Re: Dr. Redan

From: Kathy L. (jkluch@msn.com)
Thu Feb 22 20:06:34 2001


At Tue, 20 Feb 2001, Mary Wade wrote:

Hi Jim:

Sorry I took so long to write but I just got my computer up and running. I had surgery with Dr. Redan in November with adhesions as a result of a ruptured appendix in 1997. Dr. Redan was the first one to tell me that this is common and is called a "pseudocyst". My story is on the quilt. He is a caring and skilled doctor. He was able to lyse the adhesions and remove the cyst which was 11.5 x 6cm all by laparoscopy. He gave me a video of the surgery. I was home in 3 days, we traveled from Erie, PA about a 6 hour drive. I am back to work and feeling great. I had a sonogram because I am seeing a new gyn (since the old one opened me up and did nothing and told me to live with the pain)and she wanted a baseline. The same technician who did the first sono which showed the "mess" in June was amazed to see that everything looked normal after surgery with Dr. Redan. He has kept in touch by email periodically to see how I am feeling and ask if I have any questions.

The risk of this surgery is the same as all surgeries and Dr. Redan's office sends you a consent form ahead of time so that you understand everything. It is a great expense up front, but if you have insurance, you should appeal to get them to pay more. I know how apprehensive you are. I had a lot of things going through my head when I decided to do this, but I knew I did the research, I had relatives who had surgery by non-experienced doctors and had problems resulting in several surgeries and are still in pain.

Good luck with whatever you decide. I can tell you that I could tell right after surgery that I was healing. The rectal pressure I had was gone, and the abdominal pain was just from the surgery itself.

Take care,

--
Kathy L.

> >Jim--I had surgery with Reich and Redan in Dec, 2000. I feel much much >better. I had to think it through very seriously before I went through it. >I knew that some people are not helped, but that other seemed to do quite >well. I evaluated my own situation and decided that I had to try. I had not >had the multiple prior surgeries that make things more complex. > >The pain can be crazy-making. Hard to understand for those who have not >"been there." It seems that all of us have had experiences with our pain >being dismissed by docs. "Furious," you said. Yup....three years later I >still steam when I think of being told by a doc that "You are just a >tight-assed woman." > >Yes...this is a surgery that requires a LOT of skill! Your doc is partly >right about the morbidity. The trick is to find a surgeon who has the >skills to handle it. That is why I went all the way from Kansas to PA...and >why some from the board go to Germany. > >It is a major life decision. We each have to weigh it as soberly and wisely >as we can. I decided that I could not afford to NOT go to these docs. The >toll of daily pain, the threat of repeated surgeries....I just couldn't go >down that road. Hope this helps. A friend, Mary > >At 02:26 PM 2/20/01 -0600, you wrote: >>First off, I must say that I feel quite out of place after seeing the >>vast amount of messages from females about problems with adhesions. I >>can tell you they happen to males just as bad. >> >>I am only 35 years old and have had three laparotomies. One for a colon >>resection, one for a complete bowel obstruction due to adhesions, and a >>third for incisional hernia repair. I am in a constant state of >>unbearable pain. I have been bounced from doctor to doctor, all the >>while being told that adhesions don't cause pain. I am also finding >>myself in the ER like every two weeks because the pain/cramping gets so >>bad that I think I am having another bowel obstruction. Of course the >>obstruction series always come up "normal" (except for last month, when >>I did have a partial and spent 2 days with an NG tube). >> >>My current surgeon says that surgery is not an option unless I obstruct >>completely. I saw in a note to my family doctor that he thinks I am >>complaining as part of "pain seeking behavior" just to get "unneeded" >>pain meds. I saw this letter and went through the roof (I am still >>furious). I sent this surgeon my own letter letting him know what I >>thought of his "observations". Needless to say I will not be seeing him >>anymore. >> >>Two weeks ago I went to Johns Hopkins and saw a leading GI surgeon (a >>REALLY nice guy!) who told me the same thing my previous surgeon told me >>about staying away from the belly unless a complete obstruction happens >>again. (In fact, when I asked about laparoscopic adhesiolysis his >>resident said that that procedure runs an "extremely high" morbidity >>rate and is strongly discouraged unless one's life is threatened). >> >>I then came upon this site last week and have read with great interest >>about the Scranton PA practice. I emailed Dr. Redan and he replied >>immediately (I am still shocked!). I Fed Ex'd my surgical reports and >>tests to him on Friday (2/16). I then got a phone call from him today >>to see how I was doing! (Has anyone ever heard of a doctor showing such >>great initiative with a patient?) After discussing my options, I agreed >>that I need this adhesiolysis. I live right outside of Philly so I can >>drive up there to see him. >> >>My only questions are 1)is it worth the huge amount of money I will have >>to come up with, 2)am I in great danger of incurring life-threatening >>complications during surgery as I have been told, and 3)has anyone out >>there been operated on by Dr. Redan who can tell me their, hopefully, >>success stories. >> >>I hope that anyone who can provide me with viable information upon which >>I can base this major life decision would respond to this post. >> >>JIM >>


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