Anyone have experience reaching out to a doctor that is long distance?

I am going to try to contact Dr. Donahue.

I would ideally like to send him my medical records/tests, etc. and have him review them. Then talk on the phone. Then have an appointment. Then have surgery if applicable. ("if applicable" is of course the hardest thing to figure out).

Anyways....what is the best way to do this?

Call and talk to the nurse? And just mention I am sending over records?

Call his secretary. I believe that it's the number on the website, her name is Pat, she is who you want to talk to about initial steps.

Hey. I pretty much just started that exact process. I live about 3 1/2 hours from Boston. I called the office and spoke to dr donahues assistant. They were extremely helpful. They basically had me describe to them my symptoms, and all the testing i had done thus far. After that she took my phone number and said dr Donahue would call me personally on the phone to go over my case. That's as far as I got today, but they were extremely helpful. I told her I live out of state and she told me they would work with you in that aspect. I assume like you said, they would have u fax or mail your previous reports. Just call them, they will walk you through the process. 617-724-0969

What about office visits for a long distance doctor? I am in an area with ZERO TOS experience and if I need surgery (my progression is severe), I will want to go to a specialist.

Anyone have experience in how that process works? How long do you have to stay in the area? Do you have to go once to a consult, then fly back when they schedule your surgery date?

Based on my experience, you would likely have to fly out for the initial consultation, then fly back again for surgery. For MGH, at least, the soonest they where able to book my surgery was for 5.5 weeks out from when it was deemed necissary, and I doubt that they would be willing to commit the resources required to prepare for surgery for a situation that wasn't certain.

This is how the process went for me:

1. I received a referral from local neurologist.
2. I was contacted my Dr. Donahue's secretary/assistant, Pat. She walked me through making sure all my records and imaging results would be mailed to Dr. Donahue's office in the weeks prior to my consultation. In addition, they will mail you a 12-15 page questionnaire to complete and bring with you to your first appointment.
3. Consultation appointment. In my case, Dr. Donahue described my problem as it appeared to him. He stepped me through his interpretation of my imaging results, then led me through a series of positions/holds/strength tests. He told me that he only recommends surgery for 1/5 of the TOS cases, and doesn't rush to make any decisions. In my case, however, he recommended surgery for my left arm (which is a much more severe case than my right arm).
4. Within a week, this office staff contacted me with the details of the time and location of my operation. In my case the soonest they where able to secure the operating room and fit within Dr. Donahue's schedule was 2/5- 5.5 weeks from the date it was set.
5. It addition to the surgery itself, I have also committed to an appointment a week prior (1/30) for pre-operative preparations. I don't really know what this will entail, but if anyone is interested I will provide the details after I'm through it.

I hope this helps!
-Ben

Thank you, BDBomg! That's very helpful information and the timeline for your waiting period fits in with about what I was anticipating a specialist/large facility would have.

Do you have someone traveling with you? Are they staying at a hotel nearby or at the hospital with you? How long have you planned on staying in the area after the surgery? I know they will need to see you post-op, did they give you a time frame for that?

Thanks again!
-Dani

definitely get in touch with doctor donahue, he spoke with me for 25-30 minutes over the phone. I flew out to Boston for a consult 2.5 weeks ago and am having surgery tomorrow morning.

He really knows his stuff, and when I came out to Boston last time, we met for about an hour and a half, longest doctors appointment I've really ever had, and he covered EVERYTHING.

thank you ben!

i can go there as many times as it takes. a handful of plane trips to boston is nothing compared to what i have had to do, with little result, up until now

Dani-

I'm fortunate that I grew up only an hour and fifteen minutes from Boston, and have an extremely supportive family who are going out of their way to help me through this. My mother will be travelling down Boston with me on the day of the surgery and staying in the area until I am out of the operating room. If I am released after a single overnight my father will be coming down to pick me up and my mom made me promise to stay with my parents for at least a week following the surgery (I didn't take much convincing). If the situation arises where I have to stay for more than one overnight, my brother in law and roommate have both said they are available to pick me up when/if the need arises.

As for the post-op details...hopefully I will get a better picture of what will be necessary during that period at my pre-op appointment in a few days. I'll keep you posted.

As an aside- it would take a lot of space to tell my full story here, but I cannot speak strongly enough regarding the attention and care I've personally received from Dr. Donahue. I don't want to know how many hours of hard work that guy puts in each week.

-Ben

Wishing you the best for a successful outcome and speedy recovery!