Reviews
Recommend
Trust
Listening
Mr Robert Richardson
2020-02-08
Person
5
5
0
8th February 2020
I came to Mr Richardson with severe Asherman's Syndrome, which as a result made carrying a safely pregnancy currently impossible, I had over 6 months treatment with him including hysteroscopy procedures. Throughout he was clear, understanding and listened to our personal situation, and I trusted him completely and that he was always acting in my best intention. He made what was an incredibly difficult process much more bearable and at times even made me laugh. He is a very empathetic doctor and I would highly recommend him.
Mr Robert Richardson
2019-07-06
Person
5
5
0
6th July 2019
I have been under the care of Mr Richardson and his team (endometriosis centre) since Christmas last year. Mr Richardson has performed two surgeries for me and I have had many consultations with the endometriosis specialist nurse Kathryn Main. I would like to comment on how amazing the team have been. They have been very supportive, understanding and informative. In particular Kathryn and Mr Richardson and have been outstanding. They both have always made an effort to answer any questions I have had and ensured I am well informed so I can make decisions about my treatment. I feel they should feel proud of the work they do. Mr Richardson's expertise and knowledge really stands out, he also has a great bedside manner and explains all the options available and ultimately he does the best he can for the patient. Kathryn is a true credit to the team. She comes across very experienced and is very knowledgeable. She immediately made me feel at ease from the first time I met her. And this is so important when you have a condition like endometriosis. I look forward to continuing under the care of the team for the next year or so.
Mr Robert Richardson
2019-04-11
Person
5
5
0
11th April 2019
I must admit that my unconscious bias crept in when I saw Mr. Robert Richardson greet another patient in the reception area this evening. He looked of a similar age to one of the GP's at my doctors surgery - one that is traditional not modern, doesn't listen and says it's all in your head. I silently groaned thinking this appointment wasn't going to go how I wanted it to go. How wrong was I?!! I'm ashamed of myself for prejudging him and I'm sorry.
Mr.Richardson was an absolute gentleman. He listened attentively, took notes, asked for clarification and most of all was sympathetic. I like his pragmatic approach and he took the time to explain things to me. I felt I could be honest and open with him and could ask him anything. He is very efficient too as when I asked to have an MRI scan done sooner rather than later, he was on the phone straight away arranging it. This appointment was always going to be very important to me as I have been under the care of another excellent gynae since 2010. I felt somewhat guilty for seeing Mr Richardson but believe I needed a multi-disciplinary approach this time round given that my last surgery was only in April 2018 and that I'm in pain again. I have faith in Mr. Richardson and trust his advice. Endometriosis is a complex condition to understand and treat and I hope awareness of this disease will bring in more funding so more research can be done about this very painful condition. I look forward to my follow up appointment with Mr. Richardson.
Mr Robert Richardson
2019-04-09
Person
5
5
0
9th April 2019
I referred myself to Dr Richardson after experiencing symptoms of PMS/PMDD. He was attentive, reassuring and provided in detail a range of solutions to my issues. After hearing a lot of other women with similar issues having their PMDD overlooked by their gynaecologist, I was extremely apprehensive. Dr Richardson not only recognised the condition, he also explained in great detail why it takes place which was very helpful. I highly recommend him.
Mr Robert Richardson
2019-04-07
Person
1
5
0
7th April 2019
Given that he is the lead at a BSGE centre you would expect better from Mr. Richardson. Instead I ended up experiencing Endometriosis symptoms again just 6 months post surgery with him. When I went back in for follow ups, he consistently dismissed me, giving false diagnosis’s like interstitial cystitis (which I’ve since been tested for and confirmed I don’t have it) and pelvic floor dysfunction but no suggestion on how to treat that. In terms of medical treatments, he put my on HRT in my 20s without explaining what it was. Considering Endometriosis is an oestrogen fuelled disease I can only wonder how much this impacted the spread of the disease.
He continually told me my Endometriosis was cured, and refused to believe that I had pain because of it. Always a new explanation instead of accepting that it could com me back. This doubt, which I had experienced all through my fight for 9 years to get diagnosed, made me question myself yet again and caused a great deal of mental distress. The worst thing he did to really make sure I wasn’t taken seriously and make me feel crazy, was in my appointment follow up letter he wrote to my GP pointing out my appointment prep ans alluded to me being hyper focused therefore maybe not having the pain.
Instead of accepting that the Endometriosis could have come back, which I have since had surgically confirmed, his pride got in the way and instead he chose to attack my character. His actions greatly affected my mental health. Instead of doing no harm, he put me through mental torment and unnecessary treatments like long term antibiotics and HRT with no evidence of needing either.
Directly after my surgery I credited him with giving me my life back, as I had been bed bound due to my Endometriosis. But the pain and anguish he caused me in the following 1.5 years of his care was not worth it.
11th April 2019
Response from Mr Robert Richardson
Endometriosis is a complex disease as is pelvic pain. Assessment of it includes careful history taking, accurate image interpretation and of course laparoscopy, and on occasion hysteroscopy and cystoscopy. Within the pelvis the bladder and bowel as well as the womb, its ligaments the ovaries and tubes can all become diseased and give troublesome symptoms. It is not always just endometriosis though in your case it seems that this was the case. New symptoms after laparoscopic excisional surgery for endometriosis has relieved them can be due to persistent disease as excision was incomplete or new disease that has activated since surgery. Return of symptoms at less than 6 months can be due to a persistent disease or reflect that the endometriosis was not the cause of the symptoms and that surgery has not helped . In the event of a return of symptoms the strategy is either medical or surgical depending on the assessment and the wish of the patient as medical and surgical treatment can be equally successful in reducing symptoms. By HRT I would expect that you used the Mirena IUS in combination with estradiol patches. This combination aims to achieve a state where the ovaries do not ovulate. Very much like taking the combined oral contraceptive pill continually the hormone levels are stable and endometriosis may regress. The Mirena IUS does not guarantee no ovulation – many patient continue to menstruate and endometriosis is not suppressed. By adding in the estradiol patches the idea is to suppress ovarian stimulation and stop ovulation and help the endometriosis regress not stimulate it. With interstitial cystitis treatment can be difficult and not always successful. The mechanism of how it gives pain is complex and type of and length of treatment varied. Antibiotics, usually low dose, orally for a number of months as a trial of treatment is often tried, sometimes without prior cystoscopy and biopsy. I am sad that the diagnosis in your case took over 9 years: this is common, though with awareness campaigns this will hopefully decrease. I apologise that the medical treatment strategy you embarked upon after your surgery was unsuccessful though for many with aggressive active or persistent disease medical treatment after surgery is successful. Medical and surgical treatment are equally successful in reducing symptoms, though medical treatment has a higher recurrence rate. With regard interstitial cystitis I usually offer cystoscopy and biopsy or a trial of treatment and for many the antibiotic treatment without further surgery is their first choice. With regards hypervigilance hypersensitivity syndrome this may or may not be a medical entity though certainly hypervigilance may bring about a state of increased anxiety which can cause exhaustion. Things, including pain and discomfort, are noticed more readily, and can be increasingly distracting. Coping techniques such as Yoga, mindfulness and, more medicalised ,cognitive behavioural therapy are helpful; drugs and laparoscopy are less so. Hypersensitivity is when the stimulus and effect are mismatched – with pelvic pain, for instance, there can be very little or no inflammation but the pelvis screams pain. Pain killers often work poorly and drugs such as amitriptyline and Gabapentin to modulate and reduce the pain can be tried. Knowledge that such conditions may be at play in giving patients disabling symptoms is important for both GP’s and patients to consider. If you don’t have such a condition then I am glad and again apologise if you felt I was labelling you with something you don’t have and attacking your character. As the pain felt is real, whatever the cause, I was, as an Endometriosis centre lead, exploring all the avenues with my team to help your suffering. I am also glad that you have now found relief again and hope these paragraphs explain to you and others how difficult it can be to manage this difficult disease.
Specialises in
- Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Profile
Consultant gynaecologist specialising in keyhole surgery for the treatment of heavy painful periods, pelvic pain and endometriosis, fibroids and fertility. This includes both hysteroscopic and laparoscopic surgery.
At Chelsea and Westminster I am lead surgeon for the Endometriosis centre and Lead clinician for the hysteroscopy service
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