Bad experience!

[foxxxy]

I took my daughter to Shriner's for a closed circuit television consultation, for a 2nd opinion. (just to humor my exhusband's mother.)

I don't know if this closed circuit TV visit has helped anyone else, but for us
it was no help at all. Worse of all it wasn't until the very end of the appointment when we found out that the doctor seeing us wasn't even an a surgeon that could do the surgery. Currently, according to the doctor we saw at Shriner's yesterday, Shriner's does not have an orthopedic surgeon on staff and there is a waiting list when they do find one.

Even though the doctor we saw was not an orthopedic surgeon who does surgeries for scoliosis, he advised my daughter and me that we COULD put off this surgery for a year or so because it was 'no big deal.'

At the beginning of the appointment this doctor told us, if the curve is greater
than 40 degrees, it is necessary to have surgery. Then, several minutes later close to the end of the consultation, when I told him that my daughter's curve was estimated at 48 degrees he told me it was 'no big deal' and that the surgery could wait!

The way the doctor presented himself was very unproffessional, too. He sat
behind a big table, propping his head up on his hands. I thought he was going to fall asleep or his head was gonna fall off if it weren't for his hands....

I'm not sure what type of surgeon he is but he left the surgery for my daughter's appointment and that made me a little uneasy as well.

Needless to say I was disapointed with the visit.

Has anyone else had an experience with Shriners?

[jillw]

Foxxxy, I'm sorry to hear about your disappointing visit. It doesn't sound like it was confidence inspiring.

Different Shriners hospitals can have different areas of expertise and of course different doctors have different bedside manners. I don't know which location the Shriners Hospital you dealt with was at, but it sounds like it's not one of the better ones for scoliosis specifically (but who knows, it may be the best hospital in the country for cleft palate or some other specialty)

I have consulted with 2 Shriners hospitals. I wasn't overly impressed with one of them (although it was fine) for where my daughter is in her stage of growth (i.e. not at surgery levels, but needs to be treated in the meantime) However, I've heard great things about the 1st Shriners hospital we visited from people whose children were at surgery levels and also people who went to that hospital for things other than scoliosis. On the other hand, we went to another Shriners Hospital - this one was in Philly- which was Wonderful! Numerous surgeons on staff, all knowledgable, cutting edge research for scoliosis issues, great bedside manner, compassionate etc etc. In other words scoliosis is one of the strengths of the Shriners in Philadelphia in my opinion. I'm sorry your experience wasn't the same....

[foxxxy]

Jill,

Thank you for your reply!

The Shriner's we went to was in Las Vegas, NV but the doctor was in LA, California.


I don't understand why this doctor even saw us and how he could give advise if this was not his expertise.

I don't mean to say anything bad about Shriner's. They are a great
organization and help alot of kids who would suffer if it weren't for them. I do
think I should have been told from the beginning that they do not have the staff
to perform the surgery right now and the doctor should not have seen us unless
he could perform the surgery.
>
> I believe that beggers can't be choosers and if you needed surgery and had no
money for it then Shriner's is a good last resort, but I also think that
Shriner's should be a last result, and the quality of service you recieve could
only be second best (but second best is always better than nothing at all.)

[Pooka1]

I believe that beggers can't be choosers and if you needed surgery and had no money for it then Shriner's is a good last resort, but I also think that Shriner's should be a last result, and the quality of service you recieve could only be second best (but second best is always better than nothing at all.)

No actually in re scoliosis treatments, Shriners has some top shelf researchers who are at the cutting edge and at the top of their field.

Staff at Philly include pioneers and innovators of new treatment strategies for childhood scoliosis.

Nothing second rate about it. Rather they are leading other institutions in research in certain areas.

[leahdragonfly]

Shriners Las Vegas?

Hi Foxxy,

I am sorry to hear of your experience. My daughter is a Shriners Philly patient, and has also been seen several times at Shriners Portland. The Philly hospital in particular is second to none, in fact, despite excellent insurance, we travelled there from the Pacific Northwest for the top-notch scoliosis care available.

I know that the various Shriners sites have different specialties, and that some specialize in orthopedics while others do not. So I guess I am now confused by your comments, because I can not find any listing for a Shriners in Las Vegas at all on the Shriners Hospital website. There is one in LA that specializes in orthopedics and scoliosis..Curious, what was the name of the MD who was located in LA who did the conference?

Again I am sorry your experience was not confidence-inspiring, but I do not believe your experience in any way justifies stating across the board that Shriners gives second-rate care or is only for those who can't pay.

[kennedy]

there no shriners hospitals in las vas nv
The close one near lv is in la

[nikyergen]

I am so sorry about your experience at Shriners. We had incredible experiences with them. We went to Shrine Hospital in Portland, OR. Don't be affraid to ask for an opinion from a 2nd doctors, even a 3rd or 4th opinion. You have to feel good about your childs care.