BARRIE'S STORY - An acoustic Neuroma patient

4. OPERATION

I spent nearly two weeks in hospital before my operation was undertaken on 12th March 2003. I suspect that someone's previously planned operation had to be delayed because I was seen as an emergency. The operation took over 11 hours. The ENT Surgeon had to open my skull and remove my right inner ear, which provides both hearing and balance. Part of my skull had to be removed so that the Neurosurgeon could then access the cerebellum where the tumour had grown. The tumour was removed and a piece of fat was removed from my stomach to fill the hole left in my head. The wound was sewn up and I was returned to the Intensive Care ward. Obviously I had no idea about the whole process and when I came round my wife was by my side.

The early hours of my recovery are a mystery to me; since I can remember little about it, but I was ready to eat a sandwich I had ordered less than 12 hours after the operation! I was soon back to a ward although a different one to the one I had spent nearly two weeks in prior to the operation.

I will always be very appreciative of the team of surgeons and anaesthetist who saved my life. I think the medical system in the UK is superb when it comes to actual surgery. Where it leaves something to be desired is in terms of post-operative care. This is not to criticise the nursing staff, they do an amazing job, but simply that there are not enough of them making their job very difficult. I found individual nurses both dedicated and very professional.

One very useful feature was a photograph gallery in the ward showing all the nursing staff with their names and positions. This meant as a patient it was possible to recognise each member of the team and their position. In comparison doctors were a complete mystery. It was another patient who told me that the consultants were the doctors who were not wearing white housecoats. No one had nametags so it was impossible to determine who was who and what their position in the hierarchy was. It was very intimidating to have a group of doctors at the bottom of your bed with little understanding of who they were. It made asking questions difficult and the answers were often not very informative. I found through out my illness that you only received information if you asked questions and if you didn't ask a question then you received no information.

A major improvement would be if information were available to the patient, including a series of 'often asked' questions and answers for the specific condition they have. I found the BANA (British Acoustic Neuroma Association) booklets helpful and some of the information on the Internet, but locally provided information would have been much more helpful. In general I found that the system is good at surgery but that post-operative support is patchier and not consistently provided. A central more consistent review of all the various support personnel involved in the recovery process across the several hospitals involved, would be helpful. I am surprised that there isn't enough organised communication between consultants of different disciplines (e.g. neurology, ophthalmic) and between physiotherapists and between them and the doctors involved.