Author Topic: Dr. Slater or Other Doctors in Austin Texas  (Read 7734 times)

lclifton

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Dr. Slater or Other Doctors in Austin Texas
« on: October 04, 2006, 07:59:57 pm »
Anyone have any experience with Dr. Slater in Austin, Texas?  I met with him and didn't seem to get a good communication going with him.  My insurance only has three otoneurologists in the plan and one of the others was a otoneurologist that missed my AN last year.  I was diagnosed last week and am terrified.  However, my AN is small, 7mm x 3mm.  It seems the smaller the better. 

Dr. Slater says he does 1-2 a year!  He also said that they have pretty much given up on preserving anyones hearing with surgery!  I am so not impressed with this guy.  I haveerious insurance decisions to make in a month too!

Lisa

thelimeusa

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Re: Dr. Slater or Other Doctors in Austin Texas
« Reply #1 on: October 08, 2006, 05:23:07 pm »
Anyone have any experience with Dr. Slater in Austin, Texas?  I met with him and didn't seem to get a good communication going with him.  My insurance only has three otoneurologists in the plan and one of the others was a otoneurologist that missed my AN last year.  I was diagnosed last week and am terrified.  However, my AN is small, 7mm x 3mm.  It seems the smaller the better. 

Dr. Slater says he does 1-2 a year!  He also said that they have pretty much given up on preserving anyones hearing with surgery!  I am so not impressed with this guy.  I haveerious insurance decisions to make in a month too!

Lisa

Lisa,

I know this is a scary time, but remember your an is small.  I have been waiting and watching for 10 years in San Antonio with a 1.2 c.m. AN.  I go to Dr. Krueger.  Every year Dr. Krueger tells me I need to get the surgery, but I don't see why I should if the tumor is not growing!  The last couple of years I have felt somewhat unwelcome in his office due to my decision to delay treatment, and I really feel its time for me to find a new Dr.
Remember, you do not have to do anything till you are sure, and you can find other doctors out there if you need them.  You may want to get a PPO next year for example.

Good Luck,

David Smith
thelimeusa@gmail.com
W&W for 25 years.  SSD left side.  MRI every 3 years.

lclifton

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Re: Dr. Slater or Other Doctors in Austin Texas
« Reply #2 on: October 08, 2006, 07:33:00 pm »
Thank you for the information, David.  I hope you don't mind me asking a few questions...

Has your AN grown at all?  Do you have any symptoms?  Have you researched the options?

Lisa

LarryS

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Re: Dr. Slater or Other Doctors in Austin Texas
« Reply #3 on: October 21, 2006, 07:48:32 pm »
This is Linda and I live close to Austin. My husband was diagnosed with a AN after going suddenly losing the hearing in his lt ear. We saw Dr. James Austin, ENT, in Round Rock and liked him. He did a huge battery of tests and sent us to see Dr. Joseph Chang in Houston. We saw Dr. Chang and then Dr. Vollmer in Houston. They recommended Gamma Knife which my husband had two years ago. His tumor is large (4.6-cm) and they could not treat all of it at one time so we waited and had MRIs every six months. The GK did not stop the tumor and now he is facing surgery on November 6, 2006, by Dr. Alp of UT Physicians, a neurosurgeon.
I do not want to scare you but will pass on what everybody has told us. Everybody is different, each case is different. It depends on the size and location of the tumor as to the treatment. But we are all scared in facing these tumors and the waiting is what seems to be the worse part of the whole thing. The Gamma Knife caused my husband to have Bell's palsy on the left side and could not close his eye. But now after 18 months, he got all that back to normal and they tell us the GK probably made the tumor sticky and harder to remove in the part that was treated. A friend of ours daughter-in-law had a tumor removed from her optic area by Dr. Thomas Kingman 4410 Medical Drive, SA. Texas NeuroSciences. Get a second and/or third opinion. Lots of prayer has carried us through.

thelimeusa

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Re: Dr. Slater or Other Doctors in Austin Texas
« Reply #4 on: November 25, 2006, 06:23:32 pm »
Hope every thing went well with the operation.  It was Dr. Chang who told me to see Dr. Wesley Krueger in San Antonio.
W&W for 25 years.  SSD left side.  MRI every 3 years.

markojarvis

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Re: Dr. Slater or Other Doctors in Austin Texas
« Reply #5 on: January 04, 2007, 10:00:22 am »
I had surgery with Drs. Slater and Kemper in 2001--middle fossa approach.  Felt back-to-normal by 5-6 weeks post-op, but had continued hearing loss over the next year.  An MRI confirmed that the tumor had returned; because I had so little hearing left, had Translab surgery in 2003.  Recuperation was MUCH easier and faster.  It's now been several years since the last surgery, and the tumor has not returned.  I think my next MRI is in 3 years or so.  Bottom line: I feel fine.  I have to make minor accommodations, of course, with single-sided deafness, but I don't have any regrets about how things worked out. 

Feel free to email me, if you have any questions.

Marko
« Last Edit: January 04, 2007, 10:07:14 am by markojarvis »