Hi, Jeff:
I'm sorry you and your wife have a reason to visit this site but I hope you find it useful.
I'll make a stab at answering your questions.
1. Is there a website that might show information regarding a physicians credentials?There are a variety of ways to do this including simply asking the doctors office (look at his/her diplomas and any board certifications when you visit). You can also check with the local medical society (if the doctor is a member), a local hospital (if the doctor is on staff), or an HMO to which the doctor belongs. Just typing the doctor's name into an internet search engine might bring up useful information.
2. As bad as I hate ask, where would someone check to see a doctors surgical results both good and bad?That could be accomplished by asking the doctor if he has any former/current patients you may speak with, if the patients are open to do so (they may not be). Even if this isn't feasible, you will be referred to a surgeon and your primary care physician should have some knowledge about the surgeon he sends you too. Ask. Don't accept vague answers...this is very delicate surgery and the skill and experience of the surgeon and his (or her) team is vital to increasing the chances of a good outcome (few or no complications).
3. How does one verify the number of procedures a physician has performed?A surgeon should be trustworthy enough to tell you the truth and if he or she is evasive (I encountered this), this doctor is probably not highly experienced in this procedure. Run, don't walk to the nearest exit.
4. What is a "reasonable and customary" cost of say a translab procedure?Ask your insurance company. They set these numbers, which can be arguable, in some cases. Costs vary, as you might expect, but my total bill (tests, surgeon, anesthesia, nerve monitoring specialist, operating room and ICU as well as regular room charges (5 day stay) came to just about $100,000. The highly experienced and well-respected neurosurgeon who performed the bulk of the operation (retrosigmoid) charged $23,000. His assistant (another neurosurgeon) charged my insurance company $5,000. for her services. Your costs may vary, based on your location, your doctors fee schedule for your wife's specific surgery (trans lab) and hospital prices. Medical insurance usually covers most of it but I ended up owing a few thousand dollars in initial co-pay charges. Be prepared. Fortunately, most hospitals and doctors will accept a monthly payment plan and I availed myself of that option in a few instances.
5. After surgery (translab) how long is post operative recovery until one can return to normal activities? ie: work, driving, gardening?As already mentioned, that will be different for each patient. My surgeon was very conservative and told me my recovery would be measured in 'months, not weeks'. Yet I was driving again within two weeks of getting out of surgery. Even with the best recovery, your wife will be better six
months after her surgery than six
weeks after. However, your doctor, if he is diligent, will schedule frequent follow-up visits for his post-op patient and he'll use her responses to his questions and a few simple tests to determine when she can return to normal activities. Six weeks is a realistic expectation, assuming the surgery goes smoothly.
Again, I know these questions are highly hypothetical and subjective. I guess I am just looking for opinions.
Well, I've offered the best responses I could come up with on the fly. I urge you and your wife to use the internet to learn as much as you can about acoustic neuroma tumors. With such a small AN, radiation, which is non-invasive (no surgery) may be a viable option for your wife and worth her consideration. We're all here to help in whatever way we can. I hope I have.
Jim
