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  • confused...?

    I am really confused by my Dr. right now. I went in to see my him because of back pain, I had a CT scan done and he reviewed it and suggested that rod removal would help with overall pain. I asked if it would help with my rib hump pain I was having (especially when sitting in chairs) and he talked to me about possibly having a thoracoplasty too. Basically, he told me to research it and if I wanted to go through with it to call his office. Well I thought about it and researched it for two months and decided to most likely do it so I called his office for more info. regarding the surgeries. The lady I spoke with said she would call back in a day. Well basically, she called me today which is a week later and said the Dr. did not want to do the surgery because he felt it was for cosmetic reasons. I am VERY upset especially since he was the one to bring up the surgeries. I even asked him at the time if he thought it was beneficial for me and he said yes. I don't know what to think or do. Does anyone have any suggestions? Help I am so confused right now!

  • #2
    I would call back and ask to speak directly to the doctor or make another appt. to talk with him in person.

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    • #3
      Aside from being confusing to you, that's unprofessional in my opinion. I think it's worth seeing another doctor and not bothering with someone who cannot take the time to discuss his change of opinion with you. I think it's sad that it's taken so lightly from a doctor when it's a huge deal to a patient.

      Best of luck,
      Jamie

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      • #4
        Hi Leslie...

        Perhaps you need to get another opinion. Would you be willing to say who you're currently seeing?

        --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

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        • #5
          Hi Linda,
          I am seeing Dr. Robert Pashman at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. Do you know of any other good Dr.'s in the area?

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          • #6
            Hi...

            I was a little concerned that the surgeon didn't have a lot of experience in thoracoplasties, but Dr. Pashman should (he did a fellowship at UCSF). I wonder if he's concerned that he won't be able to get your insurance company to approve the surgery.

            You may want to get a second opinion from Behrooz Akbarnia in La Jolla.

            Be careful about having your implants removed. Results aren't always great. The people who have good outcomes from removal seem to be the ones who knew, right from the start, that their implants were causing specific pain.

            Regards,
            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

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            • #7
              Hi Linda,
              I was thinking it might be an insurance issue as well but I wish he would have called to explain more not just say it's more cosmetic through his staff, it was so impersonal. I never even conisdered rod removal until he suggested it, in your opinion do you believe the risks outweigh the benefits? Also, do you know of any more Dr's I would like to talk to at least two. I am in the Ventura/Santa Barbara area. Thank you so much.

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              • #8
                Hi Leslie...

                I'm not a medical professional, so I can't really judge whether the risk is equal to the reward. Here's a study on the topic:

                http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...=pubmed_docsum
                http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...=pubmed_docsum
                http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...=pubmed_DocSum

                In all of the cases to which I've ever been exposed, the only people who got good pain relief from implant removal were those who knew, right from the start, that their implants were causing the discomfort. I can't stress this enough.

                I don't really know much about the other southern California specialists, but you can find a list of them here:

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

                Regards,
                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


                • #9
                  Leslie. First off, see my posts to MarHou where my mama and I both thwacked her doctor.

                  Second, why on earth... is your doctor, asking you to do the research and get back to him?

                  He is supposed to provide MERCY, if not solutions, e.g., We could try this, that, or if that doesn't work, and the worst case scenario is...

                  Thwack! You want me to call my mama on the phone? She's a Registered Nurse (retired). She is also first generation Italian and VERY fiesty and assertive.

                  It seems that you are the one coming up with suggestions and possible solutions.

                  I don't need to call my Mama. Thwack, thwack, right behind 'ya Mama!

                  Leslie, for what it's worth, by the time I showed up at an orthopedic surgeon's office, my tale wasn't worth telling, e.g., "We hear that all the time." I didn't bother telling my "whole" story, what I asked was, "Would YOU have sent someone like me out into life, have a happy life, just don't over do?"

                  Answer. No.
                  Traction at 13, body cast 1 mos., Milwaukee, first plastic (severe allergy, abdomen skin burst, watery) then leather. Harrington Rod @ 15, 9 mos body cast, hips up. 9 more mos being careful and protective. Degenerated disc C4-5 I think well above the rod. Degenerated disc below the rod now? Probably.

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