Tag Archives for second opinion

Second Opinion Surgeon

My Reluctant Surgeon continues to do things to gain my trust and confidence.

She has come through – a lot faster than I expected – with an appointment for me to be assessed by a more senior surgeon for a second opinion. I received a call from her office with a date to see the Second Opinion Surgeon in the next four weeks. My Reluctant Surgeon is sending me to him because she has significant concerns that the surgery I need might harm me more than it will help me.

I have a rare congenital condition that is detected by a single symptom: debilitating pain. It can only be treated by one thing: invasive abdominal surgery. My diagnosis was confirmed when my condition was very advanced and I had already been categorized as a chronic pain patient. The advanced stage and chronic pain are what make my Reluctant Surgeon so reluctant. She does not believe the surgery will eliminate my pain. At this point she and the pain specialists believe I have nerve damage, which may cause me to have greater pain after the surgery. And to top it off, I have a complicated form of this rare congenital condition. This exponentially increases the odds of me developing every known post-operative complication associated with abdominal surgery, and my Reluctant Surgeon is concerned that there may be unknowns that fall outside the scope of her experience.

So it will be up to the Second Opinion Surgeon to decide if I should have the invasive abdominal surgery. His additional years of experience are being counted on to find a surgical path to successfully remove the encroaching mass – that suddenly disrupted my life 18 months ago – without further harming my body. And, I’m hoping, those same skills will lessen my pain.

But I have to try not to get ahead of myself the way I did with my Reluctant Surgeon. Before my first appointment with her I had convinced myself that my condition was temporary – even with the knowledge of the known risks of the abdominal surgery. I was devastated when she told me surgery might not be an option for me and I might continue to be in pain for the rest of my life. Going into this appointment with the Second Opinion Surgeon, I want to be grounded in the reality that I could hear the same opinions. Although, a big part of me is preparing for the possibility that I will have to take a huge leap of faith toward and hope for the best.

 

George Michael – Faith (US Version)

My Reluctant Surgeon

I saw my surgeon first thing this morning.

In her words I am “a complicated case” and she “wants the best” for me.

Her best is not to rush into surgery. She does not believe the invasive surgery typically prescribed to restore the health of someone with the congenital condition my symptoms point to – at least the non-complicated version of the condition – will eliminate my chronic pelvic pain and the referred pain (i.e. pain felt in an area remote from the site of origin) I now have in my back and legs. Additionally, she foresees a multitude of post-operative complications and she believes there will likely be others she can’t predict because of how unpredictably my body has been behaving.

What she decided to do, to make sure I get the best care, is refer me to her more senior colleague for a second opinion. She has been consulting with him about my case and thinks it’s time he met me to make direct observations. If after reviewing my chart and examining me the senior surgeon decides surgery is the only way forward, my surgeon wants to be a part of the surgical team.

I want her to be part of the team too. I trust her because of her thoughtful reluctance to pick up a scalpel and her attempts to find alternate, less invasive treatments to treat my complicated case. And I trust that if she is a part of the team I will receive the best that she desires for me.

 

If you’re a child of the 80s you will remember this song appealing to a doctor for help

Thompson Twins – “Doctor Doctor”