Mr Fady Sedra

Written by a NHS patient at The Royal London Hospital

Our 13 year old daughter was diagnosed with progressive severe double curve scoliosis in November 2020, and was urgently referred to Mr Sedra. She quickly received a consultation appointment and met with a member of Mr Sedra's team. Her condition and the risks thereof were fully explained to us and we were given all the information we needed regarding spinal fusion surgery. It was clear that the health benefits of surgery far outweighed the risks and we felt comfortable and assured that our daughter would be in very safe hands. Our daughter had surgery on 23rd March 2021 and we are delighted. It was a huge success and has exceeded our expectations in terms of straightness and alignment. She now has a perfect posture and we are over the moon. The everyday pain she was experiencing prior to surgery has gone. We can't thank Mr Sedra and his team enough, for their first class expertise in every sense, they are an absolute credit to the NHS Trust and Barts Health. From consultation to surgery and aftercare, Mr Sedra and his team, and all the other teams involved (including the anaesthetists, pain team, nursing team, physio team) were absolutely outstanding. They all communicated with us, constantly giving us all the information and support we needed throughout the whole process and were a real pleasure to deal with. Our daughter is now 3 weeks post surgery and is recovering and healing very well. We are eternally grateful to Mr Sedra for giving her a life without scoliosis and the pain and disfigurement this was causing. Mr Sedra, we thank you, you are an amazing surgeon and will be forever grateful to you. In order to improve the service provided by Barts Health, we would like to make a couple of suggestions, as follows:- Wait Time - Although our daughter was urgently referred and did receive her first consultation with Mr Sedra very quickly thereafter, she did not receive surgery for a further 5 months. Mr Sedra and his team did their best to get her surgery slot as quickly as possible, but there was very limited theatre allocation. Five months is a long time to wait for urgent surgery, especially when the patient's condition is progressing and causing pain and breathlessness, and runs the risk of having further related health issues. We ask Barts Health to consider that Mr Sedra's team require more funding and theatre allocation to meet the needs of their patients. Aftercare - We feel that a side room on the nursing ward should be allocated for all spinal fusion patients post op. Our daughter was put on an open ward and the constant noise, comings and goings was very detrimental to her recovery. This is a big operation and patients are on a lot of strong pain meds in the days following surgery. They need a lot of rest in order to heal. Our daughter was in hospital for one week and we were able to stay overnight by her bedside. It was extremely difficult to sleep for her and for us and we could see that most patients on this ward were only there for 24 hours and we feel that a patient such as our daughter should not be put in the same category of care and would have greatly benefitted from recovering in a quieter space where she would be able to get proper rest and sleep she needed to aid her recovery. We ask Barts Health to consider that all spinal fusion patients be given a private side room to recover from surgery.

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Written by a NHS patient at Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital

Met with Dr Sedra 2 years ago as I was having terrible pain down my left leg. He suspected a slipped disc and sent me for an MRI which later confirmed it as a slipped disc L5 - S1 that was contacting my sciatic nerve causing pain from my butt to my toes on my left side. They also found a disc bulge on my L4-L5 but at the time of MRI had subsided and was not contacting anything. Dr Sedra then recommended physio which unfortunately did very little and after 4 months I returned to see Dr Sedra. At this point he recommended a steroid injection in my spine in hopes that it could relieve pain and allow the disc to heal. The injection was performed successfully by Dr Sedra and his team but unfortunately I had very little relief from the pain but I continued doing physio, exercising, and eating well in hopes that things might improve. They did not and I returned to see Dr Sedra about 8 months after originally meeting him. He disappointedly told me during that meeting that surgery was the only answer now. I searched the Internet high and low for other solutions and tried different physios, massage therapists, special pain killers, osteopaths, and alternative therapies which all worked temporarily. Amitriptyline (an antidepressant used for nerve pain) and one particular osteopath provided the most relief but none fixed the injury and were long term solutions. So a year after originally seeing Dr Sedra I went to go see him again and he again recommended the microdisectomy surgery (decompression surgery) but I insisted on another MRI in hopes that the disc might be recovering. He obliged but the result came back that the disc was slightly worse then the previous years MRI. I was very disappointed as I had tried so hard to fix it and had no luck. I was unfortunately a part of the small percentage of people who slip a disc and it did not slip back in. I then contacted Dr Sedra about proceeding with the surgery as I could no longer continue with this pain. Unfortunately within a week the Covid pandemic struck and I was stuck in another country for 6 months. Immediately on my return to the UK I contacted Dr Sedra who told me to come see him. He saw I was still in pain and ordered another MRI just to make sure and put me on the wait list for surgery. The MRI came back as still about the same or slightly worse then before and within a few weeks I got confirmation of my microdisectomy decompression surgery date. I was quite nervous but ultimately I could no longer deal with the pain. I went for a pre surgery meeting a couple days before the surgery to check vitals and received the go ahead. On surgery day I met with a member of Dr Sedra's team who told me further info about the surgery and reassured me I was in great hands. On my way into surgery Dr Sedra greeted me and said all will be fine. A few hours later I woke up and was told by Dr Sedra that the surgery was quite uneventful and it had been a success which was great news. They had successfully removed a piece of disc and bone from my spine as to decompress the sciatic nerve. The next day I was able to walk to the toilet and a few hours after that I was able to go home. At home I was able to walk gingerly up stairs and around the house. Within about 3 days of being home I was able to walk slowly alone and sit down for short periods. Within 2 weeks I was able to sit in cars and walk a bit faster with only a bit of pain. And 4 weeks later I was able to go to work again and do most things with very little pain. At about 8 weeks I only have numbness and weakness in my left leg which is way better then before especially when sitting or going from sitting to standing. No more shooting pain. At 12 weeks this numbness and weakness in my leg remains but I have began physio in hopes of getting rid of the last of this. Dr Sedra has said he expects this could last for a while as the nerve is not used to the increased movement and blood supply. Either way I am better off then with the terrible sciatica pain. To anyone reading this I would stop reading too much info around the Internet and trust the experts like Dr Sedra and his team. If I had got the surgery 8 months after the original injury I would have been so much better off then waiting 20 months. Thanks again Dr Sedra!

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Written by a NHS patient at Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital

My daughter was well cared for and everything was explained in detail her recovery has been excellent. We had absolute faith in his skills as a surgeon and his team and we were not disappointed.

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On behalf of my daughter and family, we are extremely grateful to Dr. Sedra and his wonderful team for the outstanding surgery they performed on my 13-year daughter who suffered from scoliosis. Having met Dr. Sedra on our first appointment at the clinic we felt very confident and reassured that my daughter was going to be in safe hands. Dr. Sedra was extremely professional, honest, and provided us with all the information we needed to understand the procedures that would be involved in the surgery. My daughter felt comfortable and confident and that was enough as parents to walk away feeling reassured. The surgery was very successful, and the aftercare and support that she received from Dr. Sedra and his team and hospital wards was exceptional. Three months on my daughter is on the road to recovery and although it will take up to a year for a full recovery we are confident that she will back doing the things she loves most, sporting activities. So on behalf of my daughter and family thank you to you and your wonderful team, Dr Sedra, for providing my daughter with phenomenal care and support.

Written by a patient at The Royal London Hospital

Mr Sedra is very kind and understanding and will listen attentively to any concerns or questions. He is always very welcoming and friendly

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