Our Medical Information Lead and Specialist Registrar in gynaecology, Dr Ayanthi Gunasekera, recently spoke to Giddy online to share advice about having a home birth, discussing who would be suitable and why preparation is key. Read the article here.
We are delighted to welcome Ms Sangeeta Khinder, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist to the London Gynaecology team and will be seeing patients at our City of London location.
Ms Khinder brings vast expertise and experience to the team as lead for Gynaecology Oncology and Deputy Lead for Colposcopy at her NHS Trust, The Whittington Hospital. Her roles at her trust also include, Lead for Women’s Health and Maternity Services Clinical Guidelines Committee (MCGC).
Ms Khinder expertise includes the following: minimal access surgery, management of ovarian cysts, fibroids, pelvic pain, heavy periods, abnormal bleeding after the menopause, outpatient hysteroscopy colposcopy & abnormal smears and scanning for both early pregnancy and gynaecology.
We are pleased to have introduced online booking which allows patients to book directly with Ms Khinder or any other member of the London Gynaecology team. For appointment enquiries, please call our team on 020 7101 1700. or email [email protected].
Our consultant in Fetal Medicine Mr Pran Pandya, reveals how a Harmony and Panorama test differs, while sharing his thoughts on both of these tests to help you to have a better understanding when choosing the right one for you.
Mr Pandya reveals: “They are both tests that use cell free fetal DNA to screen for chromosomal abnormalities. They are commonly known as NIPT (non invasive prenatal testing) but use slightly different technologies to analyse the fetal DNA. The main strengths of NIPT are to screen for Trisomy 21,18 and 13 and they probably have similar performance for these tests.
The main difference is that the Panorama test also screens for micro deletions and duplications and while it sounds as if it is better, in reality this increases the false positive rate (e.g number of invasive procedures without detecting clinically significant conditions). So on balance I think Harmony is a better test at this moment.”
Mr Pran Pandya BSc MBBS MD FRCO, performs antenatal screening and scanning including Harmony test / NIPT at our location at The Portland Hospital using state-of-the-art in house scanning facilities. We are pleased to have introduced online booking which allows patients to book directly with Mr Pandya. For appointment enquiries, please call our team on 020 7101 1700. or email [email protected].
London Gynaecology is a leading private Gynaecology Practice, based at two locations: The Portland Hospital, one of London’s leading private hospitals, and our new clinic in the heart of the City of London.
This position would be based mainly at our busy City of London clinic on a part-time basis. We are looking for an experienced Sonographer, with a special interest in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, who will promote our ethos to provide expert advice and care and a first-class patient experience. Your duties and responsibilities will include:
Experience:
Qualifications and Skills:
Salary:
Benefits:
Interested applicants should email their CV and cover letter to Snehal Babar: [email protected] Subject line: Sonographer: job opportunity.
Unfortunately, we will only be able to contact successful candidates – but we thank you for applying and for your interest.
Women’s health is at the heart of London Gynaecology, and in addition to helping women every day in our practice, we are passionate about giving back and supporting charitable causes, especially those that support women and women’s health. Every year we focus on fundraising for charities close to our heart and those that aid women and gynaecological health.
We are delighted to share that our Consultant Gynaecologist, Mr Narendra Pisal, will be taking part in the London Marathon on Sunday 3rd October 2021 and the Manchester Marathon on Sunday 10th October to raise funds that will be shared between women’s health services at The Whittington Hospital and also The MND Association. For every pound raised, London Gynaecology is proud to match the first £5,000 of donations raised.
The charities that have been chosen this year are close to the heart of London Gynaecology and Mr Pisal; the women’s health services at The Whittington Hospital where Mr Pisal has worked for the last 17 years in the department of gynaecological oncology and The MND Association, whose work improves care and support to those affected by motor neurone disease. Mr Pisal first became aware of The MND association charity through his friend Nilesh, Mr Pisal reveals, “Nilesh was diagnosed with MND, he is staying strong but we know it is important to raise awareness of the condition as he would like to raise funds to support much needed new research.”
Mr Pisal continues: “This fundraiser is incredibly important as the money raised will be split between both The Whittington Hospital to improve women’s health at the trust and to the dedicated charity The MND Association; both will benefit hugely from donations at this incredibly challenging time.”
Not content with running one marathon, shortly after completing the London Marathon, Mr Pisal will be heading north a few days later to take part in the Manchester Marathon, on a route that will cover the City Centre for the first time. Mr Pisal said: “Although the crowds may be smaller in numbers than traditional times, I look forward to soaking up the iconic atmosphere that the two Marathons bring and can’t wait to join the thousands of runners from across the UK and world together in London and Manchester for the events, while remembering my friend Nilesh’s smile and sense of humour throughout the tough moments, spurring me on. I will be giving the two medals to him on 17thOctober.”
Five facts you may not know about motor neurone disease (MND):
If you would like to help Mr Pisal reach his target please, visit his fundraising page: Mr’s Pisal’s two in two weeks, back to back marathons fundraiser
To learn more about MND, click here.
Although bleeding in the second and third trimester in pregnancy is rare, Ms Michelle Swer, our consultant gyneacologist, discusses 3 reasons why some women may experience bleeding late on in their pregnancy.
Low lying placenta
This is when the placenta lies low in the womb close or lying over the cervix. This will be identified on scan usually at 20 weeks and women will have a repeat scan to identify where the placenta is closer to delivery. Any bleeding in a woman diagnosed with a low-lying placenta should be seen by a doctor to ensure there is no risk of delivery which would not be suitable naturally.
Placenta Accreta Spectrum
This occurs when the placenta attaches deep through the muscle wall and does not easily detach. This is also identified on a scan and urgent review is needed if there is bleeding in women diagnosed with this presentation.
Abruption of the placenta
This is when the placenta comes away from the womb and is a serious and acute condition. There is often pain and bleeding and women should seek urgent medical advice.
Make an appointment
If you would like to learn more about Ms Swer or any member of the team, visit our team page. For appointments and enquiries, call our team on 0207 101 1700 or email, [email protected].
Ms Michelle Swer, consultant gynaecologist spoke to The Mum Club online to reveal, although uncommon, some of the three causes of bleeding in late pregnancy (24 weeks onwards) to be aware of.
Pregnancy can be a time of anxiety and uncertainty; it is relatively easy to check on how the mother is doing in pregnancy but the only way to accurately evaluate the baby is by performing scans. Mr Pran Pandya BSc MBBS MD FRCO, leading consultant in Fetal Medicine would advise a minimum of 6 scans throughout pregnancy but confirms that many mums find it reassuring to be scanned every 4 weeks.
In our latest blog, Mr Pran Pandya reveals more about each of the scans, the benefits and why they are important. Mr Pandya reveals, “We recommend scans that all are clinically indicated and provide optimum reassurance to parents as well as an opportunity to detect conditions that may be of concern e.g. miscarriage, chromosomal abnormalities, structural anomalies and babies that may not be growing normally either too small or too large.”
1. Early pregnancy scan – 6 to 11 weeks
Scans at less than 10 weeks are aimed at confirming there is a heartbeat, seeing how many babies there are, and dating the pregnancy. They are particularly helpful if you have pain, bleeding or have had a miscarriage in the past.
At 12 weeks, we measure the Nuchal Translucency and start to look at the early development of the baby, eg brain, heart, abdomen, bladder and limbs. If you have not had the NIPT, we can perform the Combined Test which uses the mothers age, size of baby, Nuchal Translucency and 2 biochemical markers in your blood to screen for T21, T18 and T13. In women who have had NIPT, we do not need to take a blood sample but focus on fetal development.
3. Early fetal anomaly scan – 16 weeks
We look at the fetal growth and evaluate the fetal development/anatomy to provide early reassurance to the family – at a time when the mother still has not felt the baby move.
4. Fetal anomaly scan – 20-22 weeks
A detailed scan to evaluate the fetal anatomy and development of your baby from head to toe.
5 & 6. Fetal Wellbeing scan at 28 and 36 weeks
The purpose of this scan is to check the fetal growth and blood flow to make sure the baby is growing normally. We also recheck the fetal brain, heart, kidneys and bowel because these continue to develop throughout pregnancy and we can detect new anomalies in these systems. In just under 5% of cases we find that the baby is breech at 36 weeks and this will have a major impact on how you deliver your baby.
Make an appointment:
Mr Pran Pandya, consultant in Fetal Medicine performs Antenatal Screening and Scanning at our location at The Portland hospital using state-of-the-art in house scanning facilities. Mr Pandya, is an established and well-known consultant who is widely published in the field of fetal medicine and is Editor-in-Chief of Fetal Medicine Basic Science and Clinical Practice. He brings vast expertise and is the Director of Clinical Lead of Fetal Medicine services at University College London Hospitals, a world-renowned centre for fetal diagnosis and therapy.
To learn more about our Antenatal Screening and Scanning or for appointments and enquiries, please call our team on 020 7101 1700. or by emailing [email protected]
London Gynaecology is private gynaecology practice led by a team of consultant gynaecologists at our practice locations at The Portland Hospital and Austin Friars, City of London. We offer a full selection of pregnancy screening tests and scans to give you reassurance during your pregnancy.
Ahead of your covid vaccine appointment, you may have heard or read about some of the possible side affects you may experience such as fever, headache or more commonly a painful arm for a day or two after being vaccinated. There will be no mention of ‘changes to menstrual cycle’.
However, some women are sharing their personal stories on social media often related to how they have suddenly experienced ‘heavier-than-normal periods’ after having the COVID-19 vaccine. This discussion was first started by two doctors from the US on Twitter in February 2021, Dr Kate Clancy and Dr Katherine Lee.
Dr Kate Clancy, a medical anthropologist, shared her experience about her own unusually heavy period following the Moderna vaccine, and received dozens of similar messages in response. Her former colleague Dr Katharine Lee launched a survey documenting people’s experiences.
At present, there is not any evidence to report whether the vaccine is linked to menstrual changes, as this has not yet been studied.
Mr Narendra Pisal, our consultant gynaecologist reveals: “In our experience at London Gynaecology, these menstrual changes are transient and usually resolve within 3 cycles. This risk is far outweighed by the benefit of protection against the potentially serious COVID infection and we strongly recommend the vaccine for all women.”
Dr Victoria Male, a reproductive immunologist at Imperial College London told the BBC in the article ‘Covid vaccine: Period changes could be a short-term side effect.’ that, ‘Some post-menopausal women, and people taking hormones which stop their periods, have reported bleeding.’ Therefore, according to the article, Dr Male is inclined to suspect there may be a physical reaction occurring.
Make an appointment:
If you experience any bleeding that is unusual for you, we advise you to contact your GP, or gynaecologist. At London Gynaecology, we have a team of consultants who see patients at two convenient locations; The Portland Hospital in Central London and our new location within Austin Friars in the City of London. To book a consultation please email our team on [email protected] or call 0207 10 11 700 (24hrs).
At London Gynaecology, we are proud to see and treat patients from the LGBTQ+ community who need our care.
As a private Gynaecology practice, we offer clinics in a discreet and charming location of the city of London and at the renowned Central London hospital, The Portland Hospital. Our consultants and wider team are dedicated to providing a tailored patient centric experience at every stage of your visit. The level of care will not be compromised.
Many of our consultants hold senior positions at their NHS Trust and have a wealth of experience and expertise seeing and treating patients, providing a patient led experience regardless of whether you are: A transgender woman, choose not to identify as a woman and those who identify as LGBTQ+.
To learn about our services and expertise, click here.