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Re: Doctor selection for surgery - how much experience is enough?
Jeff,
There are studies that indicate that a MINIMUM of 250 surgeries followed by at least 50 surgeries a year is required to gain sufficient competence to consistently achieve good results using a da Vinci machine.
There are two men who claim to maintain registers of the "best" surgeons in the USA. if you go to RESOURCES - INFORMATION SITES and page down to HOW TO PICK A GOOD SURGEON you will see how to contact them.
Re: Doctor selection for surgery - how much experience is enough?
Jeff,
It's been nearly 6 years since I went for my robotic surgery, so the expertise should be much more widely available now. But I took a very thorough and systematic approach to selecting a surgeon at that time in 2007.
My first and major criteria was to be certain that I didn't land with a surgeon who was not competent. In other words, it was most important to me that the surgeon I used was in the top 50% as far as competency. I wanted better of course, but I mostly felt I needed to be absolutely sure that I didn't get an unacceptable surgeon. In my case I asked for and got references from patients of a couple of the surgeons. Then I checked a bit further on the surgeon I was ready to select. I also talked to several surgeons on the phone during this process. Of course, be mindful that you want competency first, not congeniality.
Re: Doctor selection for surgery - how much experience is enough?
Jeff,
I just came across this article Salesman in the Surgical Suite which highlights the issue of establishing experience. I have in the past seen similar warnings about undertrained and underexperienced operators of virtually all treatment options.
It is quite legitimate to ask any doctor who will be treating you three questions:
1. Will you personally be carrying out the procedure?
2. How many of these procedures have you done?
3. Do you keep records of the outcome of the procedurs you have done and will you share these with me?
And remember since generally speaking the people with the best experience and track records produce the best results, an excellent radiologist will gie you a better outcoe than a poor surgeon, if you have the option of choosing.
Re: Doctor selection for surgery - how much experience is enough?
Jeff,
I am having DaVinci surgery next Monday so I can't tell you how good this doctor is, but I can explain how I made my decision. My first criteria was that I wanted a doctor with a great deal of experience. I investigated major cancer centers such as Johns Hopkins, Memorial Sloan Kettering and others on the east coast since I live in Florida. During my online investigation I came across a Florida doctor who has performed over six thousand of these surgeries, more than any other prostate surgoen in the world, and he is only a three hour ride away from my home. Further investigation showed that he has operated and taught other doctors in Europe, Asia and South America. He asks his patients to join a registry to follow up on the progress of thousands of men for future improvements in operative techniques.
I was very impressed with the facility. He has an entire floor at Florida Hospital in Celebration, Florida dedicated to his patients. His staff is very thorough, although I will not get much personal attention from him. I saw him for ten minutes during my first visit and will see him for a couple of minutes just before and after surgery. I will see him for one more consultation when I have the catheter removed and get the final pathology report. He is in so much demand that he does about six surgeries each day. Good luck with your choice.
Re: Doctor selection for surgery - how much experience is enough?
This is pretty tough as every terrific surgeon did his first surgery at some point. My idea was young so as to be the most up to date. Did his residency at a top rated school, mine was at Mayo Clinic. When I met him I asked just asked what I wanted. I really think your read and comfort level will tell you.
As an aside I also met with the top rated surgeon in our area for my second opinion at a major cancer center. I opted to stick with my urology group and their surgeon. For me I just felt comfortable in that my urologist found my cancer and walked me thru the entire process including surgery.
One last note...my surgery took 7 1/2 hours. I doubt he had other surgeries!
