Anaesthetist refusing surgery because of CML

Hi everyone,
Has anyone had surgery refused because of their Chronic myeloid leukaemia/Imatinib? I have surgery scheduled for the 18th, all appointments have been fine, no issues with the surgeon as my bloods are all showing ok, platelets ok etc. had a final pre surgery appointment yesterday where he told me he would see me on my surgery date etc, had an email today saying ‘surgery cancelled, anaesthetist not happy to proceed’ no other explaination. The surgery is on my nose, a bit of cosmetic but also to help with breathing so I’ve paid for this surgery already. Has anyone else had anything so ridiculous happen? It’s been booked in for 3 months now.
Sorry for the rant, I’m just so angry and also £10k out of pocket!

X

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Hi @CarlaWild - you’ve no need to apologise. You’re not ranting. It’s perfectly understandable that you are frustrated given that things seemed to be moving along then you were met with an unexpected refusal for surgery.

I see that you have posted previously on your journey to this surgery and have done your due diligence by consulting with the surgeon, anaesthetist and haematologist, which must make this all the more frustrating.

I have Chronic myeloid leukaemia but have not had any surgery on treatment, but I’m sure others will share any direct experiences.

Perhaps as a first next step it might be worth contacting the surgery to see if you can get a better understanding of why the anaesthetist is not happy to proceed and then you can create an action plan from there.

Let us know how you get on.
Maggie

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Thank you for replying Maggie, I’ve had a melt down today. I just feel like everything has gone wrong with my life since I was diagnosed but then I feel guilty and horrible because I know people have it a lot worse than I do, emotions are all over all because of this last minute spanner in the works. I’ve spoken to the hospital and they’ve said that the anaesthetist has simply said that he won’t proceed because of my cancer and won’t say anymore than that. I’d have thought that he’d have been consulted earlier on in the process and certainly before I paid all this money out that I’ve worked so hard to save. X

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@CarlaWild I’m so sorry to hear that you’re having a hard time right now. It’s completely understandable that your emotions are all over the place given the circumstances. Having a blood cancer diagnosis is really tough in itself without these added complications. Everyone’s experiences in life are different, but that doesn’t and shouldn’t take away from what you are feeling.

I can understand it feels disappointing not to get greater clarity on why they have refused to do the surgery. If it were me, I’d speak to my haematologist again to see how they can help move things forward again if they believe it’s ok to proceed.

Take care,
Maggie x

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