Dr. Friedman/Giannotta at USC

[rachaelginger]

So.... I posted a "i'm new to this forum" post a day or so ago. The Patient Consultations have started rolling in. Dr Friedman ( USC) and Dr Bachman (House) both called at lunch. Spoke to Friedman but not Bachman who left a message.  I know a lot of folks on this forum love both Friedman and Bachman but it appears most of you were treated by Friedman when he was at House working with Schwartz the neurosurgeon.  I have no idea as to the reputation of Dr Giannotta- the head of neurosurgery at USC ? Dr Friedman speaks highly of him, but does anyone know his reputation removing Acoustic Neuroma's? Does anyone have any opinions about USC as a medical center versus the hospital used by the House Clinic. I am sure we would get great care from both, but I am curious how others have made this difficult decision. Oh,by the way Dr Friedman feels sure this is Acoustic Neuroma an and not Meningioma... it is basically 55m round.  I would love to talk privately to those who have used the team of Friedman/Giannotta. Thanks so much!

[ANER]

I believe others will chime in.  I have also consulted with both House and USC.  Both teams are phenomenal and you couldn't go wrong with either one. . Good luck

[sheren]

Hi rachaelginger,

I recently just posted "acoustic neuroma for a 24 year old dancer" here too to ask for Doctors recommendations, and decided to go with Dr Friedman and Giannotta. I had a large 3.3cm had it removed a little more than just 2 weeks ago at USC.

I was on the same boat as you, I couldn't choose between Dr Schwartz and Dr Friedman. Also, I knew Dr Giannotta was an excellent Neurosurgeon but wasn't too sure about how he was with ANs. I decided to trust him with it and I must say I'm very happy with the result! I have no facial weakness and little balance issues. The only thing is that i cry on only my left eye now and lost my hearing on my right (because I had to do a translab surgery) which are nothing that i can't deal with.

You can ask me any questions privately through a private message.

Note:  edited to remove email address for your privacy

[areles]

hi, rachael.  as others have stated, you can't really go wrong with either team; i feel it really - when you're choosing between the two - comes down to your gut. 

as our resident young dancer has weighed in on friedman/giannotta, i'll go ahead and complicate things for you further () by acknowledging that my son had a great result with drs. schwartz and miller at house, in february.  you might also use the search function to look for references to giannotta and schwartz, if you're interested in finding others' experiences; i know that was tremendously helpful to us, when we were weighing our options.

but, you really can't go wrong.  i'd urge you to return dr. brackmann's call to get feedback there too, just so you can make a fully informed decision, but either way, you'll be in great hands.  i wish you the best with your journey and hope you keep us updated.

(of note, sheren's tumor, my son's, and yours, are all in the same size range (high-medium/large), so it's an unusually level playing field when considering these two teams.)