TKR Finding a surgeon in Kaiser Northern CA?

[Aquilegia]

Hi,

First post to this forum- 69-year woman with one bad knee from many years of playing soccer/post-ACL tear reconstruction. I'm finally at the point where Naproxen and a knee brace aren't doing it for me - time to get this done!

I'm getting quite frustrated trying to locate TKR surgeons to interview in any of the Bay Area Kaiser facilities except my "home base" of Santa Clara. The doctor search facility on the Kaiser web site is useless - for example it shows only one orthopedic surgeon in San Leandro, although I know they do hundreds of those operations per year. And unlike non-HMO facilities, there don't seem to be online reviews for Kaiser doctors. If you have gone through this process, any hints you can offer?

 

[Jaycey]

@Aquilegia Welcome to BoneSmart! I think my colleague @lovetocookandsew is familiar with Kaiser. I've tagged her to come and chat with you here.

 

[djklaugh]

@Aquilegia I am also familiar with Kaiser - though my experience is with the NW region. Kaiser has been my insurance for 40+ years AND I worked for Kaiser for 24 years though not in orthopedics or surgery. I think that basic procedures for getting to the right surgeon are the same in any Kaiser region. 1st step would be getting in to see your primary care doctor (or send him/her a message if they know you fairly well and are familiar with your knee problems). Get x-rays take of the knee and request a referral to a knee specialist in orthopedic surgery - the way I phrased it to my PCP when seeking hip replacement was "Who within this Kaiser region would you want to do this surgery on you or a family member?". Unless they have drastically changed the system in the last 6 years (since I had my last shoulder surgery) a referral is required! And alas you probably would not be able to interview several different surgeons. My experience with the surgeons in the NW region has been excellent! Each has been an excellent surgeon and the care I've gotten has been top notch.

Good luck to you and do keep us informed about how you are getting on. Hopefully other folks will chime in with their experiences.

 

[lovetocookandsew]

Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with the Kaisers in the Bay area. Many years ago, we did live in Walnut Creek, but that was back in the 80s. I'm very familiar with the Roseville area Kaisers, and know some of the ortho docs there. I've had Kaiser exclusively since 1976-ish, so have a pretty good idea of how it works. Instead of searching for orthopedic surgeons, search for the facility/facilities, then find orthopedics. Check out the individual doctors listed under the generic specialty of orthopedics to see what each one does. You can also call the Member Services Contact Center at 1-800-464-4000 to get the info you need. Let us know how it goes.