Endoscopic approach w/ Dr. Jho in Pittsburgh

[Phillies]

In the course of my never ending research I came across a Dr. Melvin Field who does some kind of endoscopic appraoch on AN's. He was apparently was trained by a Dr. Jho who does that kind of procedure in Pittsburg, PA.  I haven't really seen alot of postS about this doctor on the boards so I thought I'd post this question...

And yes, I know of all the contoversy over that guy in LA who does this kind of procedure, and I have no intention of going anywhere near that guy, but maybe this guy might be good? But then again, if he was that good, I'd probably see more posts here about him...

[Kaybo]

HE might be great...& everyone has RO get a start somewhere but I'd be leery since you don't know much about him. At the very least, I'd want to know how many of these he's done!

Good luck!
K 

[leapyrtwins]

One of the key elements in AN treatment is finding a doctor who is not only qualified to treat ANs, but has lots of experience in treating ANs.  This is one of the major things the ANA will tell you - and with good reason.

I've heard of Dr. Jho and I've heard of Dr. Shananian (or is it Shaninian?) - the "guy in LA" but I've never heard of Dr. Melvin Field.  Granted, it's not like I've heard of every doc in the AN world, but IMO if you do decide to go the endoscopic route you'd be wise to choose either Jho or Shananian.  They both are "big names" in treating ANs endoscopically.

Jan

[Phillies]

Yea, you are right. But I just wanted to throw that question out there to be sure. I don't want to leave any stones unturned during the course of my research.

[Phillies]

Do you know anything more about this Dr. Jho in Pittsburg? I did a search on the boards and most of the info is about that crazy guy in La, not the guy in PA. Does Dr. Jho do some kind o modified endoscopic approach? Anyone on these boards been to him??

[Jim Scott]

Do you know anything more about this Dr. Jho in Pittsburg? I did a search on the boards and most of the info is about that crazy guy in La, not the guy in PA. Does Dr. Jho do some kind o modified endoscopic approach? Anyone on these boards been to him?

Dr. Hae-Dong Jho is a highly educated (M.D., PhD.) neurosurgeon and department head.  Apparently he is a pioneer in utilizing endoscopic surgery for various conditions that usually employ traditional surgical techniques.  I haven't any personal experience with Dr. Jho but this link to his website should be informative.  http://drjho.com/jho_institute.htm

Jim

[Phillies]

Thanks for the info. I'm going to be mailing out my MRI to him to see what he has to say. I'm just a little surprised there doesn't seem to be more info about him on these boards and I'm still not exactly sure what he does that is different. From my understanding his surgery approach is not like that guy at SBI in LA.

[jerseygirl]

Hi Phillies,

 I posted about Dr. Jho in a different thread . I also consulted with Dr. Fields, who, I believe, is a former trainee of Dr. Jho. My impressions were as follows:

1) Very thorough and meticulous
2) No many years of experience yet
3) Does not take significant risks
4) Does small, new ANs fully endoscopically, otherwise does traditional surgeries and inserts endoscope afterwards  to make sure he did not miss anything. This practice is called "endoscopically assisted".

I need a surgeon with : 1) a lot of experience, especially in large tumors 2) willingness to take and manage risks, otherwise I would be dealing with incomplete tumor removal again 3) experience in fully endoscopic approach to minimize  any chance of headaches which drove me up the wall for 10 years after the first surgery.

After eliminating Dr. Field and Dr. Jho, I was left with Dr. Sh as a candidate. I went with him and ended up getting exactly what I wanted.

Best of luck in your search! If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

      Eve

[Phillies]

Wow,

I read your two post about Dr. Jho, and I must say I think you made me change my plans about sending him my MRI tomorrow morning. I don't want any other dr. operating on me who is still in training or something. And you are right, there doesn't seem to be any on these boards who has ever had him for surgery...

[jerseygirl]

Phillies,

I really think you should be sending your MRIs to Dr. Jho tomorrow morning. His consultations are free and very informative. The more  you learn about your situation, the better decision you will make. What I said before is something to keep in mind. Every situation has pros and cons. You are unlikely to deal with the same issues as I did and my arguments might not apply to you. You can also ask for references; he has plenty except for the ones after regrowth.

How big is your tumor and which side is it on? What are your symptoms?

        Eve

[Phillies]

My AN is 2.5cm and other than some eye ringing and a little hearing loss I'm fine. Although I finally came to terns with the fact that after surgery I will most likely lose all my hearing in the right ear. Yea, I could still send him my MRI and documentation, but after seeing a very good doctor in NY yesterday, Dr. Selesnick and reading what you had to say I'm not sure if I'm going to send it out or not....

[leapyrtwins]

Just wanted to note that Dr. Selesnick has a very good reputation - as do a lot of other docs in NYC; Roland & Golfinos come to mind.

Also want to note that just because no one on the Forum has mentioned surgery with Dr. Jho it doesn't mean that no one has had surgery with him.  The Forum isn't all-inclusive when it comes to AN patients. 

Personally I had never heard of the ANA - or the ANA Forum - until after I had my surgery.  I picked up one of the ANA's brochures in my doc's office the day I went to have my stitches removed.

Just some food for thought,

Jan

[jerseygirl]

Phillies,

Your tumor is considered a medium size, and any neurosurgeon skilled in AN removal should be able to handle it. You are also a new (rather than previously operated on) patient, so that makes you everybody's favorite.   Statistics are overwhelmingly in your favor although hearing preservation is highly unlikely with your tumor size. Quite a different story than mine!

The issue of students is present everywhere except SBI and HEI. All the hospital you and Jan named are teaching hospitals. If every single surgery was done without student's presence, they would not be able to get enough training to graduate.  I just don't believe otherwise.

Your bony landmarks are not destroyed, like mine and you don't have a regrowth. You literally have a choice of all treatments available to you. I would seriously think about insurance situation because iyou have so much choice. New York is not necessarily cheaper than ,let's say, HEI, depending on your insurance.

If you do decide to go with traditional surgeon, find out what precautions he takes against headaches. They absolutely ruin your life if you have them. 

Go with your gut and best of luck!

             Eve