Posted 8/23/2009 12:13 PM (GMT 0)
Who are patients #1 to #300 for all these surgeons? Prisoners?
And how do you verify that the doc really did 2000? I really question the numbers we are told. It always: "over 1000" or "over 2000" Why isn't anyone answering: "You will be my 1245th patient."? We ask the doc "how many of your patient have ED or are incontinent by 6 months?"and get an answer similar to "less than 20%." No verification chart, no data.
I did some calculations on my own. My surgeon supposedly does his surgeries on Tuesday. I know there were at least 2 guys following me the same day. Let's say he can do 4. So that means at a max he is doing 50 weeks x4 = 200 per year. He has been doing it for years, so I estimated the number myself based upon OR nurse information.
However I was not able to check followup performance. Since all these docs have done "thousands" why can't I find a chart that shows how many patients are continent and potent after 3 months, 6 months, 1 year etc. Heck Geezer did a great job with his simple survey. Are you telling me this data is too complicated to understand when someone is entrusting a significant portion of his quality of life to their surgeon's skill?
Ultimately, I went with my surgeon because he did more than 300 (my estimate) and my friends in the OR said he was competent as well as respectful. I also knew where he lived and told him he'd be getting a visit if I didn't like the result. ;-)