What we review
Specialities
Orthopaedics and spine is our super-speciality — it is where our panel is deepest and where patients most often want a second reading. Everything else goes to our multispeciality panel.
Orthopaedics & Spine
Joint replacement, spine surgery, fractures, arthroscopy, sports injury. If you have been advised an operation on a bone, joint or the spine and you are not sure, this is exactly the kind of case we built this service for.
The doubts patients bring us most often
- “Do I really need a knee replacement now?” Timing is a genuine judgement call, and it depends as much on how you live as on the X-ray.
- “Can my back be treated without surgery?” Many disc problems settle without an operation. Some don’t. The MRI alone doesn’t decide it.
- “One doctor says replace, another says arthroscopy.” A third reading of the same images often makes the disagreement easier to understand.
- “My fracture was plated six months ago and it still hurts.” Worth checking whether it has united properly.
- “Is the implant they suggested the right one for me?”
- “I’m 40 and they’ve advised a replacement.” Age changes the calculation a great deal.
What we need from you
- X-ray of the affected part — the report, and a photo of the film if you have it
- MRI or CT report, if one has been done
- Any prescription or note from the doctor treating this
- Discharge summary, if you have had surgery or been admitted
We also ask how far you can walk without stopping. That tells our surgeon more about how badly this affects your life than a pain score does.
General & Multispeciality
Heart, lungs, stomach, kidney, liver, brain and nerves, hormones and diabetes, cancer, skin, eye, ENT, women’s health, child health. Your case is read by whoever on the panel is best placed to read it.
The doubts patients bring us most often
- “I’ve been told I need a bypass / a stent. Is there another way?”
- “My biopsy says cancer. Is the plan they’ve given me the standard one?”
- “I’ve been on this medicine for a year and nothing has changed.”
- “They want to remove my gall bladder / uterus / thyroid. Is it necessary?”
- “Two doctors have given me two different diagnoses.”
- “The reports are normal but I still feel unwell.”
What we need from you
- All available reports — blood tests, scans, biopsy, endoscopy
- Prescriptions for this problem
- Discharge summary if you were admitted. This is the single most useful document you can send us.
What we can’t help with
Being clear about this is the only way the rest is believable.
- Anything happening right now. Chest pain, breathlessness, heavy bleeding, sudden weakness, a fresh serious injury — go to a hospital. Don’t wait for us.
- A first diagnosis. We give a second opinion. If no doctor has seen you yet, please see one first.
- Prescriptions. We will not prescribe medicine for someone we have not examined.
- Medico-legal opinions. We do not write opinions intended for a complaint or a court case against another doctor.
- Opinions with no evidence. If we can’t see reports, we will tell you which ones to get rather than guess.