Where can i find more information on my husbands surgeon?

[meganmitch]

Since we do not have insurance, we are kinda limited to who we can see. We saw a surgeon today Dr. James Anderson at the county hospital here in TX (JPS). I guess since the information we were given was so overwhelming that i forgot to ask some important questions about him rather than the surgery. Where can i find more information about this surgeon, is it public information?

 

[Lynlw]

Honestly its hard to find alot of info, you can try searching ere to see if anyone else used him, otherwise the best bet is to google him and see what different sites have to say.

 

[nngbwh]

Honestly its hard to find alot of info, you can try searching ere to see if anyone else used him, otherwise the best bet is to google him and see what different sites have to say.

Yep, Just google the surgeon name. Get all the info and go with your gut feeling.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

One thing you could do is to simply call the Surgeon's office and ASK for information such as How many Valve Surgeries does he perform annually and what are his complication rates.

Nationally, there is a 1% risk of morbidity and 1% risk of mortality for first time surgeries in patients under age 60. These numbers are even lower with very experienced Valve Surgeons. I'm thinking I would recommend looking for a surgeon who does at least 100 valve surgeries per year. The Top Valve Surgeons perform 200 to 400 per year. Dr. William Ryan in the DFW area is a well known and highly regarded Valve Surgeon.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Eva]

You may ask your primary physician, unless he referred you to him. You may also ask friends and relatives if anyone heard of him. Google his resume at the Hospital.

Definitely, you can call his office and talk to someone there and ask the questions you forgot to ask, and do not feel shy about it! I did that with more than three offices.

 

[catwoman]

Megan:

If you'll e-mail me, I'll see what I can find out about the surgeon.
I live in the Fort Worth area and a co-worker's wife is a nurse at JPS. Maybe I can find out some info.

 

[dick0236]

Yep, Just google the surgeon name. Get all the info and go with your gut feeling.

Personally, I would consider a surgical team at a larger hospital with a cardiac surgical program, as OK, unless the heart condition requires specialized treatment. A typical heart surgery is not that big of a deal. Even when I had mine, I was told it was not as difficult as many conditions because the heart is a big muscle and easy to work with. Maybe I was too naive, but I "bought" their story. I never met my surgeon before the surgery and I'm not sure if I met him after the surgery, although I did have a telephone conversation with him a couple years ago. He was only a "chief resident":eek2: when he operated on me......but has gone on to become Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Baylor University Medical Center. I recently "googled" him, after the fact, and discovered he has assisted in 55 heart transplants, 3 lung transplants and 2 heart-lung transplants.....so I guess he was a good one to have for my simple valve replacement.

 

[catwoman]

I was told today by my co-worker's wife who is an RN @ JPS that Dr. Anderson is a good surgeon. She knew of his name and his reputation. I don't know what type of patients are on the floor my co-worker's wife works on; JPS is a pretty big place.

 

[barbwil]

Here's a link to Tesas' medical board; perhaps you can search for the doctor to whom you were recommended on here:

http://www.tmb.state.tx.us/

 

[Mentu]

Megan & Mitch, the most helpful information I got about my surgeon was from one of the nurses who worked with him in the past. If you know someone one who could help you find a contact it can be wonderfully helpful. It is pretty easy to find where your surgeon went to school and where he has worked and whether he has been taken to court by patients, however, those things don't really tell you what kind of surgeon he is. From the nurse that I met, I learned that my surgeon works to maintain a professional yet warmly personal relationship with his surgical team. She observed that he goes to great lengths during surgery to do what he can to ensure his patients will have a better outcome. As well, she spoke about how his patients generally recovered more smoothly than those of some other doctors. The conversation left me feeling more positive about my impending AVR than anything else with the possible exception of joining VR.

Larry

 

[meganmitch]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I made an appointment with a different surgeon in Plano, Dr. William Ryan. I wanted to get a second opinion and they were more than willing to help with our financial situation. We go tomorrow and i for one am really excited to meet this new surgeon.

 

[catwoman]

Megan:

Dr. Ryan is a great surgeon. He did my husband's MV repair in May 2007. If I ever have to have OHS again, I would definitely consult with him. He was very easy to talk with. He's done valve repairs, valve replacements and the Ross Procedure.