cancelled graft

[charlene godfrey]

I cant beleive it im so dissapointed 3 months ago i was booked to have my corneal graft in plymouth it was due on this thurs 1 nov and they phoned and cancelled monday lunch.Apprently the donor was to old(70)
please can any one out there answer some of my questions and make me feel better
1.Why did they book me three months ago to have a graft when they didnt have a graft to give me?my consultamt implied that the bamk in Bristol held the corneas in storage untill required.I assumed that the three month wait was for a theatre slot
2.if they are able to cancel me three days before the op then cant they also give me threee days notice that a dnor is suitable and for me to come into hospital? would it not be more sesnible to be given a pager to respond to when a donor was found
3.has this happened to other people is it the norm in the whole country to be pre booked in this fashion
4.does any one else think that is a stupid system?
i no i am upset but they can not seriusley think i am going to pre book another op when the same could happen agin.Dont get me wrong i understand why they copuldnt use the donor but as i work in a critical care unit myself no one at my work would object to me carrying a pager.My hubby is in the forces so inm sure you can all imagine the night mare we now have re organizing rostas as i wont be having 6 months of work
if you can help please answer me thanks

[Andrew MacLean]

I cant beleive it im so dissapointed 3 months ago i was booked to have my corneal graft in plymouth it was due on this thurs 1 nov and they phoned and cancelled monday lunch.Apprently the donor was to old(70)
please can any one out there answer some of my questions and make me feel better
1.Why did they book me three months ago to have a graft when they didnt have a graft to give me?my consultamt implied that the bamk in Bristol held the corneas in storage untill required.I assumed that the three month wait was for a theatre slot
2.if they are able to cancel me three days before the op then cant they also give me threee days notice that a dnor is suitable and for me to come into hospital? would it not be more sesnible to be given a pager to respond to when a donor was found
3.has this happened to other people is it the norm in the whole country to be pre booked in this fashion
4.does any one else think that is a stupid system?
i no i am upset but they can not seriusley think i am going to pre book another op when the same could happen agin.Dont get me wrong i understand why they copuldnt use the donor but as i work in a critical care unit myself no one at my work would object to me carrying a pager.My hubby is in the forces so inm sure you can all imagine the night mare we now have re organizing rostas as i wont be having 6 months of work
if you can help please answer me thanks

Charlene

What a disappointment! I am so sorry to hear that your graft has been cancelled.

You ask pertinent questions. In your place I'd have them written down next time I went to see my ophthalmologist and I would not be leaving his consulting room until I was satisfied that he had answered them all.

All the best

Andrew

[GarethB]

Charlene

1) From my experience this is to get a theatre slot and Bristol does I think have an eye bank, but there is no guarentee they will have suitable corneas. The other thing is that some surgeons prefer to use fresh material. No idea how long a cornea can be stored for.

2) Yes they can and some hospitals do just that, give you a couple days notice when a cornea is available.

3) This has happend to others on this forum, but I am unable to say if the whole of the UK works in the same way.

4) There are optomotrists think the system is stupid and feel the primary care trusts are so hung up on targets we as a patient group do nothing to help towards those targets. That is a political issue which I have mentioned to the groups chair person, but as I have no information on the system it would be inappropriate for me to start a discussion on such a matter.

I know this does not help your situation, but the above is what I have picked up on from this forum and local group meetings.

Regards

Gareth

[amacuk]

Hi Charlene,

Sorry to hear this, and I had an identical situation in June. Cancelled 3 days before, and told the donor was too old. My Consultant very apologetic (not his fault) but said he's put some priority towards another cornea by speaking to Bristol. He classed my graft as a "young graft" - I'm 38 - and he said Bristol had never let him down with "young" tissue before.

Luckily I had the graft one month later, and it has been great. BTW I got 6/5 vision unaided on Friday (that's the very last line of the chart). Quite a surprise as I hadn't been able to drive for a year and now have better than normal vision - well one eye anyway.

Don't give up, but I know how dissapointing it is once you're built up for it. Hope to have my other eye done in Feb/Mar, so hopefully won't happen to you or I again.

[Andrew MacLean]

BTW I got 6/5 vision unaided on Friday (that's the very last line of the chart). Quite a surprise as I hadn't been able to drive for a year and now have better than normal vision - well one eye anyway.

Don't give up, but I know how dissapointing it is once you're built up for it. Hope to have my other eye done in Feb/Mar, so hopefully won't happen to you or I again.

That's a good outcome! Well done.

Charlene: any word yet of a new date?

Andrew