'Elephant man' forced to pay £12k for surgery in INDIA after it was cancelled by NHS
A FORMER NASA scientist branded the modern day 'elephant man' is being forced to travel to India for a life-changing operation, which he says should have been carried out by the NHS.
These horrific photographs show Scottish Michael Cull, 66 - a patient let down by the NHS postcode lottery.
Misdiagnosed and denied treatment, Mr Cull says he has been ignored by the public health service, which should have noticed his swelling legs “a long time ago”.
Mr Cull, who is barely mobile and is constantly taunted by cruel members of the public, has had elephantiasis in his left leg for the past decade, causing massive swelling normally only seen in third world countries.
It first went undiagnosed after a car crash in London, with doctors saying he had gross lymphedema - abnormal swelling caused by fluid build-up.
Despite trying to stop the tissue swelling with stockings after moving to Scotland, the leg kept growing.
I think my rights have been violated
Mr Cull got so desperate he contacted Scottish former First Minister Alex Salmond and was referred to a consultant in Dundee, who believed he had the tropical disease elephantiasis.
The retired computer technician thought an end was finally in sight when he was given a date for surgery in Hull, which would see three stone of flesh taken away, giving Mr Cull his life back.
But the surgery was cancelled at the 11th hour, after doctors in Hull said his treatment should be provided in his home nation of Scotland.
Mr Cull, of Rosehearty near Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, said: "I feel let down by the NHS. Somebody should have noticed this a long time ago.
"The warning signs, when it started swelling around my ankle, should have been a sign to doctors that something was not quite right.
"They should have gone to someone who is a specialist. If there's no-one in Scotland, then it should have been in England."
At the time Mr Cull’s operation was cancelled, a spokesman for Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS said at the time the "particular circumstances of this case mean that it is more clinically appropriate, and in Mr Cull's best interests, for care to be delivered in Scotland".
NHS Grampian said the health board had contacted Mr Cull in February to outline a way forward and remains “fully committed” to offering appropriate treatment.
But Mr Cull added: "I've had nothing done for about two months, and I'm still getting no replies or answers as to why the doctor in Hull pulled out.
"I think my rights have been violated. I think going private could be the only way, because they can do this in India.
"But I don't know if the NHS would pay for me to go to India. It would be about £12,000 all-in, that's including flights and two weeks in the hospital."
More than 120 million people are infected with elephantiasis.
