I’ll be going in to hospital in a week or two for a Neck Dissection.

This means the surgeon will be removing flesh from pretty close to my jugular vein and carotid artery.

I’m pretty keen to wake up again after the procedure, how do you go about checking how well the surgeon performs in similar circumstances?

If you wake up dead, it hasn’t gone well

go and see how many peeps are in the morgue, compared to wards

Why would you want to know?!! No matter how well he performs, it probably wont be well enough to ease your concerns!

It’ll be reet. Good luck.

Theyr’e on bonuses so you’ll be ok. Still won’t make as much as a crap footballer though.

R.I.P. (Just in case)

Methinks asking at 11:30 on a Saturday night may not have been the best timing ever… 🙄

in fairness, they’d have to be blind and wearing boxing gloves to hit JV or CA!

you could always ask your surgeon how many they’ve done and how their outcomes compare to peer group (mind, league tables etc don’t necessarily tell the full story – the good ones may get all the difficult jobs and so their outcomes may not look brilliant even if they’re great)

or ask around if you know any docs from that hospital

http://www.vsqip.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/NVR-2013-Report-on-Surgical-Outcomes-Consultant-Level-Statistics.pdf

Data was published earlier this year for all vascular surgeons in the uk, not completely sure if neck dissection is covered in this document.

The alternative would be to have a good look on your local nhs hospital trust website as they may publish there own data from internal audits. This information may also be presented in poster form on the walls outside/within the surgical department you go to.

Hope this helps

Data was published earlier this year for all vascular surgeons in the uk, not completely sure if neck dissection is covered in this document.

Neck dissection isn’t a vascular procedure so it won’t be in those stats – sorry.

FWIW league tables aren’t all that helpful for the reasons Scaredypants suggests.

In short as far as I can tell you cannot find out.

You cannot find out as the information is not that usefull

As noted if you do all the easy cases you look brilliant. Its like me noting I crash fewer times than a DH world champ and you concluding I am the best rider because of this

Ask what car they drive and where they went on holiday.

Thanks all. I have found him on here : NHS Stats n stuff

I did a couple of weeks work experience in the cardio surgery at Kings College Hospital when I was about 16-17. Probably something that no-one in their right mind would consider authorising nowadays!

Was quite eye-opening and also very entertaining. They had CCTV between the theatres so surgeons could ask advice, check up on other operations etc but they mainly used it for discussing their next foreign holiday or the size of the loft extension that was being fitted to their 5-bedroom detached house. While operating.

“Yeah so the builders are a right bunch of bastards – scalpel! – trying to rip us off and saying the job – forceps! – would take three months and we were like – nurse, hold that bit there – three months, but we go to the Bahamas in 2, you’d best be finished by then – 2cc of adrenaline – so we’ll see.”

Meanwhile the patient would be lying their with the chest wide open… It was a good job none of them got to hear some of the things that were said. I did ask once if he’d ever had anyone die on the operating table and he quite casually said “oh, yeah, couple a week usually”.

But don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Probably.

Have you tried Drip Advisor?

Bagsy your bike/s

What you going to do if they’re crap?

Bagsy your bike/s

Dammit! 11 minutes too slow 😡

“Yeah so the builders are a right bunch of bastards – scalpel! – trying to rip us off and saying the job – forceps! – would take three months and we were like – nurse, hold that bit there – three months, but we go to the Bahamas in 2, you’d best be finished by then – 2cc of adrenaline – so we’ll see.”

It’s probably because they are very good at what they do and are completely relaxed in that environment rather than anything else.

Have you tried Drip Advisor?

preferable to lastminutes.com !

proper LOL at Scaredypants…

They were actually playing Stairway to Heaven as I was inserted in to the scanner the other day 😕

…well I’m about to find out!

I hope that’s his Aston in the hospital car park …