How do you find a good doctor?

[williaa68]

I fell off a ladder a few days ago and am currently in hospital. I have an unstable fracture of my T12 vertebrae (amongst other things) and am discussing options for treatment with the doctors here (Tunbridge wells) and through them with the team at Kings in London. Before I commit to surgery though I'd like a second opinion but don't know how I go about getting one! I presume they would need access to my mri etc. I have private health insurance but am being treated on the NHS at the moment. How do I find the right team - I understand I need a combination of orthopaedic surgeon and neurologist? Thanks for any suggestions - I think the last time I was in hospital was when I was born so this is all very new and rather scary so appreciate any help.

[Cupramax]

I was under the impression you could just ask for a second opinion? Have you tried that? If your still in hospital thats going to limit your options though. Have you asked if they have any clinics run by external consultants?

[Rick101]

I have health insurance but thankfully never had to use it. I understood the start of the process was your GP. As you are already in hospital, maybe just try and get them by phone?

[mph1977]

private spinal surgery ? ropey ground , also the one private SIC in the UK doesn't IIRC take acutes which may be interesting if your op results in any neuro deficiet

if you ask for second opinion i'm sure one can be arranged fro mthe relevant RSIC or a neighbouring one as an alternative to the orthopod/ neurosurgeon propsing to operate .

[thewhangie]

Have you not been discussed at an MDT,and probably had 4-5 opinions?

[mph1977]

thewhangie said:

Have you not been discussed at an MDT,and probably had 4-5 opinions?

as they haven;t rushed to fix it i'd suspect that will be a feature of the next few days probably with a discussion of fixation vs conservative management and whether the fractures are stable enough for conservative management to be in a brace or wheter it;s going to be bed rest and log rolls ...

[williaa68]

Just to update this thread, i ended up getting moved from TW to London Bridge Hospital under the care of a private neurosurgeon there. After a week they have let me out with a back brace which they fitted to me. I am back to see him with more x-rays next week but hopefully the fracture will heal without surgery - just a question of keeping a careful eye on things for 8-12 weeks. It is a bit sore, and one of my legs is still a bit of a mess where I fell through the ladder, but overall i've been very lucky i think. I am not very mobile just yet but hopefully will be ok before too long.

[FBP1]

I had a burst wedge fracture of T12 back in 2007 after my loft ladder snapped just as I was stepping into the roof with me coming down across it.. T12 broke into 7 pieces with one of them migrating into the spinal canal ( hence "burst" appellation). I also lost the best part of an inch in height... T12 is the most common one as it's the first one below the rib cage so it doesn't have that structure to hold it securely like the ones above.

I was put in a plaster brace at the local NHS (and spent 4 days in the spinal ward), which was pretty crude and incredibly heavy, but did the initial trick. After a week, I got hold of a local spinal consultant privately through Kings in Denmark Hill. He got me into a moulded fibreglass removable brace that was a fraction of the originals weight and fitted much better.

I was in that for a couple of months or was it 2.5 - can't remember now- although after a few weeks I was allowed to remove it when sleeping or to have a shower ( thank God...). It took about 5 months from the accident until I felt completely normal again as initially you are very conscious of not having the protective brace on when you come out of it. Do all the physio- core stuff like Pilates is good although take it easy initially.

Now? Apart from being a bit shorter than before, I have no symptoms at all and can bend and twist, go the gym, ski, etc.

Hang in there.