What happens after your second opinion

Your written summary

After your appointment, you receive a written summary of the opinion. With your consent, a copy can also be sent to your GP, so that whoever you choose to see next has a clear record of what was discussed and found.

Then, it is your decision

A second opinion is exactly that: an opinion. What you do with it is entirely up to you. Depending on what your appointment finds, there are three broad paths, and none of them is assumed in advance:

• Professor Lee can help you himself. Where that is appropriate, and you want him to, that can include revision surgery or other treatment he provides.
• He can refer you on. Where someone else is better placed to help, whether for a specific technique, a different specialty, or simply your own preference, he will say so and can refer you accordingly.
• You may continue with your original plan. A second opinion that confirms the advice you already had is a good, useful outcome, not a wasted appointment.

Telling your existing team

Whether and when you tell your current GP or consultant that you have had a second opinion is your choice. Many patients do, especially where a copy of the summary is being shared with their GP anyway; some prefer to decide their next step first. There is no obligation either way.

If you decide to go further

What treatment involves, where it takes place, and its cost are discussed with you directly at the relevant appointment, once a plan is agreed. This page is deliberately general because that detail depends entirely on what your specific situation turns out to need.