best surgeons in Chicago?

55 years old. recently diagnosed with intermediate risk PCa. 2 cores Gleason 7 (3+4)

Both surgeon and radiologist recomend surgery because otherwise excellent health. From what I can tell on the blog the experience of the surgeon is extemely important.

Any suggestions on who to consider?

Not sure why the RO would recommend surgery with you stats???? I will second Dr. Moran as one of if not the best BT guy in the business. Take some time and get some second opinions, talk to folks that have gone through this, and do the research.

The folks on this board are the best friends you will encounter no matter what your choice of treatments. Keep us posted and best wishes.

bdubs60647 said...
55 years old. recently diagnosed with intermediate risk PCa. 2 cores Gleason 7 (3+4) ...?

What percentage? All other cores clear?

Wow. these responses are so great. I am so grateful for this board. I have tons of questions. I have the full path report but am still getting used to looking at it and discussing it without getting emotional. So I didnt post all the details just summarized the worst parts. I'll post more details later.

Both doctors leaned toward surgery because otherwise I am in excellent health (Heart healthy, completely clear colonoscopy, moderately fit, family history of long life) and they feel I have a long life expectancy. They feel that with surgery I will still have other treatment options if there is ever a recurrance. But the SE are of great concern to me and I am looking into all my options

I have already learned a bunch from this board. My path report is being reviewed by Dr. Epstein at John Hopkins and I have a consult phone tommorrow with Dr Hashid Ahmed in London regarding HIFU and am in touch with Dr. Weber in Germany regarding transurethral hyperthermia treatment.

Hello and welcome.

I chose Dr. Shalhav at U of Chicago. He answered all my questions in a professional manner, was at a major teaching hospital, and had worked on several people I know well. He also had done well over 2,000 robotic surgeries.

I also considered Dr. Zagaja at U of Chicago. He's done more robotic surgeries than Shalhav. I liked him.

I learned of Catalona at Northwestern. He is like the "father" of open surgery and helped develop the PSA test. He worked on a good friend of mine.

I met with Dr. Robert Flanigan at Loyola. He is a colleague of a close friend of mine and came highly recommended. He does open surgery. He had a great manner and was very knowledgeable. He also didn't bad mouth robotic surgeons. "The wave of the future" he said. If I'd gone open, he would have been my choice.

I was diagnosed by a surgeon, Dr. John Milner, in Highland Park. Milner had come from Loyola, and Flanigan told me he was an excellent doctor and physician. Milner is in his early 40's and is starting to build a practice and reputation. He operates at a local hospital. I met some of his patients, who all felt they got great care from him. He has only done a few hundred robotic surgeries, but he doesn't rush you out of the hospital the next day like they do at U of C.

There are great surgeons here in this area, and you will find the right man.

Do plenty of research on radiation, as that may appeal to you. You have choice and you have time to consider them.

I posted my surgical story here. Search on my handle and you'll find it. Search on :tennisplayer"
That's the handle my story is under.

Ask any questions you like. Good luck and keep us posted.

Post Edited (cls) : 2/7/2017 8:57:11 AM (GMT-7)

I mentioned upthread that I think surgery is a very valid treatment for a G7. That said, I do think the reasons for recommending it aren't always valid. First off, uros will often tell you that if surgery fails, you can always have radiation. But that if radiation fails you can't have surgery. While that is mostly true, it implies that you get two bites at the apple with surgery, while you only get one bite at the apple with radiation. That it definitely NOT true. All primary treatments have a back-up option.

The other thing to consider is that with your stats, you are quite likely to be cured by ANY primary treatment. Hence, my recommendation that you focus on SEs.

The good thing is that you can take time to do research and figure things out. You might still go with surgery, but always best to do so after investigating all the options. Hope we can help!