ENDO Messages for March, 2007: Re: How do you choose a surgeon?

Re: How do you choose a surgeon?

From: D (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Thu Mar 29 07:44:29 2007

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In reply to: anonymous@obgyn.net: "How do you choose a surgeon?"
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Reply: Laura: "Re: How do you choose a surgeon?"

Hi Laura,

I don't think there's any certain number of doctors you should see before making a decision - you might get lucky and the first one could have the answers you are looking for. If it doesn't feel right, if they haven't answered all of your questions to your satisfaction, if you aren't sure - that's when you need to get a second opinion. And I think any time a doctor suggests major surgery it's a good idea to get another opinion, just because.

May I ask who you are going to see? I'm glad to hear you are going to a specialist - I wish more of us had easier access to real endo specialists!

A few things I would look for in an endo specialist:

- that they really are ENDO specialists, by which I mean that their practice is centered on treating endo patients. - do they remove the disease by excision? Burning it off, whatever the method, is an inferior way to remove the disease and cannot remove it from delicate areas like the bladder and bowels. - will they check the retroperitoneal areas? endo can grow behind the pelvic cavity, causing back, hip, and leg pain, but many doctors don't even look back there and are not skilled enough to remove it from the area. - what if they find endo on the bladder, bowels, or other delicate areas? can they remove it? or do they automatically tell you that you'll need a resection if they find bowel endo? - do they suggest Lupron? I'm tired of having that drug shoved at me, so it's important to me that my doctor not want to use it. - what do others say about the doctor? the top endo specialists are all pretty well known, and you should be able to find some feedback from others searching online. One good place to ask is the endodocs group linked to at the bottom of this post, the archives have lots of info. There's also this site: http://ratemds.com/index.jsp

That's the stuff I can think of off the top of my head. Hope it helps!

At Wed, 28 Mar 2007, anonymous@obgyn.net wrote: >
>I was just diagnosed with Endometriosis stage IV 2 weeks ago during a
>laparoscopy to remove what was thought to be a dermoid tumor. I was
>told by the surgeon that did my initial surgery that because of the
>extensive adhesions and the fact that the endometrioma is near a blood
>vessel he recommends that I have a laparotomy. However, I live in an
>area where there is a laparoscopic surgeon that is a specialist in the
>area of endometriosis. He says that he can do it easily
>laproscopically. I've scheduled surgery with him, I am just curious,
>how many surgeons should you see before you make a decision and what
>resources do you use to be sure about the one you choose? Thanks for any
>suggestions, experience...

-- Find an endo specialist in the ERC's EndoDocs group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EndoDocs/

Try an excellent endo support group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/erc/

Next message: Laurie: "Re: Need Help.......Looks like hyst time.... :-("
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In reply to: anonymous@obgyn.net: "How do you choose a surgeon?"
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