Dr. Hrayr Shahinian in the news...two articles in this week's L.A. Times

[marsha G]

I had AN surgery with Dr. Shahinian last December.  My stay in the hospital was only 2 days.  I just had my post-op MRI with my ENT at the Medical Center in Houston and everything was "perfect" according to the doctor, who is also a surgeon who works on ANs.  I have no facial problems, no headache problems, and just a few balance problems.     

The "what to do" decision on my AN was the hardest and scariest decision of my life.  While trying to make that decision I spoke with several medical professionals.  One of the points that was brought up was that when surgeons in Houston were first doing open heart surgery and transplants many doctors thought those doctors and procedures were dangerous and crazy.  Now those procedures are commonplace.  I am sure mistakes are made by all surgeons sometime during their career.  They are not Gods.  Like stated in a prior message, brain surgeons have the highest malpractice rates.  I bet cardiac surgeons are next.

I believe that any new procedures that are not know by the majority of the doctors in a field will always be questioned.  It is my understanding that endoscopic surgery for brain tumors (including ANs) is now being taught at PMC, so it seems to me that it is starting to be accepted by some of the medical community.  I can only finish by saying that I was very happy with my surgery at Thousand Oaks Hospital with Dr. Shahinian and I am offended by the "lucky" comment. 

 



   

[lori67]

I'm certainly not questioning the use of endoscopic surgery - I think it's a great option and in the future, hopefully, they'll be able to do most surgeries that way - it's much less invasive.  And they certainly already remove much larger body parts that way with great results.  My concern is this procedure being done by someone who may not have the qualifications to do so.  He clearly knows what he's doing, but just knowing how to do it and having the formal training and/or licensing to do it are very different issues.  I feel if he wants to perform this type of surgery, he should go about the formalities.  That's just my opinion.  I'm very much "by the book" when it comes to some things.  I'm sure some will see it as just more hoops one must jump through, but those hoops are there for a reason.  There has to be some oversight and consistency.

Eve, I certainly didn't mean to imply he is a quack.  Not at all.  Like I said, he clearly knows what he's doing, or he wouldn't have had any good results!  And I'm truly happy that you and the others here who have used him have had such great results. And Marsha,  I apologize if I've offended you.  I certainly did not mean to.

 All doctors get sued and all malpractice insurance is expensive.  Yes, neurosurgeons probably pay the most because the possibilities of a bad outcome are so high.  It's much more risky than having a tooth pulled.  I would think that by performing a surgery that is not technically within your area of certification would just open you up to being sued.  I'd be willing to bet there are patients of his that don't know he's not a neurosurgeon, or don't know the difference between a general surgeon and a neurosurgeon.  So, something doesn't go as planned, they get mad, go find one of those lawyers on tv who will sue anything that moves and they'll emphasize to the court that this doctor performed a surgery that maybe he shouldn't be allowed to.  Those lawyers make sure it gets publicized because that brings them more business.  Unfortunately that's just the reality of the society we live in.

But, like was mentioned before, patients have to do their own research and decide what their best option is.  I would not suggest that anyone made a poor choice because he did not do what I did.  I would hope that after all is said and done, everyone is happy with his choice.

[leapyrtwins]

I am not offended by the lucky comment at all and patients of Dr. Shahinian shouldn't be either.  We are all in a sense lucky - whether we had surgery with this doctor or not.

Although I didn't have an endoscopic procedure, I am extremely lucky and I tell my doc that every time I see him.  AN surgery - whether conventional or endoscopic - is a crap shoot.  No one can guarantee you a stellar outcome.  As Marsha said, surgeons aren't God (although some do think they are  )

My surgery could be considered "perfect" also - I don't suffer from facial paralysis, headaches, or balance issues either.  Yes, I'm SSD, but that's a very minor point in the scope of things.

Although I used to believe that endoscopic surgery might be the wave of the future, more and more these days I'm inclined to believe that that distinction will go to radiation treatment of ANs. 

As for Dr. Shahinian, I won't go as far as to call him a quack but I don't think the news about him is great.  He may have performed surgery on patients who had wonderful outcomes, but I think the articles in the LA Times speak for themselves and should be taken seriously by anyone considering surgery with him.

Jan 

[jerseygirl]

Marsha, do you have any usable hearing in your AN ear post surgery?

             Eve

[Julygirl]

Dr. Shahinian, while he may have had SOME successful outcomes, is a general surgeon, NOT a neurosurgeon. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.  I would never recommend having a general surgeon perform brain surgery, especially a technique that is still very new.  Think about it, you go in for a laparoscopic cholecystectomy (gall bladder) surgery and a complication causes the surgeon to have t switch to an open procedure.  This is all fine and dandy if the surgeon is trained in the procedure, but this doctor is NOT a trained neurosurgeon so what happens if the endoscopic approach fails or he runs into a complication that's over his head? Do your research, malpractice information is available on line for all physicians and I would hope everyone would read every scrap of info on any physician they are considering for this surgery. 

[leapyrtwins]

Wow, can't believe that we are still debating Dr. Shaninian.

Glad to see we are though    Very controversial doc.

Jan