Would you self-pay for an operation?

So a curious update. Having had an MRI done in a public hospital, June 2021, results were a mixed bag , register 99% sure osteoarthritis evident , there was issues reading and accessing scans due to cyber attack . Some weeks later letter received by my GP saying wear and tear evident but nothing conclusive.

Pain in left knee and side excruciating for a number of years, gradually worsening before MRI . Prior to MRI it was thought I might have torn ligaments, went for physio but it actually made situation worse. So my GP early in 2022, decided after a number of failed attempts for an update from hospital to seek in writing a face to face appointment, this happened today.

So first I was greeted by a request for for another X-ray on the knee before seeing registrar. I knew full well what this would show, wear and tear under knee cap. The examination followed but much more thouragh , Doctor clearly saw I was in pain, did a few nerve and movement tests etc . Immediately suspected there is something further up, possibly pelvis or back actually causing the chronic pain in my knee which included pins and kneedles and stiffness in entire leg when I lay down, pain has also spread to hip but not as bad as Leg. Second X-ray done on pelvis area , some wear a tear but doctor now convinced there's an underlying back issue all along which has been the cause of chronic pain in my left leg for a few years now. To be fear my pain was always in my knee and leg , it never dawned on me it could be a back problem.

Now he's requested a full MRI on my back which will take a few weeks to get done. I'm still baffled as to why my knee and leg in constant pain and just a slight pain in hip and lower back area. Doctors believe it's primarily because the knees support a lot of body weight.

So still none the wiser but hopefully a full back MRI might give an answer finally and almost for years into this Journey now.

I would also understand that you cannot privately go to consultant and then based on their findings go on to public list for the treatment, it's one or the other. There used to be some way of doing this but it results obviously in people 'jumping' the public queue so think that loophole was sealed off few years back. This used to be a subject of discussion a lot online in various places.

As for the knee pain coming from somewhere else this is I would have thought fairly common too, referred pain especially from hip. I know when my father had a problem with what he thought was his knee doc discovered it was a hip problem he had, he needed a hip replacement, he never so much as had a twinge in the hip!

That said I can see how you would be driven to pay for an op rather than wait when in pain but I'm not even sure if hospitals would allow that option unless you have a fairly hefty bank balance as the risk is complications. What should have been a routine hip op for my father with a 5 day stay turned into a month in hospital with 2 further surgeries and a bill of over 40k many yrs ago, now he had health insurance but that was the cost back then to VHI

It's hugely depressing to be living with constant pain and the delays in the health service, unfortunately I don't know what the answer is, the cataract set up the Healy Raes have going on is great but don't know if that translates in any way into the type of treatment you need.

PS found an old discussion on it on AAM https://www.askaboutmoney.com/threads/can-i-see-a-consultant-privately-and-then-go-public-for-the-procedure.192547/

I've been able to do the private/public switch for things like getting a consult and then being switched over to the consultant's public service. I think it depends on the consultant. But the problem is you still end up with public waiting queues.

You really should make a follow up appointment. You should be checked by the consultant. And €100 is very cheap! Try and get the money from somewhere.

After 8 weeks post op your pain should have decreased dramatically.

Try and go get yourself seen. The whole thing was very rushed.