United StatesThanks to all of you answering my question regarding 2 surgeons operating at once among other things.
I decided that to go for a 3rd opinion would only cost me some time and gas. I am glad I did as I found the surgeon that had what I was looking for. I could have a real conversation with him, rather than the other surgeon who answered questions but never engaged.
Many of you said go for experience over bedside manner which is true to some extent but you still need to feel comfortable and confident with who are selecting and their team.
Now this surgeon does not do the same volume as the medical center doctor but given that there were about 700 knee replacements done in all the hospitals in Vermont last year you will not get the volume. This physician has been in practice for 33 years and was one of the first in the state to use computer aided navigation and even got the community hospital to purchase the equipment which is big given the cost. This hospital and the medical school (not the one of the second surgeon) do about 60% of the surgeries so the experience is there.
The doctor had his knee replaced and used the hospital and he said many of his colleagues also selected this hospital even though they could have gone anywhere.
Another advantage of this hospital as it has 1 of the 3 approved inpatient acute rehab units so I won't have to transfer from the hospital to some place else. Most of you went straight home but that is not possible when you live alone and all family is out of state and you live in a rural area.
He said that before computer assisted navigation bilaterals were done with 2 surgeons at once because of the time under anesthesia. He said that is not the case any more. So that when I called to cancel the surgery at the 2nd place they said they use 2 surgeons to reduce anesthesia time and infection exposure but I think economics also plays into it. I would think have both knees open at once would be a greater infection risk.
I also found this physician very realistic in that there is a good possibility ROM will not increase and if things become too complicated with one he will not do the other.
Lastly, he made the comment that you can have a place that does too few as well as too many and that he and his hospital are in the middle of that spectrum. I checked out the hospital and with the smaller size and being nonprofit they do put patients first.
Well my adventure will began on June 3rd though not being able to take my megadoses of aspirin for 10 days prior will probably be a bigger challenge.
Simon
I decided that to go for a 3rd opinion would only cost me some time and gas. I am glad I did as I found the surgeon that had what I was looking for. I could have a real conversation with him, rather than the other surgeon who answered questions but never engaged.
Many of you said go for experience over bedside manner which is true to some extent but you still need to feel comfortable and confident with who are selecting and their team.
Now this surgeon does not do the same volume as the medical center doctor but given that there were about 700 knee replacements done in all the hospitals in Vermont last year you will not get the volume. This physician has been in practice for 33 years and was one of the first in the state to use computer aided navigation and even got the community hospital to purchase the equipment which is big given the cost. This hospital and the medical school (not the one of the second surgeon) do about 60% of the surgeries so the experience is there.
The doctor had his knee replaced and used the hospital and he said many of his colleagues also selected this hospital even though they could have gone anywhere.
Another advantage of this hospital as it has 1 of the 3 approved inpatient acute rehab units so I won't have to transfer from the hospital to some place else. Most of you went straight home but that is not possible when you live alone and all family is out of state and you live in a rural area.
He said that before computer assisted navigation bilaterals were done with 2 surgeons at once because of the time under anesthesia. He said that is not the case any more. So that when I called to cancel the surgery at the 2nd place they said they use 2 surgeons to reduce anesthesia time and infection exposure but I think economics also plays into it. I would think have both knees open at once would be a greater infection risk.
I also found this physician very realistic in that there is a good possibility ROM will not increase and if things become too complicated with one he will not do the other.
Lastly, he made the comment that you can have a place that does too few as well as too many and that he and his hospital are in the middle of that spectrum. I checked out the hospital and with the smaller size and being nonprofit they do put patients first.
Well my adventure will began on June 3rd though not being able to take my megadoses of aspirin for 10 days prior will probably be a bigger challenge.
Simon
![[Bonesmart.org] Update (2 vs 1 surgeon) Decided](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' width='240' height='240' viewBox%3D'0 0 240 240'%2F%3E "[Bonesmart.org] Update (2 vs 1 surgeon) Decided")
