General Practices Greece

Having been stuck for months with a catheter as a result or BPH and moved from one NHS waiting list to another, I, out of curiosity, put a query into a website about getting the required procedure done abroad. I promptly received a reply from Nick Mertziotis to say that the operation the NHS and a private provider had said I needed was not recommended and he suggested a couple of others that were more appropriate and that he could do them for less than half the price private providers in the UK were looking for. He said I would be on the plane home two days after the operation. I looked him up and quickly realised he was a well-qualified, experienced and respected expert in his field. I asked a few further questions, all the time hoping an NHS appointment letter would arrive. He responded personally, promptly and helpfully to each of them. I checked out the various procedures available for my condition and became convinced that what he was suggesting was clinically optimal. He reassured me that he would do the surgery himself. Eventually, I decided to go for it. Surgery was booked for the following week and my wife and I booked flights and accommodation in Athens. We had a couple of days as tourists, then a thorough and efficient pre-op and the operation first thing the following morning. There was a full surgical team attached to me. After a few hours, I found myself back in the ward. By this stage, Mr Mertziotis had already called my wife and had arranged to meet with her to say the operation had gone well. For the following 24 hours I received very good nursing care in a small ward. Mr Mertziotis and his assistant doctor came in to see me the day of the operation and the following day and explained the procedure they had carried out, which, in the event, was a combination of two separate procedures, due to the nature of the obstruction. I was discharged after 24 hours and told to return the following day (a public holiday) to have the catheter removed. This happened, I was able to pee freely and after a final consultation with Mr Mertziotis, I was able to get on the plane home the following morning. Since getting the catheter removed, I have had no pain, including on the four-hour flight. I am home and feeling fine and am having to stop myself returning to normal activities too soon. Overall, while there were always ‘what if?’ worries about the enormity of the decision I had made, I felt throughout that I trusted Mr Mertziotis and his team and that trust has been entirely justified. I encountered the kind of medical intervention and care that I would like to think should be the norm but unfortunately wasn’t my experience in the NHS. While it is a big decision, for me it has been the right one and the experience was a very positive one. I would thoroughly recommend Mr Mertziotis and his team.