I'm New Here - Would like some help

[MishP]

Hi there. I'm new to the forum, but I have been viewing these very informative and helpful posts for the last few months.

I'm a 37 y/o woman with two little kids (ages 6 & 4). I was diagnosed with scoliosis back in 1978 when they were doing Harrington rods and you were in a body cast for 6+ months! Two back braces later and at age 12 they recommended surgery. However, my mother absolutely refused to put me through that (Thank God because the doctor that did them hurt a lot of people and no longer practices here). So I've been seeing a chiropractor ever since. I'm sure it has kept me out of severe pain all these years and I have been able to do things growing up that I probably wouldn't have been able to do if I had the surgery. But both my curves have progress 20 degrees since having my children and the pain is more prominent then it ever has been. Currently, I'm still allieviating the pain a little by using chiropractic care and massage therapy.

I've seen an orthopedic surgeon here in the Capital District of NY and he won't recommend surgery one way or another. It's very frustrating - although understandable. I'd like to get a second opinion and have read some of the posts recommending Dr. Boachie in NYC. Unfortunately, he does not accept my insurance.

Can anyone recommend someone else in NY/NJ area? I've been asking around for the last 8 months or so and can't get a name from anyone. I'd appreciate any help. Thank you!

[Karen Ocker]

Dr. Boachie/insurance

Dont worry about Dr. Boachie and insurance. You pay the up=front consultation fee and submit it as out of network. If he recommends surgery then they work it out.
He is not in any plan because the out-of -network payments to surgeons are generally better than a contracted amount.
As you can see chiro did absolutely nothing to stop your curves--and you have severe curves.

[bsprings]

I am having surgery with Dr. Boachie in 2 weeks. I would suggest you see him-my back is similar to yours (3 curves, the worst is 94) and I went to several doctors and chose him. The others seemed less than confident to handle the surgery. It is so important to have to best surgeon. He is used to handling the "tough stuff" and we both have severe curves. I wish I had had the surgery as a teen ager but now I at least feel I have a very competent surgeon. And I have learned over the past year that surgery is inevitable- the sooner the better at this point-it only gets more difficult with age. Best of luck to you!!
Cathie

[Shari]

Hi MishP,

When Linda R. see's this post she will give a link to a list of surgeons. But from all I have read over the last couple of years about Dr. Boachie, he seems to be very flexible about working around insurance problems. Don't give up on him, just because the insurance companies seem to run our lives.

If you read through some of the older threads, you will find that his name will come up over and over again, and no one, to my knowledge has ever been disappointed with him!!!

Shari

[Singer]

I have to agree with everyone here. If you can pay for the initial consultation (around $400 -- can you put it on a credit card?), Boachie will work with your insurance company to get the operation covered. You can also work out payment plans. I think with a curve as severe as yours, you want to go with the best surgeon you can.

Good luck.

[CHRIS WBS]

Cathie,

If you had surgery as a teenager (I'm guessing some 30 years ago) as you wish you had, you would have been treated with Harrington rods and exposed to the ensuing problems associated with that procedure as evidenced in the posts here under Revision. On one of my surgery consultations, I said to the surgeon, "If I had been treated as an adolescent..." and he concluded the sentence with "you would be looking into revision surgery today."

Chris

[joeb-z]

The consultation with Dr. Boachie-Adjei is a bargain for anyone contemplating scoliosis surgery and money well spent, if you can get to NYC. I can assure you that his staff (Theresa in this case) is very helpful and that there is considerable flexibility. The problem is if your policy has very low out-of -network payments. Some pay 10%, which is silly when you are talking about an $85000 surgery fee. Check your policy, you may need a new employer! The Hospital for Special Surgery is In-Network for Blue Cross, so if you have a portable Blue Cross plan, you are good for full coverage for those even larger bills. It is also important to realize that you will get hit with other bills for tests and other physicians such as an internist, pain manager (if you have a consult first), anesthesiologist etc. You could manage this a bit if you attempted to line up every one in-network but I don't know if this would work. The anesthesiologist, for example, has long experience working with Dr. Boachie-Adjei. I have 80% out of network coverage and I suspect our out of pocket costs, all inclusive (even stuff like transport, canes, shower chair) will be $10-15K on a total of bills around $240K once the dust settle.

[LindaRacine]

Hi MishP,

When Linda R. see's this post she will give a link to a list of surgeons. But from all I have read over the last couple of years about Dr. Boachie, he seems to be very flexible about working around insurance problems. Don't give up on him, just because the insurance companies seem to run our lives.

If you read through some of the older threads, you will find that his name will come up over and over again, and no one, to my knowledge has ever been disappointed with him!!!

Shari

http://www.srs.org/directory/directory.asp

[suzyjay]

NY Doctors

I went to see three doctors in New York. Dr. McCaine - hospital-forgot , Dr. Camissia (sp) - Hospital of Special Surgery and Dr. Errico- NYU Medical Center/Hospital for Joint Disease. All good surgeons and they all accepted my insurance. I chose Dr. Errico, I am having surgery on Jan 22, 2007. Dr. Errico, explained everything to me and spent time with me to answer all my questions. I heard and spoke to people who said he is one of the best surgeons for this kind of surgery. Also, I think he is more experinced in scoliosis surgery than the other two surgeons I saw. (His wife and one of his children have scoliosis) which may make him more understanding than some other surgeons.
Good Luck.

Sue

[MishP]

Dr. Errico

I went to see three doctors in New York. Dr. McCaine - hospital-forgot , Dr. Camissia (sp) - Hospital of Special Surgery and Dr. Errico- NYU Medical Center/Hospital for Joint Disease. All good surgeons and they all accepted my insurance. I chose Dr. Errico, I am having surgery on Jan 22, 2007. Dr. Errico, explained everything to me and spent time with me to answer all my questions. I heard and spoke to people who said he is one of the best surgeons for this kind of surgery. Also, I think he is more experinced in scoliosis surgery than the other two surgeons I saw. (His wife and one of his children have scoliosis) which may make him more understanding than some other surgeons.
Good Luck.

Sue

Thanks Sue! I saw that this Dr. Errico was within my insurance and wondered if he would be someone else to look into. I hear that the Hospital for Joint Disease is a very good hospital. I'll definitely give him some consideration.
Thanks,
Mish

[MishP]

The consultation with Dr. Boachie-Adjei is a bargain for anyone contemplating scoliosis surgery and money well spent, if you can get to NYC. I can assure you that his staff (Theresa in this case) is very helpful and that there is considerable flexibility. The problem is if your policy has very low out-of -network payments. Some pay 10%, which is silly when you are talking about an $85000 surgery fee. Check your policy, you may need a new employer! The Hospital for Special Surgery is In-Network for Blue Cross, so if you have a portable Blue Cross plan, you are good for full coverage for those even larger bills. It is also important to realize that you will get hit with other bills for tests and other physicians such as an internist, pain manager (if you have a consult first), anesthesiologist etc. You could manage this a bit if you attempted to line up every one in-network but I don't know if this would work. The anesthesiologist, for example, has long experience working with Dr. Boachie-Adjei. I have 80% out of network coverage and I suspect our out of pocket costs, all inclusive (even stuff like transport, canes, shower chair) will be $10-15K on a total of bills around $240K once the dust settle.

Thanks. I believe my insurance will also pay up to 80% - so I would be saddled with paying 20% of the surgery. But I'm encouraged that some of these other posts say that Dr. Boachie works with you on getting things covered. I could also see if I could do all the testing within network here in the Albany area where I live. Thanks for the reply. This definitely puts things into perspective.

Mish

[joeb-z]

Mish, I think at 80% coverage you would end up with no out of pocket for the surgical fees from Dr. Boachie-Adjei. Make a consult appointment and then you can talk with Theresa. Dr. Errico has a great reputation also and he is in the Blue Cross network and probably others.