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  • #1

    Dr. Howard An

    Any thoughts/comments/feedback on this surgeon in Chicago at Rush Hospital? Considering revision surgery.

    I found him under a list of 100 top spine surgeons in the U.S. If I had my choice, I'd fly 4 hrs to St. Louis and see Dr. Lenke but I've have no family support there and we all know how important that is!!

    Thanks in advance.
    Susan
    XLIF/Posterior Surgery 6/16/08. Fused T10-L5 in CA by Dr. Michael Kropf (don't go there unless it's simple, I hear he's at Cedar's now). Very deformed, had revision w/5 PSO's, rods from T-3 to sacrum including iliac screws, all posterior, 5/23/16 with Dr. Purnendu Gupta of Chicago.

    Owner of Chachi the Chihuahua, So Cal born and bred, now a resident of 'Chicagoland' Illinois. Uh, dislike it here....thank God there was ONE excellent spine surgeon in this area.
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  • #2
    Originally posted by Chihuahua Mama View Post
    Any thoughts/comments/feedback on this surgeon in Chicago at Rush Hospital? Considering revision surgery.

    I found him under a list of 100 top spine surgeons in the U.S. If I had my choice, I'd fly 4 hrs to St. Louis and see Dr. Lenke but I've have no family support there and we all know how important that is!!

    Thanks in advance.
    I know this thread is older, but I thought I'd reply anyway.

    The short answer is while I have not had surgery with him, I did have a consult with him. I found him to be one of the worst orthopedic surgeons I have ever consulted with. My visit was so bad that it ended up with a letter of apology from Dr. Anderson, his Chief of Staff.

    I also met a woman a couple of years ago that had surgery with him and the results were less than optimal. She ended up having to have surgery again six months later with a different surgeon to correct what Dr. An had done. I could go into detail, but this is an old thread and probably no one will read this.
    "The plural of anecdote is not data" --Frank Kotsonis

    Ph.D. in Bone Biology
    Harrington rod and Leuke sublaminar wires 2/1986, fused T4 to T12.
    First revision 3/1987 fused pseudoarthrosis, placed CD instrumentation from T10-T12.
    CD instrumentation removal 10/97 following breakage.
    Leuke wire removal 4/99.
    Salvage surgery; Harrington removal 1/2000, fused to L2.
    Ruptured disc, fusion extension to L4 3/2016.
    Surgeons: David Bradford, Francois Denis, Mike Lagrone

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    • #3
      Glad you replied

      After scouring the city of Chicago I found out that Rush was a good ortho hospital for SOME procedures, but TERRIBLE and I really mean terrible for spine. Dr. An is administrative and I'm so glad I didn't go see him. Instead I saw their revision surgeon and you know what he said to me? "I'm 53 years old, I can't stand for a 10 to 11 hour surgery"! Can you believe that? He actually wanted to do the surgery in 2 parts; send me home after part 1 then see if we needed part 2.

      His name is CHRISTOPHER DEWALD and he's a quack. Both my daughter and I were appalled. Fortunately I found Dr. Purnendu Gupta at Northshore. I hate Northshore and yes I have some criticism of many aspects of the surgery and recovery, but as far as the excellence of the surgeon himself, he is top notch and I am very lucky to have found him. His job was to fix my spine and he did a fantastic job.

      I'm shocked that a city the size of Chicago has such a poor selection of top surgeons. In L.A. and Beverly Hills you have choices - even NYC. But here? There's only one and I did my homework.

      I'm about 3 months out and I have less pain now than 2 years after my original surgery (plus I looked like Quasimodo). I'm walking well and love my gait.

      Even large hospitals have their share of lousy spine surgeons that's why I tell everyone to ask, research, INTERVIEW, and see at least 5 surgeons before making a decision. I didn't even have 5 here in Chicago.

      IMG952944-1.jpg

      Thanks again for the response.
      Susan
      XLIF/Posterior Surgery 6/16/08. Fused T10-L5 in CA by Dr. Michael Kropf (don't go there unless it's simple, I hear he's at Cedar's now). Very deformed, had revision w/5 PSO's, rods from T-3 to sacrum including iliac screws, all posterior, 5/23/16 with Dr. Purnendu Gupta of Chicago.

      Owner of Chachi the Chihuahua, So Cal born and bred, now a resident of 'Chicagoland' Illinois. Uh, dislike it here....thank God there was ONE excellent spine surgeon in this area.

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