Robotic assisted partial nephrectomy

Hello Judith, I have had my operation recently. But I made the decision to ring the Hospital every week so that they eventually gave me a date. When I found the one person that knew what was the issue all went smoothly. Ring your Consultants secretary and ask her to confirm a date. When I told her I had been waiting on the list for 6 months and had already been pre-op-ed she told me that she would press forward with my issue. I was operated on within 2 weeks. This was my experience. Make a nuisance of yourself.

Kevin

Hi there, difficult times.  We all hate the waiting game and the uncertainty.  I didn't have a nephrectomy, but on this forum we've seen timescales across the whole spectrum, from a few weeks to months waiting.  KC is slow growing.  It's good it's been caught early and chasing sounds a good idea.  

Thank you for your reply its very much appreciated 

Hi Kevin thank you for your reply I'm going to phone Monday 

Hi Again, just realised you've had your pre-op.   This "expires" after a certain time, and if you haven't had your op by then you have to have another one.  We've had people post on here that they've been "snuck-in" quickly before the pre-op expires.  I don't know what the time frame is though.  I'd remind them when you phone that you've had the pre-op.   

Yes I will do thank you 

Hi Jude, I know just what you mean about the wait. As I understand it, the wait is longer when you are having robotic surgery as often there is only one or two sets of equipment per hospital or even trust and not all surgeons are trained.

I was put on the urgent waiting list and told it would be around 4 months. The waiting was awful and then I discovered that the time would be longer. I made the decision to go privately but this only happened because I had taken my pension early from where I worked and had a lump sum.

Ny situation was slightly different in that originally I was going to have a partial and it changed to a full nephrectomy, which I had using a laparoscope and not a robot.

I had mine done April 28th……..and all went well.

So I can tell you that from my perspective this part the waiting game that you are going through is the worst part. When you get the date there is huge  relief a few days before, if you are anything like me ….I felt nervous but on the day I had a let’s get it done attitude. 

Everyone has given you such good advice about ringing up. Sometimes it’s hard to push ourselves forward…..but we need to do this. If your symptoms  have  changed in any way ( you mention the fist in the side feeling); then if this is new, do mention it when you phone. Likewise if you get any blood in your urine etc.

Wishing you all the best and do keep us posted.

Sending you one of my legendary big hugs  Jules xxxxx

Sorry, I also meant to say…..this whole situation can become all consuming , so I tried to distract myself. I would have days where I didn’t want to talk about the cancer…..so I will tell my friends that, if we were meeting up…I would text them. I also tried to get myself fitter for my op…this was something I could take control of. Finally I had my nails done sometimes…..a bit of pampering is good for the soul!

It worked for me, so maybe worth the try!

xxx

Hi Jules thank you so much for your reply, my hubby said the same thing about going private, as he lost his first wife to cancer, but how much will it cost ? We may have to get equity release as were both pensioners .... I'm so uncomfortable, the fear in my children's and grandchildrens eyes is awful.

Regards 

jude 

Hi Jude, I am not too sure how much it would cost for you as mine was a total nephrectomy…..it was about 10.5 K but the hospital I went to offered interest free credit on the op too.

I am So reluctant to say anything on the forum about going privately as I realise that most people can’t do this…..but if it is an option it’s worth it. 

A couple of tips though…….ask before you book the consultation how long the waiting time will be. Also ask for a fixed cost price…..by this I mean the price of the op that doesn’t change whatever happens. So the package I got was for a two nights stay and I made sure that should it turn into open surgery, or I had to stay in longer, this was all included. There are some things separated off such as your take home medication and sometimes your follow up appointment, but you don’t need any shocks. The figure that I have quoted above covers this.

Hope this helps xxx