Personally confirming results

[usernamealreadyexists]

Hi All,

 

Please help me o wise ones, what would you do if you were in my shoes?

 

With my experience I feel absolutely unsure about a surgeon unless I've met and seen patient's results in person.

 

However being from South Africa. There are not any patients I can find from Rahal/Hasson and Wong/the other great surgeons I hear of on this site. I have to travel to see results.

 

Some concerns arise because of this:

Obviously the cost... a trip + accommodation to meet patients,

as well as the separate costs if I choose to have the surgery

(I'm young... my "fund tree" has not fully grown yet).

 

Also, I might just settle and want to have surgery done during the same trip even if I'm not 100% certain...for convenience sake.

Which is a terrible idea, but I don't know how I'll react in these situations due to the emotion/just wanting this pluggy nightmare to end.

 

There's also the possibility I travel to a location, meet 3 of 4 surgeon's patients and am unable to find an available slot in the doctor's diary when/if I do intend on having the surgery within the same trip.

 

Am I making the situation more complicated than it is?

Are there other good ways to verify results? (HD skype etc... which is still not close to meeting in person).

 

Regards,

U

[Spanker]

The chances of you getting a slot in the same trip of verifying results is very unlikely. It is definitely nice to be able to meet a transplant patient before you pull the trigger, but by no means a must. Youtube is helpful to see results in motion.

[Shampoo]

username....I faced the exact same dilemma. I was intent on flying from Texas to Canada for a consult to meet Dr. Wong and to tour the Hasson/Wong facilities.

 

However in the end I decided I had done enough research that I was pretty sure it would be better to save the consult airfare/hotel money and use it for more grafts when I had surgery.

 

After months/years of careful study I decided against flying all the way to Canada for just the consult and booked an appointment.

 

Of course in ideal an world it's best to meet several elite doctors and tour several clinics, but in reality how many patients are going to fly to several cities and possibly several countries just for consults? It's not going to happen very often.

 

I think if you really pay attention, do your homework, and pick one of the very elite clinics you can get away with no consult and come away with an outstanding result.

Edited December 28, 2013 by Shampoo

[lorenzo]

I am actually unaware or have never met any patients from Hasson and Wong (other than Dr. Hasson being from South Africa_) that are from South Africa.

[Since21]

I'd suggest PM'ing a few people on here who have had procedures by the surgeons you are considering. You'll get a firsthand account in a private forum. I actually met one such person while traveling on business and it was finally what I needed to pull the trigger and book a date. It really does help talking to actual patients. They aren't going to BS you. I wouldn't have done it based on consultations alone. Speaking of, you can do consultations via Skype, but they aren't as assuring as having one in person.

[usernamealreadyexists]

Thanks All for your helpful responses,

 

Since21 I will try contacting patients of surgeons and address my concerns via PM'ing.