My 3 mo X ray - Discs tilted all over the place

[Michelle Maree]

Can I ask your motive in posting this information BILL?
I dont understand what you are trying to say by posting this information.
Are you saying that Dr. Bertagnoli is not responsible for the mess that Steves neck is in?
How many times has a three level cervical prodisc been performed and how successfull have they been so far? My guess is not many.
Steve has been a willing guinea pig for a procedure that is not yet approved in your country and now that he is in strife everyone seems to be stalling him and passing the buck untill it becomes so bad an emergency that he has to take the first surgeon available at his local hospital.
Its disgusting and if I were him I would get to Regan ASAP and PRAISE his generosity or I would get on the first flight back to Germany and make Bertagnoli fix his mess!
He most definately needs someone experienced with ADR removals or he may be left a quadreplegic for life!

Sorry to scare you Steve, but I think you need to question BILLS motives here and take the removal of your neck ADR very seriously and it sounds as if you are running out of time fast.

I DO CARE!
Michelle.

[Bill1961]

Actually what I am saying is that some people are putting to much faith and trust in some Drs. A good Dr. should have recognized Steve's condition after the Xray showed subsidence and clearly explained what Steve would be up against and a course of action.

The attachment I posted clearly explained from a Dr. Zeegers point of view what a Dr. should do with disks that subsided. His recommendation was to "perform a vertebroplasty to stop the problem and pain." Not sure if he's correct or not, but he does recommend a course of action.

My feeling is that Steve put trust in others while others may have not taken his condition with some level of responsibility and compassion. So when I read his posts and the pain he's going through it seemed to me he needs a Dr. to help him, not stall him.


So to answer your question "what's my motive?" I thought I mentioned it in the previous post...Stop waiting for the god's and take charge of your condition.

As for experienced Drs. There really are a lot of very good Drs. out there. You just have to work hard to identify the best ones.

Both you and I feel for Steve, our philosophy is just different. You believe in going back to Germany, I don't. His condition could be one that the benefit of a local top notch surgeon far out ways the experience of an ADR installer.

As for Dr. Reagan, to me that would be a very good option.

I'm sure Steve has spent countless hours researching his options and will find the one that works for him.

Now let's take a deep breath....

[Michelle Maree]

Spending some time to read the length of this thread. I believe that Dr.Bertagnoli and his "staff" have been telling Steve lies the whole time. Playing smoke and mirrors with Steve all along, telling him things like Dr. Guyer and Zigler at TBI are interested in helping him and that Dr. Bertagnoli will be at the surgery I believe were all complete lies. When Steve spoke to TBI they had no interest in seeing him whatsoever.
Dr.Bertagnoli and his "staff" know full well that Steve needs this thing out and I believe thay are stalling him so that he doesnt have a chance of getting to Germany on time and does have to settle for someone qualified for the job. Then no ones "name" will be soiled.

I believe it is probably more important that you get someone highly qualified to take it out than to put it in.

I reiterate again Steve, lock in with Dr.Reagan or go back to Germany and quickly!

This is dangerous stuff and I will take a deep breath when this poor man is looked after Mark!

[Michelle Maree]

And this is the reason why most of the members have left this forum and gone and created their own. Because this site is no more than a Prospine scam! And I am sorry it has taken me so long to realise it.

[jessmith07]

Michelle,

I know that I haven't been on much lately, but I'm trying today to get caught up.

I am a patient of Dr. B's. I have met him and his staff. They are incredibly caring people. Dr. B has an EXCELLENT reputation, and that's why I chose him, after extensive and exhaustive research on other doctors. But even the BEST doctor's in the WORLD, regardless of their specialty, have some negative outcomes...and judging from the research that I've done, PRIOR to my surgery, regarding subsidence, it can happen, even with good bone density, at any time, and therefore can be unpredictable. I don't feel, and I think Steve will agree, and he's the one going through this, that there was any incompetence involved in his original surgery.

Unfortunately, he's now having issues. It happened after 3 months, but it could have happened after 3 years. He's gotten conflicting information, and decided to wait and see, as at the time he had the airport appointment with Dr. B, it appeared things had stabilized. Dr. B is trying to help, but IMHO, the US doctors are being wishy-washy (to put it nicely). He's going through a very scary and confusing time, and he's in pain to boot.

Your anger at Dr. B is your right, I suppose, but to publicly post that he and his staff are incompetent liars is too harsh a judgement. This man has given me my life back (and it cost me my job), and even if my 2 discs subside tomorrow, I've had 3 pain-free months with my family...for the first time in years...and I wouldn't trade THAT for the world.

[dshobbies]

Michelle,

You're very angry and I'm at a loss to understand why. Dr. B is, along with Dr. Z, considered the best ADR surgeon in the world by many. Of course not every surgery is 100% successful and some are complete failures. I doubt any surgeon in the world can make the claim they've never had a failure.

We naturally recommend even a plumber who we feel did a great job. Why would you think this forum is a Prospine Scam? What exactly do you think our motives might be and what do you think we have to gain by recommending a doctor who has the best reputation, is caring, has a great record and for those who don't have insurance coverage, is half the price.

When I recommend Dr. B because I'm happy with my ADR results, even though it left me with other disabilities, do you really think I'm scamming someone or have other motives? Do you think I have an agenda to push? Couldn't it just be that I do care and want the best for whoever is on the other end of this forum?

And just for the telling, I don't personally care for Dr. Regan but I think his surgical skills make him a top L.A. surgeon. Without singing his praises, I still recommend him to anyone needing his talents. Do you think he hasn't had his failures?

I fail to understand your motives. We're here to help and support one another. There is nothing hidden and there are no scams. What could we possibly have to gain?

Dale

Dale

[Bill1961]

I don't feel Michelle is being unreasonable in her remarks. She is expressing her opinion on a situation with an adverse outcome that touches many of us.

When we think of medical care it's not only pre-op, but it's post-op as well. Granted all surgeons can have some number of poor outcomes, but the real test in their character is what they do for the patient when things don't go as planned.

As I do my research in ADR I'm finding one consistent message. Every Dr. who has done some large number of ADR's is the "best" by some group. Maybe it's true, maybe not.

The patients who show support for a particular Dr. typically have had a satisfactory outcome. They rarely ask themselves "did I get the optimal outcome?". The ones who have less than desired outcomes can become critical and that's completely understandable. Some # of them are the victims of their own genetics, some are the fault of the surgeon.

In this particular case could it be genetics? Or could it be the surgeon who brought a patient from a 2 disk procedure to a 3 disk procedure? Maybe with out an appreciation for additional risks. No one really knows.

Many of us are in pain or recovering from pain. We all have strong feelings because of our situation. Maybe to our fault we grasp to easily what we feel is a fix. When in reality where playing a game of chance? That game is very attractive when we are in endless pain and suffering for years.

Someone once told me "only do what's symptomatic. Never take on any additional surgery that can not be confirmed by your symptoms first, then imaging and additional testing.

This same person also told me "You can not replace what god gave us so easily".

I would like to touch on Michelle's comment about Pro Spine in a new post.