Endocrine surgery
Visitor Information
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Our endocrine surgery service provides secondary level thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal surgical services to our local community and referring hospitals.
We are the largest endocrine surgical service in the UK and perform more thyroidectomies, parathyroidectomies and adrenalectomies than anywhere else in the UK. We also offer re-operative thyroid and parathyroid surgery, as well as robotic thyroid and parathyroid surgery.
Conditions and treatments
Our endocrine surgery service treats thyroid disease, including goitre, thyroid lumps and thyroid cancer. We offer investigation and treatment for hyperparathyroidism and adrenal tumours, as well as any relevant blood tests and scans.
Clinics
Charing Cross Hospital
Miss Di Marco and endocrinologists
Hours
14.00 to 17.00, second and fourth Tuesday of the month
Address
Main outpatients department
First floor
Charing Cross Hospital
Fulham Palace Road
London W6 8RF
Contact information
Phone: 020 3313 8542
Hammersmith Hospital
Professor Palazzo and endocrinologists
Hours
09.00 to 12.30 on Tuesdays
Miss Di Marco and endocrinologists
Hours
14.00 to 17.00, second and fourth Wednesday of the month
Address
Main outpatients department
Ground floor
A block
Hammersmith Hospital
Du Cane Road
London W12 0HS
Contact
Phone: 020 3313 8542
Meet the team
Consultants
Professor Fausto Palazzo, lead
Professor Neil Tolley
Miss Aimee Di Marco
Patient infomration
Before your appointment
If you’ve been referred via the two week wait pathway, you can expect to receive an outpatient appointment within one to two days and your appointment will be within two weeks of referral.
Patients referred urgently should receive appointments within two to six weeks of referral. For non-urgent patients, there is a maximum wait of 12 weeks from the referral date for an appointment. If you require inpatient surgery, the date will be based on clinical need. We aim to give all patients a date for admission within 18 weeks of the referral date.
You are welcome to bring a relative, close friend or carer with you to your appointment. You are also welcome to ask for a chaperone and we will endeavour to provide one for you. Details of what you should bring to your appointment will be advised in the appointment letter. Generally, please prepare a list of all your medications, their doses, and any supplements you take. Bring detailed notes of your symptoms and try to recall when your symptoms began.
During your appointment
Please note that we are a teaching hospital, so medical students may be present for some appointments. If you do not wish to have them in the room please let the nurse or doctor know and the students will be asked to step outside.
During your appointment, we will discuss your symptoms and different treatment options. You will likely have some tests and investigations on the day of your appointment. The appointment length is specific to each patient and the condition being discussed. We aim to carry out any required diagnostic tests on the day, so you may be asked to spend up to four hours in the outpatients department for these tests. You will be advised about the outcome of your appointment before you leave hospital.
After your appointment
If a follow up appointment is required, this will be given to you by the reception desk before you leave hospital.
Having surgery with us
Our surgeons have access to all modern technology of benefit to the management of thyroid disease including intra-operative neural monitoring and intra-operative rapid parathyroid hormone assay.
Information on what to expect can be found here in our patient information leaflet – please request one of these when you come to clinic.
Refer to this service
GP
Please use NHS e-Referrals to refer a patient to our endocrine surgery service.
Two week wait cancer referrals — click here to learn more.
Secondary care
Secondary care referrers should contact our MDT coordinators directly by phoning 020 3313 4628 to refer patients. Alternatively, contact the Macmillan navigators and they will direct to specific pathways.
Where possible, tests and investigations should be carried out prior to referral and the results should be sent with referrals.
Your inpatient stay Your stay in hospital
You may need to stay at one of our hospitals to have a procedure or receive treatment, either overnight as an inpatient or during the day as a day patient. Ahead of your inpatient stay, you will usually need to attend a pre-operative assessment appointment.
Find out more about how you can reschedule or cancel your inpatient stay, pre-operative assessments, what to bring with you when you come to hospital and much more.