Don't screw around picking a doc

This is mostly preaching to the choir amongst this group, but I just talked w/ a guy in my group who had arthroscopic surgery on Friday to repair what was diagnosed as a meniscal tear.

His history - two years ago, playing basketball, went down in a heap, doc shot knee with cortisone, put him in rehab, end of story. 6 months ago, playing basketball again, went down again but felt okay shortly thereafter, doc said it was a "weekend warrior" thing, needed to build up leg muscles. 2 months ago, hurt it again at his kids birthday party taking a swing at a pinata (!).

waiting for laughter to subside

Had MRI, doc said torn meniscus, went in for arthro on Friday, when he came to, doc informed him that he didn't have an ACL.

This is the 2nd person I know here at work who has had a knee problem, had it diagnosed by their ortho as a mensical tear (MRIs and all), and then had arthroscopic surgery at which time the doc discovers that "oh, by the way, you're ACL is toast, too."

So, if (when?) you get banged up, see a doc that knows what the hell he's doing and who specializes in dealing w/ sports-type injuries. Just because he did a great job helping your grandmother with knee replacement doesn't mean he's the best doctor for you!

Ok, I'm done.

It helps if they ski too. And I have my doubts about the high profile sports docs (pro/world class athlete specialists) just becuase with my personal experience the one that I went couldn't give a shit about me because I wasn't a UT athelete in line for a pro contract, just some nobody skier guy. He didn't get my business.

Same thing happened to my brother!

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Originally posted by Big E
2 months ago, hurt it again at his kids birthday party taking a swing at a pinata (!).

waiting for laughter to subside

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I can beat this. When I was a kid (maybe 4 or 5), my dad took me to one of those carnivals. We went through a funhouse, and there was a loose board on one of those moving floor things. Being safety conscious (sometimes to a fault), my dad tried to push the board back into place with his foot. Somehow while doing this, he managed to tear the cartilage in his knee.

The moral of the story is: If you see a safety problem, leave it for someone else to fix.

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Originally posted by teledave
I have my doubts about the high profile sports docs (pro/world class athlete specialists) just becuase with my personal experience the one that I went couldn't give a shit about me because I wasn't a UT athelete in line for a pro contract, just some nobody skier guy. He didn't get my business.

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i have to disagree here, not that you should have gone to that particular doc, but about docs who do high profile athletes.

i chose mine because he comes with the total package. he did give a shit about me, i can call him at any time with questions, and he personally will call me back, not one of his interns. i had to wait an extra four weeks for the surgey because he is high demand, but it was more than worth it i feel.

he is trusted to perform crucial surgeries on world class athelets, he got me in with, in his opinion, the best physical theripist in new england. and because of him (the doc) my PT guy gives me extra attention. where other people come in to his office, they get one of his associates, i get the money guy who is also rehabing pro athelets at the same facility, side by side with me. this is all because of my surgeon, his rep, and the pull he brings. on my "team" is another Dr. whose sole job is to oversee the rehab of all patients recovering from orthopedic surgery in my surgeons practice. i can see this guy at any time and go over whats happening at physical therapy, my progress, and what my shorter term goals should be. so all in all i feel like i have had amazing suppport from the first time i walked into the office, through the first weeks out of surgery, through now that i'm 3 months out. i go in to get fitted for my brace soon. woot!

because my insurance sucks, i have to stop PT at 60 days. my doctors have helped me develop a plan for strengthening when this period is up after the first week of september, and i will continue to meet with the doc in charge of my rehab untill i'm ready to get back onto the snow. this gives me so much confidence about pushing my strentgth training. if i have any questions about anything i have three super high end docs who are there for me.

so, i've had a pretty good experience so far with the 'pros'

great advice and all but...

are there any resources available for searching for the right doc? Example: My insurance spits out about 80 ortho's in my general area....aside from calling them all, how the heck can you find out more background info about them? just a little overwhelmed at the moment....

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Originally posted by Tyrone Shoelaces
great advice and all but...

are there any resources available for searching for the right doc? Example: My insurance spits out about 80 ortho's in my general area....aside from calling them all, how the heck can you find out more background info about them? just a little overwhelmed at the moment....

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Go to a doc you know and trust, any doc, and ask them who they would reccomend if it were them. After my experience with Dr. Y I went to an ortho that I had some connections with through my family, his specilaty was wrists & hands but he referred me to someone that almost exclusively did ACL's who by the way was not in his group (but did join them about 9 months later).

I went with my ortho because of the incredible reputation he had...and i was recommended to him by so many reliable friends.

He works with athletes and that's pretty much it. He cared about what was going on with me, gave me the best possible options and was blunt and totally honest about what was going on with my knee.

He designed a specific program for PT, along with my therapist. My knee feels the best it has in a long time.

It's difficult to find the right doc, but go by what other people say, what they think and if they have had success. It's pretty much all word of mouth in my opinion.

I agree w/ basom for the most part, although my therapist was nearly as tight with the doc as it sounds like his is. Part of this is probably due to location, as the doc is quite a bit out of the way for me. Not a problem when you go there 4 times over 6 months or so, but going up there like 2x a week at the beginning would have just about killed me.

Ty, I'd recommend calling some of the colleges and pro teams in the area and trying to talk to the trainer for some recommendations. Sometime you can find out the same thing by navigating through the various team's websites. You'll have to figure out whether a top-flight doc acts like basom's or like teledave's, but that usually doesn't take long.

I've been really pleased w/ my doc - U. Maryland team doc, one of the Raven's team docs, etc. - except that he just recently left for a job in St. Louis! Damn! I don't think he was planning on leaving when I first saw him, or at surgery time. He did give me a heads up when I saw him at 3 months out, though, and said that the other knee specialist in the group - the head Raven's ortho - would be more than happy to see me if anything came up or I had any questions.

the process was tough and confusing for me too.

i was refered to mine by a neighbor who is a primary care phis(not my primary who i felt was cluless about orthopedics) whos son had a terrible football injury, and has come back to play at holy cross against all odds. he (the father) had done tons of research, and i just leached of his resources. in all the orthos in boston he piced this guy for several reasons. his team aproach, his experience level coupled with his realitive youth (other docs on the list may have done more procedures, but were nearing the end of their career and he felt they were less inclined to be up on the latest thinking, and procedures).

rep, mindfullness, experience, resources.

picking the right doc is tough.

talk to people ask them who they like, calling sports trainers is a good idea too. also, asking your primary care physician who they would see if they were hurt is a good way to go.

can't blame it all on the orthopod either. most ortho docs don't read their own MRI's (which in general is a good thing), instead they are read by radiologists. there is alot of variability in how good radiologists are at reading MRI's just like there is alot of variability in how good ortho's are at physical exam and arthroscopy.

When you have your MRI, you can ask if it will be read by a general radiologist or a radiologist with special training in orthopaedic radiology or MRI. If you go to a teaching hospital it will more than likely be read by the latter, if you go to a private practice all bets are off.

Both Big E and Basom are right. I have had experience with both ends of this. I have had athletes who tell me I'm going home to see the Dr. who does the [insert pro team or high profile college name here's] athletes and when they come back it is only to find out that they had the [insert team name here's] Dr's assistant treat them. On the other end of this I had some fairly well known ortho's call me in the office to discuss a patient who you would think would not have time or care about a lowly DIII Joe/Jane Q. Athlete. And as far as that goes, don't forget that there are many excellent surgeons out there that don't work with a pro team or high profile college team and these guys are just as qualified and just as skilled.

As far as how to pick the right Dr. for you it is a complicated thing to do. The best thing to do is ask around, ask you primary care MD, ask the nurses, ask the PT's and ATC's you know and then go see one. If you don't like their apporach go see someone else and get a second opinion it is your right. Every ortho does things a bit differently. I have known some very good surgeons that I will only send certain types of people to just because of their bedside manner and the patient's personality would not be a good match.

Just bumping this back up with an update that through the friend referral system, found out that the sports physician/knee specialist of the Sacramento Kings and Sac Monarchs is accepting new patients out of the UC Davis health system. Unfortunately, he's got like a 2 month backlog and I don't want to wait that long so I'm going to see one of his partners who can see me tomorrow for the initial eval. Pulled up his bio from the UC Davis website and it looks like his history, research focuses, & interests are just what I need. Knee has been feeling pretty good, but still kinda swollen after nearly 5 weeks, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed........

Two of my friends who've had knee work done at UCDMC have had it done by Eric Heiden (of Olympic fame). They've had universally positive results (all two of them)

I keep reading this thread title as "Don't screw around pickling a doc."

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Originally posted by Big E
Don't screw around picking a doc

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Damn, I was hoping for a witty and descritptive anecdote about breaching the patient-doctor relationship... ;)



BTW, when I had a meniscal tear (about 150% the size of my thumbnail) my surgeon (who apparently deals with lots of pro atheletes too) had me running 1 week after surgery and doing speed training 2 weeks after surgery.

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Originally posted by Telenater
Two of my friends who've had knee work done at UCDMC have had it done by Eric Heiden (of Olympic fame). They've had universally positive results (all two of them)

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Yup..that's the office I'm going to. All my friends in the area I've talked who are active (soccer players, triathletes, marathoners, etc.) who have had knee problems (an alarmingly high number of them) have seen both Heiden and Marder (the King's doc) and have all great experiences (or as great as can be expected with this stuff).

good luck ty. hoping for the best.

today's my three month post surgery Anniversary.

my team is giving me a big http://tetongravity.com/ubb/icons/icon14.gif

i will be keeping my fingers crossed for you shoe. sounds like you found a the right doc!!!

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Originally posted by basom
good luck ty. hoping for the best.

today's my three month post surgery Anniversary.

my team is giving me a big http://tetongravity.com/ubb/icons/icon14.gif

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and Trot?

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Originally posted by shamrockpow
and Trot?

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he gets a big http://tetongravity.com/ubb/icons/icon14.gif too.

rehab assingment starting tomarrow, could be available next week to pinch hit.

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Originally posted by Tyrone Shoelaces
Yup..that's the office I'm going to. All my friends in the area I've talked who are active (soccer players, triathletes, marathoners, etc.) who have had knee problems (an alarmingly high number of them) have seen both Heiden and Marder (the King's doc) and have all great experiences (or as great as can be expected with this stuff).

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Yeah, if I need to be rebuilt big and stronger, they're my first choice (not that I've done a lot of research, but others who have done the research seem to choose them).

It's my ACL.

But not sure how bad yet. First, the main docs assistant and 3rd year resident come on in, evaluate me, do all the standard stability tests and conclude that my ACL is blown. I then go get x-rays, come back, and the two assistants come back in with the senior ortho who then goes through all the same stability tests, questions and what not that the other two did earlier. His conclusion: definitely ACL something or other...he's just not sure how severe. Says there's some instability, but not as much as he's seen in other complete ACL tear cases and not as much as he'd expect from the nature of the injury. So he thinks it might just be an ACL sprain. MRI will tell for certain. Meanwhile, he gave me the green light to hit weights, cycle, run (just no lateral movements) as long as there's no pain to keep everything else as strong as possible.

Time to go open a keg of whup ass on my bike. Fucking pissed off that I might not be able to ski the Bro's this season :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

:(

Picking a good doc is especially crucial when it's your vision that's at stake. I'm getting the customview LASIK done this January and I researched the HELL out of the entire subject.

I made the decision to go with Dr. Whitten. I figure if Tiger Woods and Marco Echeverry can trust him, he can't be bad.

I'll either be seeing like a hawk or I'l be seeing halos around everything.