Has anyone gone privately to have surgery done?
I have an impacted wisdom tooth which needs to be removed in hospital under a general anaesthetic. I've been on the waiting list for a year now but still haven't even had a letter to tell me approximately how long the wait will be. My dentist has tried to chase this up, to no avail.
Just over the last few days the tooth has been making another push through. Usually it happens every couple of months and is a little achy for a day or two, but this time the whole of the right side of my head is in a lot of pain.
I was telling my Mum about this and she's said that if I can get a ballpark figure for how much it would cost to get a private op, she would try to help me with the costs.
So my questions are: How would I find a surgeon who does this kind of work privately? And could I self-refer or would I need to be referred by my own dentist again? And if any of you have had it done, how much did it cost?
FORUMS
FORUM RSS
Private surgery
Author
Message
<p><strong><font size="4" color="#339966">If not me, then who; <br />if not now, then when?</font></strong></p>
Deleted User
Rank: Paper Bag
I don't know about cost, but I do know that if you want private treatment your GP refers you, so I presume your dentist would refer you. He may also have some idea of the cost as well. He may be able to push for an urgent NHS appointment as you're now in a lot of pain.
Quoted:
Has anyone gone privately to have surgery done? I have an impacted wisdom tooth which needs to be removed in hospital under a general anaesthetic. I've been on the waiting list for a year now but still haven't even had a letter to tell me approximately how long the wait will be. My dentist has tried to chase this up, to no avail. Just over the last few days the tooth has been making another push through. Usually it happens every couple of months and is a little achy for a day or two, but this time the whole of the right side of my head is in a lot of pain. I was telling my Mum about this and she's said that if I can get a ballpark figure for how much it would cost to get a private op, she would try to help me with the costs. So my questions are: How would I find a surgeon who does this kind of work privately? And could I self-refer or would I need to be referred by my own dentist again? And if any of you have had it done, how much did it cost?
Posted by Saturnalia
Posted by Saturnalia
I would go back to my dentist, tell him how much pain you are in and he might be able to push you through as an emergency. Failing that I would ask his advice for a recommendation and I THINK you need a referral anyway if you were going to go private.
I've had some dental work done privately before, but my dentist does NHS and private so it's been at the same surgery. I think most dentists also do private work so I'm surprised you haven't been offered this already. Maybe phone them up and ask if they do private work, or if they can refer you?
Quoted:
I've had some dental work done privately before, but my dentist does NHS and private so it's been at the same surgery. I think most dentists also do private work so I'm surprised you haven't been offered this already. Maybe phone them up and ask if they do private work, or if they can refer you?
Posted by shell dockley
Posted by shell dockley
Ditto!
I go to a private dentist and had 2 fillings replaced. It cost around �100. Or thereabouts. You don't necessarily have to be referred by your dentist, although I'm not sure of this. In my situation, I self-referred to my current [private] dentist. But I have to pay for check ups, X-rays, whitening treatments and hygiene appointments, etc. If you've got access to the money, private is the way to go. The dental work gets done quickly and effectively. Why not contact a private dental practice and see what they say? You can also arrange payment plans with them.
Are you in a lot of pain or do you think it might be infected?
If so you could try going to Guys Hospital Dental A&E. It involves quite a bit of waiting around to be seen, but they saw me that day, gave me antibiotics to clear up the infection and a consultation with a dentist and then within a matter of weeks an appointment to have my wisdom teeth out under a General Anaesthetic.
All for free! You do have to have students watch you though and do your initial consultation but for me it was worth it to get 3 painful wisdom teeth out.
If so you could try going to Guys Hospital Dental A&E. It involves quite a bit of waiting around to be seen, but they saw me that day, gave me antibiotics to clear up the infection and a consultation with a dentist and then within a matter of weeks an appointment to have my wisdom teeth out under a General Anaesthetic.
All for free! You do have to have students watch you though and do your initial consultation but for me it was worth it to get 3 painful wisdom teeth out.
It isn't a dentist's chair job, it needs to be done in hospital under general anaesthetic.
I've been away on hols this last week. Last Tuesday I called the dentists and asked which hospital they had referred me to, then called the hospital.
They found my referrals and promised me an appointment within the next fortnight (for my initial appt with the consultant) and said they would make and post the appointment the same day.
So I came home on Monday night and nothing had arrived. I called the hospital again this morning and they tried to tell me they hadn't had a referral and I wasn't on the system!!! I played absolute hell, telling them I was on the system last week and had been told I'd be seen this coming week. So I got passed over to the supervisor, who was the woman I spoke to last week.
She apologised that the other woman I'd spoken to had lost my referral. I told her I was getting increasingly angry that my referrals always seemed to be going missing. She told me that my "choose and book" letter had been sent out on Friday.
I'm not happy and I told her so. For one, I was promised an appointment sent out on Tuesday, so not only is that 3 more days lost, but under the choose and book, I have to join the back of the queue again and depending on how many other appts the surgeon has, it could be months before i even get that initial consultation.
I'm doolally with the pain. My brain is running on about 50% and not sleeping or eating isn't helping either. I saw my doctor yesterday and he prescribed me some strong painkillers that do give relief but I can only take them 3x a day so there are gaps between doses where the pain relief runs out.
I've been away on hols this last week. Last Tuesday I called the dentists and asked which hospital they had referred me to, then called the hospital.
They found my referrals and promised me an appointment within the next fortnight (for my initial appt with the consultant) and said they would make and post the appointment the same day.
So I came home on Monday night and nothing had arrived. I called the hospital again this morning and they tried to tell me they hadn't had a referral and I wasn't on the system!!! I played absolute hell, telling them I was on the system last week and had been told I'd be seen this coming week. So I got passed over to the supervisor, who was the woman I spoke to last week.
She apologised that the other woman I'd spoken to had lost my referral. I told her I was getting increasingly angry that my referrals always seemed to be going missing. She told me that my "choose and book" letter had been sent out on Friday.
I'm not happy and I told her so. For one, I was promised an appointment sent out on Tuesday, so not only is that 3 more days lost, but under the choose and book, I have to join the back of the queue again and depending on how many other appts the surgeon has, it could be months before i even get that initial consultation.
I'm doolally with the pain. My brain is running on about 50% and not sleeping or eating isn't helping either. I saw my doctor yesterday and he prescribed me some strong painkillers that do give relief but I can only take them 3x a day so there are gaps between doses where the pain relief runs out.
<p><strong><font size="4" color="#339966">If not me, then who; <br />if not now, then when?</font></strong></p>
Quoted:
Are you in a lot of pain or do you think it might be infected? If so you could try going to Guys Hospital Dental A&E. It involves quite a bit of waiting around to be seen, but they saw me that day, gave me antibiotics to clear up the infection and a consultation with a dentist and then within a matter of weeks an appointment to have my wisdom teeth out under a General Anaesthetic. All for free! You do have to have students watch you though and do your initial consultation but for me it was worth it to get 3 painful wisdom teeth out.
Posted by Jellybabes
Posted by Jellybabes
Thanks for that! I'm working at Guy's tomorrow so I'll pop down after my shift and see what they can do!
<p><strong><font size="4" color="#339966">If not me, then who; <br />if not now, then when?</font></strong></p>
Hi, sorry this reply is so late, but just wanted to share my experience re private surgery.
I saw my GP in Feb with symptoms of endo, and basically wanted a quick diagnosis to help me plan for the future. Cut a long story short, my mum's health-care provided refused to perform the surgery (for financial rather than ethical reasons IMHO), and the NHS took the 'wait until you can't get pregnant or are in constant agony for 6 months then we might consider it'; so, I went private (I'd been expecting this esp from the NHS so had already researched private options).
The main benefit of going private is that you'll be seen very quickly: can be just a few days for an initial consultation (you will need to attend one of these; standard fees are around �150-250), and just a week or so for surgery, depending on the consultant; and your appointment is unlikely to be changed/cancelled as is always a possibility with the NHS. If having a general, you'll also get a private room to recover in.
My tips would be to check out the Dr Foster health website (google it), and search for consultants in your area that perform that type of surgery. Then you'll need to phone a couple of consultants secretaries to get quotes (I couldn't guess how much it would cost, but anaesthetists fees tend to be around �250, consultants fees around �500, then you have the hospital costs (my op, which involved a general anaesthetic, 3 incisions in my abdomen and laser surgery, plus a one-night stay, cost �3300 approx if that helps); it really depends how complex the surgery is etc, but it won't be cheap; I'd make a guess at �1.5k minimum).
If you do go private, try to get a feel for the consultant when speaking to the secretary: do they seem organised, are they helpful, etc.
You should also check waiting times too when getting quotes.
Also check out the hospitals different consultants operate from and try to get some recs: mine was awful, the staff were disgraceful and I'm still in the process of trying to get some money back. So, just be careful
Finally, going private is costly, and realistically once you've made the phone calls, been booked in etc you could be looking at a 2-3 week wait before you actually have the surgery, in which case it's worth considering just waiting a little longer and saving yourself what could be a lot of money.
Hope that helps x
I saw my GP in Feb with symptoms of endo, and basically wanted a quick diagnosis to help me plan for the future. Cut a long story short, my mum's health-care provided refused to perform the surgery (for financial rather than ethical reasons IMHO), and the NHS took the 'wait until you can't get pregnant or are in constant agony for 6 months then we might consider it'; so, I went private (I'd been expecting this esp from the NHS so had already researched private options).
The main benefit of going private is that you'll be seen very quickly: can be just a few days for an initial consultation (you will need to attend one of these; standard fees are around �150-250), and just a week or so for surgery, depending on the consultant; and your appointment is unlikely to be changed/cancelled as is always a possibility with the NHS. If having a general, you'll also get a private room to recover in.
My tips would be to check out the Dr Foster health website (google it), and search for consultants in your area that perform that type of surgery. Then you'll need to phone a couple of consultants secretaries to get quotes (I couldn't guess how much it would cost, but anaesthetists fees tend to be around �250, consultants fees around �500, then you have the hospital costs (my op, which involved a general anaesthetic, 3 incisions in my abdomen and laser surgery, plus a one-night stay, cost �3300 approx if that helps); it really depends how complex the surgery is etc, but it won't be cheap; I'd make a guess at �1.5k minimum).
If you do go private, try to get a feel for the consultant when speaking to the secretary: do they seem organised, are they helpful, etc.
You should also check waiting times too when getting quotes.
Also check out the hospitals different consultants operate from and try to get some recs: mine was awful, the staff were disgraceful and I'm still in the process of trying to get some money back. So, just be careful
Finally, going private is costly, and realistically once you've made the phone calls, been booked in etc you could be looking at a 2-3 week wait before you actually have the surgery, in which case it's worth considering just waiting a little longer and saving yourself what could be a lot of money.
Hope that helps x
Who's online?
Promotions
MORE FROM HANDBAG
Contact | Privacy | Terms & Conditions | Cookie Policy | Advertising | Site Map | Popular Forum Threads
Copyright © 2012. Hearst Magazines UK is the trading name of the National Magazine Company, registered in England 112955, and its affiliate company, Handbag.com, which is registered in England 03819979. The companies are registered at 72 Broadwick Street, London, W1F 9EP. All rights reserved.