Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with surgeon

Oral surgeon in NYC area

KHinds10 — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:18:57 -0800

Can you recommend a good Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon/specialist in the greater NYC area? This is for jaw discomfort and a really screwed up bite. I am looking for someone great and I don't care where they are located, Thanks

Laser eye correction in the northern virginia area?

Nonce — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:34:41 -0800

I am nearsighted with a slight astigmatism, have about $2,000 to spend, and a desire to never wear glasses again. I'm in the northern Virginia area. I can travel to DC, MD, or anywhere close by, but not too far, as I don't want to make any followups too difficult.

Where should I go?

What kind of surgery should I get?

Is transepithelial PRK (all-laser) surgery the best? Or Custom Vue IntraLasik? Or something I don't know about?

Should I worry about what version of what software the center is running? How detailed to I need to get in this quest? Who has the best rep, the best service, and the best results? Is this possible to do responsibly for that much money?

Please help me not do something stupid to my eyes that can never be undone.

How do I know when it's time to see a new orthopaedic surgeon?

rollbiz — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 18:48:46 -0800

How do I know when it's time to see a new orthopaedic surgeon? Here's the deal: I dislocated my patella about five weeks ago, and before it relocated it bounced around and caused some trauma to the surrounding area. Went to the ER and then went to an ortho surgeon who was recommended highly to me. First he thought I had ruptured my patellar tendon because I couldn't (and still pretty much can't) lift my leg up from my knee to my foot, i.e. if I'm sitting and I were to try to lift and straighten my leg it won't go farther than a few inches.

MRI showed (according to him) that my tendon is not ruptured. My knee was drained and I've started therapy, things are progressing OK except that I still can barely lift my leg. I went to see him for a follow-up two days ago, and he mentioned for the first time that a bone fragment is present which may be limiting my motion, and that there is a small chance I'll need surgery to remove it.

I guess in general, I am feeling like I don't know enough to either determine if my original diagnosis (therapy will make it all better) was made carefully, or to know if this guy is actually paying much attention to my condition.

Has anyone been in this position before with a similar injury, and at what point (if any) did you seek a second opinion?

How to publicy praise my doctor for future patients?

flibbertigibbet — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 09:20:16 -0800

I live in Ontario. I'd like to write to some government body praising my oral surgeon, who is so amazing it should be on record somewhere for anyone researching him in the future. Should I do this, and who should I send the letter to? He's DDS, MD, FRCD(C), Dip. ABOMS.

how should i choose a surgeon

alkupe — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 10:16:46 -0800

looking for advice on choosing a surgeon. I live in nyc and it looks like i need shoulder surgery.
Now the guy i was referred to does not take insurance, so the surgery would cost me around $4k. He's supposed to be the top shoulder guy though. On the other hand that doctor (at my request) listed a number of other docs in the hospital that do accept my insurance, and I found another doctor who also seems pretty good that accepts my insurance. I have a second opinion appt set up with this guy.
Now I can definitely afford the $4k. but that said, obviously i would prefer not to spend that if its not for any reason. On the other hand, if $4k makes my shoulder better, then i am happy to pay it.
Any advice on this decision? I'm seeing another doctor and if I "like" him, should i just go with that since he accepts my insurance? I really don't know what to do or how to decide.
Is a "top" shoulder surgeon better than another (still very good) shoulder surgeon?

Knock, Knock Thelma... where'd ya get those sexy support hose?

aristan — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 21:58:51 -0800

I'm a reasonably active 28 year old male who has long suffered from a couple of disorders normally seen in the elderly: venous insufficiency and leg ulcers. Now the nurse practitioner I see has suggested I find a surgeon in Charlotte, NC as the only vein surgeon in Albemarle doesn't take my insurance. I'll have to find and evaluate a vein surgeon on my own... how do I go about doing that? Basically the valves in my leg don't pump the blood back to the heart and it sits and pools in my foot and ankle. This results in a severely swollen leg, a painful time walking, and a very irritable aristan. This has lead to a leg ulcer that at one point was the size of my fist. Now, thanks to the nurses and compression therapy (Unna Boots & Thelma Harper-like Stockings), It's currently smaller than the tip of my little finger and my leg is now three inches smaller around.

The problem is that this is treating the symptoms of the problem and not the actual problem itself. Constant compression therapy and the whole "keep your legs elevated at all times" are fine if you're 88... but when you're a 28 year old who works full time, is a full time student, and loves to jog & play DDR... it is impractical.

I've lived with these problems for over 10 years now and have had one surgery to apply skin grafts that caused me to spend 2 weeks in the hospital after I suffered DVT and a blood clot lodged in my lung. (No one can figure out why my previous doctor and the surgeon skipped over any type of compression therapy at the time.)

Needless to say, I'm very scared to have another surgery and more worried about selecting a surgeon on my own. Most vein surgeons I have found in the Charlotte, NC area seem to be plastic surgeons, willing to strip my varicose veins and shoot me full of botox... I need someone to fix the hole in my leg!

A good Dr for rhinoplasty in the bay area

convex — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 20:40:19 -0800

Looking for a good plastic surgeon for a rhinoplasty job in the bay area "mountain view". Anyone have any recommendations, past experience with a good and not extremely expensive plastic surgeon for that kinda job?
Also, I was wondering how would that work insurance wise, does it need a special insurance? If I have HMO would I need to change the PCP to the new doctor before the first visit?
I have no idea how will that work, any help is much appreciated.

Extracting Wisdom

aladfar — Mon, 07 Jun 2004 14:26:38 -0800

Extracting Wisdom: I've been putting it dodging it for years, but it's looking (and feeling) like I'm going to have to get my wisdom teeth pulled. I do have insurance, but I have to go to a specific provider - a provider I've never actually been to before. Any advice on questions I should ask or things I should look for? Is one oral surgeon as good as another or should I shop around and/or pay extra if needed?