Practical matters: treatment abroad, records, complaints
Getting surgery in another European country funded through the S2 route, and having a perforation caused by surgery recognised: two questions come up constantly in the groups. Here are both routes, with their time limits, then reported costs, medical records and complaints.
Written by the Septal Perforation team, patients, from the sources cited · Reviewed by doctors · Updated 2 November 2026 · Method and sources
The S2 route, step by step
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1
Choose the hospital
A public hospital in the EU, the EEA, Switzerland or the UK. The S2 never covers a private clinic, nor Turkey or the USA. Ask the team for a written treatment proposal.
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2
Build the file
The S2 application goes to your national insurer, with a detailed clinical statement from your ENT explaining why the procedure cannot be done at home within a medically acceptable time. In England the NHS route exists but approval is far from automatic.
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3
Apply before you travel
This is the rule that sinks most applications: a request filed after the operation is not admissible. Allow several weeks between filing and approval.
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4
On site, then back home
You are treated as a local patient: the host country applies its own co-payments, and travel and accommodation remain yours to pay. Plan for splint removal one to three months later.
Complaints and compensation
A perforation after surgery you were not warned about may justify a complaint. Routes differ: in France, the free regional conciliation and compensation commissions (CCI), within ten years of your condition stabilising; in England, the NHS complaints procedure then the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, or ISCAS for private care, with a three-year limit for negligence claims; elsewhere, medical boards and civil courts. Get your records first, then take advice early.
Your medical records
Access is a legal right across the EU and the UK (GDPR and national health law; within 8 days in France, usually one month in the UK). Ask explicitly for the operative report of any previous surgery, the CT images in DICOM format and endoscopy reports: these are exactly what the next surgeon will ask for, along with a recorded endoscopy video.
Costs to plan for
Figures above are shared by members of the patient groups in 2026, not official prices. Add flights and one to two weeks on site before flying home, and remember that splint removal happens one to three months later: either a return trip, or a local ENT willing to do it.
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