FrankTalk.org

This might be a bit of a different post, but just wanted to thank everyone here who has provided me some insight into this process. I have to admit for me, and still being in the middle of trying to choose a doctor to have an implant done, I do feel a bit hypocritical about choosing. And here is why.

My wife is going to have brain surgery in the next 4 weeks due to her brains leaking into her ear canal. Go figure. Who would have thought that could happen. Her regular doctor, who is a great ear surgeon, won't even touch this. So off to a neurosurgeon. We are having it done here in central KY. When my wife and I discussed it, she felt comfortable with having it done locally. We could go wherever she wanted to go, no problem. She will be in ICU for up to a week making sure there is no brain infection, then regular hospital for a week or so. When we discuss me not having my surgery done local, her comment was she wants me to use a doctor I feel comfortable with and who specializes in what he does. Now dick surgery is not brain surgery, even if we use both to think with at times. All surgery is important. If they cut into you with a knife it is serious. I plan on finding the best doctor I can who makes me feel comfortable about this process, whomever and wherever it is.

I have not determined a doctor yet. I will say that I have not found one in my area yet that has answered my questions satisfactorily, and I have a lot of them. Hawk had a good list of them. If I met one local who did and I felt good about, i might use them, just to make it easier on my wife over the next 6 months. If they f it up and I have to have it redone so be it. If I travel somewhere to find one that I feel better about, that works to. To use my wife's words. All things being equal, If you go to someone who has a 5 percent failure rate, that is 25 for a surgeon doing 500 a year, 2.5 for one doing 50 a year. Odds are the same exactly. Find a surgeon with a lower failure rate and your odds get substantially better. Issue is most will not tell you there statistics, which is a pain. As she said in picking a neurosurgeon, she is going to one that only does that, and does it well, as a specialty. While our picking an implant surgeon is not probably going to make a life threatening decision it could be a life altering one.

Oh, taking her to the gulf coast for a week or so to relax. She needs it.

The best to both of you. Enjoy your time at the coast. Everything will happen as it should.

Truly, best wishes to both of you. Keep us updated on how your wife is doing as well as your quest for a doctor. I have followed you close enough to know you will choose well. BTW, tell your wife that my wife thinks I had one of those brain leaks in my ear years ago but no one ever found it and fixed it.

Wow. Best of wishes for your wife. How do they plan to stop the leak? In 2013 doctors wanted to remove part of my pituitary. They said with their own mix of 5 or 6 hormones for the rest of my life I would not need blood pressure meds any more. I thought the trade off not worth it plus they told me the holes through my scull would be plugged with a wad of abdominal fat to prevent cerebral fluid leakage into my sinus' and brain infections. I did not agree to the the surgery and still haven't. Plugging a hole in bone with fat seemed odd to me but how they said it is usually done. What is the plan for your wife? Be well, both of you.

I wish the both of you the best of luck.
Also a speedy recovery.
I think I get it. Personally I would go to the best that the insurance
would cover. Or you can afford. Failure rate, infection rate and a guy that does a lot of them will know how to
do it with the least amount of scaring or pain. You want it to look good after also.
Even if you have to wait a few months till your wife is better.
You have that implant for years and you don’t want to have to go thru it again if it has to be redone.
I had a more or less minor surgery procedure done years ago. Took months to heal plus physical therapy. Guy said he has done plenty of that those of operation. Was in pain for about 2 weeks.
Recovery was also hard.
2 years later I was under the knife again. That guy all he did was that type of operation. Took a few Tylenol’s. A week later just sore. Physical therapy went great. Operation went much better.
Not 100 even after 2nd operation but better.