RE: Do You Need Surgery? Investigate Your Surgeon!
Simple, yet priceless reminder @finnian. Something we often overlook while assuming all surgeons are created equal - they're not. I'm very sorry to hear about you and your wife's mishap with surgery. We never think about it happening to ourselves, but when it happens to those we love it becomes very plain to see.
Before my son was born, at 22 weeks gestational actually, we found out that he had a congenital heart defect. We live near Johns Hopkins hospital (Maryland) and we never allowed our locale to determine the care we would seek. We went Phildelphia, to C.H.O.P., met with the surgical team and then to Boston Children's Hospital to meet their surgical team.
We finally found a team, that we had extensively researched, in Boston Children's Hospital. They had the best numbers by comparison, hands down, for the procedure my son would face at only 6 days old. It matters. It truly matters who the surgical team is. They were the most confident of the three teams we had met and they had the best track record. They were also optimistic - which is important when the odds are not at all in your favor.
My son is almost 4 and has undergone 3 open-heart surgeries. Each performed at Boston Children's Hospital, where he was born. An incredible place my friend. Three successful operations and one very strong boy. It's a blessing to have found the best surgeons in the world for the problem. It truly makes all the difference.
Strength and Health in abundance to you and yours buddy!!!
I am VERY thankful that your experience was a good one. It sounds like you did a lot of research. For my wife's back surgery, she got a few opinions. We just didn't look into the surgeon's backgrounds much. I'll always regret not doing it. Hopefully this tip will help people avoid the problems we had and help them have a positive experience as you did!
Yes, very thankful @finnian! It was a blessing to have had some time to first learn about the condition, then identify the surgical teams that had the most cases AND highest success rate.
Your words are wise - it really can make a large impact if more people decided to heed your advice. I never realized how much of a difference it can make until I saw the results. I'm fortunate to have positive results. I also feel for you, your wife, and others that have had negative experiences. Don't blame yourself, take comfort in the fact that you might spare many people misfortune with your message.