A cancer patient has told BBC Scotland News she has been "left in limbo" after operations were cancelled due to faulty sterilising equipment.
Miriam Jenner, 37, travelled from her home in Orkney to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for a hysterectomy on Tuesday only to be told the procedure would not be going ahead.
The central decontamination unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary which is used to clean surgical tools was shut down last Friday, after an unknown substance was found on instruments.
Health board NHS Grampian said that about 600 procedures had been postponed as a result of the decontamination closure and that it could take up to two months to repair.
Ms Jenner, who was diagnosed with endometrial cancer at the end of February, said she had spent last week trying to "psych herself up" for the operation but was now worried about the consequences of it being postponed.
"I'd spent the whole of last week really, very emotionally distraught at the thought of the upcoming operation, very glad I was going to have it to put my mind at rest about the cancer but emotionally very hard," she said.
She took a flight from her home in Stronsay and then another from Kirkwall to Aberdeen before spending the night at a hotel.
It was only once she arrived at the hospital the next day she was told the operation was cancelled and that she should go home as there was no chance of it being rescheduled "imminently".
She said: "I kept saying to myself I have to go down for this operation, but when I come home hopefully - please God - I'll be cancer free.
"Then to come back in the same medical situation, nothing's changed, I was just in shock."
Ms Jenner said she was told her rescheduled procedure would still be prioritised as she was a cancer patient but doctors were unable to give her a timescale.
"I'm frightened because the uncertainty of it is a massive thing to deal with," she added. "I'm worried about the cancer spreading if it's left too long.
"I am completely overwhelmed just imagining what's going to happen in the next few weeks."
The central decontamination unit at Foresterhill - which sterilises and prepares the tools - was closed on 3 October.
NHS Grampian's chief executive Laura Skaife-Knight said about 600 procedures had been postponed as a result of the decontamination closure, along with 290 elective surgeries and 311 dental procedures.
"I want to apologise to the several hundreds of patients who had their dental and elective surgical procedures cancelled, recognising the impact this has had on them," she said.
"I know from the many correspondence, and emails and letters I have already received, the impact that that has had on those patients for which I sincerely apologise."
She added: "We are grateful to other health boards for offering support and I can confirm that Glasgow are supporting us in this next period as some of our staff have been redeployed and are being based there in the next few weeks so that we can get on top of this."
Last year, operations at Aberdeen hospitals were cancelled due to a lightning strike.
The decontamination problems come during a period of financial difficulties for NHS Grampian.
The health board was escalated to Stage Four of the five-stage NHS Scotland National Performance framework earlier this year, amid concerns over its financial stability, leadership and governance.
And a 138-page report into the health board found staffing levels should be reviewed amid efforts to tackle its ongoing financial difficulties.