Guest guest Posted August 15, 2006 Report Share Posted August 15, 2006 When I went to the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Doctor regarding the SCS, he said that he would put in the trial version, and then refer me to a neurosurgeon for the permanent version to be implanted. We asked about the timing of all this because we needed to plan for our busy Fall schedule. He told me that normally the " big " surgery is 2-3 weeks after the trial. So we planned accordingly (meals, help, postponement of big events on the schedule until later in the year, etc). His office also told me the surgery usually is scheduled in that time period, and even the Medtronics nurse, who has done this for 17 years and worked with these doctors-said the same thing. Well, my trial lead was taken out on August 1st, and I called the same day to make the appointment with the neurosurgeon. Their first available, at any of their 5 locations, was August 18th. You can imagine my frustration, knowing the surgery would be even later. Well, it gets worse! They call back a few days later and ask if I could go to a different location to see the surgeon, but on the same day. It is further away. But, because I want this over with, I said " SURE. " They call today to confirm my appointment for the 18th, but then, just 2 hours later, they call back to say the surgeon can't see me until September! I explain my frustrations (nicely-I know the receptionist can't help it). I told her what the PM & R office had led me to believe about surgery schedule. Also, I had already had my pre-surgery physical exam and EKG, and now they might need to do it over again (they had ordered a chest x-ray and labwork, but I had waited to do that-now I will wait even longer!). So, now my neuro appointment is August 24th and because she felt sorry for my situation, she went ahead and scheduled my surgery even though the doc hasn't seen me yet, for September 14th. This is a full month later than when we had expected it to be scheduled. She did say she will call back if there are any cancellations. Just wanted to share my latest news. I'll keep you posted! Kathy W. in KY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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