Appointment Cancellations?

[foofer]

I made an appt for a scoli specialist in Boston several months ago. The original appt was for mid-May. I got plane tickets, made arrangements with family, etc. I usually go to see family at this time of year, but I did wrap various visits around this appt. Got a call a couple months later from the MD's office cancelling the appt, wanting to reschedule for a later date. After a little back and forth, the appt was set for May 6th, so I would not have to make new airline arrangements.

Today I got a call saying the appt had to be changed again, and they wanted to reschedule for the day before my flight to Boston. No other appts available during the time I would be in the area. So I will not be seeing this doctor, after all.

I understand the reasoning- He was trying to fit in a surgery for someone that needed one quickly. Someone needs it more than I do.

My question is: Does this happen frequently when one travels a distance to try to see one of "the big guys"? I would like some other's experiences, if any, with this dilemma. Making an MD appt long distance involves airfare and time off from work, as well as working around the schedules of those you are visiting. I may have to rethink my strategy.

Amy

[loves to skate]

Amy, I sent you a PM

[titaniumed]

I always buy travel insurance.... You never know.

Surgeons are busy people.
Ed

[foofer]

Sally,

Thanks! and I will email you tomorrow. Hope you are recovering well...

ED,

Funny thing. Your post reminded me that I HAD purchased travel insurance...and then forgot about it. Must be the Sagittarian coming out in me.
Might not make a difference as there is a 9 day period I will be in the area, as it stands, and there are no available appointments. There are before and after, but probably won't work out on my end.

Wah.

Also, I think it was you that commented in a previous thread that anterior surgery is sometimes necessary for correcting lumbar wreckage. The doctor in boston said he was not an advocate, so I was hopeful to get his input. If you (or anyone else knowledgable in this arena) would share your opinions on that??? Thanks, if you can...

[titaniumed]

Anterior corpectomy, and nitroglycerine

I really didn’t have a choice. Anteriors are decided by the surgeons, and I guess it also depends on how they are trained. I had to have multiple corpectomies done since my low end was shot. They can do it through portals, but I guess they needed all the room they could get on me. They did multiple grafts per level, and yes it hurt. This procedure was pioneered by Dr Bradford at Twin Cities in the 80s. My surgeon trained there for a while. My surgeon also told me that my surgery was extremely serious, he didn’t want to do it, and it took me about 2 years to convince him to do it. There were no guarantees at all. I had diseased bone. I felt like I got hit by a train.

Anteriors provide the best access to the disc areas as the spinal cord runs down the backside.
They remove the discs and rasp the surfaces till the bone bleeds, kind of like really cleaning and area before you apply the glue. They usually have excellent results with fusion rate with anteriors. BMP was used with peek spacers. They soak a sponge that lays in the center of the spacer. BMP is expensive and is usually used in older patients that might have problems with fusion. Peek is a plastic that has similar modulus of elasticity of bone. This has proved to be beneficial for fusion, and is the reason why flexible materials are used. It would seem that to solve the hardware breakage issues that sometimes occur, using tougher "larger" hardware would be a simple answer. There has to be a certain amount of give to these materials.

I'm posting from my RV at Donner summit right now, the lifts are starting to turn, and the snow is melting. I walked the CPR train tunnels yesterday, built by Chinese with the help of nitroglycerine which was first used here in 1867? With nitro, they could tunnel about 14" per day. I love the history of my area, have read many books on the Comstock, which provided the funds needed by Lincoln for the Civil war. Without this gold, the outcome of the United States might have turned out differently.
Ed

[foofer]

Thanks for the info, Ed....I am learning tons from all the "other-siders" here. Had to google "corpectomy" so now I am just that much smarter.

I can't believe you had that kind of faith in your surgeon- to persuade him when he did not want to go there. That takes some courage on your part, holy cow...I'm having issues with faith in docs that do it all day, all week. I do think that when the time comes though and choices are made, that I will just walk in, and just "Let's do it." Not there yet- soon enough.

I've been in your area, as I have a sister who lives there. She loves it. I did too- who wouldn't? My little village here has a colorful history, most western towns do. I love living in the west and in the mountains.

Greetings and gratitude from "Silver City"

[Back-out]

WHAT a collossal drag!
But thank you for the reminder to buy travel insurance. A helpful cautionary tale!

Ed, will write soon.