I have had a colonosphy and have a large polyp that has to be removed with surgery. How does one go about selecting a surgeon? I have found two surgons that seem likely. They both work in the same hospital which is highly recomended. One is a colon rectial specialist. He has had one malpractice claim in 2004. He was recomended by the Doctor who did the colonosphy. The other has no claims and is a general surgeon. Both have about the same expierence level ie 9-14 years. Any ideas on checking out these guys or others? Thanks.

From the sound of things...I assume that the polyp is not cancerous? That is certainly good news. Regarding a surgeon....I would prefer to have a Board Certified colon-rectal surgeon, although in your case (no cancer/lymph nodes, resection, etc. to deal with) perhaps that's not so critical. Regarding the mal-practice issue...I would want to know some details as to just what happened, before ruling him/her out. Good luck!

KennyH:
It is EXTREMELY common for a colorectal surgeon to have been sued. The fact that he has tells me that he has enough experience to perform this procedure. I would definitely want a colorectal surgeon versus a general surgeon operating on me.

As far as choosing a surgeon... go by referral, go in and ask the surgeon questions-- see if he/she gives you the time to address your concerns, or if he/she rushes you out. Ask how many procedures they have done... I'm assuming you are having the polyp removed trans-anally. Look on the board for a recent posting about this... especially if it was biopsied and found to be non-cancerous.

I hope this helps.

Good Luck.

Regards,
CancerDad

the best advice i can give.....make sure they have excellent "bedside manners" and have compassion and concern for you as a patient. my sister was taken to the er last week, thinking she had severe bowel impaction....found out she has colon cancer....so they done emergency surgery.....her surgeon is a total a******.....so very rude, nasty, cold hearted......so needless to say, we are looking for another dr.

Unfortunately, surgeons are NOT known for their bedside manner! They prefer to be operating in the OR than making rounds or office visits. They tend to be very intraverted too, meaning they don't give you the warm and fuzzies because they don't have the personalities to. Unfortunately, very few good surgeons I've come across have both talent and a good personality.

I wish your sister well Ladybug.

Regards,
CancerDad

the best advice i can give.....make sure they have excellent "bedside manners" and have compassion and concern for you as a patient. my sister was taken to the er last week, thinking she had severe bowel impaction....found out she has colon cancer....so they done emergency surgery.....her surgeon is a total a******.....so very rude, nasty, cold hearted......so needless to say, we are looking for another dr.

If you happen to be in the NYC-metro area, I really liked my surgeon. He was a little curt before my surgery, but afterwards he really warmed up, and has been very nice and supportive and helpful. If you want his name, let me know and I'll post it (I checked and it seems to be okay to post doctor's names).


~cinda