The Date Is Set!

[Pooka1]

Oh wow I'm sorry to hear all that! They should have called you about the MRI to save you the trip.

Hopefully you will get back on schedule. Stay positive.

[thirdattempt]

Hi Bill

Rotten news about your surgery being delayed. Will keep my fingers crossed that Mr Bowden can re-schedule you for December now that you are "prepared".

No excuse for not letting you know about the scanner being out of action. Maybe the admin people didn't realise you had a journey to make but they should have checked. I would have been annoyed too and I live locally!

Hope you hear from them soon

Vicky

[mabeckoff]

Sorry to hear about your surgery being cancelled. Hope you can get it rescheduled quickly.

Also, they should have called you about the MRI not working

[JDM555]

Ahhhh that sucks, I'm sorry to hear that man. I would be pissed! I had my first surgery scheduled on Dec. 12-16 (Don't remember lol), and then they postponed it to the 28th and I was mad, can't imagine another 5 weeks. Hopefully they get you in and you get your surgery asap. Good luck.

[BendyBill]

Well hopefully everything will be sorted soon. And, Vicky, I'm going to try my hardest to get hold of Mr. Bowden asap but he's not the easiest to pin down, I must say...

Right, I've now had a solid day of moaning so I think it's out of my system Thank you all for your support. Onwards and upwards!

B

[Pooka1]

Well hopefully everything will be sorted soon. And, Vicky, I'm going to try my hardest to get hold of Mr. Bowden asap but he's not the easiest to pin down, I must say...

Right, I've now had a solid day of moaning so I think it's out of my system Thank you all for your support. Onwards and upwards!

B

BB, I really love your attitude. I bet you do well. :-)

[BendyBill]

Has anyone ever had a surgeon who doesn't seem to have any interest in building any kind of personal relationship with you? On two occasions over the past few months I've called up Mr. Bowden's secretary and asked a couple of fairly standard questions (what levels am I having fused/did the bending x-ray change that etc...) and have waited for months to get an answer. I then end up calling more to chase him up and just feel like I'm nagging. When I do speak to his secretary she says "He'll call you in the next couple of days" etc... and when he doesn't call me for months it starts to knock my confidence. He didn't speak to me when I went for my pre-op consultation and I was in the same room as him! If it was me I would have made a quick stop to check that everything was OK, you know? I get that he is a brilliant surgeon and get that he's manically busy but shouldn't there be a slightly more personal relationship?! And I know I'm just another patient but surely it's part of his job to stop me feeling that way?!

Any comments? Am I being over-sensitive?

B

[Doreen1]

Has anyone ever had a surgeon who doesn't seem to have any interest in building any kind of personal relationship with you? On two occasions over the past few months I've called up Mr. Bowden's secretary and asked a couple of fairly standard questions (what levels am I having fused/did the bending x-ray change that etc...) and have waited for months to get an answer. I then end up calling more to chase him up and just feel like I'm nagging. When I do speak to his secretary she says "He'll call you in the next couple of days" etc... and when he doesn't call me for months it starts to knock my confidence. He didn't speak to me when I went for my pre-op consultation and I was in the same room as him! If it was me I would have made a quick stop to check that everything was OK, you know? I get that he is a brilliant surgeon and get that he's manically busy but shouldn't there be a slightly more personal relationship?! And I know I'm just another patient but surely it's part of his job to stop me feeling that way?!

Any comments? Am I being over-sensitive?

B

Hi Billy,
I've heard that Dr. Bridwell here in the states is an excellent surgeon with less than desirable bedside manners too. As far as not receiving call backs, that is frustrating I am sure. Didn't Vicky (thirdattempt member name on forum) have surgery by Dr. Bowden? Do you know if she had a similar experience? Do you know if this is a case of the doctor not calling you back because he is not getting your messages? Do you have to go through the pre-op tests again since your surgery date was cancelled? Have they locked you down for a new date?

Warmly,
Doreen

[BendyBill]

Hi Doreen,

I seem to remember that Vicky was under Mr. Wilson-MacDonald. I did inquire as to whether I could transfer to him but he is booked up years in advance!!

I know he is getting my messages because his secretary tells me she has forwarded my messages to him. And that is a very good point about the pre-op consultation - I hadn't even thought about it! I bloody hope not!!!

Not even a hint of a new date on the horizon. I've been calling the booking line and they haven't been able to get hold of Mr. Bowden either. I am feeling rather out of the loop and it's starting to bend me out of shape (pun fully intended) ever so slightly...

Thanks for your help,

B

[LindaRacine]

Hi Billy...

Surgeons are just like the rest of us. Some of us are friendly and talkative, while others aren't. If you're confident that your chosen surgeon is qualified and experienced, I wouldn't worry all that much about his personality. When I had my first surgeries, I went for the guy who was warm and friendly. Not sure I'd make that same choice today.

With socialized medicine, there's not a huge incentive to work lots of hours. So, it's possible that your surgeon just doesn't have the time to return phone calls. I totally understand why that's shaken your confidence. It's especially concerning in terms of communication after surgery.

Regards,
Linda

[thirdattempt]

Hi Bill

I'm so sorry to hear of your continuing frustrations with the NHS system.

Not sure it was much help but did you see my PM?

Vicky

[BendyBill]

Hi Linda,

Thanks for your post. You're right about the personality - it doesn't matter if they are nice or not, it's their ability as a surgeon that counts. But I don't want him to be my friend, I want him to answer my questions! I should, however, be more understanding because I'm sure he has more important things to do than answer questions that will not change the outcome of my surgery at all. You're right about it being the post-op care that is the worrying part. Any advice on this?

Just been having a look at your website and reading the 'How to Select a Spine Surgeon' page... "Does the doctor answer all of your questions and provide you with enough information about your condition? Does he or she spend enough time with you? Is the physician reachable? Open-minded? A good listener?".. uh oh...

Vicky, thanks for your PM - I have now replied.

B

[BendyBill]

Hello all!

Finally managed to get a set of the xrays and thought you might like to see them. My surgery date has been postponed again from 13th December to 3rd January so I have another wait to endure! What a nightmare! My surgeon still hasn't replied to my questions so, Vicky, I took your advice and got my GP chivvy. Hopefully it will work!

In the meantime I was wondering if, from the bending xrays I've posted, you guys could give me your opinions on how my lumbar flexibility looks?

Hope you're all well!

B

PS I hope the attachments work!

PPS Hooray! They worked!

[rohrer01]

Wow! you have bee through a LOT! I don't think it is unreasonable to want to know what they are going to do to you. I talked with another patient of my doctor and he removed a rib from her and didn't tell her he was going to do that. She was upset, but blamed herself for "not knowing". Quite frankly, how can you know if they don't tell you? At least for myself, knowing what is going to happen to me would help me prepare mentally. I think it is the duty of the surgeon to lay out his plan of attack, so to speak. Even if you have to pin him down at the last minute (hopefully not that late in the game), but I'm sure you will have another pre-op appointment since your date got pushed up so far. If he doesn't make eye contact with you or attempt to talk to you, I would say, "Excuse me, but..." You get the idea. In defense of the surgeons,"The best laid plans of mice and men..." sometimes they have to change mid-way when they actually get in there and see how your spine is responding to manipulation. You have two things in your favor: 1. You are young. 2. You are physically fit.

To answer the question about the x-rays. It looks to my totally untrained eye, that you do still have curvature in your mid-lumbar region upon bending, so it looks to me like your compensatory curve has become structural. My guess is that he will fix that, too. I will probably save you problems later on. But I am by no means trained in any of this. I had the same thing happen to me. I had a small compensatory curve (like around 20* somewhere), but it progressed and is now 38* and structural. My single major curve turned into a double major curve. My doctor said that would have to be fixed when the time comes to have surgery.

I wish you all the best on your upcoming surgery and I hope you can pin that doctor down and get some answers! You sound like a nice guy and it's harder for us "nice" or "shy" people to be assertive, but this is your body we are talking about here. I think it would be totally proper for you to insist on answering a few questions before you get into the operating room. Thanks for the updates. I like to read other people experiences. It helps prepare me for when my day comes, so THANK YOU for sharing!

Take Care

[titaniumed]

Bill
The first thing I noticed is that your iliac crest heights on both sides look even. Once again, you have your youth going for you. You should do well and get a pretty good correction.

Here is my x-ray in 1993, at age 35. They look similar...and you can put them together as a comparison. Things got worse by age 49 and my 40s’ included painful episodes.

I can see why you want to get this fixed.

Hang in there, it will happen soon.
Ed