Longshot--Hand Surgeon or How Do You Find a Good Surgeon?

[AnnieW625]

This has been really helpful! Thank you. I think I really want to tap into the other Kaiser sites around me for that second opinion, though I the idea of just paying for a consultation from another provider doesn't sound too expensive. There are MANY Kaiser sites so I see this as a possibility. DS1 sees his pediatric Endo at Kaiser Sunset. Maybe he can work with his primary care specialist to tap into other specialists and get other opinions..

I would just start calling. I am not super familiar with doctors in your area (but have seen a few reports related to my work), but if you have questions about any please let me know via pm.

If you do decide on an OOP consultation I would recommend having him go to SCOI. I can recommend a few doctors at that practice.

In my personal experience if Kaiser doesn’t have the right specialist they will refer out of network and pick up the cost. I would probably be frank with the orthopedic hand surgeon and tell them you want an out of network referral.


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[sariana]

He's not a hand specialist, and the website says he's not accepting new patients, but this orthopedist is very well respected and has been with Kaiser for a long time. Maybe he will be able to advise as to where to look for a surgeon? I know him because of the work he did with my son about 14 years ago. Dr. Lau had an excellent reputation then and now has another 14 years of experience/time to learn about other orthopedic surgeons.

https://healthy.kaiserpermanente.org...es-lau-7650191

[dogmom]

Just few things to think about
Many hand surgeries depend equally on the skill of the surgeon and the dedication of the patient to do their OT. I’m sure you DH would excel at it.

Just because someone is well known, doesn’t been they are up to date. I work at a prestigious hospital where people come from all over the world and I feel like some of those flocking to the surgeons that have been doing the same thing for decades could have done just as well staying local. Old and respected doesn’t mean better.

Your DH could reach out on social media to people who need fine motor movement to work with their hands. Maybe he could find artists or musicians? He’s clearly looking for results better than standard Joe Schmo needs.

In general the more descriptive he can be with the surgeon of how his hand is failing him now the better they can understand his needs.

Also, hand specialist can be both plastic surgeons or orthopedic. Find out when they trained, they should have done a fellowship, and you can figure out if they had plenty exposure to hand surgery.

[NCGrandma]

Just few things to think about
Many hand surgeries depend equally on the skill of the surgeon and the dedication of the patient to do their OT. I’m sure you DH would excel at it.

Just because someone is well known, doesn’t been they are up to date. I work at a prestigious hospital where people come from all over the world and I feel like sons of flocking to the surgeons that have been doing the same thing for decades. Old and respected doesn’t mean better.

Your DH could reach out on social media to people who need fine motor movement to work with their hands. Maybe he could find artists or musicians? He’s clearly looking for results better than standard Joe Schmo needs.

In general the more descriptive he can be with the surgeon of how his hand is failing him now the better they can understand his needs.

Also, hand specialist can be both plastic surgeons or orthopedic. Find out when they trained, they should have done a fellowship, and you can figure out if they had plenty exposure to hand surgery.

Excellent suggestions! These are all definitely consistent with my experience. I had no experience with hand surgery until about 5 years ago when I fell and fractured several bones in my wrist. Fortunately our local academic medical center has an excellent Hand and Microsurgery Center (within orthopedics), with several surgeons who each have a slightly different focus. (Just looked at the description of the team and they’re all members of the American Society of Surgery of the Hand.)

My surgeon was excellent, both technically and in terms of communication making sure that I fully understood what the surgery and the rehab would involve, and how long it would take. She was about 7 years post-fellowship, so plenty of experience but not yet set in her ways. When she noticed that I was over 70, she immediately said that I should expect to regain full function. (For you younger BBB'ers ... a disturbing number of people in ortho assume that "old people" are more interested in surgery etc that will relieve pain but not necessarily restore function, just as they may assume that people over a certain age are not willing to do the OT and PT required.)

A nice bonus was that she was meticulous not only about the surgery but also about closing the incision. After I was fully healed, the scar was basically invisible. (The Hand Center nurses, who loved working with her, said she was better than most plastic surgeons.)

I also like dogmom's suggestion of getting ideas from other people who need particularly good fine motor movement.



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[calebsmama03]

Definitely get another opinion and I would advise against using a surgeon who isn’t extremely trained in the surgery he needs. We used a “hand and arm surgeon” for DH 3 years ago (different issue) who seemed like he knew what he was doing but it was a nightmare and the surgery ended up making his pain worse. His recovery was hard and the experience overall was just bad. No treatment is better than poorly done treatment, as we found the hard way.