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Originally Posted by nospam
Great research.
I would add that while Dr. Gelabert is very caring and thorough, he is very busy with his teaching and relies on an assistant. He wanted me to have a repeat scalene block and SSEP test and said his assistant would handle scheduling (he gave me a copy of the referral he typed up for her). When I hadn't heard back after 2 weeks I called her and she stated she was waiting on dictation from him(?). I ended up faxing my copy of the order directly to the neurologist so they could inquire with his office as to the holdup. It was another 2 weeks before someone called me to schedule an appointment for testing. I can't imagine trying to deal with Gelabert's office long distance like you may be. I just didn't have the patience and other doctors didn't believe repeating the scalene block and performing SSEP was necessary in my case.
I think that a return to work after only 2 weeks is simply ridiculous. 3 months is much more realistic.
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That is very useful information, Marc, thanks. It definitely seems like Gelabert is not very easy to get a hold of, and I followed your thread, you had noted before that the UCLA system is very slow-moving. I am going to give his office one last call, but am not expecting too much. I had the same experience, the other surgeons I spoke with don't believe those tests are necessary for me. I don't think I will be able to deal with the system either especially being long distance.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nospam
Reachability was a huge factor in my surgeon selection. After finding Dr. Angle, I did not find it necessary to travel for surgery.
My surgeries with Dr. Angle were closer to 3 hours as they required neurolysis. However, I am a pretty sturdy guy and my recovery has been pretty fast. I only had 5 weeks between surgeries and only spent 24 hours in the hospital post-op each time.
In your position, I would definitely give the Denver guys a close look (I had planned to see Brantigan before choosing Angle). Urschel appears to be promising as well.
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Yes, I definitely am hoping to speak with the Denver Drs next week. Hopefully I will have a decision made by the end of the week. I also need to find out whether Urschel does still operate or if he just oversees.
Did Angle completely remove 2 of your scalene muscles or cut and move them up? I am trying to figure out which is better in terms of reducing recurrence. I could have sworn I read somewhere that it is better to remove them, but can't find the source where I might have read that.