To think this is a medical emergency?

[HelloVeritas]

My DM (early 80’s), had an abdominal aortic aneurysm picked up last week during some routine screening for something else.

She found out results of scan on Monday that it is 6cm. She’s tried ringing GP and also vascular team at the Hospital to find out whether she needs urgent treatment. GP just refers her back to hospital but the hospital not picking up phone (she’s left 3 messages now).

Surely this is a medical emergency and someone should be able to tell her what needs to happen. Original scan was 10 days ago.

Anyone been through similar?

Guidelines state that she needs to be seen by a specialist within 2 weeks

Try going to the hospital’s PALS team if you’re not having any luck getting through to the clinical team

Who did the scan and what have they done with the results?

Whoever requested the original scan needs to refer her to a vascular team. Assuming your DM is asymptomatic then it is urgent (i.e. needs review in the next few weeks) but not an emergency (turning up to ED).

The standard for men picked up by standard screening is that they are seen within 8 weeks of referral.

In our area that would class as a large aneurysm (over 55mm) and would expect to be seen within two days.

Most aneurysms this size are picked up by screening and only men get screened, so there may be a lack of a clear pathway. I would keep trying to ring he vascular unit, and try PALS as well if she's not getting anywhere.

Who requested the scan? They’re the ones that have to get things moving based on the result.

My dad went for a scan on his bladder. (He had polyps). As soon as he got home the phone was ringing to say they’d spotted an aneurism. A few weeks later he went into St Thomas’ in London where he had a clip put on it. All fine. They said he could have had it for years. He lived another 12 years and died in his sleep at 86 x

Thanks everyone- it was picked up by Urology and they have made a referral but I guess just a waiting game now. We will ring PALS

As someone who lost a loved one to a one of these that burst, I’d never hesitate to treat it as an emergency (and face the backlash of being called dramatic for doing so). They’re fatal when they burst.

Geez that’s incredibly negligent my dad had this and it WAS a medical emergency.