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  • Second Opinion with Dr. Hey

    I saw Dr. Hey last Friday and was very impressed with him and his office set-up. I took all of my old xrays, CT scan and MRI's. They were all scanned and put into his computer system. With his computer system, he is able to bring up old and new x-rays to compare them side by side. He showed me what was going on and explained everything very clearly. Sad to say, the disc above my fusion is gone and I have arthritis at the L1-L2 level now. We will treat it non-invasively for the time being with water therapy and the use of a back brace when needed. If I don't feel any better after the winter, we will move up to the next step of cortisone shots. He told me that he thought my nerve pain is probably permanent. I was thankful for his honesty. My pain is annoying but not disabling, and is helped with Neurontin, so I am thankful for that. To save my having to travel two and 1/2 hours to see him, he said we could communicate by telephone and email. I thought that was great.

    Interestingly, he told me that he and Dr. Rand worked together several years ago to develop the anchor bolts for pelvic fixation.

    Good thoughts to all who are considering surgery or have recently had surgery. I do check up on you but don't always have time to weigh in.

    Sally
    Diagnosed with severe lumbar scoliosis at age 65.
    Posterior Fusion L2-S1 on 12/4/2007. age 67
    Anterior Fusion L3-L4,L4-L5,L5-S1 on 12/19/2007
    Additional bone removed to decompress right side of L3-L4 & L4-L5 on 4/19/2010
    New England Baptist Hospital, Boston, MA
    Dr. Frank F. Rands735.photobucket.com/albums/ww360/butterflyfive/

    "In God We Trust" Happy moments, praise God. Difficult moments, seek God. Quiet moments, worship God. Painful moments, trust God. Every moment, thank God.

  • #2
    I went to Dr Hey in June for a second opinion as per Dr Bederman. If I was not moving to CA, I would have had my surgery with Dr Hey. I was very impressed with him and his office staff. He has kept in touch with me since June via email. He seems to be a very caring man.
    Melissa

    Fused from C2 - sacrum 7/2011

    April 21, 2020- another broken rod surgery

    Comment


    • #3
      Pooka speaks very highly of Dr. Hey and follows his blog regularly; that's all I know about him. He does seem quite impressive from all the cases I've read about him.
      Son 14 y/o diagnosed January 20th. 2011 with 110* Curve
      Halo Traction & 1st. surgery on March 22nd. 2011
      Spinal Fusion on April 19th. 2011

      Dr. Krajbich @ Shriners Childrens Hospital, Portland Oregon



      http://tinyurl.com/Elias-Before
      http://tinyurl.com/Elias-After

      Comment


      • #4
        i am so shocked and saddened tht you are having this problem, Sally...i thought your last surgery
        in MA was the last...and was successful....
        i hope the treatment for pain is helpful!

        jess

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by jrnyc View Post
          i am so shocked and saddened tht you are having this problem, Sally...i thought your last surgery
          in MA was the last...and was successful....
          i hope the treatment for pain is helpful!

          jess
          Thanks Jess, I sort of expected this as Dr. Rand had talked about doing something with that level at my original consultation. I guess he felt that it looked OK when he was in there the first time. When I saw him in May, he was a little concerned by it from the xrays, but apparently it didn't take very long for the disc to deteriorate completely. You have to realize I am 71 years old and I come from a long line of women who have suffered from arthritis and DDD. I am still way better for having surgery in the first place, because I know I would otherwise be in a wheelchair. I will stay active as long as I possibly can and I am very fortunate that Neurontin and my anti-inflamatory(Meloxican) and tylenol as needed keep me going. I'm glad I don't need heavy narcotics.
          Sally
          Diagnosed with severe lumbar scoliosis at age 65.
          Posterior Fusion L2-S1 on 12/4/2007. age 67
          Anterior Fusion L3-L4,L4-L5,L5-S1 on 12/19/2007
          Additional bone removed to decompress right side of L3-L4 & L4-L5 on 4/19/2010
          New England Baptist Hospital, Boston, MA
          Dr. Frank F. Rands735.photobucket.com/albums/ww360/butterflyfive/

          "In God We Trust" Happy moments, praise God. Difficult moments, seek God. Quiet moments, worship God. Painful moments, trust God. Every moment, thank God.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by mabeckoff View Post
            I went to Dr Hey in June for a second opinion as per Dr Bederman. If I was not moving to CA, I would have had my surgery with Dr Hey. I was very impressed with him and his office staff. He has kept in touch with me since June via email. He seems to be a very caring man.
            Yes Melissa, he does seem to be very reachable and very caring. Also, I like the fact that he is a Christian man.
            Sally
            Diagnosed with severe lumbar scoliosis at age 65.
            Posterior Fusion L2-S1 on 12/4/2007. age 67
            Anterior Fusion L3-L4,L4-L5,L5-S1 on 12/19/2007
            Additional bone removed to decompress right side of L3-L4 & L4-L5 on 4/19/2010
            New England Baptist Hospital, Boston, MA
            Dr. Frank F. Rands735.photobucket.com/albums/ww360/butterflyfive/

            "In God We Trust" Happy moments, praise God. Difficult moments, seek God. Quiet moments, worship God. Painful moments, trust God. Every moment, thank God.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by loves to skate View Post
              Interestingly, he told me that he and Dr. Rand worked together several years ago to develop the anchor bolts for pelvic fixation.
              There are several types and brands of pelvic bolts. I think he is co-inventor of one brand. I'm sure he didn't mean to take the credit for the idea of pelvic bolts.

              Sorry to hear that your nerve pain may be permanent.

              --Linda
              Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
              ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
              Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

              Comment


              • #8
                i am glad that your pain is tolerable at this time...
                i hate that you went thru all that surgery and still have spinal problems....
                i know..i know...there are no guarantees with the surgery...
                it just seems like rotten luck...

                i have DDD, arthritis & stenosis of the spine as well, along with a few other things that cause back pain...
                i havent had scoli surgery..yet....
                the pain i have is extreme, which is why the pain doc offers me heavy meds....

                i hope your pain gets better...or at least stays the same and doesn't get worse...
                i also hope the noninvasive tx gives you pain relief

                jess

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by loves to skate View Post
                  Yes Melissa, he does seem to be very reachable and very caring. Also, I like the fact that he is a Christian man.
                  Sally
                  He prays with his patients before surgery
                  Melissa

                  Fused from C2 - sacrum 7/2011

                  April 21, 2020- another broken rod surgery

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by LindaRacine View Post
                    There are several types and brands of pelvic bolts. I think he is co-inventor of one brand. I'm sure he didn't mean to take the credit for the idea of pelvic bolts.

                    Sorry to hear that your nerve pain may be permanent.

                    --Linda
                    More than likely, I misunderstood him.
                    Diagnosed with severe lumbar scoliosis at age 65.
                    Posterior Fusion L2-S1 on 12/4/2007. age 67
                    Anterior Fusion L3-L4,L4-L5,L5-S1 on 12/19/2007
                    Additional bone removed to decompress right side of L3-L4 & L4-L5 on 4/19/2010
                    New England Baptist Hospital, Boston, MA
                    Dr. Frank F. Rands735.photobucket.com/albums/ww360/butterflyfive/

                    "In God We Trust" Happy moments, praise God. Difficult moments, seek God. Quiet moments, worship God. Painful moments, trust God. Every moment, thank God.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      i only care about the skill a surgeon has...
                      not his/her religion

                      i also think praying with patients crosses a line....
                      a doctor/patient line....

                      jess

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by jrnyc View Post
                        i only care about the skill a surgeon has...
                        not his/her religion

                        i also think praying with patients crosses a line....
                        a doctor/patient line....

                        jess
                        Jess,

                        He does not pray with you if you do not want it. During the first few minutes of meeting Dr Hey, we both said that they were Christians and that was that. When I email him and tell him of my problems and he says that he will keep me in his prayers, I do not feel that it is a problem. Yes I agree that a surgeon's skill
                        comes first and I have no idea of Dr Bederman's religion. It has never come up
                        Melissa

                        Fused from C2 - sacrum 7/2011

                        April 21, 2020- another broken rod surgery

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Please do not hijack this thread with a discussion of religion. There are plenty of other forums where one can discuss their religious beliefs.

                          Thanks.
                          Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
                          ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
                          Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by LindaRacine View Post
                            Please do not hijack this thread with a discussion of religion. There are plenty of other forums where one can discuss their religious beliefs.

                            Thanks.
                            I understand your concern for a thread to turn religious, but I don't see a discussion of religion here. If you read Dr. Hey's website, it is VERY clear that he operates his business from a religious perspective. When he cancelled my appointment, for no seemingly apparent reason, the only answer I got from the receptionist about WHY he cancelled it was that he prayed about it. Sorry, but it's true. If someone finds this offensive, then perhaps this isn't the doctor to be flouting all over this forum. I'm not saying he's not a good surgeon, but Hey and religion go hand-in-hand. The receptionist even told me that he will sometimes pray about a surgery and then cancel it at the last minute. I'm glad I didn't travel all the way out there to see him.
                            Be happy!
                            We don't know what tomorrow brings,
                            but we are alive today!

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              In my opinion, Hey is great example of someone who is really at the forefront of a surgical discipline and is completely driven to help folks. If we weren't referred elsewhere I might have gotten an opinion from him because he is close. His medicine comes from an intellectually honest place. It would not matter to me what drives him otherwise unless it interfered with his practice of medicine. Equally, I don't give a hoot if some of my scientific colleagues are religious as long as they don't deny scientific facts like evolution, a few billion year old earth, no worldwide flood, etc. etc. There were at least two very conservative Christians on my doctoral committee but they both accepted scientific facts for goodness sake! Essentially they must NOT let their religion contaminate their science as in the case of Francis Collins who gets continually and publicly spanked for doing so.

                              Now Rohr's story appears to be edging towards getting away from intellectual honesty but I can't know that.
                              Last edited by Pooka1; 11-16-2011, 05:23 AM.
                              Sharon, mother of identical twin girls with scoliosis

                              No island of sanity.

                              Question: What do you call alternative medicine that works?
                              Answer: Medicine


                              "We are all African."

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