So I've been in contact with the Belgrade centre and have now had a consultation with Dr Miroslav Djordjevic.

To start the cost - for me I was told €12000 but this is likely to increase due to current issues in inflation as well as rising practice costs and wages. It is recommended you stay in an apartment organised by the Belgrade centre that would cost €60 + tax a night which is very similar to renting property in the short term in Belgrade. All of your travel once arriving at the airport is handled by Dr Miro's team so taxi costs are sorted. You still need to pay for your own food but in the apartment you've got all the appliances, WiFi, television, gas and electric etc.

The stay - so I arrive two days before surgery. The first day is acclimation and familiarisation with the surgery team. Day two is the final run through and health checks to make sure you're healthy and confident to go through the procedure. Day 3 is a four hour surgery following a spinal general anaesthetic. Days 4-7 you remain in hospital as this is when most complications can occur. Days 8-21 are at the apartment (or your chosen accomodation) and Dr Miro's team will come and check on you every day and then change the packing when appropriate (I was told it's frequent at first but then can be removed between day 15 and 17). Finally the catheter is removed between day 19 and 21 as urethral difficulties are a very complex matter and taking unnecessary risks isn't appropriate at this point. After this I can head home.

Recovery - physically I recover from injuries and tattoos incredibly quickly but having not been through surgery before this is new grounds for me. A return to everyday function with Dr Miro ranges from 3-4 weeks in which walking and light exercise is possible. However, I'm going to allow at least 6 before I return to some more strenuous stuff and probably around 3 months before more intense exercise. Pretty much the point being made to me is that I can go back to work on my return to the UK.

If you have any questions I can answer what I can and ask the surgery team anything that didn't come up in my consultation.

My only difficulty now is to get a surgery referral letter as my faith in the NHS has wained through years of waiting and working for them. I would love to get this sorted so I can focus on work and university to secure my position.