Not every case is straightforward. Some involve a medical history that changes the risk picture. Some involve previous surgery, here or elsewhere. Some involve a patient whose expectations and what surgery can realistically achieve are not yet in the same place.
When that happens, the decision does not sit with one person. It goes to our multidisciplinary team.
A multidisciplinary team (MDT) brings together clinicians from different disciplines to review a case together. It is established practice in the NHS for complex conditions, and we apply the same principle here.
Depending on what the case needs, an MDT review may involve the treating surgeon, our Medical Director or a Medical Advisor, senior nursing input, anaesthetic input, and other clinical specialists relevant to that patient.
A case may be referred for MDT review when:
That last point matters. Escalating a case does not need to come from the top.
The case is presented with the clinical notes, assessment findings and any imaging. The team discusses the risks, the alternatives, and whether the proposed plan is the right one.
A review can conclude in several ways. It may confirm the plan as proposed. It may modify it, for example by staging the surgery differently or changing the technique. It may recommend deferring treatment until something is addressed first, such as weight, smoking or blood pressure. Or it may conclude that the treatment is not clinically appropriate, in which case we say so and explain why.
Reviewing a complex case properly takes time, and it sometimes ends in a no. We think that is the correct trade.
A single clinician can miss something. A team is more likely to catch it. And a structure where declining is a normal, recorded, supported outcome is a structure where clinical judgement is protected from every other kind of pressure.
If your case is reviewed by the MDT, you will be told. You will be told the outcome, the reasoning behind it, and what your options are.
You will not be left to work out from a change of plan that something has been discussed about you.
Every Transform patient is seen by a qualified clinician before any decision about treatment is made.
Book a free consultation or use our procedure price checker, and start your journey with Transform today.
