Looking for good colorectal surgeon on the east coast

keystone
keystone Member Posts: 134 Member
edited March 2014 in Anal Cancer #1
My husband had a "lesion" that was found yesterday in his rectum. In need of an excellent surgeon. We have no specialist in the field in the area. Does anyone have any experience with the cleveland clinic? We would also consider Florida as we have family there. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Comments

  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    #2
    Keystone
    My best advice would be to consult with your husband's primary care doctor first. Let him or her ask colleagues this question "If you needed a colorectal surgeon for yourself or a family member, who would you go to." I find that posing the question in that manner gets a better response from doctors. Also, it will depend on what type of surgery is needed. Make sure the doctor has done many such procedures with good outcomes. Also, I would highly recommend getting a second opinion for peace of mind.
  • lizdeli
    lizdeli Member Posts: 569 Member
    #3
    mp327 said:

    Keystone
    My best advice would be to consult with your husband's primary care doctor first. Let him or her ask colleagues this question "If you needed a colorectal surgeon for yourself or a family member, who would you go to." I find that posing the question in that manner gets a better response from doctors. Also, it will depend on what type of surgery is needed. Make sure the doctor has done many such procedures with good outcomes. Also, I would highly recommend getting a second opinion for peace of mind.

    Cleveland Clinci
    Keystone
    When we were researching the best places to go for treatment, 3 places were recommended: Cleveland Clinic, Dana Farber and MD Anderson. We chose MD Anderson because we were most familiar with them and had relatives and friends in Houston. I have cousin who went to Cleveland Clinic for extensive testing - not cancer though. She was pleased with them.

    I have another friend who I met who is being treated at Sloan Kettering in New York. She feels comfortable with her team of doctors and another person. At this point, it may be nothing but it's a good idea to start with a team you feel comfortable with and who are experienced.

    What part of the country are you in? You can send a PM if you don't want to post the publicly.

    Wishing you well,
    Liz
  • z
    z Member Posts: 1,414 Member
    #4
    keystone
    Hello Sorry you have to be here. In Tampa, Tampa General Hospital, the surgeon that I was recommended to and that has a national reputation is Dr. Marcet. He is a professor at the teaching hospital USF right there at Tampa General. He did a hemrodyctomy and biopsy on me and has been 1 of my follow up drs. My friends boyfriend had colon cancer and said he wouldn't have a colostomy, so Dr. marcet performed a J loop to avoid the colostomy and he is fine to this day and this happened over 5 years ago. Good Luck with deciding where to go I know there are so many decisions to be made. I wish you well Lori.
  • jickndim
    jickndim Member Posts: 1
    #5
    Surgeon on east coast
    My partner was very happy Dr. Jeffrey Milsom at New York Cornell hospital.
  • TJ30
    TJ30 Member Posts: 11
    #6
    Get a 2nd opnion....
    I Just found out My colorectal surgeon Is being kicked out of hospitals left and right. He was even on the front page of a local paper with the title "what you dont know about your doctor can hurt you". Some of the horror storys about this guy in that article were awful. I had a co worker that told me to go to this guy said he was the best. Then another co worker 6 months later told me how he left cancer in her father and her dad didnt get any treatment for 3 years it is now stage 3. So this go's to show that one persons opnion of a good doctor can be anothers persons bad experiance. Another thing to keep in mind is that alot of time lesions can be fissures etc... One last thing, Most anal cancers are treated with raditation, So if a surgeon is wanting to do major surgery A 2nd opnion is a must!
  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    #7
    TJ30 said:

    Get a 2nd opnion....
    I Just found out My colorectal surgeon Is being kicked out of hospitals left and right. He was even on the front page of a local paper with the title "what you dont know about your doctor can hurt you". Some of the horror storys about this guy in that article were awful. I had a co worker that told me to go to this guy said he was the best. Then another co worker 6 months later told me how he left cancer in her father and her dad didnt get any treatment for 3 years it is now stage 3. So this go's to show that one persons opnion of a good doctor can be anothers persons bad experiance. Another thing to keep in mind is that alot of time lesions can be fissures etc... One last thing, Most anal cancers are treated with raditation, So if a surgeon is wanting to do major surgery A 2nd opnion is a must!

    Again, I would urge you to
    Again, I would urge you to begin with asking your primary care physician who he or his colleagues would go to. If you trust your PCP, then you should consult him first. I think everyone on this forum is wonderful, but honestly, asking people unknown to you on a website for physician recommendations is not the way to find a good doctor. As for hospitals/facilities, the only ones I would recommend are the nationally known ones such as MD Anderson, Sloan Kettering, Dana Farber, Johns Hopkins to name a few. Just keep in mind that there are people who have even had bad experiences with those.

Discussion Boards