h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Next Friday, 13/01/06, I'm going into hospital to have my chest cracked and have cardiac arterial bypass surgery.

Now I know this is literally an everyday operation nowadays, but frankly I'm petrified - I know its going to hurt a lot, and I might die. Against this I already have one artery that's totally blocked, and the angio-gram shows dangerous narrowing of the remaining two - right where they branch. So its not a hard decision.

Hopefully I should feel better afterwards than I have done for at least 6 years - I had a heart attack in 1999, which is when the 1 artery became blocked.

I don't think I'll be on h2g2 much between now and then, and I'll be in hospital for at least a week - hopefully I'll be back for my 52nd birthday - on the 26th.

Very best wishes Mckay. I'm sure we'll see you back safe and well soon.

Wooooh! Mckay is having a cabbage

Speaking as one who has been involved in the commissioning of cardiac surgery, and the examination of its performance data for more than 10 years. I can confirm that:
1) It is *routine* surgery with 14,347 procedures recorded by the NHS in the last financial year. Which means that they've had a bit of practice at it by now
2) There *is* a chance of you dying. Sorry. But if you don't have it done, it will probably be the thing that kills you anyway. The difference then being that you won't know the time or place.
3) Yes parts of the process will hurt. And when that happens, ask for more drugs.
4) The end result *will* be a massive improvement in your quality of life. The trade off being an operation that might kill you at a defined date and time ie the 13th of this month; against a condition that will probably kill you at an unexpected moment in the future.
5) You will have to wear one of those funny gowns that does up at the back. Except of course that it doesn't quite fit properly, and leaves your arse hanging out the back for all to see. Sorry about that as well.
6) Your operation will cost approximately £7,300 plus about £500 per day for every day you spend in a Cardiac Care Unit, or up to £1,300 per day if you go to an Intensive Care Unit. Your outpatient appointments afterwards will cost in the region of £200 per pop.

Anyway, best of luck with it all. You won't need it, honest, trust me on this OK. But best of luck anyway




(And I presume you'll be wanting some Pools Panel Picks if you don't manage to get around to making your own selections in these next couple of weeks )

Thanks guys. Why aren't you all in bed ?

GD - I thought the point of those gowns was maximum embarassment.

Thanks for the costs - it answers a question of mine. I have private health care as part of my job (no choice) - but I'm having this done on the NHS, they've kept me alive so far - though I'll claim £50 from PPP for each night I'm in hospital - I wondered how much I was saving them.

I'm guessing I'll need a Pools Panel for week 3, but should hopefully make week 4 - providing you're right.

Cabbage cardiac arterial blockage bypass and graft exercise ?

Hope it all goes well McKay. No matter how it may let *some* people down, do be thankful for the NHS and the fact that you won't find yourself with a bill at the end of all this which could well precipitate another heart attack

NHS may not have the private rooms & frills, but it has the expertise & technical backup.

It's the anticipation that's hard - once things are happening, hopefully all will be calmer. I don't underestimate how scary the prospect is, but I'm sure it'll all be worthwhile. Best wishes for a successful op. & swift recovery. Will be thinking of you on 13th.

Eek! poor McKay

Good luck with it. Don't let the nurses bully you too much afterwards - and take as much rest and recovery time as you're allowed.

We'll be thinking of you.

Thanks everyone - hopefully I'll be back destroying your attempts at relaxation real soon.

I am actually against private medical care - I think it helps built up hospital waiting lists - but I have no choice about having it as part of my salary package - which means they say I'm paid N pounds the subract 'y' pounds to pay for private medical insurance. Still at least I can claim £50 per night I'm in hospital, which will help pay the taxi fares my wife will incur coming to visit me.

(unlurks for a minute)

Good luck Mackay

(disappears into the backlog)

It's called a 'cabbage' in conversation as that is easier and less time cnsuming to say than 'coronary artery bypass graft'.

Coronary Artery Bypass Graft => CABG => cabbage

See, it makes perfect sense.

Actually the NHS does do quite substantial amounts of private work. But it's scheduled so that it is not done to the detriment of NHS patients in terms of timing or resources. In fact when an NHS hospital goes down that route for some procedures they tend to kick lumps out of all of the local private providers, as they simply can't compete with the economies of scale that the NHS can provide.

One of the difficulties with private v NHS provision is that the doctors carrying out the work are the same people. Furthermore Consultants are not actually contracted to work in the NHS in a way that means that an NHS manager can order a doctor to do a certain amount of NHS work, or to clear a waiting list, etc. Therefore there is a peverse incentive on the part of the doctor to maintain a longish NHS waiting list so that s/he can syphon off some of those patients as private patients.

The way around this for the NHS is for the NHS hospital to provide time and space for the doctor to provide the private care within the NHS hospital. For doing this we typically pay the doctor more than they would get paid if they provided the treatment in a private unit. Therefore there is an incentive for the doctor to use the NHS facilities for their private work, which in turn means that the NHS has a better handle on the doctor's waiting list, as all of their work is being done under one roof.

Now as the NHS has major economies of scale over private providers. The price that the NHS will charge for private work will be less than a private provider, despite paying the individual doctor more for the work. Therefore the NHS has a competitive advantage over the private providers and can, if they're good, monopolise the local market.

Oh, and any and all profit that the NHS makes on its private work is 100% reinvested back into NHS patient care.

sorry i took so long to read this, but my thoughts are with you McK!

Hope I haven't missed you, oh disorganised one.

All the luck and love in the world go to you. You'll be fine, and annoying us again very soon, I am sure of that.

Remember what you said about having a "bambi-sized hole"? - well I shall have a "disorganised-sized hole" until you return!!

UG

Somewhat stressful day yesterday.....

Woke up at 6:00 for tea and toast, took one mouthful of toast, but too scared to eat anymore.

08:00 last drink of water - then its nil by mouth.

12:30 should be getting my pre-med, but the guy before me is having problems - he eventually comes out at 15:30 - thats over 6 hours of surgery.

An emergency has occured and a guy has to be fitted with a pacemaker, so he's rushed in.

15:00 I'm hungry, stressed and I've moved from mentally prepared back to petrified.

17:30 the surgeon comes out and tells me - he can't do me until Tuesday.

Huge relief and I rush home - but now I'm all tense about going back on Tuesday - still it was good seeing a bunch of old boys going home after 5 or 6 days and they were all atleast 10 years older than me.

Concentrates your mind wonderfully when they give you the consent form and under possible side-effects it lists "death (5 - 6%)"

Must go and change my underpants.

Awful when they do that isn't it?

Let's hope they don't send you home again on tuesday as well.

Oh disorganised one - what a let-down!

Have a good weekend and pretend Tuesday is deja vue! You survived until the next day this time, didn't you? Well you will on Tuesday too.

Have a or or on me, in the meantime.

Will defer Disorganised-sized hole until Tuesday, then.

Take care, UG

*waves to UG*

Waves what ?

Thanks for all the good wishes - I've been told I'll be first on Tuesday. (Oh Goody)

Well, McKay, at least it's organised disorganisation!

Take cheer from seeing the people who've gone through the same thing recently going home safe and sound... that will soon be you.

It's a shame you had to be left worrying and hungry all day, even though it can't be helped when there are emergencies.

I'll reserve the until Tuesday then.