Another consulting option for cervies

[tmont]

Over the past few months, I've had a number of inquiries on my treatment here in France, and especially on my NS, whom I've often described as being of both professional and human integrity.

Dr Phong Dam Hieu has been doing ACDF for nearly 20 years, and his reputation as an exceptional neurosurgeon is well-known throughout the area. He's had both European and US training, and is currently in the final stages of becoming a Professor.

The hospital itself is recognized for its particular attention to cervical spine pathologies, and C-spine treatment is best advised at this hospital rather than anywhere else in the region. He himself sees roughly 2 cervical cases per week, and also oversees the Pain Management Unit of the hospital.

Over the past months, I've discussed not only my case with DR DH, but debated ADR issues in general and the discussions have been informative and thought-provoking. His willingness to read and comment on the documents I've sent him--many from the Board--has been particularly welcome and helpful.

I would describe his mindset as open yet cautious. He has begun treating cases with ADR and so far the results have been unequivocally positive. Like anywhere else though, the evolution of these patients--and the ADR program of the hospital--will unfold over time. He's doing two cervical ADR next week and I've been invited to attend, and am really looking forward to that.

Some of our discussions have also centered on questions I've asked about patients posting here, and I've always appreciated his willingness to give his unofficial impressions on his own time.

Recently, two patients having received conflicting diagnoses asked me if he would be willing to take a look at their images for a fee, and to give his opinion. Dr DH replied that giving his opinion to help people was part of his job, and he would do so without charging patients--even those he'd probably never be treating himself. I think both were impressed with the speed and thoroughness of his diagnosis and recommendations, and I hope they were helped by this extra opinion.

I took the initiative recently and asked him if he'd ever consider treating foreign patients and if so, what the price range might be. He seemed a bit taken aback, but said he'd check into it with the Administration. Here in France, ADR is covered by the national healthcare system, and so procedures (and the cost) must be justified, which also unfortunately limits the number of procedures performed for the time being.

However, apparently there's no objection to foreign patients, and while the official cost estimates are still pending, the ballpark figures for a single-level cervical ADR are quite low in comparison to what I've seen elsewhere for the moment. Those interested in a breakdown of the costs can PM me.

The low figure is largely due to the fact that Dr DH will not accept money on top of his regular salary, which is paid by the hospital. If patients wanted to donate afterwards to hospital programs, they would be free to do so and it would be much appreciated.

However, he has absolutely no intention of doing ADR exclusively and is very much in demand for other procedures, so without knowing where this might go his conditions/limitations would be the following:

Maximum 2-levels and Mobi-C only, one or two a week at most. It is the design he prefers for gentle insertion and placement and to him it makes the most sense for the C-spine. Also, he is not one to take big risks and he still feels that fusion is adviseable in some cases. He will do ADR only if he feels it is clearly indicated. Of the two Board cases he reviewed, he felt ADR was a good option for one, and risky for the other.

I think that whatever the diagnosis and patient's subsequent choice of treatment, this is a great opportunity for cervies to get another professional opinion. I'm really grateful to Dr Dam Hieu for his generosity, but having known him for three years now I can't say I'm a bit surprised.

Anyone interested please PM me, and we'll see how we can get your info into his hands.

Trace

[Harrison]

Trace, nice work and thanks for doing the research!

[tmont]

Don't thank me--I'm a peon; it's all the good doctor

[hucky]

Trace,

It's so nice in this TAKE TAKE world to hear of a wonderful human being this surgeon so obviously is. I think it must be an honour just knowing someone like him.

It's really heartwarming to know that some surgeons chose this career because they wanted to make a difference to their patients - not their hip pocket.

Thanks for telling us about him Trace. I'm sure there will be many on this board who would value his opinion.

Hucky

[tmont]

I'm pulling this topic up because I've been getting inquiries about DR DH and the experience with the Mobi-C at this hospital.

I can modify the previous post to say that he now does three-level implantations, and has performed the world's first two four-level Mobi-C surgeries, the first being on a patient from this Board on January 26 of this year.

The Mobi-C is under official study in collaboation with LDR at this hospital. I help with patient follow-up and thus have access to the patients and files included in the study. The results are, for the moment, overwhelmingly positive.

This study is on patients who, in joint collaboration with DR DH, have elected to have the Mobi-C in lieu of fusion. I understand a double-blind study is also underway with another surgeon at the hospital but to my knowledge DR DH was not participating in it, as he wanted suitable patients to have a choice in their treatment. The double-blind study poses an ethical problem for him, which I think is pretty understandable even if the 'purely scientific' aspects of the question require this type of study.

To that end, I've also been in contact with one of the device designers, Dr Thierry DuFour. There are technical questions patients are asking about the Mobi-C which I'm hoping he will at least partially answer; as both a designer and a surgeon he is positioned between those who commercialize the device and those who receive it, and I'm really hoping his contact with the latter will result in our being able to get some more specific responses to the questions regarding design and in-vivo performance of the device. I'm currently compiling a new list of questions to send, having finally received the ok to do so. Feel free to PM me any questions you might have as well, and Ill add them if they're not already on the list.

For the rest, regarding Mobi-C surgery here in Brest, image readings by DR DH etc etc, I'm here to give the info to anyone requesting it. I just get a bit tired typing out the same things 500 times sometimes so excuse my pulling up an old post and modifying it. One of these days I'll have to sit down and create a new one with up-to-date info but time is a precious commidity no one seems to have enough of...


Trace

[Harrison]

Trace, your efforts are inspiring for all of us. Thanks for being a good person/analyst/patient/NS assistant and more!

PS: We need to catch up live some time.