Roland vs. Selesnick?

[gclark]

Hi to my fellow New Yorkers.  I have been reading a lot of your posts and everyone I've seen about these two doctors have said that you all have consulted with both but went with Dr. Roland.  Would you share with me why?  I have appointments set up with both but I'm wondering is I should cancel Selesnick as I'm probably not going to go with surgery and set up an appt with Golfinos instead.  I've also read here that Roland and Golfinos practice together.  I have an appt with Roland on April 19...would I have to make a separate appt with Golfinos?  I am now past the point of being overwhelmed, I am just exhausted from all of this.  I'd like to do these consultations and get this part over with so I can make some kind of decision.  Thanks for all of your help, I've learned so much from you!

Gail

[jtd71465]

Gail,

When I consulted I saw Selesnick prior to seeing Roland, I almost cancelled Roland...what a big mistake that would have been (if you want to know why please send me an email at jdombrowski@comcast.net and I will respond with my resaon(s)).  If you have dfinately ruled out microsurgery then I would see Golfinos first, he's the radiation guy.  Roland and Golfinos do not practice together, them team together when doing microsurgery.  At NYU they are located across the hall from one another but that's about it...separate billing, different insurance providers accepted,...if you want more information regarding my experiences please include them in the email...also if you want to talk I will provide myu phone number in the response.

Best Wishes,


Joe-

[lthompson]

Hi, Dr. Roland is my doctor and I think he is great.  I did meet with Dr. Golfinos as well.  The previous poster is correct, they team up together to do microsurgery and Dr. Golfinos does gammaknife at NYU, but each has separate practices.   I met them on separate days, but since they are in the same building, I think different floors, you can probably try to pick a date and schedule your appointments together to avoid having you go back for another visit.  I saw Dr. Roland first and then saw Dr. Golfinos.  I knew I didn't want microsurgery but might be interested down the road in radiosurgery so that is why I scheduled the appointments the way I did.  At present I am still wait and watch and under Dr. Roland's care.  So far after 3 years of MRIs every 6 mos, no growth, and still 100% hearing, so that is why I am doing what I am doing.  I honestly, never heard of Dr. Selsnick, not sure which hospital he is affiliated with, but I can tell you that I have met a few other specialists in my area, a few at Cornell in NYC and a local doctor at Overlook Hospital in Summit, NJ (which is only 45 minutes from where I live), but was not impressed.  Like Dr. Roland was the best.  I hope this helps. 

[jtd71465]

lthompson-

Not sure when you last went to NYU but Roland has moved his office, he is directly across the hall from Golfinos...just some added information.


Joe-

[lthompson]

Hi, I think the last time I was at NYU was in the fall and I saw Dr. Fouldvand, which is a neurooptamologist, across from Dr. Roland.  So he is not in 3C anymore?  Thanks for the information.  That is helpful for when I mail my MRI CD to him, so it gets to the right spot.  By the way, if you ever need a good neurooptomologist, I highly recommend Dr. Fouldvand at NYU, as well.

By the way, which hospital is Dr. Selsnick out of?

[jtd71465]

Selesnick is out of New York Presbyterian Hospital / Weill Cornell Medical Center - http://www.nycornell.org/ent/selesnick/index.html.

And correct, Roland is now the F elevators to floor 8.

Joe-

[jeansear]

We just saw Dr. Golfinos and have an appt with Dr. Roland for Mon. I think we are going with the gk and Golfinos..he is a really nice man and seems to know his stuff.

[gclark]

I have an appointment with both Roland & Golfinos on April 19.  Thanks for the info!
Gail

[Maxx]

I had Surgery with Dr. Selesnick and Dr Gutin and everything went very well. I was very pleased with them.  I also met with Dr. Roland who I liked very much.  Basically Dr. Roland and Dr. Selesnick both told me the same thing except Dr Roland wanted to do translab surgery and Dr. Selesnick wanted to do retrosigmoid.  So I just asked each of them some questions about the different procedures.  I was satisfied with the answers that Dr. Selesnick gave and I had a lot of trust in him and in Dr. Gutin.  Dr. Gutin gave me a lot of confidence.  Dr. Selesnick seems to be a very straightforward guy.  Some people may like that and some may not.   I liked him and he and his staff were excellent to deal with.   The experience at the Weill Cornell Medical Center was great as well. 

I'm sure that both are excellent doctors, you just need to make a decision that you are happy with. 

[Evan]

I don't want to throw a monkey wrench into your thinking, but in addition to Drs. Roland/Golfinos and Selesnick, there is also Dr. Sisti at Columbia and Drs. Costantino and Sen at Roosevelt.  I saw both of them when I was researching my "alleged" AN.  Dr. Sen is an excellent neurosurgeon and I found both Dr. Sen and Costantino to be refreshingly honest and they both talked to me as an equal.  They are both highly regarded and specialize in Cranial Base surgeries.

Dr. Sisti is also equally highly regarded and in addition to microsurgery he runs the GK facility at Columbia.  I went to Dr. Sisti after seeing Drs. Sen and Costantino and without telling him what they had told me.  Dr. Sisti agreed 100% with Drs. Sen and Costantino, which told me that they were both honest, open and hopefully correct (theyboth recommended a repeat MRI in a couple of months to find out exactly what I had).

Hope this helps and does not further confuse.

Evan

[njgirl]

Hey there!  I just wanted all to know what great docs roland and golfinos are---I just had surgery translab on 3/21 at NYU and I am doing great at 4 weeks after surgery.  My tumor was about 1.5 cm and after surgery the docs told me how "sticky" and tangled up the tumor was in my facial nerves (which explains why I lost all of my usable hearing so quickly in 2 short months before I was diagnosed last year.)  Without their extensive experience I may have had facial paralysis after surgery but so far I have no setbacks except a dry eye and headaches.  I have been driving for almost 2 weeks around town.  I can't say enough good things about the docs and I was so comfortable with them that I cancelled my appointment with selesnick for a second opinion before my surgery and I am so glad I did.    

[gclark]

I am so happy to hear about your experience, njgirl.  I met with both Roland & Golfinos on 4/19 and my husband and I loved them both.  We felt comfortable with their recommendations...no radiation and they suggested translab because there is pretty much no hearing left to save. I'm thinking that I might wait until September to have another MRI to see if there's any growth, then really decide about surgery.  I think I would just like this thing out of me.  Thank you Joe for all your help and njgirl...I'd like to hear more about your surgery if you don't mind giving me details.  You can email me directly or tell us all about it here. I'm still trying to decide if I will go meet Selesnick but I can't imagine liking anyone else as much as I liked Roland.

[SteveWWD]

I met with Selesnik and then Roland and I went with the Selesnik Stieg team.  I felt that I was getting somewhat of a sales pitch with Dr. Roland and Dr. Selesnik and Steig were more what I was looking for.  I have posted the consultations that I had with all three of them verbatum on my website if you are interested.  I never met with Golfinos.  I am more than happy with my decision to go with Selesnik/ Steig and Cornell Presbyterian is the nicest hostpital I have ever experienced in my life.