A brief recap: He thought it was related to a prior stress fracture and gave me calcitonin; when that didn't help, he basically told me that I should take up another hobby and that I was a hypochondriac. He didn't offer an MRI, and when I asked for one, he suggested I could request one from a spine or pain management doctor. For reals. I left undiagnosed and in a lot of pain.
Fast forward to today, when I read this in the news:
Holy crap.
That is the same doctor.
I guess everything actually worked out for the best that I left this guy! I have three thoughts about this story:
1. I haven't named the doctor because I didn't want to hurt his reputation, but malpractice stuff is public info, so, oh well. And I remember something Malcolm Gladwell wrote in his book Blink: to paraphrase, people are less likely to sue for malpractice if they have been treated well by their healthcare provider. Based on my experience, this doctor was a little bit of a jerk.
2. This incident occurred prior to my visit. If he had been treating and actually doing surgery on the very condition I had, how could it not occur to him to do imaging or investigate my symptoms? Femoacetabular impingement and labral tears aren't commonly diagnosed, but if you have diagnosed it in the past, why didn't you even think of it when a patient presents with similar symptoms?
3. Thank God he didn't diagnose me, though! I don't want a surgeon working on my hip who has botched a job before!
Boy, that was a close call. Some doctors shouldn't be practising medicine.
ReplyDeleteThat's scary. Things definitely worked out for the better for you.
ReplyDeleteSCARYYYYYYY!!!!!! So glad they caught this guy. I hope he didn't damage TOO many people.
ReplyDeleteWell, he's still practicing, he's just being sued. Normally I take malpractice suits with a grain of salt, since we have SO many here. But I can believe this. He was not thorough, and he was rude! The weird thing is, he was recommended by a doctor whom I have the utmost respect for. So I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. But yeah, this scared me!
DeletePlease continue to be thorough in your search for a surgeon! Surgery is pretty hard to correct. Glad you are doing your homework, Gracie!
ReplyDeleteEek!! Scary!!
ReplyDeleteYIKES. That is scary! Thank goodness you left. *shudder* I might also go back to the first doctor who recommended this guy to you and share this story and your reservations...
ReplyDeleteEveryone thinks I'm crazy because I don't trust doctors. Not because I think they're sinister or something, but simply because they're just regular people at their job ... there's nothing magic or all-knowing about them. Just because a doctor says it doesn't make it true. Yes, I'm sure they're typically the smartest person in the room, but most of the time (in my opinion) what they offer as a diagnosis is an educated guess. Plus, they've been known to cut off the wrong leg ... so then there's that.
ReplyDelete