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DOCTORS & PTs List and saved PT info threads
This thread & list was started in 2006 - so some links may be expired and some providers may be retired or closed their practice by the time you are reading here..so a web search to check for current info of names listed might be a good idea.
Alaska Arkansaw California Sheldon Jordan Neurological associates of West LA 2811 Wilshire Blvd #790 Santa Monica, CA 90403 310-829-5968 Also PT's, don't' know if they are there: Westside Spine and Joint Rehabilitation 1082 Glendon Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90024 (310) 209-2011 Joyce Wilkinson 2664 29th street Santa Monica 90405 310-392-8259 SALINAS PHYSICAL THERAPY/Sports Medicine 21540 E Yorba Linda Blvd Suite A, Yorba Linda, CA 714.695.1566 fax 714.695.1533 Salinas Physical Therapy/Sports Medicine | Yorba Linda | Anaheim Hills | Brea | Placentia | Corona *Docotrate in PT He has been helping me so much since my 911 call Joyce in Santa Monica that Johanna, Shelly, Ali and everyone uses was booked for 2 weeks Dr. Wladislaw Ellis 2445 Carleton Berkeley, CA 94704 (510) 849-4703 (510) 849-4995 (FAX) David Agnew MD Neurology/Pain Medicine 533 E. Micheltorena St Suite 202 Santa Barbara, CA 93103 805) 962-1116 Samuel S. Ahn, MD, FACS Vascular Surgeon University Vascular Associates 1082 Glendon Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90024 (310)209-2011x3 (o); (310)209-2113 (fax) email address: sahn@universityvascular.com Dr. Hugh Gelabert UCLA Gonda Vascular Center 200 UCLA Medical Plaza Suite 510-6 Los Angeles, CA 90095-6908 310-206-6294 FAX: 310-206-3885 Website: www.surgery.medsch.ucla.edu/asp/doctors.asp Dr. Ernestina Saxton / Neurologist 2070 Century Park East suite 401 Los Angeles,California ,90067 phone is 310- 556- 0765 Dr. Aaron G. Filler / Neurosurgeon Institute for Nerve Medicine 2716 Ocean Park Blvd., Suite 3082 Santa Monica, Ca 90405 (310)314-6410 NerveMed | The Leading Nerve and Spine Health Information Resource Dr. Richard M. Braun 770 Washington Street, Suite 301 San Diego CA 92103 619 - 297-9200 -works closely with physical therapists in the same building: The Hand Center 770 Washington Street, Suite 207 San Diego CA 92103 619-299-5000 Dr. Linda M. Reilly, MD Associate Professor of Surgery in Residence Assistant Chief of Vascular Surgery University Of California San Francisco, CA 94143-0222 (415) 476-1357 Hugh A. Gelabert, MD., F.A.C.S. Associate Professor Division of Vascular Surgery UCLA GONDA Vascular Center Newkirk Neurology METS Clinic 1099 D Street San Rafael, CA 94901 Phone: (415)258-1838 Fax: (415)457-2850 Website: www.drnewkirk.com James Avery, II, Thoracic Surgeon CAL Pacific Medical Center 2100 Webster Street #320 San Francisco, CA 94115 Phone: (415)923-3150 Fax: (415)563-2527 Dr. Darren B. Schneider Clinic: Vascular Center at UCSF 400 Parnassus Ave. Room A-6110, Box 0957 San Francisco, CA 94143 Phone: (415)353-2357 Thomas McClure MD CPMC Davies Castro & Duboce San Francisco, CA Phone: (415)565-6616 Jon C. Bowersox, M.D.,Ph.D. Associate Professor of Surgery Chief, Vascular Surgery Mount Zion Surgery Faculty Practice 2330 Post St., #420 San Francisco, CA 94115 Tel: (415) 476-1070 Fax: (415) 353-9526 Dr. Pang / Neurosurgeon Sacramento, California UCD (University California Davis) Medical Center Peter Edgelow, PT Northern California (510) 732.7881 Todd Soares, P.T. North Santa Rosa Physical Therapy 2305 Mendocino Ave., Suite B Santa Rosa, CA 95403 Tel: (707) 579-4217 Fax: (707) 579-3271 Dr. Scott Peterson Santa Rosa, CA. Dr. Daniel Cross DC Fair Oaks, CA Dr. Matan / Orthopedic surgeon Pinole, CA. Dr. Stallone & John Pletz, M.D. Oakland Ca. Spine Clinic 1-650-994-0459 In Daly City (just south of SF) on Mon & Wed In Fairfield (near Sacramento) on Tuesday In Santa Rosa on Thursdays www.spine-clinics.com/ Dr. Michel Gagnon, DC, ART, & Dr. Tina Roach, DC, ART Active Release Therapy 6105 Snell Ave., Ste. 101 San Jose, CA 95123 (408) 972-5686 Fax (408) 578-1804 Murray Tanner/Physical Therapy 3640 W. Lomita Blvd. Suite 203 Torrance California 90505 Ph (310) 378-1212 Fax (310) 378-0124 Linda Johnson & Bob McGrath: PT & Feldenkrais Practitioner Clinic: Movement Matters PO Box 492722 Redding, CA 96049 Phone: (530)222-3622 Fax: (530)222-3657 Dr. Louis Messina Clinic: Vasular Surgery-Chief Surgeon 400 Parnassus Ave Room A-6110, Box 0957 San Francisco CA, 94143 Phone: (415)353-2357 Dr. Terri Turner DO Osteopathic Doctor 698 Peteluma Ave. Sebastopol, CA 95472 Phone: (707)824-9742 Dr. Richard Fischel Chapman Medical Center 2601 East Chapman Avenue Orange, CA 92869 Phone: (714)633-0011 ext. 1423 Website: www.chapmanmedicalcenter.com Colorado Dr. Brantigan 2253 Downing St. Denver, CO 80205 (303) 830-8822 main office 1-800-992-4676 toll free (303) 830-7019 billing office FAX:: (303) 830-7068 E-mail: inquiries@drbrantigan.com Website: www.drbrantigan.com Vascular Institute of the Rockies Dr. Synn Dr. Annest 2253 Downing St. Denver, CO 80205 (303) 830-8822 main office 1-800-992-4676 toll free (303) 830-7019 billing office FAX : (303) 830-7068 E-MAIL: info@vascularinstitute.com Website: www.vascularinstitute.com Feldenkrais Therapy Charlotte Watership Denver, CO 303-691-3690 Paula Ashbaugh Physical Therapist 1805 S. Bellaire Suite 235 Denver, CO 80222 Phone: 303-756-3388 Fax: 303-756-3399 Dr. Richard J. Sanders 4545 E. 9th Ave. Denver, CO 80220 303-388-6461 OR 888-756-6222 e-mail: rsanders@ecentral.com Website: www.ecentral.com/members/rsanders Cranial Sacrial Massage Christine Aolia Denver, CO 303-760-7756 Dr. Brandt Denver Pain Management Denver, CO 303-367-0600 W. Lynn Derks W. Lynn Derks, Neuromuscular Therapist 1150 Vine Street, #606 Denver, CO 80206 Phone: (720)231-3783 ext E-mail: derksl@gtlaw.com Connecticut Dr Robert Lowe Hartford, CT 860-522-4158 Delaware Florida Dr. Dennis Bandyk Harbourside Medical Tower Suite 300 4 Columbia Drive Tampa, Florida 33606 813 259-0921 813 259-0606 (FAX) dbandyk@hsc.usf.edu Specialties Faculty of the University of South Florida Division of Vascular Surgery provide the entire spectrum of open and endovascular intervention for vascular disease - an ICAVL accredited vascular laboratory is located in the Vascular Center. Melissa Lowry-Howland, MSPT Cheryl Mandel, OTR Memorial Fitness and Rehabilitation Center 300 Hollywood Way Hollywood, Florida 33021 Phone: (954)985-5880 Fax: (954)967-2914 E-mail: cmandel@mhs.net Website: http://mhs.net Dr. Diego F. Guerrero Orlando, FL (407) 303-2464 Dr. Veldenz University of Florida Southside Multi Spec Center 4555 Emerson St, Suite 200 Jacksonville, Florida 32207 Phone: (904)346-3877 Fax: (904)396-4432 Georgia Dr. Suzie Tindall Emory University Neurology and Neurosurgery Department Atlanta, GA Mendi Schubert (PT) Rehab South 377 West Pike Street, Suite B Lawrenceville, GA 30045 Phone: (678)985-0238 ext Fax: (678)985-0136 Dr. Carlos A.Selmonosky, M.D. TOS CLINIC-Gilmer Medical Center 36 Mulberry St., P.O. Box 969 East Ellijay, GA 30539 Office: (706) 636-3005 (706) 635-5033 Fax: (706) 635-5032 Website: www.tos-clinic.com/ Hawaii Idaho Illinois Dr. R Lim Midwest Orthopaedic Consultants 4545 W 103rd St. Oak Lawn, IL 60453 Phone: (708)226-3300 Fax: (708)226-3500 Dr. Steven Mather M&M Orthopaedics Ltd. 4115 Fairview ave Downers Grove , IL 60409 Phone: (630)968-1881 Website: www.mmortho.com Dr. Steven H. Packard, M.D., F.A.C.S. 602 West University Avenue Urbana, Il 61801 (217) 383-3260 Indiana Dr. Erdogen Atasoy New Albany, IN (502)561-4263 Iowa John Sharp University Of Iowa Hospital/Vascular Surgery 200 Hawkins Dr. #1504JCP Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1086 Phone: (319)356-1907 John Simonsen PT/ATC Accelelerated rehabilitation centers 402 10th St. SE Suite 700 Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52403 Phone: (319)365-9439 Fax: (319)365-9368 Kansas Joyce Householder P.T Menorh Medical Center 5721 W. 119 street Overland Park, Kansas 66209 (913)498-6990 Kentucky Dr. Linker who has taken over Dr. Atasoy's patients Dr. Erdogan Atasoy (Retired) Kleinert, Kutz and Associates Hand Care Center Louisville, Kentucky (502) 561-4263 Louisiana Dr. Marco A Ramos Neurologist 2800 Hearne Ave Shreveport, Louisiana 71103 Phone: (318)635-2086 Dr. David Kline Neurology Dept of LSU 1542 Tulane Ave New Orleans, LA 70112 (504)568-6120 E-MAIL: dkline@lsumc.edu Douglas Tietjen Tietjen Physical Therapy Shreveport, Louisiana (318)221-4216 Maine Dr. John (Jeb) Hallett Jr. Eastern Maine Medical Center 489 State Street , P.O. Box 404 Bangor, Maine 04402 Phone: (207)973-6670 E-mail: jhallett@emh.org Website: www.emmc.org Maryland A. Lee Dellon, MD, FACS Suite 370, Johnston Professional Building Union Memorial Hospital 3333 North Calvert Street Baltimore, Maryland, 21218 phone 410-467-5400 fax 410-366-9826 E-MAIL: aldellon@erols.com Dr. Michele T. Cerino, MD, PA Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgery Osler Medical Center 7600 Osler Drive, Suite 300 Towson, MD 21204 410-296-9003 Dr. Julia Freischlog Chief of Vascular Surgery @ John Hopkins Baltimore Md 601 N. Caroline St. 8th Floor Adult Medicine Dept. Baltimore, MD 21287 PH: 443-287-3497 FAX: 443-287-3500 http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/surge...lty/Freischlag Dr. Avraam Karas / Dir. Vascular Surgery 5601 Loch Raven Blvd. Suite 404 Baltimore, MD 21239 Phone: (410)323-4041 Fax: (410)532-6155 |
Doctor List Continued
Massachusetts
Dr. Samuel Goldhaber Cardiology/Brigham and Women's Francis St Boston, MA Phone: (617)732-4837 Dr. Magruder C. Donaldson MD / Vascular Surgeon Dr. Edgar Ross / Director, BWH Pain Clinic Brigham & Womens Hospital Boston, MA E-mail : ncdonaldson@bics.bwh.harvard.edu Dr. Edgar Ross Director, BWH Pain Clinic Michigan O. William Brown, MD 31700 Telegraph #140 Bingham Farms, MI 48025 Phone: 248-433-0881 Fax: 248-433-1628 Kalamazoo, MI Dr. John T. Collins Jr vascular TOS surgeon Borgess Hospital, Kalamazoo, MI He runs a TOS clinic Gavin I. Awerbuch, M.D. / Neurologist 915 S. Euclid Avenue Bay City, MI 48706 517-667-5760 Jerome V. Ciullo M.D. / Orthopedic Surgeon Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Surgery Sports Medicine Center of Metro Detroit, P.C. 755 W. Big Beaver, Suite 1300 Troy, MI 48084-4903 248-244-8887 Dr. Gerald Zelenock, M.D. William Beaumont Hospital 3601 W 13 Mile Rd. Royal Oak, Michigan 48073 Phone: (248)551-1465 Fax: (248)551-3023 Website: Beaumont Health System | Part of Beaumont Health Dr Samet / Sarah and crew Clinic: Preferred Medicine- Spine, Sports and Occupational Medicine 15636 Southfield Rd Allen Park, Michigan 48101 Phone: (313)928-0700 Fax: (313)928-0701 Physical Therapy and Pain Management Dr. Randy Roth, Psychologist and Director of: Pain Management Program University of Michigan Spine Program (734) 998-6644 Dr. Paul Cullis, M.D. Michigan Neurology Institute, East 18245 Ten Mile Rd. Suite 130 Roseville, Michigan 48192 Phone: (586)771-7440 Fax: (586)771-9966 Dr. Lance R Chaldecott Orthopedic Specialists 3200 Biddle Ave Wyandotte, Michigan 48192 Phone: (734)324-3900 Fax: (734)324-3979 Dr Samet / Sarah and crew Preferred Medicine- Spine, Sports and Occupational Medicine 15636 Southfield Rd Allen Park, Michigan 48101 Phone: (313)928-0700 Fax: (313)928-0701 Dr. Lance R Chaldecott Clinic: Orthopedic Specialists 3200 Biddle Ave Wyandotte, Michigan 48192 Phone: (734)324-3900 Fax: (734)324-3979 Minnesota Dr. J. Ernesto Molina Thoracic Vascular Surgeon University of Minnesota Dr. Paul Gannon – Cardiovascular/Thoracic Vascular Surgeon Vascular Surgery Associates 3960 Coon Rapids Blvd., Suite 216 Coon Rapids, MN 55433 612-427-8547 Rehab People's Physical Therapy 7260 University Ave. NE Suite #260 Fridley, MN 55432 Phone: 763-571-4162 ext. 1204 Fax: 763-571-0922 Dr. Robin Crandall Orthopedic Partners Fridey, MN Mississippi Missouri Dr. Robert W. Thompson / Vascular Surgeon Barnes Jewish Hospital St. Louis, Missouri 314-362-7410 Montana Nebraska Nevada Sean M. Early MPT Clinic: Physiotherapy Associates 66 N. Pecos Rd. Suite C Henderson, NV 89074 Phone: (702)948-6051 Fax: (702)948-6054 E-mail: 9560@physio.strykercorp.com New Hampshire New Jersey Dr. Mandel 9th and Walnut St. Audubon, NJ Dr. Osterman Hand Center Audubon, NJ New Mexico New York Dr. Richard Geoghean, D.C. East Coast Pain Management Wappingers Falls, NY 12590 845-297-3200 Dr. Gary Fantini 635 Madison Ave, NY, NY 10022 New Phone 212-317-4550 Fax 212-752-2454 Dr. Benjamin Chang Clinic: The Institute for Vascular Health and Disease Albany Medical Center, 47 New Scotland Ave. Albany, New York 12208 Phone: (518)262-5640 Toll Free: 1-877-VASCULAR Dr. Kevin Hastings 200 Front Street Vestal, NY (607)-748-9001 Southern Tier Pain Management Center 200 Front Street Vestal, New York (607)-754-2313 John Garzione, DPT Clinic: Chenango Therapeutics 280 County Rd. 44 Norwich, New York 13815 Phone: (607)334-6273 Fax: (607)334-8770 E-mail: jgarzione@frontiernet.net North Carolina Joseph Whitlark Clinic: Thoracic and Vascular of Kinston 703 Rosanne Drive Suite A Kinston, North Carolina 28504 Phone: (252)939-9300 Fax: (252)939-9305 Felix A. Evangelist MD Cardiothoracic 3601 E Independence Blvd Charlotte ,NC 28205 Phone: (704)563-7788 North Dakota Debbie Jung, MPT Altru Health Institute 1300 South Columbia Road Grand Forks, ND 58201 For appointments call: 701-780-2330. She only works Tuesday, Wednesdays, and Fridays at this time. Ohio Dr. Bernado Martinez, M.D. St. Vincent's Hospital, 2213 Cherry St. Toledo, Ohio 43608 419-251-3512 Website: www.bdm-endolaparosurgery.com/ Chad Tober Ohio State Universities Hospitals Columbus, Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Dr. Robert Young Rhee / Asst. Professor of Surgery Presbyterian University Hospital Pittsburgh, PA. (412) 383 - 7074 E-mail: rhee@pittsurg.nb.upmc.edu Dr. Allen Togut (retiring and last day in his office will be June 26 2011) 166 Hanover St. Wilkes-Barre, Pa 18702 Phone: (570)824-2500 E-mail: ajtogut@epix.net fax: (570)824-7910 Dr N. Gupta UPMC Bower Hill Rd Pittsburgh, PA 15228 Phone: (412)648-4000 Rhode Island Dr. George Thomas Providence Hospital Providence, RI 206-860-5945 South Carolina Dr. Robert LeBlonde Upstate Medical Rehab 1003 Grove Rd. Greenville, SC 29605 Phone: (864)232-8417 Fax: (864)232-1511 Ashish G. Shanbhag, M.D. Clinic: Palmetto Pain & Rehabilitation Physicians 1060 North Church Place Spartanburg, South Carolina 29303 Phone: (864)278-6006 Fax: (864)278-6007 Website: www.PalmettoPain.com Dr Robert Swartz Greenville, SC Website: homestead.com/robertgschwartz/index.html South Dakota Tennessee Pain Mangement/Physical therapy info Dr. Moacir Schnapp Mays and Schnapp Pain Clinic 55 Humphreys Ctr # 200 Memphis, TN 901-747-0040 Pain Clinic Physical Therapy (Same info/same office as above) Vascular/Thoracic surgeon info: Dr. Larry Burke Thoracic and Vascular Association 6025 Walnut Grove Rd # 311 Memphis, TN 901-683-6166 David C. Cassada, MD/ Vascular Surgeon University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville Box U-11, 1924 Alcoa Highway Knoxville, Tennessee 37920 Phone: (865)544-6141 Fax: (865)544-8894 E-mail: dcassada@mc.utmck.edu Texas Dr. George P. Noon Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine 6560 Fannin Suite 1860 Houston, Texas 77030 Phone: (713)790-3155 Fax: (713)797-0613 Dr. Harold C. Urschel Jr. (deceased ) Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery 1201 Barnett Tower 3600 Gaston Ave. Dallas, Texas 75246 214-824-2503 214-824-2505 fax urschel1@airmail.net Dr. Ali Azizzadeh vascular Surgery 713 500 5304 Houston, Texas ali.azizzadeh@uth.tmc.edu Utah Dr. Robert Miska / Neurologist 370 East Ninth Ave Salt Lake City, Utah 801-321-5700 David T. Roberts, MD Neurology/ Pain Management 50 South Medical Drive, Suite #1 Payson, Utah 84651 Phone: 801-465-6969 Fax: 801-465-6999 website: www.mydoctor.com/dtroberts email: dtroberts@pol.net Prolotherapy David T. Roberts, MD www.prolotherapymd.com email: thedoctor@prolotherapymd.com Dr. Howard Reichman Paul Gardner Neurological Clinic 1055 N. 300 W. Provo, Utah Phone: (801)357-7404 Dr. Michael Collins/ Cardiologist-Neurovascular 324 E 10th Ave Salt Lake City, Utah 801-408-2260 Vermont Ronald Woodworth, DO 140 Hospital Drive, Suite 300 Bennington, VT 05201 802-447-1564 Virginia Dr. Gary Kaplan, MD., DO. Kaplan Clinic 5275 Lee Highway Arlington, VA Phone: (703)532-4892 Fax: (703)237-3105 Washington Dr. H. Graeme French 1200 W Fairview Colfax, WA 99111 (509) 397-9005 Secondary Office Address: 1230 Hickman Ct. Pullman, WA 99163 Phone Number: (509) 332-4149 Richard E Seroussi, MD Physiatrist- 16 years experience 3213 Eastlake Ave E Ste A-1 Seattle, WA 98102 (206) 861-8200 & 34509 9th Ave S Ste 203B Federal Way, WA 98003 (253) 874-8774 Read more: http://www.vitals.com/doctor/profile...#ixzz1Dnyx1iU4 Kaj Johansen Vascular Institute of the Northwest 1600 E Jefferson St. suite #101 Seattle, Wa 98122 Phone: (206)320-3100 Fax: (206)320-3188 James C. Bonvallet M.D.., P.S. Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 220 E. Rowan, Suite 230 Spokane, Wa 99207 Phone: (509)489-7866 Dr. Michael Kliot University of Washington Seattle, WA Dr. George Thomas at providence Hospital 206-860-5945 Dr. Stephen Murray Clinic: Inland Vascular Institute 122 w 7th Ave Ste 420 Spokane, Wa 99204 Phone: (509)838-8286 E-mail: sumrray@inlandvascular.com Website: www.inlandvascular.com Yung J. Lee, D.O. Monroe, Bellevue, Kirkland WA http://www.nwssp.com/locations.html http://www.nwssp.com/yl.html Dr. Mark P. Ombrellaro, MD Ste 220, 1135 116th Ave, Bellevue, WA 98004-4623 (425) 450-7007 http://www.vitals.com/doctors/Dr_Mark_Ombrellaro.html West Virginia Rebecca Wolford John Marshall Medical Center 1600 Medical Dr. Huntington, West Virginia 25701 Phone: (304)691-1200 Website: meb.marshall.edu/medctr Wisconsin Christopher Limbach Limbach Family Chiropractic 2900 Roosevelt Road Kenosha, WI 53143 Phone: (262)605-4770 Fax: (262)605-4774 Kelly Kirchoff Wisconsin Center for Myofacial Release, S.C. 2601 75th Street Kenosha, WI 53143 Phone: (262)652-1111 Fax: (262)652-1124 Wyoming Canada Dr Kenneth Wayne Johnston Toronto General Hospital 200 Elizabeth Street 5 Eaton C-309 Toronto, ON M5G 2C4 1-416-340-3552 Dr Peter Fry {vascular surgeon} 750 west broadway Vancouver 874-5511 Salvian 1214-750 W Broadway Vancouver, BC Canada Phone: (604)874-0532 Website: www.nationalsurgery.com Dr. Bill Nelems Kelowna, B.C. Phone: (250) 878-9206 Fax : (250) 764-0271 Ed Bunker -massage therapist trained in TOS treatment and diagnosis. Abbotsford, B.C. , Canada 604-855-0439 Dr. Buthune Clinic: QE II Health Sciences Centre, Victoria General Site 1278 Tower Road Halifax Nova Scotia Canada Phone: (902)473-2700 Germany Dr. Franz Hinterreiter Landstraße 66 4020 Linz www.hinterreiter-gefaesschirurgie.at Republican of Panama Cardiovasculares y Toraxicos Asociados, S.A. Dr. Félix Antonio Pitty Clinica Royal Center 507-263-2810 Fax:507-263-2810 Panamá, Republic of Panama Brazil Dr. Arno von Ristow - Vascular Surgeon Tel. 2266-2349 (da clínica particular) Centervasc www.centervasc.com.br Hospital da Beneficência Portuguesa Glória - Rio de Janeiro - Brazil Website: www.centervasc.com.br Greece Dimitris Doujennis (MD,FECTS) University Genaral Hospital of Patras Cardio/Thoracic Surgeon Rio 26 500 Patras Phone: **30 2610 999779 Fax: **30 2610 993984 E-mail: ddougen@med.upatras.gr |
If anybody has a Dr. That they would like to add, please PM me and I will add the Doctor etc into the correct place above!
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Vascular Surgeon
I have a lot of confiance in this doctor:
Dr. Franz Hinterreiter Landstraße 66 4020 Linz www.hinterreiter-gefaesschirurgie.at |
Specialist needed in Sydney
Quote:
Thanks |
Hi Ozzy,
I think Tanya is in Australia, but not sure which part of Austrailia she is in.....I know large country......but hopefully she will respond I will put a post in our forum not up here !!
take care, Victoira |
> Dr. Julie Freischlag
> UCLA Gonda Vascular Center Dr. Freischlag is no longer at UCLA. She is now Chief of Vascular Surgery at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore MD 601 N. Caroline St. 8th Floor Adult Medicine Dept. Baltimore, MD 21287 PH: 443-287-3497 FAX: 443-287-3500 http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/surge...lty/Freischlag |
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Atlanta Feldenkrais Practitioner
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DOCTORS and PT List for TOS
So, At long last, I think I am ready to post the "how I chose my surgeon" post.
For anyone who is interested in my TOS story, here is a good place to start To summarize, I am in Los Angeles, I have bilateral TOS with some decided differences in symptoms from the right to the left. On the right side of my symptoms are primarily in my hands fourth and fifth digit numbness/tingling, numbness in my wrist that is almost constant, snd general pain in neck and traps. Left side- severe pain in neck and traps that never goes away and i have that same butcher knife that Dimarie always talks about sticking in right about where my rhomboid is. I get spasms all the way up and down my back, which make it so that I can even sit in a chair for too long. I get occasional numbness and tingling in my fourth and fifth digit, and only recently realized that I have a place on the inside of my thumb and forearm that's constantly numb. So, even though my hands don't bother me as much on the left side. It is the one I am choosing to have surgery on first because my back bothers me so much. I visited 5 surgeons-and I'll post my stories, However, a word of caution, I found my own experiences with these various doctors to be different than what I had expected based on stories from this board. So If you are looking for a surgeon - visit as many as you can and ask as many questions as you can to get the most complete picture of how that surgeon would approach your own specific case. Lastly, I would like to express my sincere thanks to everyone who shared their experiences with me, either by posting on the board or by p.m.. I found them to be very helpful, and they gave me a deeper understanding of each person to my own experience. These accounts also helped guide me to asking the correct questions for things that seemed like warning signs for issues. Now before I lose all of this somehow into cyberspace , I will submit it and continue on in a new post. |
Choosing which surgeons to visit
My concerns most certainly are not the same as other people on this board. My considerations IN ORDER are as follows with the first 2 far exceeding everything else.
:icon_arrow: An excellent surgeon, who would perform an excellent surgery :icon_arrow: To receive the correct surgery for my specific symptoms only important for surgeons of equal merit on counts 1 and 2: :icon_arrow: Good pain control after surgery :icon_arrow: Close to home :icon_arrow: Good bedisde manner, hospital stay, etc. Aftercare/support system was not a big issue for me in LA because I have good support form my husband and our parents who will come out to help us for my surgeries. Insurance was also not a big factor as I am on my own personal insurance (no worker's comp issues) My primary concern was to figure out what the right procedure was for me, and then get the best available surgeon to do it. I was unsure if a scalenectomy or a rib resection was the right way to go. Therefore I concentrated on visiting surgeons with excellent technical reputations that did the various procedures. to save time, I eliminated some doctors sight unseen because I thought that visiting them would be a duplication of visiting a similar doctor. For instance, I eliminated Gelabert and Annest sight unseen because I thoughtthat I attained my goals by visiting Ahn and Brantigbut that is the logic I used not to visit those two doctors. It was nothing personal and there wasn't anything particularly that I didn't like about them. I approach this by visiting doctors In asking which procedure they would suggest, and why. I did not expect to talk any doctor into doing a procedure he didn't want to. I figured that the best approach was to pick a doctor based on which procedure I thought was right for me Using this logic, I visited the following doctors from Mid March until yesterday.... Dr. Filler Dr. Ahn Dr. Weaver Dr. Brantigan Dr. Sanders more to come.... |
I like the logical and systematic way you did this- i think this will a great thread for many new to idea of surgery and surgeons and how to approach the decision.
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Dr AHn and his Junior assoc Dr Reil
Thansk, Jo :)
So moving on then.... Saw Dr Ahn First...except that I didn't really see him, I saw his junior associate Dr Reil. Since my primary Neuro is Dr. Jordan and they all work together frequently, basically I was told on the first visit that they would want an SSEP to rule out Carpal Tunnel and Ulnar Tunnel, a left scalene block to confirm the dx on the left side (i wasn't too jazzed about this bc they wanted to do it with no anestesia...) but that basically, sure they'd be happy to remove my rib transaxiallarily (sp?), and they removed all but 4" of the middle and anterior scalene muscles in that operation. I was also told 25% of those patients have to come back a year later for complete removal of those scalenes with is done supraclavicularly. I was not really in the mood for 25% chance of second surgery. They also made recovery sound like a breeze...oh yeah i'd be up and around and happy in a week, no lifting restrictions, could drive as soon as i wasn't on narcotics anymore (2weeks?), insurance wouldn't pay for a second night in the hospital so i only got one but I wouldn't care, i'd be ready and happy to go home... and finally, they could do the second side 4-6 weeks after the initial procedure but I'd feel "pretty beat up" At the time is sounded so easy...sign me up, right? Ahn is a good surgeon, surely it will be fine. Well, in talking with my neuro later he said maybe to expect more like 6 weeks to three months recovery (what surgeon who wants you to feel comfy is going to tell you that straight up?) and suggested that all surgeons have better memories for their easy patients and that they tend to refer the hard ones to someone else so they aren't sitting around the waiting room complaining about how miserable they are :) I got the SSEP, not too painful, came back normal. Put off the left scalene block as long as possible hoping to talk them out of it. I was eventually successful in that when I met Dr Ahn directly, but I'll tell how and why later... As a side note, Dr. Ahn's office runs very efficiently. Michael, the guy at the front desk, is super friendly and always knows who I am when I walk in the door. He has gotten anything I needed super fast and always with a smile. My appointments were always pretty much on time as well. |
Dr. Filler
I also saw Dr Filler early on in the process. As the lone scalenectomy provider in LA of course he was going to be on my list.
Surgery aside, I was definitely curious about the MR Neurography. For me, I think it has been the most successful test next to Dr. Jordan's ultrasound in finding the anatomical anomalies. I went to see him twice in his office, and he ran miserably late both times. The second time I had called ahead and arrived late so it wasn't a big deal. The first time I was running late myself and got to his office all smelly because I hadn't had time to take a shower....I wasn't any better after waiting two hours for him, but I guess he got what he deserved!!! SHeila was very nice, the Nurse practitioner, she took my history and then went to report to him. It felt a little disjointed, though....like I didn't know how much she had told him of what i told her. HE also talked to the ceiling the whole time i was there which was kind of annoying...however, i wokr at a company of very bright but socially maladjusted engineers, so i am sort of used to this stuff. I was somewhat alarmed that after talking to me that first appt, he seemed willing to operate without even taking an MR neurography. That was my first warning sign. In any case, I had just had my second round of Botox injections at the time, so I wasn't quite ready to jump into the operating room yet. We agreed that in six to eight weeks I would have an MR neurography of both sides of the brachial plexus and see what it showed. When he came time to schedule and the MRN. I had to ask the office to change the order for both sides of the brachial plexus, because as some other doctors have done in the past he was convinced that I only have problems on the right I'm not sure what it is that I say that give people the impression. But seeing as how I'm having the laft side operated on first I certainly don't think my symptoms are only on the right. The neurography was pretty cool. It showed distortion of the course of the brachial plexus consistent with thoracic outlet syndrome on both side. It also showed some irritation of C8 on the left side, which is the nerve that comes out at the cervical and thoracic spine junction. Interestingly, the approxiamte location of C8 is where I have the constant butcher knife pain that never goes away so for me. I think the MR neurography was dead on. Also, interestingly, Dr. Riel was very happy to talk about the neurography when I brought the results to their office probably this is because it supported letting them operate on me :P In the end plan met with Dr. filler to discuss the results of my neurography's, I was unimpressed with his ideas and a few things that you mentioned "remembering" that didn't make it into the report of my scans, and he was basing his surgical recommendations on these "memories." Seems to me that if it was that important enough to base a surgical recommendation on, it should have been in the report. He did reccomend a scalenectomy and neuroplasty, and said that the neurography did not show that my rib was causing any compression. He would come in supraclavicularly and cut out a few inches of scalene muscle, clean up the nerves, wrap them in seprafilm, clise me up, then come in axiallarily adn lean up and scar tissue in the distal portion of the brachial plexus (front of shoulder area) The other thing that bothered me about Dr. filler was that his scalenectomy only involves cutting out a couple inches of one scalene muscles seems like that's a lot of muscle to leave behind to reattach somewhere else. It bothered me more after I thought about how doctor Ahn does his surgery-he's leaving 4 inches of muscle and 25% of the time still going back in to remove it. The other thing that finally killed all thoughts of having surgery with Dr. filler was that I told him I couldn't possibly make arrangements to have surgery with him unless he could tell me how much I was going to have to pay out of my own pocket. His office offered to call Blue Cross of California with procedure codes and charges. Now I happen to know the Blue Cross of California is especially difficult about this kind of thing when you call them and say here's the procedure coding here's the charge for whatever reason they can't tell you how much you're going to end up having to pay. However, I don't feel like his office made a particularly strong effort to get that information for me and I specifically told him I couldn't sign up for surgery without it. So filler was probably my first elimination. However, I found the neurography results to be very useful. |
Dr. Weaver
I've already made a very long post about Dr. Weaver elsewhere, so I'll make this one kind of brief.
Dr. Weaver is a vascular surgeon at USC. I went to see him and found him definitely to be very vascular oriented. I think that he is a good surgeon and experience it during TOS surgery, but really concentrates on vascular issues and maybe isn't so much of a nerve guy. I only met him once, so I could be wrong, and he didn't have any special testing to send me for. He did suggest that a physical therapy was hoping maybe I should go for three more months and then come back and see, which I didn't really want to hear because frankly I was quite ready for surgery at this point. His approach is a supraclavicular rib resection with complete removal of the middle and interior scalene muscles. At the time I thought this sounded like a pretty good deal because eliminated the 25% chance of the second surgery. I was pretty keen on him, but it took forever to get an appointment. My trip to Denver was a little later than I had hoped, and he said that if the Denver docs all said they were ready to operate he would be willing to operate that I didn't have enough time to get that appointment and get back in to talk to him and think about it. I did have the same problem with his nurse practitioner does a good fillers nurse practitioner. I didn't feel like she understood TOS. I didn't feel like she took a good history, and I didn't feel like Dr. Weaver gave my records The kind of going over that I would've expected. I think she picked and chose when he looked at and personally I think she missed some of the highlights. Also, after my Denver trip and the left scalene with Dr. Sanders. I think I realized that nerve compression was a bigger factor than I had previously realized. So even if I had time to pursue Dr. Weaver, given that he's not much of a nerve guy I might have still decided to go elsewhere. |
wow! thanks for all of the detail on this. I especially appreciate it because I've been contemplating something similar for a while now. I had given myself sort of a mental deadline, at which point I would look at talking to the various surgeons and also look into "alternative" treatments (i.e. acupuncture, chiropractors, etc).
thanks johanna :D |
Dr Brantigan
Thanks to the new 12hour edit rule I'll make this one a new post....
So I went out to denver about 2.5 weeks ago. I hopped on a plane monday morning, had some pretty stressful travel (way too long lines, delayed planes and the like) that I wasn't prepared for, and arrived at Dr Brantigan's office late and in somewhat more ruffled shape than I would have liked.... They were fortunately having a light day and were able to accomodate me anyhow, which was cool. I first met the NP who was nice (forgot her name?) but didn't do much. Dr Brantigan had supposedly read all my records before I came, but in going over my history i pointed out a few things to him that he had missed. First and foremost was Dr Jordan's ultrasound report of my right side where he clearly saw a fibrous band and an extra artery (or vein? can't remember...) because it was done with my right scalene block and Dr Brantigan had glossed over the report because he "didn't really think blocks were all that reliable" ***** note: I have since come to some understanding of the difference between the Blocks that Dr Jordan and Dr Ahn do as compared to other docs. Dr Sanders, for instance, sticks you with the medicine and then asks if you feel better...Dr Jordan and Ahn use EMG monitoring to make sure the medicine goes exactly where they want it and and make recordings during the block. I haven't got it all figured out but I intend to ask for another explanation the next time I see Dr. Jordan) ***** Actually, Dr Brantigan pretty much didn't like anyone's techniques for diagnosing TOS, except perhaps the SF based group doing the MRI/MRA with contrast. HE seems to rely extremely heavily on his own physical examinations and on the spiral CT scan. Doesn't like the scalene block, doesn't like Nerve Conductions Studies (like the MAC study Dr Sanders is doing), said SSEP was useless (I guess he didn't notice it was used as a rule out technique), and didn't like Dr Collins's MRI/MRA (said they were concentrating on "different things" but didn't elaborate on what those were). He does have a very logical approach:Tip-Hat: , and gave me some papers to read (the link was my favorite, and I can't find any of the others full text anywhere) that explained it. To summarize: everyone with TOS has some sort of anatomical anomoly and to fix the TOS you must locate and fix the anomoly. His papers describe 10 particular types of lower plexus anatomical varieties and another 6 or so types of upper plexus varieties. The lower plexus were things like extra ribs, cervical fibrous bands, partial cervical ribs that reduce to fibrous bands, and on and on. He was very specific as to location and type of these things which is why so many. He stated that he concentrated on bony structures. He gave me a very thorough physical examination, but I generally don't reproduce symptoms well in an office setting. usually it is more delayed or while working on the computer, whatever. He was generally unimpressed with me there. I Explained to him the parts about being on pain meds all the time and not being able to sit in a chair to work, the pain in my back, etc and he took that all in thoughtfully. At the end of our appt he indicated that I seemed to have a lower plexus injury on both sides and he would likely be willing to operate, but wanted to see the Spiral CT results, even though they don't usually show things like fibrous bands. So I went to get the spiral CT, and he said he'd call me in a few days. . It then took him 2 weeks to get back to me. I guess my CT results got sent into cyberspace instead of the radiologist. After all this waiting and his ripping on everyone else's diagnostic techniques.....The CT came back completely normal. :Bang-Head: By the time I talked to him about the results, I had also read the papers he gave me. Now I had always been confused about why my left and right sides felt so different but had the same "syndrome." I stumbled across a paragraph in the linked paper that was precisely a description of the symptoms I do get on the left and I don't get on the right. It went on to designate them as upper plexus symptoms and then to describe the rest of the normal TOS symptoms as lower plexus symptoms. He further went on to suggest in this paper that if one had upper plexus symptoms that besdies a txiallary rib resection, he would do a supraclavicular scalenectomy at the same time. When I talked to him about this part in his paper he said that he could revisit my upper plexus symptoms when I came back for surgery, but that he had been "unimpressed" in his physical exam and history that I had upper plexus involvement. (those aprticualr symptopms are intermittent adn I hadn't mentioned them becasue I forgot...but was having them the whole way home because of aggravation from all the testing) However, that IS the surgical course he takes for one with upper plexus syptoms. In the end, I feel like I got some good information from him. Understanding the difference between upper and lower symptoms has been key in my decision making process. I guess If I had looked harder I might have found the info without going all the way to Denver, but in any case I have it now. He also wrote a very nice, very detailed report including his exam notes, the history he had taken, and many thoughts and impressions. He faxed it to me the day I got my CT results. Maybe if I lived in Denver I'd have surgery with him, but he wanted me to stay two weeks for surgery, and there is just no way I can stand to be away from my kiddos that long, so I didn't think it was likely i would choose him. |
Dr Sanders
The second day of my 2 day trip to Denver was to see Dr. Sanders.
I was hurting by the time I got there. I usually try to show up less medicated for Dr appts so my symtoms are not masked by the pain meds. But I was pretty flared up from being maneuvered and poked the day before. r Sanders was late gettign out of surgery, so late to our appt, but Cathy was supre nice and let me know so I could get out of those waiting room chairs and walk around. Eventually I came back and threw my self on the floor of the exam room to stretch bc I couldn't take it. The were really very nice about it. My first impression of Dr Sanders was that he had very bad posture...looked like TOS waiting to happen. Totally hunched over...like a little old lady (except that he is actually quite tall). And, I couldn't tell if it was on purpose or a result of the OR gear, but he also had a little faux hawk thing going on with his hair :cool: Dr Sanders also took a comprehensive history from me. I don't think he had time to read my records because he had been late coming from surgery, but I was able to point things out as I talked through my history of treatment. HE went thorugh a series of maneuvers, and explained how he and Dr Brantigan had different approaches to TOS...Sanders is more of a soft sturctures guy and Brantigan was a bony structures guy. Dr Sanders showed me pictures of the muscle fibers of TOS sufferers vs non tos sufferers and how there was significantly more scar and connective tissue in TOS sufferers than normal folks. I have to say Dr Sanders seems to be one of those intuitive hands on type of people. he did a scalene block right in his office. He just made me look forward, picked his landmarks and stuck the medecine in there. Now I had someone ask me if it wasn't dangerous to do a block that way, and, I *think* the answer is no, it isn't dangerous, so much as possibly inaccurate. Generally doctors now use some type of guidance (emg, fluoroscopic, whatever) to ensure that the block gets to the right place. As I just mentioned, I think Dr Sanders is the kind of doc who is very good without the guidance... In any case, the block was remarkably successful in my mind, I felt things go away that i didn't know were even in my arm (2 numb spots) and the pain in my rhomboid went away almost completely. so, like dr brantigan, he wasn't terribly impressed with my clinical exam, but since i was "significantly debilitated" said he would probably be willng to operate but wanted to see the results of my MAC (medial anti brachial cutaneous) nerve conduction study. That MAC study was really really awful. needles in the back of the neck, jolts thatcould be felt all the way to my toes, and the monologue of the doctor who kept saying things like "are you sure this has only been going on for a year?" adn "I know this test isn't fun, but if you are enjoying it I have a great psychiatrist for you to see..." Dr Sanders told me that generally they find from 1-4 abnormal things in that test if you do, in fact, have TOS. I got the detailed report of the test and I know one thing was very abnormal but I am not sure how many of the 4 i got. It was worse on the right than left, but abnormal on both sides. After having two doctors tell me they weren't sure if I really had TOS (which was the one thing i WAS sure of when I went to denver) it was reassuring to have sustained this torture but to at least have a test that said definitively "yes" you have TOS, and quanitify how bad. SO, I discussed in detail with Dr Sanders what operation he would want to do. He said my pec minor as OK and he didn't need to touch it (this made me happy as I didn't want it cut, and confirmed that he was picking surgeries based on ME not HIM) HE talked about how he does a very complete scalenectomy, removing all the anterior and most of the medial scalene, wraps the nerves in his favorite medical saran wrap (don't remember the name) and that IF the nerve was restng on the rib he would take the rib during the operation. He does everything supraclavicularly. we had a long discussion about scar tissue and about why he likes to do scalenectomy alone and how he thinks failures are more common when you take ribs and scalenes at the same time. He stated that he thought it was related to bleeding after the operation. HE says he can control the bleeding very well on scalene muscles alone, but not so much on the rib removal because he needs to cut so many deeper muscles. That's why he thinks there are slightly more failures for him when you do both at the same time. It wasn't till I was on the plane home that I read the part (mentioned above) in Dr Brantigan's paper about upper plexus symptoms and how scalenectomy was required for those. Once I read it I was pretty convinced that I would have a scalenectomy with Dr Sanders because it would be the right procedure for me. I was so convinced that I set a date, bought plane tix, and made hotel reservations. |
Dr Ahn (himself this time)
On Tuesday I finally managed to meet Dr Ahn in person. I was supposed to have the left scalene block that Dr Reil was absolutely convinced I needed. Not being in the mood for more needles, I showed up with my report of the left scalene block from Dr Sanders and hoped I could use it as my "get out of being poked" free card.
I was going to skip the appt altogether, seeing as how I had plans to go have surgery with Dr Sanders, BUT on monday afternoon (sorry for the break in time sequence here) Dr Brantigan had called with my completely normal CT results and we had talked about doing the rib removal and scalenectomy at the same time. It hadn't occurred to me until monday nght that perhaps I could run that option by Dr Ahn and see what he had to say. I should probably also point out here that I have always been pretty certain I am having a rib resection on the right side and have pretty much always intended to have that at home with Dr Ahn...it was the left side that confused me with the weird extra symptoms. When I told Dr Ahn I was hoping to talk him out of the scalene block, he gave me a pretty good explanation of why his block was different than other docs blocks (see above in one of my earlier posts, his procedure is the same as Dr. Jordan's). I think he and Dr Jordan have given this a LOT of thought. I think that, done their way, the block is a very accurate diagnostic tool. However, given that I had had an excellent (if short term) response to Botox, and all these other diagnostic tests in the past few weeks, i didn't really need it, and he was happy to pass. So we were off to a good start... Next, I continued on with him explaining how I had read Dr Brantigans paper and with my funny symptoms on the left i was wondering if he would consider doing the scalenectomy at the same time as the rib resection. I made it clear to him that I had done a fair bit of research but that i was asking his opinion of my conclusions (which were that I should have both procedures done). His answer, I thought, was very impressive. Not only did he complement me for very thorough research, he explained to me how he used to follow exactly the same thought process. He gave me statistics for various combinations of procedures- 45-55% of those who got scalenectomies first came back for rib resection. 25% of those with rib resection first came back for scalenectomy second, and for 10 years he followed the same train of thought that I was using (and Dr Brantigan suggested) only to find that no matter what, he could not really predict which symptoms suggested the need for the extra scalenectomy. He also drew me a great big picture right on the exam table paper and we had a chat about geometry. Drew it up and we looked at the pictures- if you do a scalenectomy alone, you relieve one side of a 3 sided triangle. If you remove the rib, you relieve 2 sides of a three sided triangle. For that reason, the rib resection is alomost always going to relieve more compression. still more to tell....but I have to stop and get the little kids, but maybe I'll finish this up tonight yet. :p |
Dr Ahn, continued
Let's see if I can wrap this up...
In the end he said it was fine with him to do both the rib resection transaxiallary and the scalenectomy if that's what I wanted. He said I could think about it and as long as I decided before they put me to sleep on monday, he could do it for me. The caveat is that I had to understand there was a 75% chance I did not need the scalenectomy, and that as a second procedure it obviously increased the risk a bit, though not significantly. So, it turns out that even Dr Ahn is flexible and will do a surgery based on the patient. I doubt I could have talked him into a scalenectomy alone...but I didn't try. In the process of our anatomy/geometry lesson, He gave me what sounded like some very good reasons for using two apporaches for the two surgeries. So, even though to get the scalenectomy and the rib resection at the same time you have two incisions, it seems to me that you disturb less important inner tissues by doing it that way. I continued on to address pain control with him. I pointed out that I am currently taking a quite a bit of medecine each day. I asked how he would compensate for that after surgery. He stated that he uses alway uses a dualidid(sp?) pump and won't send you home until you can control pain with something oral. So, if you need a second night in the hospital for that you can have it. (I intend to need that second night!) In the end, I felt really comfortable with all of the answers he had given me. I felt as though he understood my concerns, appreciated my research, and yet was one step ahead of me (and I consider myself to be a pretty well informed patient). He was able to give me a choice, and help me make an even better informed decision with his input. I also really feel like he and Dr Jordan are doing something special with the ultrasound that Dr Jordan does and the special scalene block procedure that they use. (Although, you all know I am super fond of Dr Jordan, and I think HE in fact is the one who developed the block procedure and then taught Dr Ahn how to do it). |
I Wanna Write (?) A Book
Iwasjust listening to my hypnotherapy tapes.
And jumped up and thought I need to put together a book I'll hire the writer On everyone's experiences from beginning to present just as Johanna documented. It would give patients in our shoes a wealth of information, the docs available in their area and the tools to make an informed decision. We can use first names and area only for privacy. Like the forum isn't an open book, huh? This could be the start of the non-profit organization for TOS With all the docs informative opinions, radiologists, PT,s Do's, Chiros, Surgeons, Neuro's, physch's, etc... |
Ending Comments
:winner_first_h4h: I felt Dr Ahn had an edge, technically, over everyone else. He was able to boil our discussion down to the important points. He listened to my concerns, addressed them, and gave me the tools to make the most informed decision i could make. He was able to explain with amazing clarity some of the things I had wondered talking to everyone else.
:icon_exclaim: I don't think any of the surgeons I visited would be bad choices. They are all highly respected and very familiar with TOS. I am glad I saw each one of them because they all made their own positive contribution to my research. :icon_idea: Dr Jordan's ultrasounds and special scalene block of the right side confirmed my dx early on as well as the presence of a fibrous band and an extra artery. The botox injections that I had two times after were futher confirmation that TOS was indeed the culprit. Dr Ahn's use of the above mentioned two tools for diagnosis of TOS is an excellent and efficient choice, because they are sound. I think it seemed abrupt to me the first time I visitied because I didn't feel like Dr Ahn/Reil really thought about me, they just were hungry for my business. In fact, I don't think that is the case, i think they just really trust Dr Jordan (as well they should because he is awesome :D ) He would probably be my first choice even if I didn't live in LA. Dr Filler's neurography confirmed the aggravation of C8 on the left side, which was very helpful to me to describe and identify the pain in the back of my left shoulder. I think he has really developed something great:Tip-Hat: , and I hope the reasearch can be put together to make it a more generally accepted diagnostic tool. Even though I had the impression that other doctors didn't really take the MRN seriously, I found most of these surgeons were happy to talk to me about it and what it showed. I think it supported my symptoms so well that it made good sense. However, I am not keen on his partial scalenectomy with neuroplasty procedure, it was my least favorite of the 5.:Noooo: :Doh: Dr Weaver- well, I guess he was my token "maybe you ought to do more PT" and frankly that sugggestion made me more sure i was ready for surgery than anything else...! Also, his lack of interest in nerve compression made me more aware how important mine was. his supraclavicular scalenectomy and rib resction would have been pick number 4, based on Dr Jordan's high marks for Dr weaver's work. Dr Brantigan- That's where I got the paper that suggested the scalenectomy along with rib resection for upper plexus symptoms. This was a key finding for me. Also enjoyed learning about his apporach based on anatomical anomalies. He was a bit gruff and not at all modest :icon_rolleyes: . I was dissapointed to find that he did not know about Dr Jordan's ultrasound procedure, seemed like a gap in his TOS knowledge. I would have picked him as option 3. :You-Rock: Dr Sanders- Simple version of left scalene block helped me feel quite distinctly how bad my "good" arm felt. Really enjoyed his office personality, extremely genuine and personable. Also offered up the MAC study which clearly showed abnormalities on both sides. He is clearly an "hands on" type doctor. Felt a little more old fashioned in that way. I think he has something special and he was an easy second choice. :Ponder: one thing i am still confused about: I am not sure what to make of the descrepancy in statistics for scalenectomy alone. UCLA studies and Dr Ahn claim a 45-55% success rate for scalenectomy alone, and Dr Sanders claims a 70% success rate. I think for that to be real, there must be something special that Sanders does and others don't. I know he does a more complete scalenectomy than Filler, but I don't think it is more complete than what Dr Ahn does. So, I am just not sure what to make of it. I really hope I have made the right decision. I guess for all of us, only time will tell....all of them suggested that it takes about 18 months for scar tissue to stabilize, so I guess it'll be that long before i really know if it worked. If it does or doesn't work, I am not sure I'll ever know how much of a role the surgeon really played in it. How can we ever know? Statistics only matter to a bunch of people...for each individual it either works or doesn't. ah, it is late and I am rambling. :Talkative: PLEASE feel free to point out errors, omissions, ask questions, or whatever. If you actually bothered to read all of my crazy :Crazy 2: ramblings, you are probably also looking for a surgeon, and I'd be happy to share any forgotten details any time. :Thank you:And thanks again to everyone who shared their input with me over the past few months. Johanna |
Staying 2 nights
When I was recently hospitalized for 5 days I was reminded of issues of hospital bed shortages that I hadn't thought about in 7 years.
When the census of the hospital gets very high and there are scheduled surgeries in the morning the management (nursing) begins to look around for people who could be discharged that night to avoid having no empty beds for emergency admissions and beds for post operative patients. In case on your second night in the hospital you are approached and told you are going to be discharged request/demand to see the hospital supervisor. This is the nurse who is supervising the hospital and they might be able to advocate for you if this happens. This person could also help you for other problems that were not resolved through the chain of your personal nurse, the charge nurse, manager of the floor you are on (surgical) then the house supervisor. On the topic of scalene blocks, when Dr Jordan did my scalene block 12/00 I was referred to him by Dr Ahn (Dr Ahn was not doing them at that time) I has only been recently that I have heard of Dr Ahn doing scalene blocks. There are two surgeons in on your surgery. I'm assuming that the second surgeon would be his associate Dr Reil. Is Dr Reil doing surgeries on his own or is he an understudy of Dr Ahn? Since Dr Ahn comes from UCLA (a teaching hospital) is Dr Reil going to be assisting Dr Ahn or is he going to be gaining rib resection and scalenectomy experience by doing most of your surgery with Dr Ahn teaching & advising? Sorry to be a pain for you. As a nurse I am used to critical thinking and I want to make sure that Dr Ahn's hands are doing the surgery and not Dr Reil's hands with Dr Ahn directing and advising. |
Hat's Off to You, Johanna..
:Tip-Hat: Johanna,
What a great thread and so informative... Something like this would have been so helpful prior to my Surgeries... I hope that people that are contemplating surgery will take a long hard look at your thread... As long term results will most likely stay with them for life... Many Hugs and Best Wishes for a Successful outcome tomorrow... :hug: :hug: Dawn |
List of medical abbreviations-From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._abbreviations
the list/chart on the link is huge and detailed |
Hi
There is a great Thorasic Surgeon in Calgary, Alberta Canada. Dr Sean McFadden Foothills Medical Centre (403) 944-4279 |
PT info threads
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Stephen Annest M.D.
Johanna did a great job on deciding how to pick her surgeon.
I would like to add a surgeon's name that many of us on the board have used and been very happy with. Stephen Annest M.D. and the Vascular Institute of the Rockies was my pick. I pretty much went through the same process as Johanna, with a few different docs and in 2004. I had a great experience with Dr Annest and his group and I traveled from Calif to Colo. If you need financial assistance to get to Colo you can go to www.joniandfriends.org and look up the Christian Fund for the Disabled. For free flights for medical travel look up Angel Flight. There are several groups that do this. Motels in Denver will give you a discount is you tell them you just got out of the hospital. __________________________________________________ ______ Vascular Institute of the Rockies Dr. Synn Dr. Annest 2253 Downing St. Denver, CO 80205 (303) 830-8822 main office 1-800-992-4676 toll free (303) 830-7019 billing office FAX : (303) 830-7068 E-MAIL: info@vascularinstitute.com Website: www.vascularinstitute.com |
http://www.nervepain.com./
We Can Help The Upper Extremity Institute is a division of the Montgomery County Hand Center, founded in 1991 by Scott M. Fried.A recognized leader in the understanding and treatment of nerve and upper extremity disorders, Dr. Fried has assembled a growing team of fully qualified, highly trained and thoroughly conscientious healthcare professionals dedicated to one basic principle: compassionate, conservative care for your injury. About Dr. Scott Fried Dr. Fried is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon, fellowship trained hand surgeon and a hand and upper extremity specialist, and a fellow with the American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopaedics. Affiliated with Mercy Suburban Hospital and the President of the Upper Extremity Institute, Dr. Fried has treated thousands of patients with complex nerve problems. He has also lectured and written extensively in the areas of pain and nerve disease and standard as well as alternative healing. His books, Light at the End of the Carpal Tunnel: A Guide to Understanding and Relief from the Pain of Nerve Problems, and The Carpal Tunnel Help Book, grew out of his years of experience, research and an in-depth understanding of medical and alternative treatments for nerve-related traumas. He is also President and Chief inventor of Doctor in the House, Inc., a company dedicated to the development of medical devices for home treatment of orthopedic injury. Some of his society memberships include the AMA, AOA, Philadelphia Hand Society, Jefferson Hand Club, Jefferson Alumni Association of Thomas Jefferson University Medical College, The Jefferson Orthopaedic Society, The American Society for Clinical Hypnosis, The Greater Philadelphia Society for Clinical Hypnosis, The Greater Philadelphia Pain Society, The American Association for Hand Surgery (A.A.H.S.) and he is Past President of the Hand Surgery Section of the AOAO. For more on Dr. Fried, click here. 1515 DeKalb Pike Suite 100 Blue Bell, PA 19422 Phone 610-277-1990 Fax 610-277- |
Houston Neurosurgeon
I called Dr. Kline's (LSU) office today in my search for someone who has a clue. His office told me that he has retired, but they are referring TOS patients to Dr. Daniel Kim (Houston Baylor). Dr. Kim was trained by Dr. Kline.
http://www.bcm.edu/neurosurgery/?PMID=7782 This was a great relief to find someone who had been trained in TOS. I meet with him next week. Hopefully this information will be helpful to others. |
Quote:
Things I liked:
Things I didn't like:
That last 2 bullets are the key ones. I had a phone conversation with Dr. Sanders yesterday. He said that the bad disk in my neck should definately be further investiagated. My MRI showed the c5-6 disk to have moderate central and right side disk protrusion and bone spurring into the right neural foramen causing moderate right foraminal compromise. Dr. Sanders said that this could be causing a good portion of the symptoms of neck/shoulder pain as well as some of the neurological symptoms of tingling in my arm. Dr Sanders also said I definately have not had enough PT and from what it sounded like, not the right kind of PT. He said that therabands shouldn't be used, that they can make the symptoms worse (my pt was using therabands). Dr. Sanders did give me the name of a Neurologist in the North Houston Area. His name is Lee Pollack. I've seen that name somewhere, but I'm not sure where. Dr. Sanders said that he receives surgical referals from Dr. Pollack and feels that Dr. Pollack would be able to connect me with the proper therapy/treatment. Then if that doesn't help after 3-4 months, then call Dr. Sanders back again......which at that point I guess I'd be more of a surgical candidate. I was VERY happy with the phone consultation Dr. Sanders provided. I was so upset prior to this that I was ready to hop a plane somewhere just to have someone be able to definatively tell me what is wrong with me and to what degree. I'll follow up with a review of Dr. Pollack after I see him (unfortunately not for another month). All the doctor reviews people provided here have helped so much. I hope this can help someone else who feels like I do.... completely frustrated, confused, angry, depressed, and everwhere in between. |
Dr Harold Graeme French is GUILTY of negligence
If anyone is considering going to this Dr. French... they should call the Washington state Med. Quality control board and check his very controversial reputation. Not good from my experience with him...A simple Artho has disabled me and put me in cronic pain for life as well as 6 others I know personally.
Teri |
Review of my experience with Houston doctors
Being in one of the largest medical centers in the world, you think it wouldn't be that hard to find someone to TREAT someone...
Biggest lessons learned during my Doctor shuffle experience from hell...Hopefully this helps someone else.
Houston Doctors - My experiences, My opinions Lee Pollack - Neurologist - 281-367-1388
Dr. Azizzadeh - vascular surgeon - Memorial Herman
Dr. Noon - vascular surgeon - Baylor
KSF Orthopedic - Dr. Kant
KSF Orthopedic - Dr Nash - Neurologist
KSF Orthopedic - Dr. Jafarnia
KSF Orthopedic PT department
Dr. Killian - Neurologist - Baylor College of Medicine
Dr. Kline - LSU
Dr. Kim - Director of Neurosurgery - Baylor Houston
Dr. Huynh - Vascular Surgeon - Baylor
SO... my choice of Houston doctors.... Dr. Lee Pollack. But try him first, not after you've been shuffled all over town. Hopefully this can help some others out there before you get shuffled around too, cause that sucks almost as much as having TOS in the first place. |
wonderful surgeon
Dr Vern Campbell
St. Michael's hospital 55 Queen St. Suitew 505 Toronto, On M5C1R6 MUST BE REFERRED BY PHYSICIAN |
http://www.ratemds.com/
[RateMDs.com allows patients to rate and read about their doctors and dentists. We average over 800 new ratings per DAY, so please keep checking back.] |
Couldn't help but notice Alabama was left off the initial list. Anyone know of/have experience with any doctors in AL?
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Directory of Forensic Expert Witness in Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS)
This is interesting - might be handy for those with legal cases.
Directory of Forensic Expert Witness in Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS) http://www.hgexperts.com/listing/For...rome-(TOS).asp Medical Expert Witnesses Find medical expert witnesses for plaintiff or defense attorneys- http://www.hgexperts.com/experts.asp?action=search PS -wharris - I was doing some searches for Alabama drs when I found above info. If some of the names/info listed above are in Alabama they may know of good drs for you. We may not have had anyone from that area to post about drs yet. |
I can give better feedback tomorrow after my 2nd appt w/Dr Richard Meyer (UAB in Bham). Saw him back in 2005 when he diagnosed me w/TOS. In a nutshell, his advice was to 'suck it up' as long as possible before considering surgery. I'm going back to see him because my symptoms have gotten worse even after taking a month of unpaid leave from work. I'm also having more vascular symptoms lately so I think some additional testing is in order. I really hope he has something to offer besides surgery (still not sure I'm ready for that yet . . . once you do it you can't go back). At this point, I haven't yet found any docs in AL that I'd feel comfortable slicing & dicing on me.
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Help with TOS!
Most patients fail to get proper help BEFORE choosing surgery! I have a lot of medical background and was astonished at the lack of effort on the part of poor quality doctors to validate BOTH the diagnosis and the severity of TOS! BOTH of which were huge issues with the first FOUR neurologists that examined me! ALL of them missed the TOS totally! (It is NOT surprising that there were NO inputs here for specialists in New Mexico, as they ALL messed up my diagnosis horribly!) I finally tapped into my network of knowledge as a biomedical researcher, and found Dr. Ernestina Saxton. She was not only incredible as a TOS expert, she is the greatest at simply being a doctor and compassionate human being! (Rare in the world of specialists these days!) Dr. Saxton has developed a network of specialists to verify TOS and its severity, which is a huge problem with other doctors! Dr. Collins verified the TOS and the severity was established with a scalene block. (NOT fun!)
I have to DRIVE 800 miles for an appointment with Dr. Saxton, as I can no longer fly (due to the altitude/lack of oxygen), and it is WELL worth the drive to see the BEST! It's interesting, but NOT surprising that most of her patients have traveled from all over the country and the world to see her! I'd travel ANY distance to see her! |
Tos
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Help of New Jersey
2105 West County Line Rd., Suite 7 Jackson, N.J. 08527 Tel:732-370-5800 They offer non-surgical, drugless physical rehab for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. They helped me avoid surgery for my neurogenic TOS. The only office I went to that could give me an accurate diagnosis and actually knew how to successfully treat TOS. |
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