Share review of Mr Georgios Orfaniotis

Mr Georgios Orfaniotis 2020-05-03 Person 5 5 0

When I was diagnosed with tongue cancer in April 2019 I was initially in shock and terrified about a) having cancer and b) the complex surgery I was set to have to remove it. I was a healthy 35-year-old professional dancer and choreographer as well as a dance and movement teacher so my fears of losing my ability to dance, move and teach were causing me a lot of stress and anxiety. Once I'd gone through the biopsy and diagnosis I was introduced to the team who would be taking me through the complex surgery. A neck dissection to access the cancer and remove 1/3 of my tongue, tooth extraction (6 teeth), a tracheostomy for breathing post-op, and the transplant of tissue from my calf muscle to reconstruct my tongue. As soon as I met Georgios I immediately felt safe and at ease. He explained the procedure in great detail and made me feel totally supported in his care. His warmth and kindness made such an awful experience that much more bearable and although there were no guarantees for my concerns about my leg and my speech - I felt extremely grateful to be in Georgios's care. I asked a lot of questions and felt listened to - for example where to take the tissue from and the pros and cons around healing and movement function that would be best for me, my dancing and the ability to work in the future. I was worried about losing my tongue tip and the ability to have clear speech post-op, and the first thing he told me when I came round from the anesthetic was that he'd been able to save it - I was so happy and grateful that he'd done his best for me. There were some complications after my initial surgery, a small blood clot/blockage in my neck. He was so fast to act, took control of the situation and dealt with a potentially life-threatening moment. I was rushed back into surgery to clean the blockage and Georgios knew exactly what to do and gave me constant reassurance in a moment where I was in a lot of pain, scared and confused - having just come around from a 10 hour operation. Now you can barely see the scar along my neck - the line runs beautifully with my neck creases and I have almost all of my range of movement back. My leg healed so well - the scar again has faded and my movement is back to normal - I was able to dance just 7 weeks after my operation - and I am now fully functioning in terms of movement and speech. My tongue is amazing - my family and friends can barely hear anything different and I am back to teaching and my eating function is pretty much back to normal. What was even more incredible about Georgios was the way he was with my family. My Mum, Dad and Financé were so impressed by his empathy and kindness towards them. My parents will always remember Georgios giving them a hug and reassuring them I was safe during the blood clot moment. Those things mean so much to families who have loved ones in critical care and for a very busy man he made time to connect with us as humans. When I was recovering on the ward he was so attentive and always positive when doing his daily rounds. I never once felt like "another patient" - he really made every step that little more bearable. A year on and I am doing so well - feel forever grateful to Gerogios and the rest of the NHS team at Guys who got me through the scariest moment in my life.