I posted this partly to tell my story. I had a procedure for prostate swelling because my kidneys were flooded. Afterwards, there is still urine in my kidneys and the urologist I was seeing couldn't figure out why.
The first new urologist I saw said the procedure didn't work and they needed to do another prostate procedure. His receptionist called me as I was leaving and said I didn't fill out the forms. I asked what forms and she said the consent to surgery for the procedure you discussed.
The second urologist had a CT scan done and found I had a kidney stone. He admitted the flooding was on both sides and the kidney stone was probably not the problem, but he said we should "get it". He made the procedure sound like it was nothing. He then had two surgical schedulers call them. I told them both off. Then the doctor called and I lost it and called him a quack.
I eventually found a good urologist who referred me to a collegue specializing the area and said all causes needed to be investigated.
Unbelieveable, two different doctors tried to get me to do different surgeries and immediately without agreeing to them.
Some of these specialists like urologists, ear, nose, and throat, and orthopedists are specialists but do surgery. They make more money from surgery. They must get people who are gullible who will jump into surgery that probably won't help them. They maybe make like $1 million / year, hurting people.
Always remember that hospitals and Physicians are running a business. They are in business to make money. Be very cautious and definitely get second opinions before entering into any procedure.
I have to wonder, is it all of Florida or South Florida?
Successful back surgeries are rare in my opinion.
My back went out and I could barely walk, went and got an MRI and it showed chunks of something pinching my spinal cord. Everyone said I needed Emergency Back Surgery, but when I woke up the next day after the MRI, I had had a Thrombotic Event in my sleep. Those chunks broke loose and partially clogged a vein and made me look like an Alien. But all my Back Problems were GONE Instantly!! PS the Thrombosis has gone away twice both times came back a month later, not nearly as bad as it was, but still looks wierd.
I suspect Florida leads the country in unnecessary surgeries on seniors of all types.
The number of back operations in Florida is probably due to the high “geezer density” here.
The pain would come back every once and a while, but I just dealt with it despite it becoming increasingly worse and more prevalent. Fast forward five years and one morning my back was hurting and my legs literally felt like they were on fire from neuropathic pain. Unfortunately this happened during COVID, so I basically had to live with it for about six weeks because I could get in to see my surgeon. The pain got so bad I finally just went in to the ER and received an MRI and there was a mass around the spinal cord area of my previous surgery that was causing the pressure on the nerve root; although you never want to hear "mass" in medical conversations, but it turned out that it was scar tissue from my previous surgery that grew over the years and wrapped itself around the spinal cord.
The surgeon said he removed as much as he could safely, but he still "nicked" my spinal cord resulting in a small leak of spinal fluid and three extra days in the hospital laying flat on my back for that to heal. Now I'm starting to feel the burning in my legs again. and while I am hopeful it passes, my guess is the scar material is just regrowing and causing he same issue as a few years ago. Bottom line... if the pain is minimal or uncomfortable for short periods of time, you're better off taking Aleve and occasional steroid pack to address. If the pain completely incapacitates and dramatically and adversely impacts you life, find the best surgeon available and know its probably only a temporary fix.
doctors and lawyers are the only professionals that legally get away with calling what they do “practice”...
would you trust an automotive repair shop that practices “mechanics”?...
As I waited for a receipt for a knee surgery, the orthopedic office’s receptionist answered a call. Before she hung up, she said, “[My surgeon] doesn’t do back surgeries”.
I immediately felt better about my knee surgery...