Community Chat

[violann]

Hi Jasmine- What kind of "closure" are you looking for? I think filing complaints or even trying to contact the first surgeon would wind up being more stressful to you than it would be comforting, and you are the most important and most central figure in your care. I think your successful rehab from your second surgery would be the very best place for your focus. Many yeas ago I had a ghastly experience with a "wonderful" physician, and it took a while to get over it. Fortunately. I almost immediately had an excellent experience with a second doctor, so the first doctor, a real troll, sort of paled by comparison. I hope that the joy of two wonderful new knees will help you to let theirs experience pass. At the very least, he gave you a decent right knee, right? Also PLEASE speak to your new surgeon or PT about your hip so that temporary can be kept from becoming permanent. Positive thoughts heading your way from me.

[JasmineK]

On 7/31/2014 violann said: Hi Jasmine- What kind of "closure" are you looking for? I think filing complaints or even trying to contact the first surgeon would wind up being more stressful to you than it would be comforting, and you are the most important and most central figure in your care. I think your successful rehab from your second surgery would be the very best place for your focus. Many yeas ago I had a ghastly experience with a "wonderful" physician, and it took a while to get over it. Fortunately. I almost immediately had an excellent experience with a second doctor, so the first doctor, a real troll, sort of paled by comparison. I hope that the joy of two wonderful new knees will help you to let theirs experience pass. At the very least, he gave you a decent right knee, right? Also PLEASE speak to your new surgeon or PT about your hip so that temporary can be kept from becoming permanent. Positive thoughts heading your way from me.

Hi violann.

I just wanted to feel better-not so angry about the experience. You're right about filing a complaint, etc. creating more stress to the situation. I didn't feel comfortable doing that and your reply helped me to put things in a better perspective. Like you, I am really having a good experience with my new doctor. Thanks for the kind words!

[chrystaltree]

Closure??? For what? OP, you must know that medicince is NOT always an exact science. They don't call them the "medical arts" for nothing. Two doctors can look at patient and that patients xrays and come to very different conclusions. And....news flash.....doctors are human and like every other person in the world, they unique personalities. Some warm and open and people-friendly; while others are all business. Some are listeners and some aren't. You handled the situation properly, you weren't satisfied with the care or attention you were receiving from the first doctor.....so you found another doctor, who did well by you. I still don't know what closure you are looking for. However, if it will make you feel better; send a letter to the first doctor and to his PA and let them know how you feel. Let them know how you felt at the time. Let them know what you expected from them. Perhaps it will be a learning experience for them. Don't bother pestering your insurance company with this because other than your feelings, there are no issues. You received good care. If doctor number one chose to delay treating your other knee, that was his medical opinion. Insurers don't dictate how doctors treat patients. Or stop with the "feelings" and cut right to the chase. See a lawyer and find out if you have a case against him. That's what you really want. So, do it.

[goodstuff]

You've seen two doctors and have two different opinions and have decided to go with the second surgeon and have a TKR. Medical differences of opinion are not uncommon, and I'm not sure why you're so angry and upset about this. Surgery and recovery aren't always "by the book", and as you've already heard, gait problems associated with the remaining bad knee may have complicated the recovery for your first post-surgery knee. I don't see that the first surgeon necessarily did anything "wrong"; he simply expressed his best medical opinion and handled your case accordingly. I don't see that he did anything unreasonable, unprofessional, or incompetent.

I wish you all the best with your upcoming surgery. I don't see much that would be accomplished by complaining to Doctor #1. I'd move on and concentrate on making a good recovery.

[goodstuff]

On 7/31/2014 JamicaJammer said:

Mom had such bad knees that her surgeon refused to do total knee replacement on just one, because he knew she's mess up the GOOD replaced knee hobbling around with one still-bad knee, so he said both or none. She did both. WONDERFUL outcome.

Most all of her friends who had just one done at a time had the OP's result ..... major problems, more surgeries on the first-done knee, etc.

I had both (very bad) knees replaced a year apart and have had a very good recovery with both. Many surgeons, including my excellent surgeon, do not recommend replacing both knees at once, especially for patients who are "of mature years" or who have other health issues, as is the case with many joint replacement patients. Having surgery on both knees at once increases the time in surgery and under anesthesia and associated risks, increases the possibilitiy of excessive blood loss, and can make rehab and ambulation after surgery more painful and difficult. I'm glad I listened and did them one at a time!

[Kachina624]

On 7/30/2014 happy housewife said:

John - you are wrong about a surgeon needing an MRI to tell if a knee replacement is needed. It is very easy to tell from simple x rays if a joint is bone on bone and needs replaced.

As for the Ops story - i would definitely file a complaint with my insurance co about him. He seems to be incompetent.Best of luck with your next surgery. I want to add - i had bilateral makoplasty (partial knee replacements) and this is a fairly new procedure. I do , on occasion, still have pain in those knees but they are normal strength so I take an Advil when I have to and just put up with the pain. i am happy I can walk normally.

Insurance company? They can't do anything about a bad doctor. You need to contact your state medical board, the agency that licenses doctors. I found that many orthopedic surgeons are sports medicine specialists and are really into sports. Dealing with middle aged women with bad knees is an annoyance, like a buzzing mosquito. They are the epitome of arrogant. I ran into several of these types before selecting a surgeon to do my TKR. Bedside manner is very important when having surgery.

[JasmineK]

On 7/31/2014 kachina624 said:

On 7/30/2014 happy housewife said:

John - you are wrong about a surgeon needing an MRI to tell if a knee replacement is needed. It is very easy to tell from simple x rays if a joint is bone on bone and needs replaced.

As for the Ops story - i would definitely file a complaint with my insurance co about him. He seems to be incompetent.Best of luck with your next surgery. I want to add - i had bilateral makoplasty (partial knee replacements) and this is a fairly new procedure. I do , on occasion, still have pain in those knees but they are normal strength so I take an Advil when I have to and just put up with the pain. i am happy I can walk normally.

Insurance company? They can't do anything about a bad doctor. You need to contact your state medical board, the agency that licenses doctors. I found that many orthopedic surgeons are sports medicine specialists and are really into sports. Dealing with middle aged women with bad knees is an annoyance, like a buzzing mosquito. They are the epitome of arrogant. I ran into several of these types before selecting a surgeon to do my TKR. Bedside manner is very important when having surgery.

Thanks for the reply. What I should have added in my original post was that this surgeon was arrogant and condescending and almost made me feel like a pest and nuisance, especially when I started having problems. In spite of all that, I could have dealt with his attitude IF he would have addressed my CONCERNS as a patient. I should Never have let him treat me as long as he did but I wanted to trust him, which was the wrong decision that I made. What made me terminate our relationship was when he yelled (literally) at me that I should be taking Melatonin at night when I told him that the pain from surgery was waking me up even though I was on pain meds. Really, there comes a time when even doctors that think they know it all should and must listen to the patient. Unfortunately, many don't.

As I stated in a previous post, I am letting it go and feel better all ready. Thanks for the help.

[shoekitty]

I sort of agree with John about the MRI. It isn't just bone on bone, but an MRI can a story of nerves and muscles an X-ray cannot tell. It is true about the right knee and hip a casualty of the other knee. IMO, had the Doctor been more on the ball, he would have tested the other knee and any other problems you had BEFORE surgery of the left knee.

I have a knee that needs knee replacement. However, when I was suffering leg and hip pain Dr. was worried, and referred me to a spine specialist. He said a new knee would be no good if my back and hip weren't ready to support all the therapy and weight bearing of a new knee. I had MRI of knee, x-ray of hip. Spine specialist sent me for a spine MRI ( I had the new MRI sitting in a chair). Sure enough disc trouble, bulging discs, (2) advanced stenosis, and scoliosis plus a couple other things. Hence my leg pain, hip pain. My hip x-ray was good, it is the spine. Knee Dr. was right. They will not do knee until spine is well enough to support knee replacement. An x ray of my back and knee showed some problems, but the MRI told the real story. In fact the xray didn't show most of the worn meniscus

Good Luck. In a letter to the Dr, make a copy. Be short and to the point.

I feel the OP's anger. Suffering needlessly is not an option in my book. All Doctors are not cut out to be real Doctors IMO, and he might be lacking in knowledge as he is in bedside manner.

I might write him a note and his cohort (assistant) and tell them how you feel. Let them know you suffered needlessly at his lack od sensitivity. And aside from that, you can do other things. Leave reviews at the Doctor sites, there are several of them. Leave reviews at Yelp,and you might leave a message at th

[Gooday]

I'm with John on this one for these reasons: In my case, one day I was walking just fine and the next day after climbing stairs several times in a day, the next day I had such excruciating pain. I babied it, iced it, elevated it, took Advil and nothing. After hemming and hawing I went to the orthopedic surgeon I worked for my entire career. He specializes in total knees and hips. We first started out routine x-rays including standing/AP of both. He said, there's a little arthritis but nothing broken so.....next step after one more week of pampering was the MRI. I tore the medial and lateral meniscus and it also showed severe arthritis. I asked him, "how can this be, I never had knee pain'? He said, "ah, the arthritis was developing and all it took was some overuse and the tears in the menisci to exacerbate it.

I had arthroscopy and removal of the meniscus. He also said the arthritis was even worse than what appeared on the MRI. He also told me I had a discoid mensicus (shaped like a disc and not very common). This was 7 weeks ago and while the pain is less, I'm still not normal. He showed me exercises and said that therapy would do the same and to work on quads strengthening. BTW~ I just turned 61 and I'm a few pounds overweight although I have lost 12 lbs. since all this!

Good luck.