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Pls help me choose among these 3 surgeons. thx.
Can you give me your advice on how to choose the best surgeon. I am currently in the Philippines, in a city that is noted for quality medical care. I have interviewed 3 surgeons thus far. Here are the results:
Surgeon A: urologist, does hernia surgery but will not do local which for good reason I want. Referred me to surgeon C below for local. When I asked him why he would not do local he said: “Because I have not been trained in that.” Has two serious patient complaints online, one claiming he almost killed them,
but not from hernia surgery.What they don’t tell you about local is that you are often nearly unconcious from the “sedation” and there are problems with break through pain. All the research shows everyone across multiple countries is recommending local. Mostly where I am living they do general but also spinal (there are 3 types of “spinal” anesthesia). I am thinking that a urologist might not be preferred over a general surgeon because the gen. surgeon probably does a lot more surgery.
Surgeon B: general surgeon. Seems to be busy doing a lot of surgery. Will do local but was told by the other doctors that his patients experience pain and he has to change to general then. He denies this, but why would other surgeons state this? Also in mentioning his name I get no feedback, zilch. If you mention a really good surgeons name people will usually affirm that in one way or another, but not with him? He wants to do sedation and when I asked him he said I would be asleep from that? Could not give estimate of his fee cost said “it depends”. When pressed quoted me a fee at least 200 dollars cheaper than surgeon c below.
When I told him I would go to the Phil Hospital’s biz office to try to get an estimate of the total cost he laughed. This is a hospital with a lot of complaints of overcharging. So it looks like I’m going to have problems getting an estimate?Surgeon C: Gen. Surgeon. Also will not do local, mostly does general. Quoted me highest fee costs and kinda lied about how many hernia surgeries he does because I asked his secretary first and his figure was much higher.
My other option is to go back to the USA. But I figure even with my Medicare I will STILL wind up paying a lot more if I do that. Also I have been thus far unable to find a USA surgeon who specializes in hernia repair that does not have multiple credible sounding serious complaints about him at healthgrades. That and complaints about money hungry doctors that seem to be much more concerned with getting max. money rather than max. results.
This seems to be particularily true of the so-called
“hernia surgery centers” across the USA. Might be better to just check into a good hospital after trying to find a good USA surgeon. -
31 Replies
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“conspiracy”, those are YOUR words not mine (don’t put words in my mouth).
What I did say is that it borders on unprofessionalism to leave a practice and patients and prospective patients in the dark. Professionals don’t do things like that.
And last I heard your promise was to let us know in October, not November.
Concerning advertising and marketing by surgeons. I have come to realize hernia surgeons are a ‘time a dozen’. Everywhere you look you see hernia centers advertising. I much prefer to trust a doctor who has an established good reputation, speaks English fluently, has high professional standards as well as being a good surgeon. The old standard from about 50-70 years ago was it is unprofessional to advertise. In fact I believe either take AMA or other authorities imposed sanctions against it. Competition among “hernia repair” surgeons is steep. So to prosper (and the clinic they are affiliated with) they must advertise.
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@notanewbeeok Not sure why there is unflattering discussion about Dr. Sbayi as if there is some conspiracy in his decision to change jobs.
I know there is interest in seeing him in consultation by many patients. I announced that in November I will update you all about his new office information or contacts. As it is not yet November… I have no news to share.
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Pricing on website.
From memory I think Prof Desarda has a list of fees also.
If you sign up to The Shouldice Portal I think it also has charges, not 100 percent sure but seem to recall it does.
It’s useful for overseas patients to have some price guidance surely?
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From what I recall, Baris’ surgeon also stated lifetime guarantee.
In Pintos case it’s proof positive Dr Kang honoured it.
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I had zero issues communicating with Dr. Kang in English up to and including the last thing I remembered in the OR before surgery. Translators like Stephen Kwon are there to help expedite communication and add clarity if needed. I am fine with a doctor’s primary field of study being hernia repair and not linguistics if I am going into surgery for hernia repair. If I chose that doctor I already trust him/her enough to make certain decisions on the fly in situations where I might not be able to communicate due to sedition or a crisis. Also my Appalachian twang is hard enough for Americans to understand in other parts of my own country as it is…..
In regards to Dr. Kang’s marketing – You must really hate every single terrible commercial from US Fortune 500 companies. Most TVs ads run like something out of a bad high school skit class.
I found Dr. Kang’s advertising to be clear and concise for a non-Korean speaking patient looking for more details. It was enough information for me to inquire for more detail which is all a website ad is intended to do?
I think most people like to critique things they aren’t familiar with or are hesitant to consider as an option due to geographical location. I am probably the most adverse person to travel (I don’t travel domestic often and never international) but I researched enough information into Dr. Kang to realize I did not want to “roll the dice” anywhere else.
I thank God everyday I made that decision especially after reading some real tragic cases on these forums by “expert” doctors who were practicing in my own country including those who had “legit” websites with the standard regurgitated generic marketing.
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At least in this case Dr Kang rectified or repaired Pinto’s problem which is re-assuring especially for overseas patients of which I believe Pinto is one.
I can’t recall seeing mention from any other posters who have had problems posting their surgeon had rectified their issue. Maybe I’ve missed it.
I know Baris had to go elsewhere and not original surgeon to get sorted.
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I think you are likely to have trouble internationally wherever you go. You emit extreme cultural bias and ignorance about language matters. E.g., Mandarin Chinese, not English, holds the mantle of most used language with Spanish possibly in a close second. You pontificate about the “intelligence” of MDs, as if you are capable of conferring which MDs are intelligent, which are not. You greatly misconstrue the language situation of Kang. He uses English and does not expect foreigners to use Korean. His website is quite informative and useful for international patients to know upfront what the costs esp. given they have additional travel expenses.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by pinto.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by
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Are you the same guy who posted a while back about how he could not get Dr. Kang’s “English interpreter” to respond to his emails?
I don’t have to search it but I recall the post was quite negative about Dr. Kang and his “english interpreter” could not be bothered to communicate with a patient.
Most doctors are intelligent and well read and many speak foreign languages. In fact most specialists I know of do.
English is the most widely used language in the world. If Kang doesn’t know English well enough to talk to patients, he should enroll in a language course, not expect people that come from abroad to speak Korean or to communicate with a non-medical “interpreter”.His website reads like a giant marketing effort similar to what you might see from places like Ali Babba. Not my cup of tea for sure. In fact doctors who advertised with prices used to be looked down upon by most doctors as being unprofessional.
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Let me clarify something about Dr. Kang and staff. He and Stephen are fine gentlemen who I completely trust. I had two operations there. Yes, between those I was really in a fix attributable to something common throughout the world: miscommunication. I don’t want to go into particulars; suffice to say the situation was stressful for both of us, which clouded our mutual understanding. I regard Stephen very highly, who functions a vital role for foreign patients there.
English: Goodness, you are going to a foreign country one outside of Western Europe in terms of language and culture!! Obviously we have to be ready to adjust and not expect our own culture and language to be the standard way. Even in your own native country, you can spend an hour with a physician and still come away from it in the dark. In my view, Dr. Kang and Stephen do a great job in bridging the linguistic difference. Will there be perfect communication? No of course not. If you expect in whatever country you go to, they will bow and completely satisfy you–Stop! Don’t go anywhere beyond the borders of your own country. You are not suitable, in that case, for international travel.
Perhaps I have used a low bar of medical expectation, but after two Kang operations, I was not maimed. This is great tidings. Great tidings. Hell, I’m in a foreign country alone with total strangers and they’re going to cut open my gut?! I’m so happy that with Kang we can be fearless in this regard.
Furthermore, both operations were completely uneventful–the operation completely painless. Some pain on the second day. But once crossed, then, in my case, none or very little pain thereafter during post-op. After the first few days, no pain to speak of.
None of you are going to find the perfect doc. Such doesn’t exist. Data? What doc in the world has independently produced data? Almost none because it’s all done “in house” for probably 98% of the docs you speak with. Surgical procedure? Ha. What makes you think that the surgeon of “Method A” actually performs according to the book? Further, it will be done for you as written? Maybe, maybe not. Surgeon’s Notes. Yeah, reliable? You think so? Maybe, maybe not. The most important factor is how much you trust the surgeon. If you don’t have a good feeling, then he/she is probably not your cup of tea.
Most of the surgeons banded about at HT are probably better than any general surgeon. What I learned now about surgery, I will never consider a general hospital for any surgery; rather I will go to a specialist. So hernia being my first surgical experience, I learned a lot that will help me in the case of other health needs.
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I did post the link for you. Scroll back a couple of posts. Canada dropped this requirement.
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Maybe you need a remedial course in reading comprehension. I never said I’d choose a surgeon based on his political views about the poison injections that morons are trying to sell as a “vaccine”. I said I won’t go to Canada for the reason that the latest I have read on Canada states they require poison injections to enter the Country. That of course comes courtesy of the idiot communist they have running the Country, TURDoh. Another poster said this has changed but offered no url or other reference so far to verify that.
All of that is irrelevant (if you actually read my post) for my reasons for choosing a surgeon. This is not patty cake we are playing you are betting your life that the guy cutting you open knows what he is doing. As testimony to that are the hundreds of posts I’ve read off this site from people saying they wish they never had the surgery due to chronic pain and a surgeon who tries to blame it on the patient or just ignores their complaints. Chronic pain, recurrence, problems with mesh, etc etc. The list is quite long for so-called “routine surgery”. Surgeons in case you don’t know this, most of them LIKE TO CUT. That’s what they get paid handsomely for. A surgeon that advises you not to get surgery deserves a ton of respect.
I’ve worked with surgeons , have you? I will wind up just fine. You on the other hand may choose a surgeon based on someones recommendation here without doing any research. Good luck with that.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by notanewbeeok.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by
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I think that Dr. Kang understands English and writes well in English, although he might not speak it fluently. I think that comments on the forum from Dr. Kang are written by Dr. Kang. If you go to see him you’re not going for the conversation anyway, so the need for fluency in English is pointless.
The comments about “poison” and insulting names for political figures indicate a not-so-rational approach to choosing a surgeon or a method. That type of thinking will probably lead to choosing a surgeon who agrees with personal and political views more than one with the best odds of a good long-term result. That’s just how decision-making works. The comments about “carving” and “sushi” are in the same vein. You’ll come across a surgeon who aligns their speech with their assessment of your opinions and the sale will be made. Like Chuck remembers (or his interpretation of what he thinks he heard) all of the negative comments that various surgeons made about other surgeons and that’s his end-point. The odds of success don’t matter, he’s looking for the perfect surgeon to perform the perfect surgery. The perfect surgeon will be one who has not performed any hernia repairs at all.
If you’re not careful you’ll end up like this guy.
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notanewbeeok,
See link above.
Please share the study here if it has useful recommendations for reducing cognitive damage from anesthesia or sedation. There’s one sedative (dexmedetomidine) that’s known to be less bad than others (propofol, midazolam) on this front.
Yes, I saw the video with Dr. Sbayi, but I don’t recall that he ever participated in this forum.
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Hi Watchful.
Do you have a link for your assertion that Canada does not require poison injection for entrance? Last I read even Canadian CItizens could not even travel on airlines or leave the Country w/out “vaccination”.Did you see the recent video by Dr. Towfigh and Sbayi posted on this board and commented extensively here? Sounded great until I started researching them. I wonder how many patients and prospective patients are waiting for a response from either of them?
BTW, I visited Kang’s website. Apparently he does not speak English well enough to communicate with his English only patients or prospective patients? All communications have to go through his “Chaplain” who is listed as the “English interpreter”. Judging from his patient’s post here who could not get him or his Chaplain to reply, it’s difficult tor reach and ask questions of Dr. Kang.
I have just finished research on the issue of cognitive decline and found a consortium study with specific recommendations on how to avoid cognitive decline. My conclusion from all the research is that it is a common complication but one that is not fully addressed by anesthesiologists. It is less likely with local anesthesia, but there are problems with the “sedative” drugs they are using as well. I will give a copy of the study to the attending anesthesiologist for my surgery.
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notanewbeeok,
Canada dropped the vaccination requirement for entry.
I don’t recall that Dr. Sbayi was an active participant in this forum. When was that? Dr. Towfigh said he would notify her of his new practice in Nov. We’re still in Oct.
I wish lawsuits made surgeries and healthcare in general safer in the US. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. If you look at studies, you’ll see that there are hundreds of thousands of deaths per year from medical errors, it’s the third most common cause of death, and the US has the highest rates of medical error deaths in the world. I don’t know how accurate all these studies are, but it’s clear that the picture is bleak. I read a recent study that showed that a shocking percentage of US nurses aren’t able to perform arithmetic at the level required to calculate dosages, getting the values wrong by an order of magnitude.
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Thanks to Mark especially for the link to Kang’s website.
Sure, there could be many good reasons for sbayi to have left Stony Brook, if that is what happened. But there is no good reason not to notify this board of which he has been an active participant and to not even have his secretary respond except with an “on vacation” auto reply. Similarly if a surgeon like Towfigh says she is going to notify us of his whereabouts and does not, there is no good reason for that either. It’s irresponsible, not something you look for in a surgeon whose life you are entrusting to their hands.
Also I notice you did not address the post here that claims you have to be injected with an experimental gene altering “vaccine” (it’s not a vaccine) in order to enter Canada. No way in hell I would do that and imo, it’s crazy to do that.
Re: Shouldice There is at least one report online of chronic pain due to stainless steel sutures being a problem and a personal experience reported that WAS a serious problem by a poster, I believe it was recently on this board. About the training at shouldice. A trainee with a certain amount of surgeries under his belt does not equal years of surgery by a surgeon actively engaged in hernia surgery through the years.
Re: Lawsuits Surgeons are keenly aware of the possibility of lawsuits. Not only can this be of benefit to a wronged patient, but it is also a caution to any surgeon to be certain of what he/she is doing and doing it correctly. Without lawsuits I would wager there would be a lot more mistakes and carelessness.
I am not going into surgery to sue anyone and I fervently hope the outcome is
good so we can all go home as happy campers. But the REAL risk is for the patient, not the surgeon.When I decide on a guy to cut me open under anesthesia for a procedure that has MANY complaints from patients online, I check their training, if they have had lawsuits or settlements against them and how many. I will even go so far as to read the transcripts of their testimony at similar lawsuits in court. You did not mention where in the USA Sbayi did his further training or the length and other details of that, so I remain in the dark about that. May I know the source of that information? I do know that his surgery specialty was previously not listed as hernia surgery but other kinds of surgery, so it would be good to know this.
I think your main point is valid that a hernia center may have more experienced surgeons, but even that is not certain. I recently found a list of hernia centers in the USA with their prices online and I will be contacting them for further information.
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I don’t let lawsuit potential be part of my criteria, but if it is a critical factor for you, then this pretty much rules out doing it outside the US. That’s a problem because most of the best tissue repair options are outside the US.
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This is my second attempt to reply to you Mark, the first being blocked by that infamous net censor cloudflare run by admins who don’t know what they are doing. They cannot tell the difference between users and bots. They’re bot phobic and incompetent.
Ok I forgot type this on notepad so I will have to repeat type it here.
What you’re saying is correct a surgeon who does thousands of repairs will eventually make mistakes and that might be a reason to avoid hernia center mills. Also in the 15 years I have been studying these issues I find many complaints of surgeons who made mistakes or had complications who would not take responsibility for those, including chronic pain which they try to excuse as “psychological”.
Yeah experience helps but you have to be a good surgeon first like Desarda for example.
Re: Sbayi and Towfigh. What can you say about 2 surgeons who come on this board essentially soliciting patients and then one drops out of sight without a word leaving patients and prospective patients in limbo. Even Sbayi’s secretary doesn’t answer her emails. Towfigh publically stated here she would let us know his whereabouts and has not. Not the most professional duo imnsho.
Also I am not enamoured about having a surgeon who went to medical school in the Dominican Republic as did Sbayi. In the past he has not even been listed as a hernia repair surgeon but other types of surgery. The departure of Sbayi hints of being fired or quiting.
If you have a contact method that Kang answers, please let me know. There is a post here about one of his patients that had a great deal of difficulty communicating with him post-op and with his chaplain
contact.The reason I won’t got to Canada is obvious-the Gov’t and Turdoh (sic). Also if a surgeon screws up in Canada it is hard to sue him there. Also there are reports here, not sure if they are correct or not that they are using trainees at Shouldice and if memory service stainless steel sutures?
Thanks for your reply. Honestly I am not impressed with the surgeons mentioned on this platform so far. But I’m still trying to keep and open mind and looking. And I agree with Chuck there are way too many complications from Hernia surgery and it is not routine.
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Hi William,
I’ve previously contacted both Prof Lloyd’s office and Prof Sheen.
My understanding is that Prof Lloyd specialises only in mesh repairs for hernias and his ‘Lloyd release procedure’ for sports hernias. I’m pretty sure this was discussed and rejected as a good procedure during Dr Towfigh’s excellent recent discussion on Hernia Talk with Dr Ulrike Muschaweck.
Prof Aali Sheen specialises in lap mesh repairs, namely his ‘Manchester Groin Repair’, though he does offer a suture repair (I’m not sure which method) for certain patients in the 18-29 age group only.
There’s a Hernia Talk on Dr Towfigh’s YouTube channel with Prof Sheen around a year or so ago.
Hope that’s helpful.
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If it isn’t prying can I ask why Canada is out? Is it the country or the hospital?
Not choosing surgeon, chronic pain and waking up during surgery put me off of Shouldice in Canada but like you say there are very few surgeons with 100 percent positive reviews which potentially eliminates a lot of others in USA/Germany etc.
There are 3 maybe 4 in the UK,
Simon Bailey
Duncan Light
Dr Pawlak
Possibly Prof Lloyd
And maybe Aali SheenBut I cannot find a single review of a tissue repair for any of them.
Mesh yes and even, in Simon Bailey’s case mesh removal, but not tissue.
Which leaves Dr Kang.
Mostly positive except Pinto who had a recurrence but it was put right br Dr Kang after the communication issues with Stephen the assistant. I think now, Pinto would rate Dr Kang’s repair as a success and worth a visit.I’m not trying to speak for Pinto or misrepresent his views but he doesn’t always post so I think he is satisfied with the 2nd operation with Dr Kang.
Is it still unclear what procedure/s Dr Kang does to effect his repairs?
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