amyj
Female Member
Posts: 13
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Doctors
Jan 21, 2017 11:06:21 GMT -7
Post by amyj on Jan 21, 2017 11:06:21 GMT -7
How does one choose a doctor? Is it ortho or vascular who would do an amputation? I plan to start action toward my BKA this monday.
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Doctors
Jan 21, 2017 21:11:12 GMT -7
Post by snowyh on Jan 21, 2017 21:11:12 GMT -7
My amputation was performed by an orthopedic surgeon. You can check out patient reviews on potential docs at healthgrades.com or ratemds.com.
Helen
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Doctors
Jan 22, 2017 0:35:58 GMT -7
Post by cherylm on Jan 22, 2017 0:35:58 GMT -7
My initial amputation was done by an orthopedic surgeon as well...but my recent revision surgery was by a vascular surgeon.
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Doctors
Jan 23, 2017 8:15:33 GMT -7
Post by stonecutter on Jan 23, 2017 8:15:33 GMT -7
I didn't choose mine. Mine was an emergent situation involving plastic and orthopedic surgeons. Quite good ones, as I recall. They were complete jerkwads bedside, however they made up for it in the OR.
My revision surgery was similar. The local rehabilitation hospital of which I am a permanent outpatient has a regular surgery clinic where they assess potential cases for revision surgeries for all sorts of ortho issues. The rehab doctor and the ortho surgeon are paired up. The surgeon is a military guy (reserves) who works out of the local teaching hospital. He was also a jerkwad at the bedside, however a master in the OR. Seriously - very skilled.
I can't say enough good things about my surgeons...
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amyj
Female Member
Posts: 13
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Doctors
Jan 23, 2017 17:41:57 GMT -7
via mobile
Post by amyj on Jan 23, 2017 17:41:57 GMT -7
Thanks all!
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amyj
Female Member
Posts: 13
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Doctors
Jan 25, 2017 8:00:58 GMT -7
Post by amyj on Jan 25, 2017 8:00:58 GMT -7
Interestingly, a prosthetist recommended a plastic surgeon, as they create the least amount of trauma, therefor healing is quicker. Anyone else have that experience? I also want to get with pain management Dr, as I haven't been in several years. I have a neurostimulater implanted but it doesn't work anymore. I'm thinking it may help with phantom pain. Any thoughts?
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Doctors
Jan 25, 2017 17:12:42 GMT -7
Post by snowyh on Jan 25, 2017 17:12:42 GMT -7
Hmm... I've never heard of anyone suggesting a plastic surgeon to perform an amputation... my expectation is that any plastic surgeon you may consult would refer you to a specialist who was trained to perform amputations. A neurostimulator shouldn't be of any help with phantom pain, as it works by interrupting pain between as it travels up your spine. Phantom pain, though it feels for all the world like it originates in the missing limb, is actually "all in your head." In other words it doesn't have anything to do with nerve endings in the stump; it's just the way the brain plays tricks on itself sometimes when a limb goes missing. A neurostimulator may be of help with surgical pain, but that should subside on its own as you heal from surgery.
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amyj
Female Member
Posts: 13
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Doctors
Jan 26, 2017 5:53:38 GMT -7
Post by amyj on Jan 26, 2017 5:53:38 GMT -7
Thank you, Snowyh! Information is power!
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Doctors
Jan 30, 2017 0:52:16 GMT -7
Post by cherylm on Jan 30, 2017 0:52:16 GMT -7
Actually, Helen, the first of my recent round of revisions was done by a plastic surgeon...and my HMO has started to do referrals to plastics for most amputation revisions. Soooo...I'd think that plastic surgeons doing initial amputations may well become more common. I ended up with my vascular surgeon after a sort of round-about search for someone who was willing to tackle my odd fistula, otherwise I may well have continued visiting the plastic surgery clinic.
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amyj
Female Member
Posts: 13
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Doctors
Feb 5, 2017 18:18:49 GMT -7
via mobile
Post by amyj on Feb 5, 2017 18:18:49 GMT -7
Tomorrow is a big day-wound care, then a new orthopedic dr followed by pain management. The best part of the day will be buying grain and hay. Vascular surgeon is 2 wks out. I just want to get the ball rolling. I'm not looking forward to recovery but I want to get started!
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Doctors
Mar 18, 2017 20:04:52 GMT -7
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Post by bassett on Mar 18, 2017 20:04:52 GMT -7
My ortho is a rock star, so I asked him to do it and he did. My prostetist suggested a vascular surgeon, because he thinks they are more prone to do the Ertl Procedure and attach the tib and fib on a BKA.
But my ortho guy has become like a family member over the past 30 months, so I was happy when he took the operation on and in the end he said it was the correct call when looking at what we had done thus far and the results we were getting.
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