my painful story

[MikeC]

Originally Posted by JeffR

Mike, in general i would recommend you try to get opinions from at least a few doctors to make sure there is a reasonable consensus of opinion as well as to feel out more options.

Hi Jeff, yes I have to agree with that. My physiatrist at HSS recommends that I get the nerve under control, but so far, not have given me injections and medication, neither of which has helped. I have to reach out to other surgeons such as Dr Clavel. In the meantime, this is difficult to live with. Mike

[MikeC]

Originally Posted by JeffR

Mike welcome happy/sorry to have you here.

If you are looking at Ritter-Lang and are considering the M6 I would suggest you look at Dr. Pablo Clavel in Barcelona. Scour the message boards for some recent posts of mine for his contact info. A LOT of the patients here have had or are scheduled to have surgery with him and I think you would find a consultation with him beneficial.

-Jeff

Thank you Jeff. I have contacted the office of dr Pablo Clavel based on you recommendation and on the positive reviews here. It seems that he was once affiliated with Ritter-Lang but not sure how. Their names were on the same website that might be antiquated. Best regards, Mike

[AmyM]

I just returned to the US last Friday after a 2-level ADR with Dr Clavel in Barcelona on January 10th and he & his team are AMAZING. He not only has time for you before he has "your business" and is doing the phone/Skype consult, but also when you have your pre-op, the morning of the operation and your post-op. For my post-op, he had a full waiting room (it was actually pretty funny as 1/2 of us had neck braces on) and he still totally took his time with me and answered each & every question my husband & I had. It is not AT ALL like American care where you are just a number.

Yolanda (his assistant) is very helpful and Laia, the physical therapist, comes to your hotel after you are discharged from the hospital and works with you. She has magic hands!

I did not have one negative experience with any one on staff at the hospital - everyone was very pleasant and supportive. I highly recommend you talk to Dr. Clavel. I am sure there are many other good surgeons out there, but I honestly don't think you can do better than Dr. Clavel.

[MikeC]

Originally Posted by JeffR

Mike, in general i would recommend you try to get opinions from at least a few doctors to make sure there is a reasonable consensus of opinion as well as to feel out more options.

Hi Jeff, well I FedExed my MRI to Dr Clavel and he will have it on Monday. It seemed impossible to upload on the website they have for patients, but that is a nice touch to have your own log in. He will have recent x rays and the MRI so now I mucst awai the recommendation. A physiatrist I saw at HSS this week said that if the Gabapentin, the physical therapy and some possible injections don't work....then she would recommend a fusion! When I asked about ADR, she said. I was not a candidate. Well is that trus or do we just prefer fusion in the USA? She said something about arthritis in my lumbar....well there is not much disk left so doesn't a replacment make sense? What do I know? Let's see what Dr Clavel has to say. Another forum member was very happy with Dr Bierstedt in Germany, but although he seems less well know than Clavel but I cannot base a decision on that. By the way,the DVD produced by the founder of this forum is very good; he was kind enough to send it to me right away! Anyway, thank you all for listening any any input is greatly appreciated. Mike

[MikeC]

Amy; i just saw your post and that is most helpful and reassuring. I am anxiously awaiting to hear from Dr Clavel. Yolanda has been corresponding with me and has kept me on track to provide that Dr Clavel needs to make his diagnosis. I did not realize that I might have a Skype call....that would be great. In the meantime, I need to something soon. While I think of it, I should add my history to my signature....soon! Thanks for your comments! I hope that I have such a great experience. Mike

[Boxer78]

Hey mike! Any news. I'm in new York also and have been in contact w clavel and beirstedt. Tough decisions to make. Has your physiatrist helped you at all? That's one thing I wanted to try. You also may want to look into dr zeegers I had a long phone talk with him for free great guy lots of experience. Stay strong!

[Lillyth]

They are running behind. Still playing catch up from the holidays. You should hear from them soon.

[MikeC]

Originally Posted by Boxer78

Hey mike! Any news. I'm in new York also and have been in contact w clavel and beirstedt. Tough decisions to make. Has your physiatrist helped you at all? That's one thing I wanted to try. You also may want to look into dr zeegers I had a long phone talk with him for free great guy lots of experience. Stay strong!

Hello Boxer, I would have replied sooner but I am traveling and just saw you comments. I am seeing a physiatrist from HSS who has prescribed Gabapentin and physical therapy. The first session of PT made me feel worse for the rest of the day, but the Gabapentin seems to help a bit. Dr Clavel's office wrote back indicating that he would like to try a 2 level ADR, but if, during the the surgery, the ADR did not seem appropriate, he would do a fusion.

I am not really comfortable with the idea of finding out after the surgery what procedure was actually done on me. So I asked for some additional feedback. I read that some people have had Skype calls with Dr Clavel but they have not offered this to me yet.

I will Google the name of Dr Zeegers and see if I can find him. Thank you for the feedback. Mike

[annapurna]

Zeegers, as of not too long ago, was at the Beta Klinik in Cologne. He's still listed as a consultant on their webpage but I don't know what that means about his practicing there. Kopf, Wirbelsäule, Gelenke, Gefäße - Beta Klinik - Internationale Privatklinik Bonn

[Boxer78]

wzeegers@zeta.demon.nl. I'm not sure what hospital he is working out of but he's a very nice guy he called me on a sunday afternoon after I emailed him my situation the day before. He asked to hear my entire story then asked a ton of questions and said the diagnosis it the hardest and most Important part. He then emailed me a ton of questions etc to send back to him. He said "I need to know everything about you" lol. Call was no charge. So it's at least another opinion from a guy that's done thousands of procedures.