Just been told it's £350 to have a large cyst removed

[whataboutbob]

I have a largeish sebaceous cyst high up on my back. It's conspicuous when I go swimming or wear loose tops. I went to my GP today and she said that as it's not causing trauma it was a cosmetic issue and I'd have to have it done privately, those are the guidelines. I have had a look round and couldn t find NICE guidelines on this. But it seems the going rate is £300-350 per cyst. Anyone know if this is right or could i have it removed on the NHS? Thanks for any advice/ insight on this.

TBH I don't think you will find any difference. I've seen friends and relatives pay £500 for mole /cyst removal across the UK, location not making any difference at all.

You don't need a surgeon to do it - lots of nurses are qualified to do this sort of minor procedure.

I read on here that the NHS doesn't remove them but when I went to my GP she said they did but there was a aside waiting list. I've now been on it for 10 months! No idea how close I am.

I would leave it a bit and go back and say you keep getting it caught on clothes/ it's uncomfortable at night or whatever.

Ime they fob you off the first time to see if you'll go away.

I was told by my doctor the nhs don't give joint injections for tennis elbow anymore and I should use some ibruprofen gel.

I was long past that stage as it was waking me up during the night.

I made a fuss and lo and behold not only do the nhs do injections but there was actually a specific joint clinic I attended

I think charging hotel rates for hospital stays is one way to reduce the population considerably OP!!!!
Anyway, if you're an NHS employee with sufficient seniority to be able to just go and ask dermatology then I'd borrow a needle and alcowipe and just drain it for now. Or get a friend to, if you can't reach.

£350 for highlights and a hair cut in London? They saw you coming , I pay less than half of that.

The NHS needs to stop wasting money though. There was a phase where I was getting letters for health checks. Weighing and measuring by a nurse with a lifestyle chat. All things I could do myself and then the practice stopped offering blood tests making patients go to another practice for them.

Some of it's good, some of it's senseless. When I badly fractured a vertebrae the GP said I couldn't have a referral for an mri scan unless I was still in pain after ten weeks. I went back a week later and got a reluctant referral after I said the NHS would-be better off to support me T keep working.

Neuroligist advised vertbrae was completely collapsed from xray and recommends a procedure called kyphoplasty to rebuild it which is most successful asap after the accident. The mri indicated the back of the bone was slightly pushing against the spinal canal and if I went ahead surgery would be extensive and require pins, etc. I was lucky because I was recovering and didn't proceed but it wa essential to get a full picture.

The neurologist also recommended I see the best rheumatologist available to ensure optimum treatment for my osteoporosis which the GP had poo pooed.

I've ten years plus work and tax left in me. It has to be better for the NHS to keep me working.

The NHS needs to stop carrying out trust level reviews of services where common sense knows what needs to improve and direct the money that goes into 100 page reports to people who are sick.

reup I don't live in London and I don't pay that for a haircut etc. I have friends who do and if you read Style and Beauty on MN you will see that is the cost in some salons-and even more in others.

I was quoting that to give some perspective to fees charged by surgeons and hairdressers.

Box of snails- if I could insert the laughing emoticon I would! By hotel rates I don't mean the Savoy though, I mean maybe£10 per day and it could be means tested , lots of people could afford that. I'm not squeamish but I draw the line at DIY cyst removal! But you made me smile.
I looked at prices in Glasgow (I've always wanted to visit and I figured it would be cheaper than Edinburgh) and indeed you can get it at 1/2 what you'd pay on Harley st, but the catch is you have to return to get stitches removed. But maybe I could blag someone at my hospital into doing it !
endofsummer I'm glad you persisted and got the attention you needed.
Damediazepam I am going to persist, no 1 I am going to go back and see a more sympathetic GP at the practice.

I think it would be really good if one had to pay for food/overnight based on means. Also a small fee for visits, etc. The NHS isn't free but this is the only way those in it will start to understand it's a patient funding service and start to put the service factor back into the NHS.

Yeah, it's expensive. I had a small one removed from my face and it was at least £250. I can't remember the exact figure, think the initial consultation fee was on top. Money well spent for me though as it was really bothering me. My private consultant did clinics at an NHS hospital so it was cheaper, it was at least a hundred quid more to go to the private one.

your GP is right...minor surgery is funded as 'an extra' , simply put GPs are paid for doing this , above their general funding. Not all GPs are skilled and trained to do it, and I have never seen nurses trained to do this, so quite surprised by posters saying nurses do it. Gps who do undertake minor surgery get paid per procedure...so say I cut out a cyst , i can claim a fee ( used to be about £70 ..not sure now) but that fee covers my time, the kit to do it, the surgery costs...electricity/recpetionists/ nurses to take your stitches out.

years ago we used to cut off anything..any mole, lump , in growing toenail...mostly for cosmetic reasons..then 2 things changed, firstly it became apparent that lots of possibly cancerous moles were being cut of in GP land , then the patients ended up at dermatology having another op to remove more becuase GPs not that skilled and had failed to take enough away etc. and secondly the NHS does not have limitless funds.

so it is now the case that GPs have to record every minor op, should to skills updating regularly ( i go 3 yearly) and send of to the path lab every single thing i chop off..even simple skin tags ( and that of course costs a lot of money to nhs) , i have to audit all my procedures as well and if i have inadvertantly cut of a skin cancer instead of sending it to dermatology i have to undertake a significant event review .

Plus NHS produced guidelines about what they would pay GPs to do...and any minor surgery must be on clinical grounds not cosmetic.

so your gp was absolutely right in what she / he said.

now some GPs will get round this by suggesting spurious clinical reasons..such as ' oh your cyst MIGHT get infected' but they shouldnt and it does not help the rationing of funds .

I had exactly the same, OP - a cyst on the bank of my shoulder blade.

My GP put a needle in next to it (local anaesthetic) and cut out the whole sac, then put in a few stitches.

The sac was sent to pathology to check that it wasn't cancerous.

I don't see how they can only charge for non-malignant cysts, as they don't know that until they've done the work.

This was in Australia and I had it done by my GP within 2 days. Cost me equivalent of about 40 quid.

My cousin had one removed a few months ago so GP's manage to get round it somehow. Iirc it rubbed on her bra strap.

You clearly underestimate the cost of these procedures to the NHS and quite frankly your school fees/golf club comment is offensive.

Pound to a penny you aren't a net contributor to the NHS so suck it up and pay for your vanity yourself.

If you say that it is causing you pain or discomfort then they can send it to a panel for review for NHS funding.

I had a cyst removed off my face on the NHS but they photographed it and I had to say it was causing me pain it went to panel, they approved it and I had a plastic surgeon remove it. It was total overkill - pre surgical consult, in a hospital with full admission, surgical suite, 2 surgical nurses, surgical drapes and opera blasting while the surgeon did a 10 minute cut out. Honestly.

The funding letter came through and it had cost the NHS over £2,000. I was horrified!

I had priced it privately and it would have cost me £500 to have it removed in a local private skin clinic by a GP. I would have paid privately as I really think it was not a fair use of public funds!

The true cost of public health services. Far better not to lie I'm sure you'd agree.

Mrsmorton My GP put it forward, he knew it wasn't hurting. in the pre-surgical consult the surgeon said it wasn't hurting, he made a "princess and the pea" joke - the panel who saw the photographs must have known it wasn't hurting - however the surgeon told me that the panel approves most facial disfigurements - it was in the hollow of my cheek and looked pretty awful. They know that they aren't hurting but you have to say it anyway.

No reason to be sanctimonious about it.

I hadn't read the golf/school fees comment - totally uncalled for, I agree.

Apologies - I don't know if you were being sanctimonious - maybe just sad at the cost to the NHS. I really genuinely value and believe in the NHS and I agree, it's a sad state of affairs.

Not sanctimonious, just sad that we don't value it. I had a patient recently who I removed a tooth from on a Sunday for the grand NHS fee of £19.70. He Was given painkillers in Canada at a cost of $100 and quoted $750 for removal.

I'll do it just for the opportunity. I have scalpels, tweezers, scissors, a towel for you to bite on, a big bottle of dettol and I have seen it done on YouTube.
Bob's your uncle and save yourself £350.
You would have to be prepared to wait until I am back off holiday.

I have a sebaceous cyst. It's not the most attractive thing ever but I don't expect the NHS to pay for something that is entirely cosmetic.

I'm afraid, I have limited sympathy with you after your comments. I am fighting for NHS funding for an expensive but much needed surgery so I'm probably not in the best place to be reading about people who complain at having to pay for minor cosmetic procedures. Do you really not have any idea, given your job about how the NHS is struggling?!

I had one removed from my face a couple of years ago. I was quoted 450-1000. I used a plastic surgeon and was happy with the result.

I have a cyst on the back of my neck. GP couldn't do it but referred me for free, many years ago. I got bored waiting and got Dh to slice it. Then my appt came through and I cancelled as I thought it was gone.

Now it's back and I assume I would no longer get it done on the nhs.

Convinced a friend of mine who is actually a surgeon to try and remove it. We had local anaesthetic and a sterile scapel and sutures and even she didn't manage to get it out. I suspect she has no cyst experience or knowledge and poor technique! She sliced it and squeezed and as it's totally solid nothing happened and she was too scared to do some serious digging.

Hmm. Thing is op, if you needed a lawyer, accountant, even an undertaker, would you object to paying towards their children's school fees as well.