I am so far looking at these doctors:
The one I have been assigned at MD Anderson: Dr. Sujit Prabhu
Dr. Franco DeMonte (if I can get him) and
Dr, Laligam N. Sekhar at Harborview in Seattle Washington
Dr. Sekhar seems on paper to be widely regarded in skull base surgeries, but i cannot find any patient or family feedback...
Anybody got any ideas??
I only have a couple of weeks to try to find the right doc so any suggestions would be greatly helpful.
Thanks,
Ellen
Hi Ellin: I am sitting here trying to figure out how you would get/use patient or family feedback I dont know how to get it and dont know how you would use it. As I see it, about the only thing family or patient could tell you would be what I call "bedside manner" stuff. The hospital staff would be aware of the physicians EXPERTISE in operating and/or handing a case but the patient and family would probably not know more than if the Dr. has a nice bedside manner. The outcome of each case would depend on the skill of the Dr. plus the particular unique situation of each patient. My personal feeling is that if the institution ( i.e. M.D. Anderson ) feels comfortable having a particular doctor on staff then that doctor has the expertise you are looking for. If the doctor had the necessary expertise I wouldn't even care if he/she did not speak a word of English......................M.C.
Toss this guys name in the hat,,, he is right up the road in San Antonio, Tx. In 1988 he did brain surgery on me.
Lloyd Youngblood
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lloyd Youngblood, M.D., is a leading board-certified neurosurgeon and chief of the Department of Neurosurgery at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, Texas.
Working extensively with professional wrestlers,[1] Youngblood has performed neck surgery on several renowned professional wrestlers, including Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Edge,[2] Lita, Gregory Helms,[3] Bob Holly,[4] Scotty 2 Hotty,[5] Test and Rhyno. He has also worked extensively with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin[6] and Matt and Jeff Hardy.[7]
Born in Beaumont, Texas in 1946, Youngblood received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Rice University in 1969. He graduated with honors from Baylor College of Medicine in 1973 and carried out his internship and residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.. He stayed in the Army for the next 20 years, becoming Assistant Chief of the Neurosurgical Surgery Service at Landstuhl Army Regional Medical Center in Germany from 1979 to 1982 and becoming Chief of the Neurological Surgery Service at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas from 1983 to 1989. He retired from the Army in 1989.
Youngblood later joined Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. In 2000, he performed an anterior cervical discectomy on professional wrestler "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, allowing him to regain his WWE Championship and extend his career by another 3 years. At the time, Austin's injury was the worst of its type that Youngblood had ever seen in his professional career.[8] He later performed a similar operation on Chris Benoit, his 4 hour surgery being recorded and televised on several World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) shows.[9] After his fame in performing neck operations increased, he performed neck fusions on Bob Holly, Amy Dumas (Lita), Terry Gerin (Rhyno), and several others. He has also operated on Gary DeLaune, a reporter for KENS television station.[10]
Youngblood was one of an estimated 2,500 neurological surgeons and other medical experts both in the United States and internationally who were in attendance at the 50th annual Congress of Neurological Surgeons during which actor Michael J. Fox spoke about his ongoing battle with Parkinson's disease and the need for continued medical research on the degenerative neurological condition on September 27, 2000. [11]
seMPer fidelis
Dave
Hey thanks alot...I appreciate the info.
Hope you are feeling better...and your truck :)
Hugs,
Ellen
Ellen - are you willing to travel to NY? I can reccommend my entire team at NYU - but it's a bit of a schlep from Florida....
Karen
I see your point, but I am not too interested in bedside manner either...I am interested in clinical outcomes, mortality/morbidity rates and experience in this type of "specialized" surgery. I do not believe that just because a doctor is on rotational staff, he automatically qualifies with enough expertise and experience that I would trust my remaining quality of life - and my life - to him. I am sure he is a "good" doctor b/c he is in a good institution. When it comes to my brain though, I want to be sure he is a GREAT doctor :)
Hugs,
Ellen
Hey Karen;
I am willing to go anywhere in the US for the right doctor and team...
A friend of mine from this board suggested Dr. Patrick Kelly from NYU and I plan to call there tomorrow but I think he is still on a 6 month leave of absence, according to the recording at his office. When I can get a person on the phone tomorrow, I will know much more.
Thanks alot for replying...sounds like you are in a great place!
God bless,
Ellen
Ellen My Oncologist was rated #6 in the country - he is brilliant and probably tops as far as NYC is concerned - His name is Abraham Chachoua 212-731-5388. I can also give yu the names and numbers of my surgeon - A GOD if you ask me and my Pulm.
Good Luck!
Karen
Dr. Sakhar is phenomenal!!!
I had a 2 cm cerebral aneurysm on a hard to reach place on my right artery leading to the brain and most doctors told me to just coil it off and bacically just leave 3 arteries leading up to the brain......only problem is that it would basically guarantee that I would get another aneurysm in the next 10 years and the next one coule be in an even worse position. I was luckily enough to be assigned to Dr. Sakhar at Harborview in Seattle and he presented the idea of a brain bypass surgery where they would take the vein from my leg and basically convert it into a new artery to my brain after clogging off the old artery. It was considered to be super risky and experimental, but after praying about it, i went for it. I was told that when I woke up, i most likely woudlnt be able to even remember my name and I would have to relearn pretty much everything from scratch (walking, eating, speaking, etc) but i woke up, remembered my name, checked out of the hospital 6 days later and started school 6 weeks later. This was all 20 months ago and I am currently back in school at Pepperdine University going for my degree in intercultural communications and Spanish and I know i still owe Dr. Sakhar so much more than he could ever know. (im pretty sure after surgery my mom may have even proposed to him or something.....he is our new hero for sure!) I could never convey to you how amazing dr sakhar was. Not only was he an amazing surgeon, but in the days leading up to the surgery and following the surgery, he came around with the medical team to check on my every morning asking me if i was was OK, if i was nervous or even scared. When i told him i was a little freaked out seeing as how i was 19 laying in a hospital bed being told i might not survive and if i do, i wont really be ME again, he pulled up a chair and talked me thru it. he has a great bedside manor and clearly HONESTLY cares about each one of his patients!!!
Good luck!!
Dear Ellen, How are you doing? Read that the doc. you found is awesome!! Did you or are you going to see him? I hope you got through the storm ok. Let me know whats happening and if you are having surgery in town here.(Seattle) I won't bother you, but I do wanna come give you a hug! Keep me posted. Thanks and good luck......Von
Thank you so very,very much for your reply. I believe I even read about your surgery and I wondered how it turned out...now I know and I think that is just wonderful news to find you so well!
Dr. Sekhar IS going to do my surgery in a couple of weeks and I feel so very blessed to have found him and have him take my case. I can't wait to meet him in person.
God bless you - I just know you will continue onward in good health for many, many years to come!
Ellen
Dear Von;
Yes, Dr. Sekhar has agreed to operate on me. I am so happy and feel so incredibly blessed. From everything I have heard, he is THE man for these types of tumors.
The actual surgical date is still to be determined, but I will keep you posted. Thank you so much for your continued good wishes!
God bless you, Von
Ellen
I'm gald to hear the news. You will be in good hands. please keep me posted on your date, and how long they think you will be in the hosp. You can e-mail me at golfwidow90@yahoo.com. STAY STRONG,,,VON
Thank you Von. I will most definitely update as they occur.
God bless and you take care of yourself too!
Ellen
Dear Ellen:
I see that Karen asked you if you were willing to travel? I go to Memorial Sloan-Kettering in NYC and I have been very happy there with my thoracic surgeon. If you are interested in traveling to the city I can find a doctor thru Sloan for you.
Just let me know and I will do what I can to help you.
Your friend,
Linda
have you had your surgery yet? I have actually been in contact with Dr. Sekhar over the past few weeks becuase of another minor surgery i have had to have down here in Los Angeles and even now 2 years after my surgery, he is so amazingly caring as he sent me flowers when i was in the hospital for thyroid cancer 2 weeks ago and he was constantly in contact with my surgeon down here to be sure everything was going well on recovery. he is phenominal and i wish you the best. something i LOVE aout sekhar that i didnt find out about him until after my surgery is that he prays with each patient. He waits until after they are knocked out, but then he says a little prayer with them and that to me was so cool to hear. Anyway, if you already had your surgery, best of luck on the recovery!
Had the surgery. Dr. Sekhar is an amazing, amazing man...THE best. I, too, would follow him anywhere...
Thank you for replying...
In 1977, Dr Sekhar operated on an hermangioma that was 2.5 inches inside my head. One surgeon who I consulted said that it was inoperable. I had the surgery, stayed in the hospital for 3 days, and was back at work in 10 days. I did not have any negative deficiencies from the surgery. Dr Sekhar and his team at George Washington University were amazing. I would highly recommend him.
Best wishes drawing3d. Yes, when you find a great surgeon, you would tend to follow them anywhere. I've come to highly admire and respect all the surgeons that operated on my wife. They are talented individuals.
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