Can I ask for private treatment after second umbilical hernia repair failed with NHS surgeons?

Hi all,

I have just received news that my second operation on an umbilical hernia (performed 8 months ago in February) has partially failed, with a small hernia open at the top of the suture area.

I feel that this one failed about 4 months ago and although small, was bad enough to land me in A&E after a bit of light exercise.

The consultant who did my scan told me that smaller hernias can be more dangerous than larger ones, especially in this umbilical area, as there is more chance for organs/flesh to become swollen and trapped after pushing through.

I am now always feeling a bit sickly and have acid in my stomach, and even with the tiniest amount of exertion, like chasing my son in a game of tig or doing gentle yoga, i feel a lot of pinching and the resulting acid.

The worst part is, it has stopped me from living my life. I am a very sporty person, and almost all of my social interaction relies on this (i dont have a partner or family nearby). Since the surgery in Feb, iv stopped all of my social activities, such as climbing, cycling and jogging. Iv become isolated and very depressed. I thought this would be resolved by now.

Bottom line is, I am too scared to let the NHS redo this surgery. The surgeon i saw briefly at the A&E said that my only option now is to have mesh put in place, and that because of my size, i will most likely feel it scratching me from the inside for the rest of my life (i am only 31!). These are the people who couldn't even perform successful suture surgery.. i don't want them to put in mesh that may aggravate me every day and may become so painful it needs to be taken out with a more invasive/highly complex surgery.

Please don't get me wrong. I love our NHS, but in this case, i feel hard done by. The first time around, i didn't even get to meet my surgeon until 30 minutes beforehand, he barely spoke to me, and those sutures opened up in 4 days. The second time around, the man i had the consultation with couldn't guarantee that he would be the one to operate, and he didn't even look at me during the consultation. On both occasions, i begged them for information on what exercise i could do afterwards so i didn't mess things up (i was very active so its easily done). All everyone told me was to wait 6 weeks before resuming normal activity, the same thing it says in the pamphlet they give you! I was never once offered physio or tailored advice.

I feel desperate to have some specialist support.. and i want other options, not just to hear that they will have to put in mesh.. I need to be seen my people with more technical abilities.

So my question is, do i have grounds to ask for a private specialist? And even more importantly, can i choose a clinic outside of my area? I live in Sunderland, and i can guarantee that there wont be any top surgeons opting to live/work here.

As a side note, for my last two operations, i chose Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead because they had a specialist hernia department. Both failed in under 4 months. So i would like to travel much further for my next (and hopefully last) operation.

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