be performed. During percutaneous cholecystostomy, a doctor places a tube through the abdomen and into the gallbladder to drain its contents. This sometimes is done for people who are not strong enough for surgery.
  
• Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatogram (ERCP) with endoscopic sphincterotomy. In an ERCP, a doctor gently moves a flexible, lighted viewing instrument (endoscope) down your throat and through your stomach to examine the tubes that drain your liver and gallbladder. If you have a gallstone in the common bile duct, the gallstone can sometimes be removed through the endoscope.

[Support Monkey]

My wife had the same issue, it depends on the size of the stones as to whether they can be lasered or not, by the sound of it Mrs W is in alot of constant pain she will be beyond laser treatment and will need them removing.

My wife used to get pain end up in hospital overnight then it would be fine the next day, hospitalised 4 times until eventually she mentioned this to our doctor and he sent her for a scan (why did the hospital not do a scan god only knows) they then told her what it was and that the only way was to operate as they were to big for ultrasound, fortunately this was done within 4 weeks as they had a cancellation

[malvolio]

stoopid question, possibly
but is a gall stone the same as a kidney stone ?

A stoopid question, and already answered. The clue is in the name.

[malvolio]

• Lithotripsy.(There's lots of flavours to this & worth a google)This procedure uses ultrasound waves to break up gallstones. It may be used alone or along with bile acids to break up stones. The procedure, which is now rarely performed, has been used for people who have long-term (chronic) inflammation of the gallbladder (cholecystitis) and who are not strong enough for surgery. But it is not appropriate in treating sudden (acute) cholecystitis.
  
• Contact dissolution therapy. This treatment uses a thin, flexible tube called a catheter to place a chemical in the gallbladder to dissolve gallstones. This therapy is rarely used because of the risk of complications. And unlike with surgery, gallstones may return.
  
• Percutaneous cholecystostomy. This procedure may provide temporary relief for an inflamed gallbladder until an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatogram (ERCP) or surgery can be performed. During percutaneous cholecystostomy, a doctor places a tube through the abdomen and into the gallbladder to drain its contents. This sometimes is done for people who are not strong enough for surgery.
  
• Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatogram (ERCP) with endoscopic sphincterotomy. In an ERCP, a doctor gently moves a flexible, lighted viewing instrument (endoscope) down your throat and through your stomach to examine the tubes that drain your liver and gallbladder. If you have a gallstone in the common bile duct, the gallstone can sometimes be removed through the endoscope.

Or keyhole removal of the gall bladder. Marginally affects your ability to digest saturated fats, otherwise little real world impact. We've noticed none in the last 15 years or so.

We went through all this when She Who Must be Obeyed was affected. The consultant's view was that if you simply remove the gallstones, they may well come back again. Since some level of surgery is required anyway, why not fix the root cause?

[Support Monkey]

Or keyhole removal of the gall bladder. Marginally affects your ability to digest saturated fats, otherwise little real world impact. We've noticed none in the last 15 years or so.

We went through all this when She Who Must be Obeyed was affected. The consultant's view was that if you simply remove the gallstones, they may well come back again. Since some level of surgery is required anyway, why not fix the root cause?

same here, wife as been fine since, she brought her gallstones home in a jar they looked like she had picked up some gravel out of the car park, no issue since and looking at her she does not need to watch what she eats

[DodgyAgent]

I know there are a few CUK medical experts out there.