NHS squandering money on tummy tucks (health insurance, assessor, quality of life)

[dizzybint]

Isnt it a sad day when our own NHS is allowing tummy tucks. boob enlargements and nose jobs free.. when a wee boy with cerebral palsy has been refused an operation to help him walk.. an operation that four of these cosmetic operations could pay for easily.. more children are being sent by public donations to other countries too for specialist care that isnt being given here..... One woman had her boob job done for glamour work.. but now wants them reduced , again on the NHS as they dont suit her new lifestyle and are too big..... Surely this was never what the NHS was created for and should be stopped...

[Eoin (pronounced Owen)]

Cosmetic surgery through the NHS

Cosmetic surgery is rarely available through the NHS. There must be overriding physical or psychological reasons for considering it as a treatment option.
For example, a clinical commissioning group (CCG) may decide that cosmetic surgery is required for health reasons (see below) in rare cases.
Most people pay to have cosmetic surgery carried out privately because NHS resources are limited and waiting times are usually long.

There are a few cases where cosmetic surgery may be available on the NHS, such as:
breast implants to treat severe underdevelopment or asymmetry (lopsidedness)
breast reduction to treat back pain or shoulder pain
nose reshaping (rhinoplasty) to treat breathing problems
tummy tucks to remove excess fat or skin after essential abdominal surgery
eyelid reduction to treat affected vision
However, NHS resources are limited and waiting times for these types of surgery are usually long.

The NHS seem to disagree with you...

Cosmetic surgery - Availability - NHS Choices

[dunno what to put here]

Yes, I was going to say, the NHS does not offer cosmetic surgery unless it is necessary for the reasons stated above.

A lot of people from countries all over the world also go to other countries for specialist treatment for certain diseases that are so obscure only a few people have any profound knowledge on it.

[cushla]

I don't think the NHS was meant for glamour work, or to suit someone's lifestyle.

[dizzybint]

I can speak from people I know who have had two different operations.. one because she didnt like her tummy after her third child and the other lady because she wanted bigger boobs, both had to wait for these ops but they got them and on the NHS. so if I know two who have had this done then how many more...it was mentioned in yesterdays newspaper by Lorraine Kelly, calling it the NHS lottery when a wee boy of two with cerebral palsy Oliver Dockerty who was refused an treatment deemed too expensive due to lack of funding that could have paid for his life changing operation.... common sense and compassion surely have to come into these decisions..

[Eoin (pronounced Owen)]

Originally Posted by dizzybint

I can speak from people I know who have had two different operations.. one because she didnt like her tummy after her third child and the other lady because she wanted bigger boobs, both had to wait for these ops but they got them and on the NHS. so if I know two who have had this done then how many more...it was mentioned in yesterdays newspaper by Lorraine Kelly, calling it the NHS lottery when a wee boy of two with cerebral palsy Oliver Dockerty who was refused an treatment deemed too expensive due to lack of funding that could have paid for his life changing operation.... common sense and compassion surely have to come into these decisions..

Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (the type of operation in question) appears from my limited research to be a highly discussed but underfunded treatment for spasticity in children with cerebral palsy. The treatment involves surgically severing some of the nerve endings in the base of the spine which are responsible for sending 'incorrect' or 'confusing' information along the nervous system. In most cases, this results in the patient being able to walk to some extent, and ameliorates a lot of pain for the child. The issue has been raised in Parliament due to the numbers of parents who raise extraordinary sums of money to have their kids treated abroad. (Around 40 per year.)

BBC - Democracy Live - Adjournment debate

I wasn't able to find a source from any NHS Trust which explained why funding for the treatment is so limited, (the NHS only funds a few of these operations each year). However, I was able to find out that the major cost of the operation is not the operation itself but the follow-up physiotherapy which accompanies the treatment. (The operation itself costs around £35k, but post-operation the patients need around £20k of physiotherapy each year until their skeletal system is fully formed - presumably around age 18.) The total cost of this treatment is likely to run into the hundreds of thousands rather than tens of thousands. Even still, to my mind this still represents value for money if the treatment will considerably improve that childs quality of life. From what the Members of Parliament involved in the debate were saying, the families of children who have had the operation feel that it was worth every penny.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) only approved the treatment in December 2010, and as yet there is only 1 surgeon in the UK (from Bristol) who has actually performed one of these operations. There is apparently another surgeon in Leeds (referred to in the press as being prepared to perform the surgery), but he has not ever actually performed this surgery yet on a live patient; albeit he has traveled to Missouri to learn this surgical technique from Dr Park - the world pioneer in this type of surgery.

I'm hypothesising here, because as I said I couldn't find a source explaining the lack of funding for the condition, but I suspect the large cost of the treatment; combined with the fact that the UK has a dearth of surgeons and physio's with any practical experience of performing the operation and providing follow-up treatment; is the probable explanation for health trusts reluctance to fund treatment. Nonetheless, I fully agree with you that it's unacceptable that families should routinely have to raise money through charity to fund a treatment that has already been approved by NICE.

All of this said, the manner in which this story has been reported angers me, and it should anger you as well Dizzy. We're talking here about a serious medical condition, and a treatment which could prospectively improve a childs quality of life. There are all sorts of questions a journalist should have asked, they should have asked the primary care trust why this treatment was not being funded. (They didn't.) They should have asked what measures the NHS is taking to improve access to this surgery. (They didn't.) They should have gone into detail about the potential side-effects of this surgery, which include incontinence and scoliosis. (They didn't.) They should have addressed the concerns that NICE identified about the potential side effects of treatment if performed improperly, including paralysis and death. (They didn't.)

Instead, they have focused on breast enlargement. I ask you, (as if we don't already know), which publication would produce a 'story' which is so debased as to pollute a sensitive discussion about severe childhood illness with a comparison with breast enlargement?

TA DA:

Why did NHS pay for this woman's 36DD breasts but refuse to pay for an operation so this boy can walk? | Mail Online

None other than the scum of the earth!

As explained earlier, the NHS only provide cosmetic surgery where there is a medical benefit stemming from that surgery. I am not the doctor of the lady who went for the DD implants, so I don't know what her medical need was. However, if I were to guess, I would suppose that she has psychological problems surrounding her self-image.

What sickens me about this is that the people who are most responsible for fostering this unattainable 'glamour' image, are none other than the Daily Mail and their ilk. Look at the sort of stories these people publish:

In praise of the knife: What cosmetic surgery can do for your self-esteem | Mail Online

Could these new cosmetic surgery treatments tempt you? | Mail Online

A peek in the life of a plastic surgeon | Mail Online

'If there's something you don't like about your body, why not?': Brooke Burke encourages women to get cosmetic surgery | Mail Online

La Fin du trout pout: Why French doctors are the new superstars of cosmetic surgery | Mail Online

Cosmetic surgery: where to go | Mail Online

WHO DO THESE SCUMBAGS THINK THEY ARE?!?

They're the ultimate sadists. They pack their debased rag with images of 'Celebrities' and swoon over how beautiful they are. They then give rave reviews about plastic surgery and how wonderful it is. Then they leer down from their lofty moral pedestal at some mentally disturbed woman from Leeds, who dares to try and live up to the unattainable vision of beauty which they set up for her.

Once again the despicable journalists at the Daily Mail have outdone themselves.

Eoin

[Mag3.14]

I had a varicose vein in my right leg that was causing me a lot of pain. My GP referred me (even though he told me it would be a "waste of time because the NHS considers it cosmetic"). After 6 months, a scan where I was told it was a real problem, 2 meetings with the surgeon who told me it needed to come out, some beuracrat simply said that "cosmetic surgery wasn't available".. even though it wasn't cosmetic!

I'm actually glad they weren't done because if you're one of the lucky few living in the right post code to get this taken care of, the NHS still use an old technique where they rip them out. I actually needed 4 taken care of (but the NHS only actually looked at the one causing me pain), and all 4 were treated with up to date laser surgery here. Each op was 5 minutes with no recovery time.

Because the NHS is so busy not spending any money it actually costs it a lot more to carry out simple surgery like varicose veins removal because they use old out of date techniques.

[Gungnir]

Originally Posted by ian6479

I had a varicose vein in my right leg that was causing me a lot of pain. My GP referred me (even though he told me it would be a "waste of time because the NHS considers it cosmetic"). After 6 months, a scan where I was told it was a real problem, 2 meetings with the surgeon who told me it needed to come out, some beuracrat simply said that "cosmetic surgery wasn't available".. even though it wasn't cosmetic!

I'm actually glad they weren't done because if you're one of the lucky few living in the right post code to get this taken care of, the NHS still use an old technique where they rip them out. I actually needed 4 taken care of (but the NHS only actually looked at the one causing me pain), and all 4 were treated with up to date laser surgery here. Each op was 5 minutes with no recovery time.

Because the NHS is so busy not spending any money it actually costs it a lot more to carry out simple surgery like varicose veins removal because they use old out of date techniques.

Well with that said Ian, I had to pay $5000 for a gingivectomy in preparation for a tooth crown on my last upper right molar, because some bureaucrat at my insurance company decided "tooth lengthening" was a cosmetic procedure. I laughed at the assessor when told (don't laugh at your assessor for medical insurance it will only hurt you in the end), since if I'm smiling or laughing so wide you can see my upper right molar I'm probably talking to my health insurance assessor about my "cosmetic procedure" and marveling at their logic, it truly is a sight to behold when your insurance company squirms.

Ultimately some bureaucrat makes the call, be that a government bureaucrat or an insurance bureaucrat it's still a bureaucrat.

Just sayin...