Got an appt. with Bridwell

[Guest guest]

I am scheduled to see him on 12/22. I do have to return a call about

my insurance, as they are not on the plan. His office is about 5

hours from my home. We are splitting it up and dropping the kids off

at my parents' home the night before, so we will only be about 3 or

3.5 hours away that morning. My appt. is at 8:00, so it will be an

early day.

They said the appt. will last about 3 hours. Can anyone tell me what

to expect? I'm assuming x-rays, etc. Anything else? Just curious

about why it would take so long.

You all gave me the nudge to go see him. (Thank you) I hope he can

give me some more/different info than my doc here.

Thanks,

Cottrel rods put in in 1989 to correct 108' Schuermann's kyphosis

fused T3-L2

Curve has moved up into cervical area now

[Guest guest]

Hello , seems that I've been a lurker lately so you might not know who I am, but anyway, I just like everyone else here, scoli, HR surgery young, revision surgery 19 mos. ago & all that goes with all of that.

I've decided that I'd love to see a well known and apparently highly skilled surgeon such as Dr. Bridwell so I slightly envy you in that department! And, to be told to expect a 3 hour appointment, I can only assume that they're going to do a thorough examination, and I'm also curious about the 3 hour duration. With my last surgery, I'd say including the surgeon looking at my previous films and the x-rays taken in his office, it was about 20 minutes and the next time I saw him was as I was getting prepped for my surgery with him.

I'd love to have the opportunity to see a surgeon as renouned as Bridwell, or some of the other surgeons I've heard of - just to take a look at me as a post revision surgery person who would spend 3 hours (of course, the doctor won't be in your face that whole time!) but to get thoroughly checked out to ensure everything is as it should be and to perhaps look at the other source of pain that came on about 2 years after the initial lumbar pain that initiated my seeking help, which, none of the professionals never paid attention to, which is STILL THERE, and is actually lower than the lumbar region, in the sacrum, which has its own set of pain, ratiation to certain parts of my foot and my bladder/bowel control issues came about when this area of issues presented itself. I had mentioned this to the surgeon who did my revision surgery and his response was, as was the previous surgeon's response "we'll fix what we know needs to be fixed and if there's still a problem we'll address that afterwards"....and by golly, with both of them, they seemed to have forgotten about that and when I'd mention it, it seemed to just float through the room without being heard because it never got a response or showed up in my office notes.

Heavens, forgive me for going off on that........I'm just glad to see that you're getting an extensive exam by a highly accredited expert in our world of problems and will be waiting to hear the details of your 3 hour appt. with him and his staff.

Best of luck,

G

[ ] Got an appt. with Bridwell

I am scheduled to see him on 12/22. I do have to return a call aboutmy insurance, as they are not on the plan. His office is about 5hours from my home. We are splitting it up and dropping the kids offat my parents' home the night before, so we will only be about 3 or3.5 hours away that morning. My appt. is at 8:00, so it will be anearly day.They said the appt. will last about 3 hours. Can anyone tell me whatto expect? I'm assuming x-rays, etc. Anything else? Just curiousabout why it would take so long.You all gave me the nudge to go see him. (Thank you) I hope he cangive me some more/different info than my doc here.Thanks,Cottrel rods put in in 1989 to correct 108' Schuermann's kyphosisfused T3-L2Curve has moved up into cervical area now

[Guest guest]

,

I have put your appointment on the calendar so that we can nudge you

for a full update on all that you learn. As said, you will be

getting a going over by a team that understands the nuances of our

tricky bodies. I think that even though it is a bit of a challenge

to get to the appointment that you will come away from the

experience having a whole new view of what kind of care you might

get compared to a more local team that doesn't see the numbers of

complex cases that Bridwell sees.

No matter what comes, a decision about surgery or a recommmendation

not to, think about how confident you will feel knowing you have had

someone who has dedicated himself to our particluar deformity figure

you out. I know that won't make any decisions much easier...but you

will feel that you have heard a very valid viewpoint. When you make

life decisions, and this is one, I think that is very important!

Did you find it difficult to book an appointment, or did they har

your set of issues and accept you as a patient straight away?

Take Care, Cam

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Dr. Bridwell did my revision surgery on April 8th, so I'm familiar with his

routine. The first

thing they will have you do is go down the hall and get another X-ray of your

back...it

doesn't matter how recent your other films are...he always does this. You then

take them

back to Bridwells office and wait to be called into the exam room. Be sure to

take a book,

because sometimes you have to wait for some time. Once you are in the exam

room, an

assistant will come in and get your whole history of your back surgery. They

will have

your x-rays, scans, etc. on the light boxes all over the room. After the P.A

leaves, the

fellows come in and discuss your history, also. They are ortho. doctors who are

doing

more training under Dr, Bridwell. After that, Dr. Bridwell comes in, looks at

everything and

tells you what he recommends. Then, you go into Bernie's, (Dr. Bridwell's

nurse) office and

she will answer any other questions you might have and give you other

information. It is

definitely well worth the wait to see him! I still can't believe that I'm able

to do all the

things I do now without pain...You will be in good hands. I'm going for my 8

month check

up next Monday.

Good luck to you and let us know how it goes.

>

> I am scheduled to see him on 12/22. I do have to return a call about

> my insurance, as they are not on the plan. His office is about 5

> hours from my home. We are splitting it up and dropping the kids off

> at my parents' home the night before, so we will only be about 3 or

> 3.5 hours away that morning. My appt. is at 8:00, so it will be an

> early day.

>

> They said the appt. will last about 3 hours. Can anyone tell me what

> to expect? I'm assuming x-rays, etc. Anything else? Just curious

> about why it would take so long.

>

> You all gave me the nudge to go see him. (Thank you) I hope he can

> give me some more/different info than my doc here.

>

> Thanks,

>

> Cottrel rods put in in 1989 to correct 108' Schuermann's kyphosis

> fused T3-L2

> Curve has moved up into cervical area now

>

[Guest guest]

Hi ,My experience with Dr. Bridwell's office is that it always takes quite a bit longer than they tell you! My first appointment was also at 8am, and I sat in the office waiting for about 2 hours before they called me, only to send me to xrays, which took another 2 hours. Then, as said, you see a nurse, see the fellows, see the doc, see Bernie...I was not out of the office until 3pm. I know other people have had this experience too. If I were you, I would let them know right away that you have to travel home and need to be done by noon (or whatever time) so they make sure you get out of there. My second appointment with him was the same -- they said that one would be 1-2 hours and it took six hours start to finish.Despite all the

waiting, I think you will be very glad to see him and hear his opinions. He has a great reputation and he is up on all the latest research and technology. I found him to be very straightforward (not warm and fuzzy, but he has Bernie for that) and he answered all of my questions, as did the nurses and fellows. I went to see Bridwell on the advice of people in this group, and I was so glad I did! It seemed a bit crazy at the time since I had seen 3 other surgeons already. But they all wanted to do quite different things, and I needed his opinion to break the tie. Now I'm scheduled to have surgery with Bridwell on 1/27/09. Good luck with your visit and take good care,EveFrom: alli.sunshine <alli.sunshine@...> Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2008 8:34:31 PMSubject: [ ] Got an appt. with Bridwell

I am scheduled to see him on 12/22. I do have to return a call about

my insurance, as they are not on the plan. His office is about 5

hours from my home. We are splitting it up and dropping the kids off

at my parents' home the night before, so we will only be about 3 or

3.5 hours away that morning. My appt. is at 8:00, so it will be an

early day.

They said the appt. will last about 3 hours. Can anyone tell me what

to expect? I'm assuming x-rays, etc. Anything else? Just curious

about why it would take so long.

You all gave me the nudge to go see him. (Thank you) I hope he can

give me some more/different info than my doc here.

Thanks,

Cottrel rods put in in 1989 to correct 108' Schuermann's kyphosis

fused T3-L2

Curve has moved up into cervical area now

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I've seen Dr. Bridwell, so I (and many others here) can explain the three hours. First, it actually may not take that long. It all depends. First, after you check in, they will send you for x-rays. There may be a wait in the X-Ray department. When the x-rays are done, you will have a wait to see Dr. Bridwell and his team. In my case, after that came another x-ray. And another wait in the x-ray room and then a another wait to get the results of that last x-ray. All in all, it did take about 3 hours. It's a very busy office. It's worth the travel and the 3 hours.

Bonnie

[Guest guest]

I had no problems getting an appointment. He has a scheduler that just

does his appts. She asked questions, I answered them, and they booked

me. I do have to call back to get some insurance issue worked out. He

is out of network, so I will have to pay 40% for the visit. At this

point, that seems just fine to me.

>

> ,

>

> I have put your appointment on the calendar so that we can nudge you

> for a full update on all that you learn. As said, you will be

> getting a going over by a team that understands the nuances of our

> tricky bodies. I think that even though it is a bit of a challenge

> to get to the appointment that you will come away from the

> experience having a whole new view of what kind of care you might

> get compared to a more local team that doesn't see the numbers of

> complex cases that Bridwell sees.

>

> No matter what comes, a decision about surgery or a recommmendation

> not to, think about how confident you will feel knowing you have had

> someone who has dedicated himself to our particluar deformity figure

> you out. I know that won't make any decisions much easier...but you

> will feel that you have heard a very valid viewpoint. When you make

> life decisions, and this is one, I think that is very important!

>

> Did you find it difficult to book an appointment, or did they har

> your set of issues and accept you as a patient straight away?

>

> Take Care, Cam

>

[Guest guest]

I strongly suggest making your trip home the next morning or as late

as possible in the evening. I have seen people get upset and say they

were going to miss their plane after 4 hours waiting in the office

and the receptionist replied that that is why they suggest that you

plan to be there all day.

The good news is that Dr Bridwell and his staff don't rush through

anything!

I had surgery with him in March 2008 and walked a quarter marathon

two weeks ago and then walked another couple of miles back to my

hotel! I feel fantastic.

>

> Hi ,

>

> My experience with Dr. Bridwell's office is that it always takes

quite a bit longer than they tell you! My first appointment was also

at 8am, and I sat in the office waiting for about 2 hours before they

called me, only to send me to xrays, which took another 2 hours.

Then, as said, you see a nurse, see the fellows, see the

doc, see Bernie...I was not out of the office until 3pm. I know

other people have had this experience too. If I were you, I would

let them know right away that you have to travel home and need to be

done by noon (or whatever time) so they make sure you get out of

there. My second appointment with him was the same -- they said that

one would be 1-2 hours and it took six hours start to finish.

>

> Despite all the waiting, I think you will be very glad to see him

and hear his opinions. He has a great reputation and he is up on all

the latest research and technology. I found him to be very

straightforward (not warm and fuzzy, but he has Bernie for that) and

he answered all of my questions, as did the nurses and fellows.

>

> I went to see Bridwell on the advice of people in this group, and I

was so glad I did! It seemed a bit crazy at the time since I had

seen 3 other surgeons already. But they all wanted to do quite

different things, and I needed his opinion to break the tie. Now I'm

scheduled to have surgery with Bridwell on 1/27/09.

>

> Good luck with your visit and take good care,

> Eve

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> ________________________________

> From: alli.sunshine <alli.sunshine@...>

>

> Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2008 8:34:31 PM

> Subject: [ ] Got an appt. with Bridwell

>

>

> I am scheduled to see him on 12/22. I do have to return a call

about

> my insurance, as they are not on the plan. His office is about 5

> hours from my home. We are splitting it up and dropping the kids

off

> at my parents' home the night before, so we will only be about 3 or

> 3.5 hours away that morning. My appt. is at 8:00, so it will be an

> early day.

>

> They said the appt. will last about 3 hours. Can anyone tell me

what

> to expect? I'm assuming x-rays, etc. Anything else? Just curious

> about why it would take so long.

>

> You all gave me the nudge to go see him. (Thank you) I hope he can

> give me some more/different info than my doc here.

>

> Thanks,

>

> Cottrel rods put in in 1989 to correct 108' Schuermann's kyphosis

> fused T3-L2

> Curve has moved up into cervical area now

>