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Written by a patient
31st October 2020


My GP gave me a diagnosis of lumbar stenosis, but also told me that at my age [85] I would have great difficulty in obtaining surgical treatment. Dr Elizabeth Steel was my consultant anaesthetist. She went through all the stages of the anaesthetic with me and discussed my preferences for positioning. Before I first met Dr Elizabeth Steel in the pre-op assessment clinic at Spire Murrayfield Hospital, Edinburgh, she sent me a letter introducing herself and her role and made it clear that if I or my family had any questions, we only had to ask. She went through all the potential complications of spinal surgery, most of which scared me. However, the process allowed us time to decide when I stopped my aspirin and with hindsight I am grateful for such personalised care. I had been dreading the anaesthetic, but Dr Elizabeth Steel was able to anaesthetise me without my awareness and there seemed no gap between talking to a nurse before the procedure and still talking one hour and 45 minutes later. This was skill indeed! All had gone well. I was especially grateful for her visiting me on the ward the following day as I was having nausea from the morphine, and due to covid, no visitors were allowed. With some adjustments in my pain relief the nausea settled within 24 hours and I was home with no complications at 36 hours post surgery.

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