Time to ditch the surgeon?? (sorry, a little venting going on here)

[LisaLisa]

tl:dr I can't get in touch with my surgeon to move the process forward so I can plan. And his staff are idiots. What do I do?

Hello--
I have completed most of the steps needed for surgery but am having issues getting in touch with my surgeon. After my EDG, my surgeon said that because there were some indications of reflux and a baby ulcer, he wanted to wait until pathology came back on the biopsies before determining the type of surgery that was best for me. (Remember I was just barely awake after the scope, so I think this is what he said.) Pathology came back last week and he called and left a message on my cell. When I am at work I cannot have my cell with me for various reasons and I know I discussed this with his staff, but he called twice during the day and left messages. I called back as soon as I could as he instructed and but he was out of the office, so I told the person that i would make myself available between 3-4p the next day. (his day ends at 4p and he'd been calling around 2p) No call. The next day I had my PCP release appt and blood tests. I thought perhaps he was waiting for those results to come back before discussion. Nope. I sent an email through the medical portal asking him to call day this week at any time. He told me in the message we would talk on Tuesday or Wednesday and that he was out of town on Thursday and Friday, but no call. My message requesting an appointment had not even been read by 10a today so I called to make an appointment. Phone lady said, you don't need an appointment and I said yes I do. So she said, how is 2:30? I said GREAT! She made it for 2:30 on 15 September!

The urgency here is a) I spoke to the scheduler and she said she had held 23 September for my surgery day so I'd be ready to go, and b) I am working every other week through the end of September and wanted to have it before we all get jammed back together at work in October full time only to take off 2 weeks the first week back. And c)I need to plan my freaking life!!

I am content to wait on surgery to November (after the 3rd) but I'd like some damn communication! I'm also afraid that if he can't get back to me now, what happens after surgery when I need to get in touch with him and the staff interferes. I'm ready to ask if there is a different surgeon (there are three) who may be less busy and has time to communicate with me!

Context: I'm in Washington DC, elective surgeries were held up and I know this is where the hospitals make their money, so it's possible he's just crazy busy but really no excuse to not communicate this to me. The three bariartric surgeons are well regarded and the practice is certainly busy, meaning the staff is probably overworked, but again NO excuse to not communicate.

 

[dianeseattle]

I was always willing to get to know the staff, including the surgical nurse. I would go to the clinic and at the front desk I would ask if I could please see the coordinator for the bariatric nurse. I made myself Unforgettable. And I gave them a ton of praise and expressed that it must be really hard to do that job. If you reach out and sympathize with the idiots, you may find yourself moving along much much faster. The surgeon is far removed from the entire process. The medical staff is like a bunch of drones that do all the work. Bring someone a flower. Be prepared to say how much you love their outfit, even if you hate it. Do everything you can to validate that surgical members choices. Believe me, he or she hears complaints all day long. Distinguish Yourself by asking for a face-to-face and make sure that you go in without anger but with love and respect. Then ask your questions and tell your story. I'll bet your surgery accelerates Beyond Your Wildest Dream. Try it. Not because it is a scheme. Try it because you have true empathy with the person who has to look through all those papers and make all those decisions. She has the power to put your documents at the top of the stack. Just make sure that you are nice to her and that you tell her how much you appreciate her.

After practicing this courtesy oh, I received in the mail an entire complement of bariatric vitamins and minerals. The nurse that I had schmoozed actually went to bat for me and she sent me the nutrition I needed I needed. I'll bet you paid for it out of her own pocket, too.

 

[LisaLisa]

Diane, I'm from Wisconsin and I'm a talker who easily creating relationships, but I've never been in any office--ever. In fact I have no idea in which of the two office I am a patient! I've done video and audio calls only. The EDG (hospital) nurses were wonderful but the people answering the phone are not. Every time I call I have to choose an office wto direct the call and because I don't know, I randomly pick one. At some point I must have picked correctly because while I was writing this I got a call from my surgeon's office and spoke to a live, compentent person. And she explained that my portal emails were going to the "other" office and apparently they weren't reading nor responding to mail. I sent a screen shot of all the messages I had sent that had not been read. Heads are probably going to roll as they should. Still very frustrating but at least there's a reason. The competent person was very apologetic and understanding.

While I'm FROM Wisconsin, I've been on the East Coast almost 30 years and i do not to put up with bs. And this was bs. Thank you for listening again.

 

[missyinacage]

Lisa, I know you're frustrated and you're right. Ideally, they could take your schedule into consideration. However, if you try to change surgeons, you're going to have to meet with them first, make a plan for type of surgery, look into their schedules and there is no guarantee that they will be available to speak to you when you are available to speak to them. It is just going to further hold your process up. And to be fair, he HAS tried to reach you several times. Unfortunately, it has been when you are not available. Be patient and try to take your phone at work if AT ALL possible. This is his job. This is your LIFE. Also, ask to speak to his nurse. They are usually more knowledgeable and helpful than regular staff. Good Luck!

 

[LisaLisa]

Lisa, I know you're frustrated and you're right. Ideally, they could take your schedule into consideration. However, if you try to change surgeons, you're going to have to meet with them first, make a plan for type of surgery, look into their schedules and there is no guarantee that they will be available to speak to you when you are available to speak to them. It is just going to further hold your process up. And to be fair, he HAS tried to reach you several times. Unfortunately, it has been when you are not available. Be patient and try to take your phone at work if AT ALL possible. This is his job. This is your LIFE. Also, ask to speak to his nurse. They are usually more knowledgeable and helpful than regular staff. Good Luck!

If September wasn't going to work, that's fine but someone needed to tell me this. I wasn't demanding surgery in September, but both the scheduler and the surgeon had suggested that it could happen. And it wasn't just the schedule that came into play it was the lack of communication from a human. Had he or someone read the notes in the portal he would have known I wasn't reachable on my cell, in fact he seemed a bit frustrated too, but cell at work is a definite "no." After everything became clear, I was very upset with the support staff not the surgeon. But your advice about starting over with a new surgeon is exactly correct, I have no interest in starting ALL over.

In the last hour or so, I've received calls from the Office Manager to discuss my unread emails and communications concerns, and a Nurse Practioner who couldn't really help but confirmed the next step and what comes later. After I speak to the surgeon next week the ball will start rolling again.

So, whew. Maybe surgery in November? My knee is the only real loser here.

 

[dianeseattle]

Although the surgeon may be competent, I would consider your experience a red flag. I think you really need to deal with what has been happening in a very direct way. Most hospitals have an ombudsman you can go to to complain about substandard medical response. I'm assuming that your surgeon's office is in a hospital.

I actually spent a great deal of time and an ombudsman's office when my brother, who has since died, was in a Seattle hospital for 81 days. I was furious about the way he was being treated and his wife was just not knowledgeable about the system. After I started complaining, teams of doctors started showing up in his room and several surgeries were scheduled so he could be patched up and sent home.

Now it might not be so serious in your case, but you should get better response and treatment than you have been getting and if you complain, the staff will perk right up and do everything they can to make sure you don't complain again.

Even if it seems like things are straightening out, you really need to make them aware that you exist. This is certainly not a proper way to deal with a patient. And regardless of the covid-19 crisis, you should have been getting a much higher level of communication than they have been showing. Good luck!