Dr Siwan Thomas Gibson 2014-09-23 Person 5 5 0

I recently had a colonoscopy performed by Dr. Thomas-Gibson at St. Mark's. I take no conventional medication and having had no hospital procedures in my 67-year life other than one Caesarean under epidural 26 years ago, a barium enema 35 years ago and a gastroscopy without sedation around 10 years ago, I was very anxious. Dr. Thomas-Gibson took the time to call me a few days before the procedure and the prep, to answer all my questions and put me at ease. This certainly helped. She did explain that it is possible to do the procedure without sedation but that the discomfort can often be stronger for small women and unfortunately, I am quite small. The preparation powder contains Aspartame (a neurotoxic carcinogen) and other toxic ingredients which I take great care to avoid but it was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting and the nurses at St. Mark's were very kind and empathetic. Dr. Thomas-Gibson understood that I wanted to undergo the procedure without sedation, using just gas and air, so that was how we started but sadly, it became too painful so sedation was administered and the procedure completed smoothly that way. Although undergoing this procedure involved the administration of substances I prefer not to have in my body, I still felt in very good hands with Dr. Thomas-Gibson. She is caring, empathetic, gentle and extremely competent. Her lovely confident smile is very reassuring. I feel blessed that she was the one to perform my colonoscopy and will definitely return to her, feeling much less anxious, if I need another. I would not choose anyone else.