[gman]

I've been reading some of the posts on Dr. Jho and spine surgery and I wanted to share something with anyone contemplating surgery with him. I have recently had two disc surgeries with him in the last 5 months. I am 34 years old and started out with a l4-5 discectomy in aug. and a thoracic t2-3 in december. I suffer from severe disc degeneration and have stenosis and multiple herniations of every level from c2-3, c3-4, c4-5, c5-6, and every level from t2 thru t9 including L2-3, and L4-5. T2-3 was most severe and compressing spinal cord and my life was in shambles with so many symptoms including severe pain. When I consulted with him he told me there was noyjing he could do for me because I had too many levels of herniations and he could not put 2 and 2 together, which made sense but I was determined to get help as I had no other choice but to go home and suffer so I talked him into helping me. All of you people who have posted bad experiences with him have to understand that is why neurosurgeons tell you up front there are significant risks with spine surgery, not everyone will benefit but most will. First of all thoracic surgery is the most dangerous of all because of our anatomy. The chances of even having one hertiation in this region is 1 in 1000,000. i have nine. Anyways the surgery was a success as I never doubted Dr. jho for a second. He has given me my life back for now and I reccomend anyone to put there trust in this man for he is the best at what he does, believe it. My father is 57 and has had 11 back operations, Dr. jho has done 7 of them and if it were not for Dr. Jho he would be in a wheelchair. Think about this when you are reading any negative post about Dr. Jho's procedure because when you go into spine surgery no matter who the doctor is, you must always be aware that the outcome may not be good.

[Escobar]

Originally Posted by gman

All of you people who have posted bad experiences with him have to understand that is why neurosurgeons tell you up front there are significant risks with spine surgery, not everyone will benefit but most will. Think about this when you are reading any negative post about Dr. Jho's procedure because when you go into spine surgery no matter who the doctor is, you must always be aware that the outcome may not be good.

Great post. Everyone automatically assumes that they are going to be healed once they get out of surgery. The key thing is that everyone is different and everyone's situation is different. People are very quick to crucify someone for something negative. We rarely hear of anything positive.

Dr. William Zerick of Columbus, OH did a L2-S1 fusion on me and my back feels wonderful. There are days that I am stiff and there are certain chairs I can't sit in for long periods of time, but for the most part I feel great. I have a considerable amount of flexibility and I am doing quite well. The only negative thing going on with my body as a result of my injury is dealing with the nerve damage and trying to manage it.

[Kathi49]

Escobar and gman,

You are correct. And heck, everyone thinks their doctors are better than someone else's. The REAL KEY is as you said...everyone is different. But I will stand by my stance that the TRUE KEY is STABILITY. My NS did not guarantee pain relief but DID explain why I was not a candidate for an ADR nor a foraminotomy on my cervical spine. I am happy with the outcome. As for my own NS's (Dr. Kenneth Renkens) credentials; he along with Dr. Rick Sasso were the first to do the FIRST cervical ADR in North America. So, that was enough for me. Besides that, Dr. Renkens is called in when the Indy car drivers have head injuries...again, enough credentials for me. Is he the best? I think so...at least in the Indianapolis area. And if he thought for a minute that minimally invasive surgery would be the best for me, he would have stated as much. Instead, when talking about the ADR, he explained precisely and in no uncertain terms that I WOULD continue to have pain with it and why. So, yes, I trusted his judgement and am glad I did!

[gman]

Originally Posted by Kathi49

Escobar and gman,

You are correct. And heck, everyone thinks their doctors are better than someone else's. The REAL KEY is as you said...everyone is different. But I will stand by my stance that the TRUE KEY is STABILITY. My NS did not guarantee pain relief but DID explain why I was not a candidate for an ADR nor a foraminotomy on my cervical spine. I am happy with the outcome. As for my own NS's (Dr. Kenneth Renkens) credentials; he along with Dr. Rick Sasso were the first to do the FIRST cervical ADR in North America. So, that was enough for me. Besides that, Dr. Renkens is called in when the Indy car drivers have head injuries...again, enough credentials for me. Is he the best? I think so...at least in the Indianapolis area. And if he thought for a minute that minimally invasive surgery would be the best for me, he would have stated as much. Instead, when talking about the ADR, he explained precisely and in no uncertain terms that I WOULD continue to have pain with it and why. So, yes, I trusted his judgement and am glad I did!

I can't tell by your post if you had an adr or fusion but regardless I'm glad your outcome was good. Yes 80% of the battle is trusting and believing in your surgeon and I truly believe that if you are sceptical at all of your ns that your chances of a good outcome are less. Good for you and much luck in the future.

[gman]

Originally Posted by Escobar

Great post. Everyone automatically assumes that they are going to be healed once they get out of surgery. The key thing is that everyone is different and everyone's situation is different. People are very quick to crucify someone for something negative. We rarely hear of anything positive.

Dr. William Zerick of Columbus, OH did a L2-S1 fusion on me and my back feels wonderful. There are days that I am stiff and there are certain chairs I can't sit in for long periods of time, but for the most part I feel great. I have a considerable amount of flexibility and I am doing quite well. The only negative thing going on with my body as a result of my injury is dealing with the nerve damage and trying to manage it.

sounds like your NS did a good job. You are lucky to have such a good outcome , as though some people believe they will be miraculously 100% back to normal after spine surgery, the fact is that you wont. You cannot go back in time to when you did not have an injury , you can only stop it from further damage and hope to get at least 70 - 80% relief . If you get anything more its a win. After, it's just a matter of getting the right help from pain mgmt or phys therapy to help get comfortable. good luck!

[tish13]

A good physician is supposed to be interested in his patient(s) post operative. That includes seeing that patient after his/her surgery and follow up as needed. A person with a Spinal Disorder puts not only his/her body in the hands of a physician, but also trust, or at least I do. Jho's reputation proceeds his ability to treat his patients timely and adquedately. His practice is too big for one man, AND if you really do your homework and search for physicians who perform minimally invasive procedures, you will find hundreds of them. Let me leave you with one last thought, If your car was broken and you took it to a mechanic, he gave it back to you but you know that something is still wrong--whether it is a sound, knock, etc, would you be satisfied if he was then too busy to look at your car again? It is called accountability.

[Fancylady_2006]

Originally Posted by Kathi49

Escobar and gman,

You are correct. And heck, everyone thinks their doctors are better than someone else's. The REAL KEY is as you said...everyone is different. But I will stand by my stance that the TRUE KEY is STABILITY. My NS did not guarantee pain relief but DID explain why I was not a candidate for an ADR nor a foraminotomy on my cervical spine. I am happy with the outcome. As for my own NS's (Dr. Kenneth Renkens) credentials; he along with Dr. Rick Sasso were the first to do the FIRST cervical ADR in North America. So, that was enough for me. Besides that, Dr. Renkens is called in when the Indy car drivers have head injuries...again, enough credentials for me. Is he the best? I think so...at least in the Indianapolis area. And if he thought for a minute that minimally invasive surgery would be the best for me, he would have stated as much. Instead, when talking about the ADR, he explained precisely and in no uncertain terms that I WOULD continue to have pain with it and why. So, yes, I trusted his judgement and am glad I did!

Hi Kathi49~ I got a doctor in Indy. His name is Dr. Mike Coscia, ever heard of him? I think he is good. He has done 5 of my surgeries. The other 2 doctor's wasn't near as good as him. I do fairly well anymore, and won't complain any!
Fancylady

[Kathi49]

Hi Fancylady,

Yes, I have heard of Dr. Coscia. And nothing but good things! A good friend of mine has had him do a lumbar fusion. He really likes him. Now, I go to the Methodist Sports Medicine Clinic for rehab on my arms and am seeing Dr. Misamore. He is VERY good as well. But as for my neck, I will stick with a NS although an OSS can perform the surgery as well.

[Fancylady_2006]

Hi Kathi49~ I think I know who your good friend is! Would it be Mark N of BT. He is so nice and polite to everyone. I still read over there sometimes. Since I don't have much of a problem, I don't post much anymore. Thanks for your reply!
Fancylady~

[Kathi49]

Fancylady,

Yes, it is Mark. But I have also heard good things about Dr. Coscia from others as well. I have to laugh though...Mark warned me that I might not like the Sports Med Clinic; think he meant that it is full of people, etc. But I am going to the one on North Meridian...almost near Carmel. Anyway, I really like the Ortho doc and the PT's are great too! At least they are going very slow with me; meaning not too aggressive thank goodness. I am glad to hear Dr. Coscia has helped you so much. I think it is sometimes difficult to find a good surgeon and I am glad we both did.