An Aberdeen mum who battled breast cancer in Grampian has added her voice to a chorus of concerns at delays in getting reconstructive surgery.
Christy Esslemont, 46, is among the growing number of women stepping forward after learning they were far from alone.
In the latest example, Christy was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2022 after discovering a lump, and had a mastectomy in April that year.
She was encouraged to delay her breast reconstruction for clinical reasons, including that she had chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy ahead of her.
But she did not expect to have wait years for the surgery to rebuild her breast.
The mum-of-one contacted the breast clinic at the start of the year to get an update and was told in May that she was only just being added to the waiting list.
Since then, she has been warned she faces a wait of three to four years.
On Monday we revealed how one Inverurie woman was told she is at the “bottom of the waiting list” after waiting more than three years for the same surgery.
The Press sand Journal’s coverage of the issue was raised at Holyrood on Thursday.
First Minister John Swinney apologised for Ms Rothnie’s wait but said priority is being given to patients who are facing “trauma and active cancers”.
He said the government is trying to make progress on clearing pandemic backlogs but admitted he couldn’t offer an “instant solution”.
Although it is carrying out reconstructions for patients being treated for cancer, it is understood NHS Grampian has been unable to carry out any of the delayed reconstructions since the pandemic.
‘I don’t go out as much’
Christy said she is angry and upset at the prospect of such a long wait.
“If I had been given that information when I had my mastectomy then I would have taken a different decision,” she told the P&J.
“I was led to believe it would be a year or two. The fact they aren’t being done was a big shock.”
The mum-of-one said she wears a prosthetic breast but finds it uncomfortable and has difficulties finding the right clothes.
“I already suffered from body dysmorphia before and this has made it worse,” she said.
“It has really knocked my confidence. I don’t go out as much as I used to. I’ve got social anxiety about it and wear big baggy clothes.”
‘Deeply sorry’
Christy raised her case with a local MSP and last week received a response from Health Secretary Neil Gray who said he was “deeply sorry” for the delays.
In the letter, seen by the P&J, he outlines that post-mastectomy reconstructive surgery was suspended during the Covid pandemic but has since remobilised.
There are two types of breast reconstruction surgery available to patients who received a mastectomy during cancer treatment.
One involves placing an implant under the skin of the chest wall (implant-based reconstruction), or replacing the breast with tissue from another part of the body (free flap reconstruction).
The latter is a complex surgery which requires highly specialised plastic surgery services which are only available at the four main plastic surgery centres across Scotland.
These are located in Grampian, Tayside, Lothian and Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
Mr Gray said plastic surgery services are concentrating on treating patients with trauma or active cancer.
He added: “For these reasons, it is difficult for health boards to prioritise delayed reconstructive surgery, particularly for patients awaiting free-flap surgery.
“Regrettably, this has meant that patients waiting for non-urgent reconstructive surgery are waiting longer for the care they need.”
What does NHS Grampian say?
Earlier this week, NHS Grampian publicly apologised and said a “number” of women have waited “vastly longer” than they would have liked for the surgery.
A spokesman for the health board said they cannot comment on individual patient cases but encouraged Ms Esslemont to contact them with any concerns.
He added: “Generally speaking, there are instances with breast cancer patients where, for clinical reasons, we cannot, or advise against, breast reconstruction taking place at the same time as a mastectomy.”
The health board says its surgical capacity “remains challenged” and it needs to prioritise patients based on “immediate clinical need”.
The spokesman continued: “We have been aware of the issues and challenges this creates for these patients for some time and recently contacted the Scottish Government requesting either additional funding or the use of capacity elsewhere in Scotland, in the hope they can be seen sooner.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We have been engaging with NHS Grampian on this specific issue for some time and are determined to provide the necessary support to deliver improvements in this area.”
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