ADRSupport Community  

Go Back   ADRSupport Community > General Discussion > The Big File

The Big File All issues not easily categorized in the above forums are here. Comments on general health, diet, "getting comfortable," and more are here.


Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #1  
Old 11-13-2006, 11:06 AM
Cat Cat is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 26
Default

Hey Guys, I'm not sure how to approach the next step in the process of trying to get the ADR surgery. The surgeon who did my last two operations agreed that I am a good canidate for an ADR. He said that there is a doctor Hynes in Melbourne, Florida (which is a few hours away from me) who does the procedure. One of my concerns is how many of these type surgeries has he done? Do I just call and flat out ask him how many and what the positive vs. negative outcomes were? Also, I have been looking into the Maverick ADR, but I don't know if it has been approved yet, and if any of you have information about it? I'm still confused about the advantages and disadvantages of the Charte, ProDisc, Kinflex....Any ideas or info? Another thing is does anyone know how this whole process works when it is a work comp situation? Am I allowed to choose my doctor. If I had my choice, I would probably go to Dr. B in Germany or to Dr. Zigler at the Texas Back Institute. I know that they have a ton of experience. I just pray that I don't have to go to any ol' doctor that work comp tells me to, whether they have a lot of ADRs under their belt or not. PLEASE give me some feedback when you get the chance. I need to make figure this out soon. I can't take the pain any longer and I really, really need to get back to work.
Cathy
__________________
*1998 - Two discectomies and a fusion at L5,S1 (MRI, mylogram & epidural injection through coccyx bone) and surgery to repair spinal fluid leak
*2005 Discectomy at L4-5 (MRI, epidural shots, PT)
*2006 Discectomy at L4-5 (MRI, mylogram, & PT)
*Curr
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 11-13-2006, 12:00 PM
Harrison's Avatar
Harrison Harrison is offline
Administrator
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 7,010
Default

Cat,

As you might expect, I have a lot to say about this issue. But I'll be brief and chime back in later, as you'll get some good insights from the community.

I believe your instincts are right, e.g., go with an experienced surgeon. Sure, if you have an experienced doc in your back yard, that makes it easy! But you live with your back the rest of your life, so travel to the doctor(s) that you like, trust and respect. Obviously, you will trust that this doc has the right diagnosis (do you really believe him/her, and understand your condition?) and the right treatment (fusion, ADR, or any other required procedure).

On a related note, a new member was inquiring about discectomies (another on IDETs). Maybe we can get your ideas about this...
__________________
"Harrison" - info (at) adrsupport.org
Fell on my ***winter 2003, Canceled fusion April 6 2004
Reborn June 25th, 2004, L5-S1 ADR Charite in Boston
Founder & moderator of ADRSupport - 2004
Founder Arthroplasty Patient Foundation a 501(c)(3) - 2006
Creator & producer, Why Am I Still Sick? - 2012
Donate www.arthropatient.org/about/donate
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 11-13-2006, 01:22 PM
LBP LBP is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 446
Default

Cat,

I think you are absolutely entitled to ask how many procedures they've done, and the success rates. I think it's your obligation to ask these questions before you decide on a surgeon and surgery. I've never had a dr refuse to tell me and most of the time the people who make the appointments with me over the phone, have been able to answer this question before I agree to even see the surgeon! I then confirm this information with the dr during the consultation with follow up questions.

In my area, I still don't think any individual surgeon has done more than 10-15 max. There is one local surgeon my PT highly recommends...I've never met with the surgeon yet, but periodically I call the office for an update on their number of ADR surgeries.

Some hospitals in my area have insituted a policy of not performing the surgery for a number of years and a handful of surgeons and at least one local hosptial will do it but hardly anyone can have it done because of the ins obstacles.

I will likely go out of state for surgery once I can get a green light from ins or an upcoming clinical trial and pick one of 3 or 4 surgeons that were involved in the Charite, ProDisc or the upcoming Activ L trials.

Finding experienced ADR surgeons close to home??? It doesn't take too much time to search out info on this forum. Click on "find" then "advance search" and type in Florida or workers compensation or WC as keywords. I noticed at least one surgeon named in the Miami area. Dr. Garcia??? dont know anything about him but you might want to talk to the person who had surgery with him and track his outcome.

Obviously there a number of surgeons named over and over again who are located in CA, NY, and TX but other states have participated in the ADR clinicial trials and all those drs should have done more ADR surgeries than drs not involved in clinial trials.

I cant speak to WC issues but I know others on this forum have dealt with WC to try and see someone specific.

Oh...one more thing...if you look back in time on this forum when Charite and ProDisc were in clincial trials...there was a lot of discussion about the differences in design and what might be better for different people. If you go to the manuf websites and see animations of the different discs you can see how they move differently. The only discs FDA approved are Charite and ProDisc, both ony at one level. ProDisc had a 2 level arm of the clincial trials but the FDA has not yet made a specific ruling on the 2-level part of the trials.
I believe Kineflex is still under trial against Charite and someone recently mentioned that Activ L might be starting their trial against Charite instead of what we previously heard. Orig we heard Activ L was going to be tried against Prodisc.

no one seems to talk much about Maverick these days. Heard some rumblings that there was a problem with the design of Maverick at multiple levels (spliting a vertebrae because the keels where too high)..don't know what the status of that one is anymore.


Good Luck
__________________
Injured 9/01
Annular tears L4/5 & L5/S1
denied adr by insurance for 2 level charite as well as hybrid fusion at L5/S1 with Charite at L4/5.

New ins paid for 2 level lumbar prodisc surgery on 4/7/08 (at age 39) with Dr. Westerlund, at Core Orthop
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Looking for a doctor ryegal The Big File 1 08-14-2008 07:20 AM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 10:18 AM.


© Copyright 2006-2023 ADRSupport.org All rights reserved.