Author Topic: Doctor in DC area  (Read 6786 times)

Sabas

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Doctor in DC area
« on: February 22, 2007, 08:57:06 pm »
Hello,

Glad I found this website , lots of information. I found out last week I have an AN in right ear canal, size is 1.2 x .8 x .7 cm. I was referred to a doctor Donald Wright in Arlington for surgery by my ENT doctor. Has anyone on here ever used him?
I plan on seeing the folks at Johns Hopkins, since at age 59 I've been told I'm kind of in between the age "cutoff" for choosing between radiation and surgery.  Is the experiance of the doctor if you go the radiation route as important as it is in going the surgery route? Would appreciate any information folks have.


Stevey

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Re: Doctor in DC area
« Reply #1 on: February 22, 2007, 11:48:22 pm »
Living in the Philadelphia Area and just having had my neuroma removed via surgery I can tell you that the University of Pennsylvania may be a place to look, (I am biased though, my wife is a prof in the medical school in hema/oncolog)  Dr Judy, my neurosurgeon also discussed          gamma knife at Penn and they have a center for it.  The care here was top notch and I was home after complications and in patient rehab treatment in 18 days.  I feel great.
Best wishes,

Steve
2 cm Left Acoustic Neuroma Remved on 1/31/07
Via Retro Sigmoid resection at Hospital of U of Penn - complete removal by Drs. Judy and Bigelow.
Deaf in Left ear.  Looking at TransEar for dealing with SSD

macintosh

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Re: Doctor in DC area
« Reply #2 on: February 23, 2007, 09:25:46 pm »
Let me echo Bruce's advice that no one is too young for radiosurgery. I'm 54 years old, and I had radiosurgery a month ago for a small AN (.7cm). MY primary care physician is younger than I am (mid 40s?), and when I showed him the medical literature that helped me make my decision (articles from the Journal of Neurosurgery, 2006), it took him about 2 minutes to say, "This is what I would do."

I don't have personal experience with Hopkins, but they have a great reputation in the field. If I were anywhere near there, that's where I would go for FSR.

Mac

Dealy

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Re: Doctor in DC area
« Reply #3 on: February 24, 2007, 09:31:40 am »
Sabas-Another person from D.C> area. The thread above this was from Sonja also from this area. If you have read this thread-you will see that I went to Hopkins last summer to have FSR-25 sessions. Please read this thread for more details. Whether you choose CK-GK or FSR it is less complicated than Surgery. I had surgery 18 years ago for a AN on my left-radiation was not as prevalent then as it it is now. I it would have been available back then _I would of had it in a heartbeat. My doctor in KC told me along time ago that age is actually good because they tend to grow slower. Do not know if I agree with that but at least it sounds reasonable. Best wishes on your choice of treatment. Ron

Sabas

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Re: Doctor in DC area
« Reply #4 on: February 27, 2007, 05:14:10 pm »
Thank you all for the responses. It is a bit frustrating to read various websites ( i.e House of Ear vs say University of Pittsburg or UVa)  and get such a difference of opinion as to what course of treatment  to follow. The education continues.

macintosh

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Re: Doctor in DC area
« Reply #5 on: February 27, 2007, 08:08:16 pm »
Try <www.pubmed.gov>, and use the search strings <acoustic neuroma radiosurgery> and <acoustic neuroma microsurgery> if you want to see the primary medical literature--doctors writing to other doctors in peer reviewed articles.

River Rat

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Re: Doctor in DC area
« Reply #6 on: March 01, 2007, 09:12:36 pm »
Neuro-otologist:  Dr. Schessel of GWU.

Cyber Knife: Dr. Jean at Georgetown

Gamma Knife: Dr. Jeff Jacobson at Washington Hospital Center

JHU:  neuro-otologist:  Dr. Lloyd Minor

        FSR:  Dr. Rigamonti

  Good luck--it took me 8 weeks to gather these names--hope that it helps you reach a treatment decision.

staypoz

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Re: Doctor in DC area
« Reply #7 on: March 10, 2007, 10:33:39 am »
I'd add Dr. Howard Francis at Hopkins to the list of neurootologists. 

staypoz

IAHeel

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Re: Doctor in DC area
« Reply #8 on: March 10, 2007, 11:35:18 am »
I would put my money on the research at House. Drs. Friedman and Schwartz did my wife's translab and they are world class. We looked very, very closely at radiosurgery before making our final choice. As the House docs noted, both are reasonable options, as long as you are in the very best hands. They do GK as well and are very data driven.

Fred

littlejep

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Re: Doctor in DC area
« Reply #9 on: April 13, 2007, 08:42:10 am »
Sabas,

   I was 52 when I had my AN removed at John Hopkins in Baltimore, MD. It is one of the best hospitals in the nation, and not far from you. I live near Harrisburg, PA. and can make the drive to JH in about 1 hr. and 45 mins. If you decide to look into JH, I would suggest you meet with Dr Rafael Tamargo,MD and Dr. Lloyd Minor, MD. Both were excellent for me and are the Directors of their departments for Acoustic Neuromas. But first, go to the JH website, and read what they say about AN, then look up the credentials of the neurosurgeons and the otalarynologists on staff who deal with this type of problem. I had chosen microsurgery over the Gamma knife because I was afraid that the later would not get all of the tumor and would grow back as cancerous. This experience may not be true for most patients. True, radiation surgery is non-invasive, can be done on an outpatient basis, and could still keep your hearing intact, along with very little side-affects. With the micro, you will more than likely go deaf in that ear because the nerve is cut, and the tumor removed with that part of the nerve on which it is growing. For me, my only side-affects were doublevision and taste lost, both of which have come back (though taste is not 100% as before  the surgery). I guess I was very lucky. I am getting ready for my 3rd. followup visit with Dr. T and after each followup MRI, everything has been looking good. I have learned to regain my balance through PT (for vestibular problems) and the 1 or 2 exercises I do each day. I was in the hospital for 4 days (I could have gone home in 3), and in 8 weeks (after my PT ended) I was back at work. Take your time (if you have it), ask lots of questions, look and weigh both options before you decide.   Frank