Choosing a surgeon

[Gymbeau]

I have been reading a lot and searching for the answer.

How do you find a surgeon?

I keep reading about how important it is to have a high volume surgeon, and I agree completely. I had a relatively good experience with the local urology practice as far as prostatectomy goes, but I’m not so sure about the implant surgery with this practice.

I used the Physician Finder on this site and it doesn’t show anything close to me. I’m not looking forward to a road trip post surgery. Are the doctors listed in the Physician Finder all high volume and expertly qualified?

I’m ready to pull the trigger and leaning heavily toward the malleable implant. I’m in central Virginia if that helps.

[Rider1400]

Don’t be worried too much about travel. My first implant I used a surgeon in Dallas and I live in central Arkansas so was a 5 hr drive. Travel was no issue, but I did have a willing wife to drive me home. One week ago today I went to Clavell in Houston which is 6-1/2 hr drive from home and again the road trip was not an issue! While I was in hospital just prior to surgery Dr Clavells assistant told me they implant people from all over the world!

[SWorks17]

Gymbeau,

I’m retired Air Force, my urologist was an Army Major at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas and he did the surgery at Lackland Air Force Base Ambulatory Surgical Center.

I probably could have got a referral to go to a Urologist downtown San Antonio but I didn’t because I felt comfortable with my doc.

I also could have used the VA, but at the time I didn’t know they would do referrals to the implant urologist that you wanted to go with.

I do think it is important to be in the area of your implant urologist, so you don’t have to travel far for Followup visits or if you have a problem.

My doc did an excellent job and I haven’t any any problems with my AMS 700 LGX for the 4 1/2 years that I’ve had it.

Your Bionic Brother in Texas
SWorks

[Old Guy]

Try contacting either of the implant manufacturers. I know Coloplast has reps all over the country who are sometimes on standby during the procedure. If anyone would know who does the most implants it would be them.

[Gymbeau]

@oldguy. This is golden advice. Thank you.

[whatevery]

I remember reading about someone named Dr. Taj in your area. Search for him here. There are also 2 widely discussed high volume doctors in NYC: Dr. Eid and Dr. Valenzuela.

Also, remember that there are 3 brands that are currently available in the US for malleables: Coloplast (I think Genesis), Boston Scientific (I think Tactra) and Rigicon. I remember reading particularly good things about the later. Kramer also mentioned that he prefers it for malleable.

[Gymbeau]

Gymbeau,

I’m retired Air Force, my urologist was an Army Major at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas and he did the surgery at Lackland Air Force Base…
Your Bionic Brother in Texas
SWorks

I am also retired Air Force and 30% VA rated. I need to look into this option.

[lasthope2.0]

...Are the doctors listed in the Physician Finder all high volume and expertly qualified?..

The physician finder sites paint with a very broad brush. I've put together a more targeted list based on input from a surgeon who performs 200+ implants a year. This might also help if you don't want to travel far to one of the superstar mega-volume surgeons.

North Carolina
Ryan Terlecki (Winston-Salem, NC)

Georgia
Tarik Hakky (Atlanta, GA)
Sherita King (Augusta, GA)

Pennsylvania
Jay Simhan (Philadelphia, PA)

Tennessee
L. Dean Knoll (Nashville, TN)

Indiana
Alex Tatem (Indianapolis, IN)

Alabama
-Brian Christine (Homewood, AL)
(His practice maybe paused, now serving as Secretary for Health at HHS)
-Adam Baumgarten (Birmingham, AL)

California
Faysal Yafi (Southern California)
Eddie Karpman (California)
Irwin Goldstein (San Diego, CA)
Jeffrey Loh-Doyle (Los Angeles / Southern California)

Florida
Rafael Carrion (Tampa, FL)
Jonathan Beilan (Clearwater/Largo, FL)
Paul Perito (Miami / Coral Gables, FL)

Illinois
Laurence Levine (Chicago, IL)

Massachusetts
Andrew Kramer (Cape Cod / Hyannis, MA) - (Virtual Visit friendly)

Nevada
Casey McGraw (Las Vegas / Henderson, NV)
David T. Miller (Las Vegas, NV)

New York
Francois Eid (New York, NY)
Joel Hillelsohn (New York, NY)
Pedro P. Maria (Bronx, NY)

Texas
Jonathan Clavell (Houston, TX) - (Virtual Visit friendly)
Run Wang (Houston, TX)
Andrew Sun (Dallas, TX)

Utah
William Brant (Salt Lake City, UT)

Washington
Tom Walsh (Seattle, WA)
Marah Hehemann (Seattle area, WA)

[Gymbeau]

The physician finder sites paint with a very broad brush. I've put together a more targeted list based on input from a surgeon who performs 200+ implants a year. This might also help if you don't want to travel far to one of the superstar mega-volume surgeons

.

Thank you for the list. It’s very helpful.

Regarding the Physician Finder, I was referring to the one that is here, on Frank Talk.
https://www.franktalk.org/findAPhysician.php