Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

[PilotPatient]

Assuming no pain is involved, just leg weakness and poor control of bladder and bowels, how would a person find the best place for diagnosis and treatment? Local doctor always refers patients to the same small local associated hospital for everything.

 

[pilot_dude]

http://bit.ly/1ewtvhU

 

[weilke]

Ask other people who have had back surgery on how things worked out.

Find the best back surgeon in your general area, go out of network if necessary. No point travelling across the country, but heading a town or two over can be worth it.

Find a back surgeon who owns neither a boat nor a new aircraft ;-)

Whatever you do, dont get suckered in by some herbs and potions quack who tells you that 'back surgery doesn't work'. The one condition it works for is spinal stenosis with weakness.

 

[frfly172]

Get two opinions,from reputable ortho/surgeons. Talk to some p/t people about Drs they have work with. Watch out for the meds they prescribe.

 

[gkainz]

also consider chiropractic, spinal decompression and sports PT. Worked for me.

 

[Skip Miller]

Get two opinions,from reputable ortho/surgeons. Talk to some p/t people about Drs they have work with. Watch out for the meds they prescribe.

Two specialties do this kind of surgery, and in different areas of the country one specialty will predominate over the other. You should get opinions from both camps: Orthopedic surgeons and Neurosurgeons.

-Skip

 

[hannanmike]

Assuming no pain is involved, just leg weakness and poor control of bladder and bowels, how would a person find the best place for diagnosis and treatment? Local doctor always refers patients to the same small local associated hospital for everything.

You should consider going to an orthopedic / spine surgeon. Then you should also take an opinion of Pain Medicine doctor. Many stenosis and nerve compression problems can be treated without a surgery, just by pain management & intervention procedures.

Try taking at least 2 or 3 opinions. Consult with a PT about your condition as well as the surgeons you visited.

Thereafter, make up your mind and take a leap of faith.

If you are not fully covered by insurance, or are going to pay out-of-pocket, best thing to do would be to get a second or third opinion from top specialists in India. Go ahead and spend about 4-5 weeks in India. You will get world-class concierge treatment and the total package cost would be less than 1/5th of what it would cost you in the US.

 

[1600vw]

You should consider going to an orthopedic / spine surgeon. Then you should also take an opinion of Pain Medicine doctor. Many stenosis and nerve compression problems can be treated without a surgery, just by pain management & intervention procedures.

Try taking at least 2 or 3 opinions. Consult with a PT about your condition as well as the surgeons you visited.

Thereafter, make up your mind and take a leap of faith.

If you are not fully covered by insurance, or are going to pay out-of-pocket, best thing to do would be to get a second or third opinion from top specialists in India. Go ahead and spend about 4-5 weeks in India. You will get world-class concierge treatment and the total package cost would be less than 1/5th of what it would cost you in the US.

 

[Doggtyred]

If you are not fully covered by insurance, or are going to pay out-of-pocket, best thing to do would be to get a second or third opinion from top specialists in India. Go ahead and spend about 4-5 weeks in India. You will get world-class concierge treatment and the total package cost would be less than 1/5th of what it would cost you in the US.

And are you going to go back to India for follow up?

And when you have a complication GOOD LUCK getting a US surgeon to touch you again.... You've just become a high risk patient.

I've seen private ortho and neurosurgeons refuse to see other American Surgeon's botch jobs.. I can imagine foreign surgeons take that refusal to the next level.