"Right Renal Cryo Ablation at St James's University Hospital Leeds"

Dr Tze Wah – If this was a Trip Adviser review, I would be using words like “stunning”, “5 star service”, “would definitely return”, (but hopefully I won’t have to! ). If I was a judge on Britain’s Got Talent, I would press the golden buzzer and put Dr Wah and her team straight through to the live semi-finals where she would go on to win it! I think you've got the idea.

The procedure Dr Wah performed on me was right renal cryo ablation on my kidney. It was only by chance that I found out I had kidney cancer in October 2013. Prior to that, in September 2013, I was admitted to York hospital with an Aortic Dissection Type B. It took a little while to diagnose, as they didn’t have many of those come their way but I am so pleased I was under the care of Mr Baroni, the Consultant Vascular and Endovascular Surgeon.

I had several scans during this time and it was “the family round the bedside time” for a few days. The great team that got that under control then referred me to Dr Blake-James in the kidney department who informed me who informed me of the cancer they found in quite an awkward place in the kidney.

It was agreed that when I recovered best I could from the aorta issue I would have an operation on the kidney to remove the cancer tumours, fortunately at an early stage. I never thought I would hear the word “fortunately” related to cancer but I knew what they meant. I didn't have any symptoms as such and I wouldn't have known I had it.

A few months later and after consultations, Dr Blake James phoned me and asked if I would be willing to meet with Dr Wah in Leeds who was carrying out some pioneering treatment related to my condition that could involve a new form of surgery if I was deemed suitable. He added that because my kidney condition could result in the loss of my kidney, Dr Wah’s non-evasive procedure could be the right thing for me. Also, with the aortic condition, any form of open surgery could prove complicated or ultimately fatal. I thought about it for a nano-second and went with his suggestion! I also have a top Professor of Oncology in my family and he said, “go for it! ”

My first meeting with Dr Wah filled me with complete confidence. She explained the procedure, the hopeful outcome and completely reassured me. She did say my condition could be complicated but she was confident of being able to carry out the procedure she has developed over several years. I gave my consent then and there. She further explained I would need a high dependency bed after the procedure, which wouldn’t normally be the case, as they needed to keep a check on my sleep apnea after the operation. Jeanette Bambrook, Dr Wah’s Clinical Secretary, was fantastic at keeping me informed throughout when arranging appointments and the suchlike.

I had the operation in July 2014, with a slightly stronger aorta than the previous few months. I need to add at this point that I am a bit of a wimp! I was nervous but had no need to be. I was asleep one minute and awake the next with the procedure finished. The care throughout was 100%. Within two days I was home but through no fault of anyone, I spent a few days in York Hospital with pneumonia, a condition I had experience of before that must have come back to say hello. Once home, I was back to normal very quickly. If it had not been for the pneumonia, I would have been home within a day of the procedure and fully up and about by the end of the week.

Dr Wah organized monthly scans for me to check my kidney and everything has been a complete success. I have now been discharged from Leeds and will receive a yearly MRI scan to check both my kidney and aorta.

This must be the way forward for such medical conditions, especially when caught early on and probably saving the NHS a lot of money per patient in the long run. Truly non-evasive surgery with almost guaranteed results.

Dr Wah is a genius in her field and I will be eternally grateful to her and her team, as I am to my wife and family.