Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
Post Reply
Topic Author
mucho dinero
Posts: 172
Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2007 8:43 pm

Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by mucho dinero »

I have been informed that I am going to need to have surgery on my left shoulder to repair a torn rotator cuff. Where is the best place to go to evaluate the quality of the Surgeon who will be performing the procedure?
Thanks in advance. :?:
User avatar
retiredjg
Posts: 53989
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2008 11:56 am

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by retiredjg »

It has been my observation that orthopods frequently specialize in a body part. For instance some do knees, some do shoulders, and some do ankles and feet. I believe, but could not prove, this may keep them on the cutting edge (so to speak, ha ha) of new techniques.

When I needed achilles tendon work, I specifically went to an orthopedic surgeon who specialized in feet and ankles.

P.S. If you have a physical therapist, you might ask him/her who the "shoulder" person is in your locale.
strafe
Posts: 1070
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2007 11:49 am

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by strafe »

There is a great deal of bias in quality metrics. (Surgeons with higher scores are likely the ones doing the simple cases and turning away the more complex cases that could adversely impact outcomes reporting.)

Best bet is to find the surgeon who does a high volume of the particular procedure you need.
User avatar
greenspam
Posts: 608
Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2007 11:36 am
Location: east coast

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by greenspam »

perhaps the more important question is...
are you certain you need surgery ?

It should be the last resort, if conservative, nonoperative treatments fail....

... not knowing your age, or the type of tear (acute injury vs. degenerative), or your goals/needs (athlete ??? laborer???), or if, in fact , you've already tried conservative treatments???.... it still might be worth a second opinion -- some surgeons just like to cut....
as always, | peace, | greenie.
rjbraun
Posts: 2257
Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2012 8:22 pm

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by rjbraun »

Sometimes my GP has provided referrals to specialists, either because I asked specifically or they just made recommendations for specialists they thought would be appropriate for a particular treatment or perhaps because they thought a particular doctor would be a good fit for me (which could mean demeanor, personality, etc. -- for example, I tend to ask a lot of questions :D ).

A family member is a doctor. I was somewhat surprised that she seemed to put a fair amount of weight on patient reviews posted on the web. More specifically, if a doctor seemed to have a disproportionate number of negative reviews (even if the sample size was quite small), she would advise to not really consider using that doctor and would instead look elsewhere. I think her reasoning was that patients generally want to like their doctors, and if people go to the trouble of writing something negative, they must have had a pretty bad experience.

N.B. I realize that there seem to be quite a few BHs who are doctors. I hope I haven't said anything too inflammatory here :shock:
ellerbee
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2014 10:33 pm

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by ellerbee »

Nothing beats word of mouth. I don't think you can make a quality assessment from the internet (I'm a doctor by the way). Watch out for doctors that want to rush to surgery without trying more conservative measures first. I actually tore my labrum several months ago and my ortho doc recommended surgery right away. He didn't even offer/discuss physical therapy, pain medications, steroid injections, etc. I got a bad vibe from his eagerness to do surgery (they do make $$$ off of the procedure, after all). After a few months of at home exercises and Mobic for pain control I am much better, but not perfect. I would have had major regrets if I did the surgery, which would have kept me out of work for at least 6-8 weeks. Granted, I don't know your personal situation as far as the severity of the tear. Do your research, and ask around!
User avatar
LowER
Posts: 691
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2012 12:43 pm

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by LowER »

.....
Last edited by LowER on Sat Nov 01, 2014 11:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
zebrafish
Posts: 531
Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2012 9:28 pm
Location: Inside the tank

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by zebrafish »

From someone also in the business...

I do not think there is any website, metric, or feasible way for an outsider to get an accurate assessment of a surgeon's skill. Sad, but true.

Internet reviews are completely useless. Frequently negative reviews are from people with unreasonable expectations or complications, which aren't usually secondary to lack of skill. All surgery has risk.

Whatever procedure is needed, make sure the person does this procedure relatively frequently. Referrals from other M.D.s are useful. If this is something complicated (sounds like not), then I would attempt to get someone with some experience. If the person is younger, then having done a fellowship in shoulder is probably beneficial. I would probably consider another opinion to make sure that surgery has reasonable chances for improving your symptoms.

There are some orthopods who post on this board. Maybe they'll chime in.

Pedigrees and this type of stuff (place of schooling, residency, fellowship, etc.) have some meaning, but I've seen terrible M.D.s at top institutions and fantastic M.D.s at places not placed in high regard.

This thread will be locked in 3... 2... 1...
georgenator
Posts: 26
Joined: Thu Jan 07, 2010 2:21 pm

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by georgenator »

Ask the anesthesiologists and the scrub techs.

My father recently had to undergo a cardiac procedure. I had no idea who to use. I knew who was busy and who self promoted themselves, but really had no idea who was good. So I went to the biggest hospital in the biggest hospital system in the city and asked as many anesthesiologists who worked in that hospital who was good. Who would they get to do X, Y or Z on their spouses, parents, kids, etc. Does the surgeon do indicated and relevant work. That is how I got my short list. I would think that busy anesthesiologists work with a wider cross section of orthopedic surgeons than anyone else. Then I asked the scrub techs who was good. Who had good technique. Who had the fewest take backs, infections, complications, etc. Then I would confirm by asking the peers of the surgeon if they would trust Dr. X to do procedure Y on themselves if they needed it.

Using this technique I also found some anesthesiologists who highly recommend Dr. X because the surgeon has an excellent payor mix and they like the payor mix as much as they like the surgeon. So look out for that bias. But often the income of the scrub techs is not related to the volume of the surgeon. My biggest concern about high volume people is that they are quick to cut. I got quite a few highly opinionated recommendations from PACU nurses, clinic nurses, research coordinators, and people from my gym. I found those people to have a much lower exposure as to how many surgeons they have worked with (they see the big fish in a small pond), and these people have also never actually seen the surgeon in the operating room. I've also found their bias to be based on how nice the surgeon is to them. Recommendations from GPs are often due to who they like, who they trained with back in residency or medical school, who brought their referral coordinator lunch, who goes to church with them, or who their office has referred to for years in the past. For something like orthopedic surgery, I don't want a recommendation based on historical referral patterns. I want to know who is good,who is the big fish in the big pond, and I will take good over nice any day of the week.

In my experience, quality metrics are about as useful as asking the surgeon's mother if she thinks he is good. Healthgrade scores and online reviews are biased to who can work the "system." Getting DVT prophylaxis done, getting foleys out within 48 hours of surgery, using beta blockers in the perioperative period, and adhering to SCIP protocols does not make a good surgeon. Online reviews are usually only done by people who are really unhappy with the work, or really happy with the work. Most people with jobs, kids, lives, just don't have time to review their doctor like an Amazon.com review and quite frankly are biased by who is the best salesman.
User avatar
czeckers
Posts: 1082
Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 3:49 pm
Location: USA

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by czeckers »

As an anesthesiologist, I get asked this question often. Unfortunately it is a difficult question to answer. I can certainly tell you which surgeons to stay away from (high in OR complication rate, high percentage of cases that take significantly longer than they should suggesting lack of competence, high surgical wound infection rate). However, the one metric no one has access to, even the surgeon, is the success/failure rate of the procedure. If the surgeon does a procedure and he never sees the patient again after the 1 week follow-up, is it because it was successful or because the patient had problems and went to a different surgeon?

The biggest deciding factor from a layman's perspective should be volume. You want someone who does a lot of whatever you need done. In your case, I'd look for a shoulder specialist. If you live in a large metropolitan area, find someone who did a shoulder fellowship. One place to start would be to see if your area has an orthopedic sports medicine group. They'll do many more rotator cuffs than joint replacements.

I also wouldn't put too much weight on online reviews. Many very good surgeons have zero bedside manner, but I'd still go to them for their technical expertise.

If your looking for recommendations, a sports medicine physical therapist would be a good place to start.

Good luck.

-K
The Espresso portfolio: | | 20% US TSM, 20% Small Value, 10% US REIT, 10% Dev Int'l, 10% EM, 10% Commodities, 20% Inter-term US Treas | | "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
livesoft
Posts: 85971
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2007 7:00 pm

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by livesoft »

I have used the services of several surgeons where general anesthesia was used. In order to find someone to operate on me, I got recommendations from my internist, my physician friends, asked my physician family members, checked out the internet, asked nurses, asked physical therapists, asked anesthesiologists, and interviewed surgeons and asked them how often they performed the specific procedures.

I also asked the surgeon, "How many of this procedure did you perform in the last week and in the last month?" Both of these numbers they should easily be able to recall.

I also asked the surgeon, "Where would you go if you had to have this surgery?" I have never gotten a good answer for that question.

I also asked the surgeon, "Have you had this procedure yourself?" and the answer has always been No. Then I ask "Or any surgery at all?"

In short, I did everything recommended in this thread so far. There are problems with all these ideas.

First, many people will not give a direct answer. For example, physical therapists who work with a surgeon will generally always say positive things because they get referrals from those physicians. Anesthesiologists may recommend some names, but they will not diss a specific surgeon, so I would not ask "How is Dr. Goodhands?"

Second, many patients judge based on the looks of the physician and their personality. When one is getting cut and screwed back together, those qualities probably do not really matter.

So the next time I interview a physician, I am going to ask them how many physicians or immediate family members of physicians they have treated in the past year. I suggested this question to a physician and they hinted that one would not necessarily get an honest answer.
Wiki This signature message sponsored by sscritic: Learn to fish.
carolinaman
Posts: 5453
Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2011 8:56 am
Location: North Carolina

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by carolinaman »

greenspam wrote:perhaps the more important question is...
are you certain you need surgery ?

It should be the last resort, if conservative, nonoperative treatments fail....

... not knowing your age, or the type of tear (acute injury vs. degenerative), or your goals/needs (athlete ??? laborer???), or if, in fact , you've already tried conservative treatments???.... it still might be worth a second opinion -- some surgeons just like to cut....
+1.
I had one orthopedic recommend surgery on my shoulder and a 2nd opinion disagreed and recommended conservative PT which proved to be successful.
User avatar
kybourbon
Posts: 74
Joined: Sat May 28, 2011 7:03 pm

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by kybourbon »

georgenator wrote:Ask the anesthesiologists and the scrub techs.

My father recently had to undergo a cardiac procedure. I had no idea who to use. I knew who was busy and who self promoted themselves, but really had no idea who was good. So I went to the biggest hospital in the biggest hospital system in the city and asked as many anesthesiologists who worked in that hospital who was good. Who would they get to do X, Y or Z on their spouses, parents, kids, etc. Does the surgeon do indicated and relevant work. That is how I got my short list. I would think that busy anesthesiologists work with a wider cross section of orthopedic surgeons than anyone else. Then I asked the scrub techs who was good. Who had good technique. Who had the fewest take backs, infections, complications, etc. Then I would confirm by asking the peers of the surgeon if they would trust Dr. X to do procedure Y on themselves if they needed it.

Using this technique I also found some anesthesiologists who highly recommend Dr. X because the surgeon has an excellent payor mix and they like the payor mix as much as they like the surgeon. So look out for that bias. But often the income of the scrub techs is not related to the volume of the surgeon. My biggest concern about high volume people is that they are quick to cut. I got quite a few highly opinionated recommendations from PACU nurses, clinic nurses, research coordinators, and people from my gym. I found those people to have a much lower exposure as to how many surgeons they have worked with (they see the big fish in a small pond), and these people have also never actually seen the surgeon in the operating room. I've also found their bias to be based on how nice the surgeon is to them. Recommendations from GPs are often due to who they like, who they trained with back in residency or medical school, who brought their referral coordinator lunch, who goes to church with them, or who their office has referred to for years in the past. For something like orthopedic surgery, I don't want a recommendation based on historical referral patterns. I want to know who is good,who is the big fish in the big pond, and I will take good over nice any day of the week.

In my experience, quality metrics are about as useful as asking the surgeon's mother if she thinks he is good. Healthgrade scores and online reviews are biased to who can work the "system." Getting DVT prophylaxis done, getting foleys out within 48 hours of surgery, using beta blockers in the perioperative period, and adhering to SCIP protocols does not make a good surgeon. Online reviews are usually only done by people who are really unhappy with the work, or really happy with the work. Most people with jobs, kids, lives, just don't have time to review their doctor like an Amazon.com review and quite frankly are biased by who is the best salesman.
+1

I would also ask patients that have had the same procedure about their experience and long term outcomes.

ky
"Our favorite holding period is forever" (WB)
livesoft
Posts: 85971
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2007 7:00 pm

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by livesoft »

georgenator wrote:So I went to the biggest hospital in the biggest hospital system in the city and asked as many anesthesiologists who worked in that hospital who was good. Who would they get to do X, Y or Z on their spouses, parents, kids, etc. Does the surgeon do indicated and relevant work. That is how I got my short list.
I am interested in how one actually does this. It sounds simple enough to do, but I imagine reality is a little different.

Do you walk into the doctors' lounge and start asking questions? Do you hang out in the parking lot where the docs park their cars and approach people getting into/out of their cars? Do you sit in the lobby and use your cell phone to call all the anesthesiologists listed in some directory on the wall? Do you have them paged?

Is there something about your job that you might have access to parts of the hospital that non-medical workers would not?
Wiki This signature message sponsored by sscritic: Learn to fish.
User avatar
Don Christy
Posts: 391
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2009 10:33 pm

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by Don Christy »

If you're in a city with professional sports teams, I would try to find out who is repairing those professional rotator cuffs. If that surgeon is not available to you, ask who they would recommend. Short of that, I would find a shoulder expert in a sports medicine practice who does a high volume of the procedure.

Good luck.
“Speak only if it improves upon the silence." Mahatma Gandhi
User avatar
midareff
Posts: 7711
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:43 am
Location: Biscayne Bay, South Florida

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by midareff »

Don Christy wrote:If you're in a city with professional sports teams, I would try to find out who is repairing those professional rotator cuffs. If that surgeon is not available to you, ask who they would recommend. Short of that, I would find a shoulder expert in a sports medicine practice who does a high volume of the procedure.

Good luck.

+1 Absolutely. In my town I see the guy who does the pro basketball team and pro tennis players. What more of a recommendation could someone want?
Topic Author
mucho dinero
Posts: 172
Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2007 8:43 pm

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by mucho dinero »

I would like to thank all of you who have provided answers to my questions. They were all very informative. The Dr who recommended the procedure has seen me for rotator issues on my shoulder for a number of years. Over the last year and a half he has seen me three times for my current problem and each time I was sent to physical therapy. I know from conversations with physical therapists that he is not one who immediately wants to do surgery. The clinic that I go to is a sports medicine practice, and the physicians work with professional athletes. The surgeon who will be conducting my surgery does shoulder, hip and knee surgery.
When I talk to him next time, thanks to the advice I have received on this board, I will now be able to ask the appropriate questions relative to my surgery.

This is truly a great place to get information on issues that have a major impact on my life. Everyone have a good week.
toofache32
Posts: 2349
Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2012 5:30 pm

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by toofache32 »

livesoft wrote:
I also asked the surgeon, "Where would you go if you had to have this surgery?" I have never gotten a good answer for that question.
Patients ask me this sometimes. I think I tend to surprise them when I say "there are several highly qualified people in town that do this surgery regularly, including me. I know the others very well and often work together with them and I am happy to arrange an expedited 2nd opinion with them if you would like." It turns out these people have often already seen the others who tell them they are the best surgeons anywhere for this surgery and really sell themselves. I take the opposite approach because I never want a patient with a less than ideal outcome to think that I talked them into it. They have to WANT surgery and have to WANT ME to do their surgery if I'm gonna stick a knife in them.
livesoft wrote: I also asked the surgeon, "Have you had this procedure yourself?" and the answer has always been No. Then I ask "Or any surgery at all?"
I have never been asked this, but I have a handful of patients that have been through some of the common surgeries I perform who are really nice patients. They have agreed to let me share their contact info with new patients about to go through the same surgery. I offer this to new patients and tell the it's a great way to learn what aspects were easier than they expected, what aspects were harder than they expected, and they can ask questions about the surgeon (me) while I'm not in the room. :D
rjbraun
Posts: 2257
Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2012 8:22 pm

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by rjbraun »

czeckers wrote:As an anesthesiologist, I get asked this question often. Unfortunately it is a difficult question to answer. I can certainly tell you which surgeons to stay away from (high in OR complication rate, high percentage of cases that take significantly longer than they should suggesting lack of competence, high surgical wound infection rate). However, the one metric no one has access to, even the surgeon, is the success/failure rate of the procedure. If the surgeon does a procedure and he never sees the patient again after the 1 week follow-up, is it because it was successful or because the patient had problems and went to a different surgeon?-K
Personally, I would be happy to have an anesthesiologist (or any other knowledgeable hospital folks) share information with me on who may be bad or incompetent. Being able to eliminate a certain portion of the candidate universe would help to improve odds of selecting a qualified doctor. That said, I imagine most people are going to be reluctant, in general, to speak poorly of their colleagues (as another BH also pointed out).
TheGreyingDuke
Posts: 2217
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 10:34 am

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by TheGreyingDuke »

czeckers wrote:I also wouldn't put too much weight on online reviews. Many very good surgeons have zero bedside manner, but I'd still go to them for their technical expertise. -K
There is ample research out there that verifies that patient satisfaction is often related to things such as:
- Was I kept waiting for more than 15 minutes?
- Did the clinician have good rapport with me?
- Was the office well-appointed, was it crowded, screaming kids, etc?

These factors are not necessarily related to better outcomes. I second the idea of going with someone who is seasoned, does lots of the particular procedure I am undergoing, and who has given me a chance to explore all the alternatives. I tore a ligament in my wrist 7 years ago and the renowned hand doc in the community jumped to surgery. I had done some research and saw that the success rate for the particular surgery was very poor and often resulted in life long complications. I got a second opinion from a orthopod who had the same injury, he performs the surgery and he elected to NOT have it done to resolve his injury. A focused program of exercise has kept things at bay since then.

In international assessments of health care around the world, the US, which overall ranks rather poorly, measures at the top for these "amenities". Of course, all of them cost $$ and likely have a connection to the US rank as #1 in costs.
"Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race." H.G. Wells
lightheir
Posts: 2684
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2011 11:43 pm

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by lightheir »

midareff wrote:
Don Christy wrote:If you're in a city with professional sports teams, I would try to find out who is repairing those professional rotator cuffs. If that surgeon is not available to you, ask who they would recommend. Short of that, I would find a shoulder expert in a sports medicine practice who does a high volume of the procedure.

Good luck.

+1 Absolutely. In my town I see the guy who does the pro basketball team and pro tennis players. What more of a recommendation could someone want?
This actually can backfire on you.

Professional athletes are at an extreme premium to get immediately back into high-level sports as the team depends on it. They usually go the route of surgery, very quickly, because it allows them to return much more quickly, but it is often times a conservative measure without surgery will not only be much less costly, but also potentially lead to a much more physiologic and long-term durable outcome (without scarring, hardware complications, etc.) Having worked with some, I actually would not want to see a professional sports specialist orthopedist despite me being an active recreational athlete myself.

Sorry to further muddle the story. There's honestly no great answer.
novicemoney
Posts: 380
Joined: Fri Aug 01, 2014 10:36 am

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by novicemoney »

greenspam wrote:perhaps the more important question is...
are you certain you need surgery ?

It should be the last resort, if conservative, nonoperative treatments fail....

... not knowing your age, or the type of tear (acute injury vs. degenerative), or your goals/needs (athlete ??? laborer???), or if, in fact , you've already tried conservative treatments???.... it still might be worth a second opinion -- some surgeons just like to cut....
By all means if you are unsure get a second opinion. But more information might be needed. Is it a full thickness tear? That is is it completely torn? or Partially torn? Is the diagnosis confirmed by MRI? Is the pain level sufficient to affect your sleep or significantly impacts even normal self care and routine home and work activities? If it is a full thickness tear and you have significant pain with limitation of normal activity, surgery will most likely needed. If you have a partial tear with off and on symptoms improved with rest, then you may be a candidate for conservative care first. If you have a partial tear and have 24/7 pain unrelieved by rest or medications surgery may be indicated.
If it has been a while and you have done everything reasonably possible and you are just sick of the pain because it has not gotten better than surgery may be indicated. Sometimes it is a judgement call and sometimes it comes down to a patient deciding whether he/she will live with it or to heck with it and get a procedure done. If you talk to your Dr. ask him what the likely hood is that it will get better on it's own and what the probability of a good outcome is with the procedure proposed. Just my 2 cents. Good luck and I hope you feel better.
Browser
Posts: 4857
Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2012 4:54 pm

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by Browser »

mucho dinero wrote:I have been informed that I am going to need to have surgery on my left shoulder to repair a torn rotator cuff. Where is the best place to go to evaluate the quality of the Surgeon who will be performing the procedure?
Thanks in advance. :?:
Experiences vary widely, so I'll share mine. I developed a rotator cuff tear that was finally diagnosed with an MRI examination about a year ago. Quite clearly a serious tear; however, I was reluctant to undergo the surgery right away because of the long recuperation time wherein your arm must be continuously immobilized in a sling. I opted to try some physical therapy and learned there is not a 1:1 correspondence between the type and magnitude of the physical injury and pain/disability. At the time, the physical therapy didn't do much to help but I decided to put up with the pain and reduced range of motion for a while longer. It turns out that it began to resolve itself several months later - about a year after the initial injury. As of the present time, it's gotten much better in terms of painfulness and range of motion; although it has not disappeared. I'm satisfied that I can continue "as is" for an indefinite time. It's not perfect and I wouldn't want to put it to the test with something really strenuous; however, I'm able to handle the activities of normal living without difficulty, play golf, ride my road bike, do strength exercises in the gym, lift things, etc. It would be interesting to see if another MRI would indicate any physical healing of the injury - though I don't believe rotator cuff injuries tend to heal at all. Be interested to hear a med's opinion about that. In any event, if your situation permits, you might give physical therapy and time a chance before doing the surgery. I was told that even surgery is no guarantee as these things go.
We don't know where we are, or where we're going -- but we're making good time.
Working2notWork
Posts: 255
Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2014 12:22 pm

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by Working2notWork »

mucho dinero wrote:I have been informed that I am going to need to have surgery on my left shoulder to repair a torn rotator cuff. Where is the best place to go to evaluate the quality of the Surgeon who will be performing the procedure?
Thanks in advance. :?:
Sounds EXACTLY like my situation from a couple years ago. I asked my best friend, who is an Ortho not in my state, how to pick a good doctor. He told me to look at: healthgrades.com, vitals.com, ratemds.com. It ultimately lead me to reviews on many of the recommended doctors from which I selected.

I'm not sure how badly damaged your shoulder is - mine fell into the 6 month recovery stage - but getting a cyrocuff and setting up a recliner was the best thing I ever did for the pain. Also, if the MD asks, YOU WANT the 'blocker'. If you need more details on the surgery and recovery, feel free to PM me.

Goodluck!
hyla
Posts: 135
Joined: Tue Jul 29, 2014 11:45 am

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by hyla »

Find a group of athletes which frequently injures their shoulders ( a swim team? a tennis team?) and ask them for surgeon recommendations. My experience is with skiing, and knee repair, but skiers know which doctors are good at fixing knees. I imagine athletes in sports that stress shoulders could help you out!
Topic Author
mucho dinero
Posts: 172
Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2007 8:43 pm

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by mucho dinero »

Folks,

I just got back to my laptop again and I went through all the recent posts that I have received since an earlier post that I made concerning all of the responses that I had reviewed at that time. Once again you all have come up with a "gold mine" of information that I am going to have to review. Just about every comment contained a treasure chest of information that I will be able to use.
To better inform all of you about my specific situation, I am a 67 year old senior who is physically very active. I usually exercise 6 days a week and do a variety of weight training and aerobic activities. So recently I may have did some overtraining. The MRI revealed that I had a full thickness tear measuring approximately 3.3
x3.3 cm. Over the last 5 years I have had issues with my shoulders, however in the last year and 1/2 it has caused many more problems. So my age plus the wear and tear and my body is catching up with me. As I alluded to earlier I have done physical therapy and used medications.
The physician who I have dealt with on this problem has all ways been upfront and honest with me. But the Dr he has referred me to is new to me. I have already began doing research on this Doctor, and so far he looks good. But I plan to use the many suggestions that all of you have kindly provided to me in doing further evaluation on this issue.
Once again I want to express my appreciation to all of you who have provided me with a great background to use in analyzing the treatment that will be proposed to me. Everyone have a great week end and a successful journey through life. :happy
WhyNotUs
Posts: 2606
Joined: Sun Apr 14, 2013 11:38 am

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by WhyNotUs »

I waited many years and managed my rotator cuff injuries using PT and a book called Treat Your Own Rotator Cuff.
Too many stupid human tricks and a final flight over the handle bars sent me to the top shoulder surgeon around. Our area is small enough that everyone know who the shoulder guy is.
I had a pretty complicated procedure and the surgeon felt it was successful but I cannot say that I am overly impressed with the results. The conditions were worse than expected from the MRI and I ended with having an additional procedure that made it impossible for me to reach the initial goals that I had from surgery.
I came away from the experience feeling that the selection of PT for prep work before surgery and post surgery were at least as important as the selection of Dr and I did not do the best job with that initially.
The surgeon says that I will avoid arthritis in my shoulder by having the work done, I still do stretches and work on it almost daily and I am 5 years out from surgery. But I am also regularly working it hard and still trying to master mountain biking so i am part of the problem.
I own the next hot stock- VTSAX
CThree
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2014 8:47 am

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by CThree »

In my opinion the people with some interesting insight are the sales reps who service the area. While a surgeon may do 2 cuffs a week or 8 a month, rep might see 20-30 and they are being done by multiple surgeons with diff techniques. I think case volume can be misleading, do you really want to be the 10th case of the day starting at 9pm when everyone is tired? That stuff happens.
User avatar
Crimsontide
Posts: 729
Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2013 5:32 pm
Location: DFW Metromess

Re: Best Place to Do Research on Orthopedic Surgeons

Post by Crimsontide »

Don Christy wrote:If you're in a city with professional sports teams, I would try to find out who is repairing those professional rotator cuffs. If that surgeon is not available to you, ask who they would recommend. Short of that, I would find a shoulder expert in a sports medicine practice who does a high volume of the procedure.

Good luck.
+1, this is exactly what I did. In my case the surgeon works with the local college and pro teams. I had multiple tears in my right shoulder, now 3 months out from the surgery I'm pain free and regaining lost strength. While the surgeon was great the PT has also made a big contribution to the recovery, don't overlook the value of a good physical therapist in the process.
Post Reply