# Surgeon #1



## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

A little background, after 10 years of thyroid problems, it's finally coming out. My Hashi's is not able to be controlled with medication any more and now the left lobe of my thyroid has swelled up and is causing constriction issues.

I met with the ENT who does thyroid surgeries and got some info and background from him and I'm on the books to meet with a general surgeon at my endo's hospital on Sept. 27th.

The ENT does 2 or more thyroid surgeries a week, has a very low rate of laryngeal nerve damage (he uses a nerve monitor during surgery and does some pre-op test to identify the nerves, too), uses buried stitches and dermabond to close, keeps you overnight in the hospital, and will send the whole thing off to pathology.

Here's my dilemma--my endo wants me to meet with the surgical group at her hospital, but I was not assigned the surgeon I wanted and I'm not allowed to switch (apparently you're assigned based on the surgeon's schedules). I am more inclined to go with my ENT for surgery over the endo's surgeon because of this. Plus, I was totally comfortable with the ENT right off the bat, he's called me twice already to answer questions, my dad's doctor colleagues recommended him, and he's at a newer hospital than my endo's surgeon.

Do the ENT's credentials look good enough? I just want to make sure I'm not rushing to use him since I'm so anxious to just get my thyroid out.


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## StormFinch (Nov 16, 2012)

He sounds pretty great to me jenny. Do you know much about the endo's surgeon? You could always interview them the way you did the ENT and then compare notes. I'd say that if you're endo is a good one then humor him or her by keeping the initial appointment, but if you feel more comfortable with the ENT at that point then give your endo the reasons why and call the ENT back for a surgery date.


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

He sounds great...but go ahead and meet with the general surgeon, anyway. You may end up loving the general surgeon, or you may end up that much more confident about the ENT.


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

I think he sounds great but agree that interviewing another surgeon can't hurt at all.

For what it's worth, I went to a general surgeon and had a wonderful experience. Worst case senario, you already have a surgeon you trust.


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

I also went to a general surgeon - straight out of residency who had done 500 before she performed mine and 4-5 per week.

Get the second opinion -


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

I hesitated to post this, because I do not want to lessen your confidence in your ENT, but...what the heck...you want as much info as possible.

Like Lovlkn, my surgeon does around 4-6 per week...I was the fourth of the day. I went to him because other doctors we spoke with said he was technically highly competent and annoyingly precise. At my surgical consult, my husband asked how often he has nerve damage? Answer: it's never happened. (Note: my surgery was on a Monday. On Wednesday, someone sent a gift to my house and my dog went after the Fed Ex guy. I was screaming at her without issues) we asked how often his patients have to supplement with calcium? Answer: it happened once, in over 20 years, with an older patient whose thyroid was really messy.

There are lots and lots of really good surgeons. There are few exceptional surgeons. I'm biased, but I consider my dude to be exceptional. Will you be fine with someone who only does 2 or so a week? Sure. But if you can find someone with *slightly* better stats, I think you want to at least interview him or her.


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

Joplin -

Excellently said -

I went to my surgeon with a list of questions - that I had the answers to - sort of a quiz to see what how she answered them. A friend who is a nurse anesthetist recommended her to me - we should all be so lucky to have a friend who is in the operating room with our surgeons.

My endo referred me to a much older doctor - I never went because I had absolutely no doubt my surgeon was the best available to me. My incision is less than 1" due to current techniques being taught at the Cleveland Clinic.n She also told me that she never had a vocal cord cut which is of course a big concern and where experience counts.


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

Thanks for the thoughts, everyone! This is exactly what I need to hear and understand.

I am going to keep the appointment on Sept. 27th with the general surgeon my endo uses, just to see how that guy is and at the very least, to be able to tell my endo I gave him consideration. I feel like I'll be able to leave his office and make a decision at that point.


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

Great plan!


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

An update--I was able to get in earlier to meet with my endo's surgeon and while he was nice, I didn't feel entirely comfortable with him (he actually kept asking if I had really, really thought about living without a thyroid and I wanted to tell him "buddy, I've thought about this for 10 years now, I'm definitely informed!"). So I'm going to have the surgery with my ENT surgeon and I'm on the schedule for October 10th.


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## StormFinch (Nov 16, 2012)

Good for you jenny. Sending you good thoughts for your upcoming surgery!


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

Great news, Jenny! Good luck


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

Excellent! I'm glad you met with him...sounds like confirmation for you to go with the first surgeon.


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## jackpot13 (Jul 10, 2011)

Yah I am so happy for you. I don't have my appointment with the surgeon until Oct 14. You will be 4 days out by then! Good luck and prayers to you!:hugs:


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

Thanks everyone!

I'm not nervous yet, but I'm already planning everything out on lists (I'm a big list maker, it helps me to see things written out). My parents are coming up to stay with me (and my dad is an anesthesiologist, so I'm very happy he'll be there), I bought a new mattress for my bed, I've made plans to board my dog, and I'm about to go on a major house cleaning spree. I'm also about to dig deeper into this surgery thread and see what I should bring with me to the hospital.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

jenny v said:


> An update--I was able to get in earlier to meet with my endo's surgeon and while he was nice, I didn't feel entirely comfortable with him (he actually kept asking if I had really, really thought about living without a thyroid and I wanted to tell him "buddy, I've thought about this for 10 years now, I'm definitely informed!"). So I'm going to have the surgery with my ENT surgeon and I'm on the schedule for October 10th.


Yay and double yay!!


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