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Herburban1

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 1, 2008
Messages
313
Location
Westborough, Mass.
This is how my surgeon rolls. It seems strange but if he's the best I don't care if he wears a prom dress. I am being seen by an internist who specializes in valve disease & heart problems at the cardio clinic at Mass. General. My Dr. has to talk to the surgeon about me and he will order any test he needs then decide to do the surgery..I don't meet him untill the day before surgery when I get admitted..I can deal with this because as a nurse I know some Drs. are weird and have their own way to do things. This may turn some people off. I spoke with a NP who used to work in SICU and she said some of the really good surgeons don't like to deal with concious people..Though I think it's weird I can deal if he is the best which he is suppose to be according to my Dr. and I have been told he is good from nurses who work there...Just wondering does anyone else have a Dr. like this?
 
It's not at all unusual. Some people that go to Cleveland never met the surgeon until their in the OR.
 
Phew! I feel better now.....Now I'll find something new to worry about...Anyone else allergic to tape? It gives me blisters which I suppose is the least of my worries..I will mention it so they can use paper if they can...
 
Joe was highly allergic to tape, and it was one of the first things we always mentioned. Apparently, it's a very common allergy, so common that the IV team never used anything else but paper tape, hospital phlebotomists also.
 
Herburban1 said:
Phew! I feel better now.....Now I'll find something new to worry about...Anyone else allergic to tape? It gives me blisters which I suppose is the least of my worries..I will mention it so they can use paper if they can...
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my cousin who is bedridden is allergic to most tapes and they use a special type for him. I can find out if you need the name?
 
I personally think that would make me a little uncomfortable. I guess that everyone has thier styles. I get to meet the surgeon that will perform my surgery on October 14th. There seem to be alot of the "best" surgeons. Mine is the director of Pediatric Cardiatric Surgery at Johns Hopkins. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to truely and accuratley rate each surgeon against each other. Just a thought.
 
I met my guy the day before surgery..... I had no problem with that ... I knew his record / reputation and I did not need to know him ... He was my high dollar mechanic ... opened my hood, replaced my valve and checked in later to make sure I was running right....
 
I couldn't stand the thought of meeting my surgeon the day before or day of surgery. I had to meet him, talk to him and make sure I was comfortable with him and trusted him and his "game plan" for me. When I first called the Mayo, they wanted me to come for testing on a Monday and Tuesday and then have surgery on Wednesday. Instead, I flew up for a week of testing, and meeting of Dr's. Then I flew home, talked to a couple more to make sure I was doing the right thing, then went and had surgery 4 months after my initial consultation. I didn't really see my surgeon much after that and didn't really care...he did his job.
 
Even though the same surgeon was doing my second OHS and it was only four years between, I needed to meet with him pre-surgery and feel his hands on me. I needed to hear his reassuring voice and reacquaint myself with him. It was good for my DH as well. I have absolute trust in him and I needed to remind myself of that. I wanted him to tell me what he was going to do and discuss my valve choice in the event repair was not possible. I only felt comfortable doing that in person and there never was any question about his seeing me in his office at MGH.

It surprises me, Herburban, you are not seeing your surgeon in the MGH offices before the surgery. Other people I know who have had OHS at MGH have all met with their surgeons pre op. But if it's okay with you, that is all that matters. Your surgeon is highly regarded.
There aren't any bad heart surgeons at MGH.
 
Dick never met Dr. Cohn until he went into surgery and I kept missing him in the morning rounds and didn't meet him until his 6 week post-op appt. When Dick was in CCU the first night, I asked the nurse if Dr. Cohn would be coming by and she said, Oh, no, you don't want him here, but you really want him in the OR where you had him!"
 
As far as I know, I never met the doctor who was my primary surgeon. I did find his name recently in some old hospital records and I was able to track him down. He and I had an interesting phone conversation a few months ago. I was impressed that he went on to become a Chief of Staff at a large teaching hospital in Texas and he was impressed that I still had that same old valve.
 
I was interested to read about Dick's experience with Dr. Cohn. We chose not to travel to Boston before the actual surgery since my husband was absolutely certain this was where I needed to be. I was in the hospital for three days (for the various tests he had determined needed to be done) before the Big Day and saw Dr Cohn briefly the night before the AVR (we had been told he would be out of town).....and, of course, it was at the exact time David took the elevator down to get a cup of coffee! It didn't bother me. He did make rounds daily afterwards.
 
ruthienc1 said:
I was interested to read about Dick's experience with Dr. Cohn. We chose not to travel to Boston before the actual surgery since my husband was absolutely certain this was where I needed to be. I was in the hospital for three days (for the various tests he had determined needed to be done) before the Big Day and saw Dr Cohn briefly the night before the AVR (we had been told he would be out of town).....and, of course, it was at the exact time David took the elevator down to get a cup of coffee! It didn't bother me. He did make rounds daily afterwards.
Click to expand...

It didn't bother us either- we were glad to have his expertise in the OR! We too could have made an appt. to see him before surgery, but chose not to as we were satisfied with his reputation and all our questions has been answered by Dr. O'Gara the cardio.
 
One of the reasons I've started making consultation appointments with surgeons is that I prefer to meet them well in advance. Why? Personal preference, I guess. Sure, you can do the research and be confident without the personal contact, but I just feel better knowing that the surgeon just might be able to put a face with that scalpel! Might make some small difference, maybe not.

Jim
 
Such an interesting conversation, IMO.
Funny how some of us absolutely need to look in our heart surgeons eyes and feel their hands on us and others do not.

When I had abdominal surgery twice, years ago, I did meet the surgeon but didn't really feel the same need as I did for my heart surgeries. It is so much bigger; so unlike anything else.

I wanted to see his office, meet at least a few of his staff.

I think that Dr. Akins may be in the same office as Dr. Hilgenberg, Herburban. Beautiful offices with an incredible view to the Charles River.
 
Cleveland wanted me to come in 2-3 days before my surgery but I needed more time to prepare so I went in for all the pre-surgery tests 2 weeks before. During that visit I spent about 30 minutes or more with my surgeon. He was very reassuring and meeting him helped calm my nerves. I left with confidence.

The only people I saw in the OR were his surgical team. They prepped and cracked me open but the surgeon had assured me that only he would do the actual heart surgery. Later I saw him almost every morning with his minions making rounds in the CCU.

I can reach him easier than my local cardio. I had a few bumps at home and he answered my email within 24 hours.

Take care,
John
 
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