HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

letter to doctor?

Support Forums
>
Prostate Cancer
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 1/11/2011 10:10 PM (GMT 0)
This may be a odd question, but has anyone written a letter to a doctor , requesting the doctors for treatment?  I have this doctor in mind I would like to get my husband into for robotic surgery.  Long story, due to insurance. He is available through the hospital clinic. but when we persude this direction , we were told the surgery would be performed between one of the 3 surgeons, There is only the one I would like to have him see. Trouble is starting the letter to the doctor asking for his help /thanks
Posted 1/11/2011 10:40 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, by all means do so. You may be surprised that you get a quick response. That is how I found the oncologist who did my brachy. It is also how I ruled out having surgery from one of the 'big names'. But nonethelss, I did have a running correspondence with both via email.
Posted 1/11/2011 11:58 PM (GMT 0)
"starting the letter to the doctor asking for his help /thanks"

Dear Dr. Jones,

My husband and I need your help. He has been diagnosed xxxxxxxxxx. We have decided that Da Vinci robotic surgery is his best course of treatment, but when we've contacted the xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Clinic, we were told xxxxxxxxxxx. Please advise how we can be assured that you will be his surgeon, as opposed to one of the other doctors in the clinic.

{Doctors (and in my experience, especially surgeons) have enormous egos. Don't you think he'll be happier than a pig in shxt reading that from you?}
Posted 1/12/2011 12:01 AM (GMT 0)
I found the doc I wanted and called for an appt. He is one of the top at Johns Hopkins. He assured me he would do my surgery. Go and write- better call. It worked for me.
Posted 1/12/2011 12:25 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the replies. I will write the letter and cross my fingers. I will address the letter " confidential"? and hopefully he will get it . I wish I had a e-mail address to I would try that,but I have had no luck on finding a email
Posted 1/12/2011 12:25 AM (GMT 0)
Gordy is right on the money..These guys CRAVE letters like that...Work their egos and you will get what you need...
Posted 1/12/2011 12:28 AM (GMT 0)
Go for it, I have written my share of letters to particular doctors, it usually works real well for me.
Posted 1/12/2011 1:00 AM (GMT 0)
E-mails are hard to find. At first office visit I take several of doc's business cards. If his e-maill addy isn't on it, the script goes: "Is there an e-mail address I can use to reach you? I promise not to abuse it" Works every time. But keep your word.
Posted 1/12/2011 1:04 AM (GMT 0)
persistance pays off, I found the email. first tried the hospital he was affiliated with , then the private practice with his name . then googled the email and it pulled up a article he wrote, ya! now we will see if I get a response. Plus I will mail a copy of the letter. fingers crossed
Posted 1/12/2011 3:23 PM (GMT 0)
There is nothing wrong with asking for the specific doctor you feel most comfortable with.

I had my doctor sign that he, and only he (barring an emergency during the surgery) would perform the surgery (i.e. no trainees). He had no problem with this at all. If he did, it would have caused me to pause...
Posted 1/14/2011 9:56 PM (GMT 0)
It worked!!! I actually got a response from the email. Thats the good news. Sad part is insurance rules again. As mentioned before, our insurance is not that good,mostly teaching hospitals and clinics .Here are our choices. My husband is really favoring the robotic over OP.
1. Uconn hospital with OP with a skilled experinced surgeon, very hard to get through on the phone lines, hard to reach a real person ( all day type) scheduled appointments you will wait at least a xtra hour.
2.Hartford hospital robotic, with a resident overseen by Dr Wagner ( very highly skill doctor, been performing robotic for many years), pre op, and follow up handled at the clinic. ( the clinic is very hard to reach, but not as bad as uconn )I need to find out who handles the aftercare on that.
3. st francis hospital, robotic, skilled surgeon, ( just not a big fan of the hospital)

thoughts?
Posted 1/15/2011 8:33 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Klains,

My thought would not to be to go for option 2). I know doctors have to practice their skills on someone but in the case of prostate surgery where the stakes are so high in terms of cure and long term incontinance, I think its better that they don't practice on your husband.

In choosing between 1) and 3) I would pick the surgeon with the most experience/best outcomes with the type of surgery you prefer (robotic). The hospital, bedside manner of the doctor and the degree of difficulty in seeing the doctor are short term issues that you are likely to forget in the long term - what will stay with you is the quality of the operation. This is of course assuming that the hospital meets basic standards of pre and post op care.

Regards,
An
Posted 1/15/2011 6:37 PM (GMT 0)

The only caution I have is Timing.

I wanted Dr Angermeir in Cleveland Clinic and first appointment which was made was with him but I had to cancel due to timing after previous procedure and healing.

I could have had him do my next procedure AUS but it would have been Mar or April and it was Dec when I went in for my consul.

I am having a Dr Montague who is Director of Urological Surgery and Professor of Surgery with Incontinence and Urological Strictures do my surgery 1.21

Depending who you want, the hospital and how long to wait, you may need to review several good surgeon.

Posted 1/15/2011 7:57 PM (GMT 0)
My advice is to pick the best surgeon. The follow-up and the hospital are a distant second and third, respectively.

I had a very good surgeon, a terrible experience at the hospital, and a PA who was so bad that I stopped going to follow-up visits.

Yet two and a half years after surgery I am still benefitting from the surgeon's skill and experience (so far), and the hospital stay and the follow-ups are just bad but fading memories.

Zen9
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply