Back injury

My name is Guy van Zyl and here is my story regarding a back injury I received and the road to my eventual recovery with the help of Elective Surgery Europe, Dr Luc de Waele and the staff at Sint Lucas hospital in Ghent. I am a very active sportsman doing sports such as surfing, snowboarding and boxing so my physical health is important to me. Despite this various back injuries over the years led to me herniating two discs in my lower back believe it or not when bending own to dust a coffee table (go figure?). I was in agony and instinctively knew something was wrong. My wife took me to A&E (NHS) where after waiting for 3 hours I was seen by a doctor. He asked me a few questions, asked me to lift my left and right legs, concluded it was probably muscular and prescribed me with a weeks worth of Cocodamol and Diazapan. It did kill the pain, the only problem being that I was ‘zonked’ for a week. I then decided seeing that I still was suffering to visit my local GP (UK) and explained to him the problem and that I was concerned. His response was in true NHS fashion. 1.He did not have the authority to send me for an MRI or X-ray and I could only be referred by a ‘back assessment clinic’ – Problem 1, there was about a month waiting list. 2.If the ‘back assessment clinic deemed it necessary they would refer me for a MRI - Problem 2, another month’s waiting list. 3.Based on the results I would have to see a Neuro-surgeon, more waiting and… 4.Seeing that I was standing in front of him (my GP) it could not be that serious. I left the GP surgery still in agony and no further in trying to get treatment. This is where I decided to take matters into my own hands (in other words go private). I was put in touch with Dr Craig Panther at Pure Sports Medicine who immediately referred me to Vista Diagnostics in London. I went for my scan (£250) and within two days my Radiology Report came through and Dr Craig Panther immediately arranged an appointment for me with a Neurosurgeon at London Bridge Hospital. It transpired that I had two herniated discs, one of them squashing the spinal sac and his opinion I needed surgery sooner rather than later. The surgeon told me he could perform the surgery privately the next week in London for £8000 or I could go on an NHS waiting list of about 6 months. I could not afford £8000 nor could I afford to wait 6 months and it was at this point that through research on the internet I came into contact with Elective Surgery Europe and Paul Delbaere. I contacted Paul describing my situation and he immediately replied with a synopsis of what his company does and which hospital and surgeon they dealt with regarding spinal surgery. The information pack described the list of surgical procedures available and the rough cost estimates. Paul then arranged for me to get in contact with Dr Luc de Waele the neurosurgeon at AZ Sint Lucas who I forwarded my MRI to. Within two weeks of me forwarding my information I was booked in for a Microdiscectomy. The costs were all finalised and all my treatment (incl 5 days in hospital) was coming in at about £3000. Paul picked me up from Brussels Station and took me to AZ Sint Lucas in Ghent where he arranged my admission and escorted me up to my ward to get settled in. The hospital was super clean, organised and the staff efficient and friendly. I shared a twin ward with one other patient, had a flat screen TV and a comfortable bed. I was given an Admission document which welcomed me to the hospital and clearly explained to me exactly what operation I was there for and what was going to be happening to me over the next few days, pre-op and post –op. The next morning I was wheeled through to theatre had my op at about 10am and was back by 3pm (I think, I was pretty woozy). I remember lying in a waiting area before going into theatre, being amazed at how organised an clean everything was. The theatre itself was fantastic and I was absolutely reassured by the professionalism of all the staff. An interesting memory is being back in my ward and when I started to come around properly I noticed a small jar on my bedside cabinet and in it, was the pieces of herniated disc that had been removed during surgery. (Kind of reminded of when I take my car for a service and get all the replaced parts back). The day afterf the op I was visited by Dr de Waele on his rounds and he informed me that the operation had been a success and that I should make a good recovery. Again, I cannot praise highly enough the professionalism of the all the staff especially the nursing staff. They changed my sheets every day, washed me, made sure that I was as comfortable as possible and although were pleasant, they were never to over familiar which is what made them so professional. Before I left hospital, I was visited by a physiotherapist who gave good guidance as to how best I could recover over the next 6 weeks going through doing certain exercises and telling me what I should avoid. He gave me some printed information and even his card if I needed to contact him for further information. Paul Delbaere who arranged all of my medical attention in Belgium was fantastic. Nothing was too much trouble for him and I really felt that I was getting personal service from him. He visited me in hospital after I had the operation and when I was discharged, picked me up and took me to Brussels Station, carried my bags for me as far as he could. Subsequent to my operation I have undergone some epidural infusion treatment at AZ Sint Lucas to aid my recovery where again Paul was on hand to ferry me between Brussels and Ghent. I am happy to report that I am well on my way to recovery and I can honestly say that it was the best £3000 pounds I have ever spent. If you would like to send a mail to me regarding my surgery you can contact me on This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Guy van Zyl East Sussex United Kingdom