Who do I talk to??

[Greg M]

Hi everyone,  I am sending my info over to The House in LA for a phone consultation. I am leaning towards the Cyberknife treatment, who should I talk to there? I would like to get an opinion from a Doctor that performs both CK and surgery. or does it matter? Are they all capable of giving a review of my case? Do they pick among themselves, considering my choice of treatment and what treatment looks best for my personal case? I need to write ATTN. then Doc's name, next to the address on package. So I want it to go to the right person..

I am getting a phone consultation at Stanford with Dr.Chang, I am looking forward to speaking to him!!  I tried to get a phone consultation with Dr.Shahnian at SBI, he wanted $700.00!! Must be really busy. I was interested in the endoscopic approach but it might be out of reach for me:(  I am also in review stage with Dr.Delashaw at OSHU in Portland OR. I am looking forward to move forward...any suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks for all of your time Greg

[Tisha]

HI Greg,

I just had cyberknife with Dr. Chang last month, 10 weeks after my diagnosis.  He IS also a nuerosurgeon and performs about 50 surgeries/50 cyberknife treatments per year.  I felt confidant that I wasn't being mislead to do one thing over the other because of the particular expertise of the physician (surgeons like to cut, radiologist like to radiate). 

Dr. Chang is wonderful with getting back to you right away.  I had left messages with his nurses and secretaries on MOnday about hearing loss I experirenced, and after a long day of surgery, he called.  Called again Tuesday after I left an e-mail.  Does't hurry you, probably has answered the same question hundreds of time.  My hearing has come back up considerably with the steroids they prescribed.  You'll read more about it after you research radiation, fractionated radiation at least, like CK.  I sent my MRI and any audiograms paper work  and address it to Dr. Chang specifically.  He is the one who called me and has been my doctor first. 

It looks like you have a small AN, so cyberknife would be an option.  Good luck!  TIsha

[NL]

Hi Greg,

You mentioned that you're leaning towards Cyberknife and were curious about who to talk to at House. Though some of the doctors at House do treat AN's with radiation, they use Gamma Knife and not Cyberknife. The Gamma Knife facility they use is at Good Samaritan Hospital in LA, where two of the House docs that I know of are on staff - Dr. Marc Schwartz (neurosurgeon) and Dr. Derald Brackmann (neurotologist).

When I had my initial consults at House with several different doctors, the physician most open to treating my AN with radiation was Dr. Marc Schwartz. I chose to have surgery with Dr. Rick Friedman as my neurotologist and Dr. Schwartz as my neurosurgeon (and am happy with my decision), but I appreciated having the option to treat with radiation, as well.

Here is an article that talks about the Gamma Knife used by the doctors at House if you want to take a look:
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/592693/house_clinic_now_offers_less_invasive_treatment_for_acoustic_neuromas/index.html

If you're considering Cyberknife, many on this site seem to have good experiences with Dr. Chang at Stanford.

Hope this helps a little. Best of luck in your treatment decision!

Nancy L