Sadly it is not all that easy to get second opinions on the NHS due to what the government likes to say about what the pubic want and they way the different trusts in the English NHS like to steal from each other.
If you havent had a second opinion, I would suggest calling the secretary of the consultant you saw today to find out if there is any way that they can arrange another appointment/telephone call to chat more about the operation or perhaps get a second opinion from another consultant in the hospital to save some time. I fear that the latter wont be possible as they will want a GP letter to ensure that the secondary care trust (hospital) can get more money from the primary care trust - a system that is really stupid and surprised me when I come here from Scotland.
Otherwise, to get the second opinion, you will need to ask your GP to refer you again and you will need to chose a different hospital which will mean waiting again - probably about 6 weeks for the initial appointment but could be more depending on the hospital. The original hospital wont want their 18 week target figures messed up so will discharge you until you know what you want to do and then you will need to be referred back to them again and once again wait for the appt. This is due to the idiot NHS managers who create stupid targets/programs to justify their existence - they want to be able to announce that people are seen and “dealt with” within 18 weeks of referral. They would rather you “waited” 8 weeks 10 times that 19 weeks once. Rant over. Good luck.
damn… its much easier in Greece,
walk into a doctors give him 50euros he checks you over
you want a second opinion?
go to a different doctor give him 50euros…
and so on! :doze::ermm:
:sick:
TBH the NHS would probably work better if they charged people, not 50 euros, just a small amount (I dont mean for it to be privatised) which might stop the time-wasters who come because:
1- they would rather see a GP to get paracetamol free than pay 30p of their money on something other than fags/alcohol/petrol/music/clothes (all the other necessities in life)
2- they would rather go to A+E for a cold than see a pharmacist/buy some otc remedy because they think they need to see a doctor for a serious illness like a cold, even though they have had one every year and it has not yet killed them
3- they would rather call an ambulance to go to A+E because they dont want to disturb a family member who is out shopping and because they think they will get seen quicker if they go by ambulance
If people had to pay into the NHS 50p for each 10min appt with a GP, £5 for every unnecessary A+E attendance and £25 for an inappropriate ambulance call out or maybe just ride it would make them think whether they could take some responsibility for their own health. (obviously the A+E/ambulance thing would be hard to deal with because you might get a wee old granny dying at home because she was worried about the money). Its difficult because the people who have the least money to pay tend to be the ones who use all the services the most but only a minority of them need to use it so much.
Sorry for hijacking your post…back to your hand.
I’d be tempted to go for the operation…doesnt sound like it could be much worse. You’re young, it hurts a lot, its affecting your work/bike riding and you have minimal movement.
no ive not broken 3rd leg viggen lol
Mate, no question, GET THE OP!
About 10 years ago I broke my hand on a drunken night out. Thinking it was just a drinking injury I left it. About 6 weeks later it hadn’t really got any better and so got an x-ray. Had broken 5th metacarpel in a couple of places and right up into the knuckle.
Was given pretty much the same options as you and decided I didn’t really fancy having it rebroken and reset, so I decided I could live with it. Bad call! It’s actually not too bad riding, but if I have to grip anything tightly it’s bad. Anything like tennis leaves me in bad pain for quite a few days and when winter comes around the pain can be unbearable. The cold seems to make a hell of a difference. Believe me if i could make that call again, everytime i’d have the op. Especially if you’re working with your hands, it’s a no-brainer. 6 weeks off now is nothing compared to the rest of your life in pain!
cheers fella the winter is what im not looking forward to just trying to get my head round having the joint removed some metal put in and bone taken from my wrist to be grafted in :s
What are the pro’s and con’s of having the opp.I know it sounds cheesey but right a list.
Deffinatly get 2nd and even 3rd oppinons.
Could the opp cause more probs then good. I had an accident in 2006, i had an opp to investigate why the pain was occuring early this year, had some build up of excess fluid which was drained, also had some floating bone irrietating teh joint which was removed and some excess cartilege which was trimmed as a result of the naturall repair process.
Overall no change but was worth a try.
Your young and if its hurting now it will only get worse with age.
I was told that sometimes you can get a steroid injection, therectcally i dont think it would last long but there have been some recorded case’s of permenant fix.
How much sick leave would your work be willing to pay for before going on satituroy S.P. :discuss:
I understand you wanting get advise from the lovely people on this forum, but seriously you’d be better getting a second opinion from a Professional …
Unless you find someone on here that is a doctor in that field, you’d gain clarity from someone that understands the procedure.
Mate, I had/have the exact same problem. Last Aug I broke the 5th metatacarpal in my left hand (just before it joins the wrist too) when I came off outside Great Dumnow on the BCR. Went to hospital and they put K Wires in it. Once the IK Wires were taken out I noticed that I had no movement at all in the top knuckle (metacarpophalangeal joint). It had completely seized. I went back to the Hospital (Royal Free) for my routine post op appointments and mentioned this to the Doc who said that movement would come back after time. I knew by the feel of it this was unlikely as it was completely solid. 3 months after the op still no change so I asked for a referral to the Hand Therapy Unit (physiotherapists specialising in the hands funnily enough). After a few months of stretching and wearing custom made splints the therapist told me that there was no improvement at all (she measured the degree of articulation at each session) and said that the tendon was probably fused to the bone around the break area and to request a manipulation at my next appointment with the Doc.
At my next appointment with the dDoc 6 months post op I highlighted the above and he still said that movement will come back and it just takes time. I managed to keep calm and asked for a second opinion. 3 months later I got an appointment with the bone specialist consultant. His opinion was that it was most likely fused and he could fix it in 10 - 20 minutes by doing another op if I wanted.
Obviously I went for the 2nd op and had it on 3 Jul this year, almost a whole year after the initial break. It’s now healed and is no better than what it was previously. A different Doc did explain before the op that it might not work and that it might actually end up worse as a result then asked me to sign a disclaimer stating I understood this and agreeing to go ahead with the surgery.
I have had weeks off from work due to this (a bonus really lol) and my left hand and wrist is a lot weaker than what it was previously due to the break, ops, and extended periods of inactivity during recovery. But it affects me in many ways, I used to train in Wing Tsun a lot and now can’t even hold a fist with my left hand due to joint seizure, I play guitar and drums and this has severely limited my playing of both.
I took a gamble and went for the second op, it didn’t work and I’m no better than I was before. However, if there’s a chance I’ll take it. Think carefully before you make a choice dude.
Good luck
shando
nice one shando im going to have a long think about it and read up more online while i work out where i can go private and see a doc soonish and she what they say. its only a little bit colder this morning but was feeling it in my hand
A top grade osteo surgeon once told me to always seek a second or third opinion on any surgery that involved joints.
I almost quote when he also said “…and never let a surgeon near your knees. We’ve buggered up as many knees as we’ve cured.”
Guess what. I learned to live with the knee weakness and discomfort (true, not pain) and it’s now almost fully sorted out. Just took 25 years.
Get an opinion from a decent qualified sports physio as well. This stuff is one of their areas of speciality.
well had the pre op this morning and chickened out on the op ill try and get through winter first before having anything like that done