Dr Arnett - Input Anybody?
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My original surgeon moved and now my surgeon is Lee Pollan. He's President-Elect: American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons ... This makes me a little nervous actually because some surgeons get huge egos and won't believe that anything could have gone wrong if they did the surgery. Apparently many surgeons don't like to admit complications. One of my friends just went through a horrible recovery because the surgeon wouldn't admit she could have complications - she did. It could be good that someone is well known, or it could be bad. I guess there's always something to worry about.
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Brandyleigh35
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Honestly, I have to agree with Rosy on this one. If it was my son having surgery or even myself for that matter, I would want the best of the best working on me (if that was an option.)
I chose my surgeon because he has been doing this surgery for over 30 years. He's done approximately 30 a year for 30 years, so like 9000 surgeries. I even have a friend at work whom he operated on 15 years ago. Suffice it to say that she is totally numb from the chin down, whereas I have just about zero numbness at this point and I'm still healing. Now that may have just been due to circumstance, etc but I choose to believe that it is because he has perfected his technique and is an outstanding surgeon now. I'm not saying one that has done this surgery 500 times might not be very good, but if I have a choice between one that has done 500 or 9,000, I choose the one who has done 9,000.
Call me vain, cautious, or just neurotic but if I had an option to have Dr Arnett....I would take him in a heartbeat, as his reputation speaks for itself, and only the best or as darn near close as possible would be good enough for my kid (if I had the option.)
I chose my surgeon because he has been doing this surgery for over 30 years. He's done approximately 30 a year for 30 years, so like 9000 surgeries. I even have a friend at work whom he operated on 15 years ago. Suffice it to say that she is totally numb from the chin down, whereas I have just about zero numbness at this point and I'm still healing. Now that may have just been due to circumstance, etc but I choose to believe that it is because he has perfected his technique and is an outstanding surgeon now. I'm not saying one that has done this surgery 500 times might not be very good, but if I have a choice between one that has done 500 or 9,000, I choose the one who has done 9,000.
Call me vain, cautious, or just neurotic but if I had an option to have Dr Arnett....I would take him in a heartbeat, as his reputation speaks for itself, and only the best or as darn near close as possible would be good enough for my kid (if I had the option.)
Brandy-
The problem I see with your logic here is the assumption that, because Arnett is well known for his work and well-published, he must be the best, and ergo, the best for your child. We've skipped the whole individualized stage of surgical consultation here. It's like voting for the political candidate who has blasted his name all over the tv in ads; just because he's raised the most money, doesn't mean he's the best pick.
I completely agree with going to someone with tons of experience - my surgeon too did 35+ uppers a year, not including the lowers he did as well, but so did the surgeon I turned down 10 years ago. Yes, experience mattered, but so did the doctor's personal philosophy about the process. Just because someone is well-known or famous for his work, does not mean he is automatically and always the best option.
The problem I see with your logic here is the assumption that, because Arnett is well known for his work and well-published, he must be the best, and ergo, the best for your child. We've skipped the whole individualized stage of surgical consultation here. It's like voting for the political candidate who has blasted his name all over the tv in ads; just because he's raised the most money, doesn't mean he's the best pick.
I completely agree with going to someone with tons of experience - my surgeon too did 35+ uppers a year, not including the lowers he did as well, but so did the surgeon I turned down 10 years ago. Yes, experience mattered, but so did the doctor's personal philosophy about the process. Just because someone is well-known or famous for his work, does not mean he is automatically and always the best option.
I agree that picking an OS just because he or she (there are a few) are the best known may not be the the best reason to chose them. For some folks, it may be a reason not to. I researched other OS which may not be as well known. Among them Dr Keller from Mayo Clinic. He seemed also like a genuinely caring person which was a big plus. Dr Gary Wolford (Dr Larry's brother) in Michigan. Dr Tucker in NC ( I think) and others. Out in other parts of CA, there are several doctors especially with Kaiser-
Dr Poor(?), who seem to be doing a lot of this and are, gasp, in network. You'all have some options out there. But all of these boiled down to traveling someplace. Where we are located there seems to be a big emphasis on cosmetic dental work and therefore few surgeons which do orthognathic which is usually functional and hard to get coverage for under insurance sometimes. That said, we still have not made a final decision, if somebody has a suggestion for OS in FL, please PM me, I'd be interested in hearing about them. As to the genio and the cheek implants with Arnett, I am uncertain of the need for these also. All of this is still to be decided.
Dr Poor(?), who seem to be doing a lot of this and are, gasp, in network. You'all have some options out there. But all of these boiled down to traveling someplace. Where we are located there seems to be a big emphasis on cosmetic dental work and therefore few surgeons which do orthognathic which is usually functional and hard to get coverage for under insurance sometimes. That said, we still have not made a final decision, if somebody has a suggestion for OS in FL, please PM me, I'd be interested in hearing about them. As to the genio and the cheek implants with Arnett, I am uncertain of the need for these also. All of this is still to be decided.
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Brandyleigh35
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I agree with what you are saying Arvensis. I totally believe research is important, and that their are many other doctors out there that are amazing. I was under the understanding that Rosy had researched the doctors in her area and that Dr Arnett was their top pic from the 2 or 3 they had looked into. Given those circumstances I would choose Dr. Arnett, most especially if I was not very comfortable with the other two.
There a lot of really terriffic surgeons out there, who, as you mentioned are not well advertised or publicized. I found my surgeon because he was recommended by my dentist but I had never heard of him before. I did a bunch of research on him, contacted a few previous patients, even talked to his previous nurse, and a lady who worked in his office for 18 years. All had really wonderful things to say about him. I was having MMA done and the top dog in that field is Dr. Casey Lee at UCLA. He is like Arnett, and for MMA is considered the top in the Nation. I could've traveled to California to have him do mine, but I chose to stick with my local doc because I liked him, and felt comfortable with him. The work he has done on me has been nothing short of amazing and I'm so glad I chose not to go anywhere. I also researched several other docs in town to, and my doctor had the best reviews and was the one I liked the best.
Mostly I was just saying that if it came down to him being expensive that would not deter me. I would check out what was available locally and would pick the doctor whom I felt would get the job done the best, and who I felt had the most experience in my childs area of concern. I would talk to as many people as I could, and ask for contact number of some of his previous patients. The one thing I do think is noteworthy though is that the advancement they are looking at for her daughter is pretty large. Many doctors do this type of surgery but in terms of like dental aesthetics the advancements are usually not super huge. Advancements for MMA are typically starting at 10mm for the maxilla, which IS huge, so finding a doctor that has done a lot of large advancements is also something I would take into consideration. Structurally there are some very different considerations that need to be taken into account when a very large advancement is made and I would want someone who has done more of those then say just the regular/standard advancements.
It really does all come down to research, and who you are most comfortable with. The rest is just sortof a trust thing. As a parent though I think it is even more stressful, because we obviously want things to go flawlessly for our child and not have to worry about any post surgery issues due to a doctors lack of experience or expertise. I mean the who thing really is traumatic enough, who wants to add more into that by having a doctor you are not entirely comfortable with.
I tend to go more on the conservative side though, and do have to also agree with the stuff that Meryaten said regarding Dr. Arnett. I'm not a big advocate of cheek implants, but I do think that perhaps they might be necessary for people getting very large advancments. I have spoken to several individuals who have had large advancements for sleep apnea, and many have complained of sunken looking cheeks so perhaps they might be helpful. Honestly though I really have no idea in regards to that. I just know, that Rosy is doing her best to find the best doctor for her child, and I know its not an easy quest.
There a lot of really terriffic surgeons out there, who, as you mentioned are not well advertised or publicized. I found my surgeon because he was recommended by my dentist but I had never heard of him before. I did a bunch of research on him, contacted a few previous patients, even talked to his previous nurse, and a lady who worked in his office for 18 years. All had really wonderful things to say about him. I was having MMA done and the top dog in that field is Dr. Casey Lee at UCLA. He is like Arnett, and for MMA is considered the top in the Nation. I could've traveled to California to have him do mine, but I chose to stick with my local doc because I liked him, and felt comfortable with him. The work he has done on me has been nothing short of amazing and I'm so glad I chose not to go anywhere. I also researched several other docs in town to, and my doctor had the best reviews and was the one I liked the best.
Mostly I was just saying that if it came down to him being expensive that would not deter me. I would check out what was available locally and would pick the doctor whom I felt would get the job done the best, and who I felt had the most experience in my childs area of concern. I would talk to as many people as I could, and ask for contact number of some of his previous patients. The one thing I do think is noteworthy though is that the advancement they are looking at for her daughter is pretty large. Many doctors do this type of surgery but in terms of like dental aesthetics the advancements are usually not super huge. Advancements for MMA are typically starting at 10mm for the maxilla, which IS huge, so finding a doctor that has done a lot of large advancements is also something I would take into consideration. Structurally there are some very different considerations that need to be taken into account when a very large advancement is made and I would want someone who has done more of those then say just the regular/standard advancements.
It really does all come down to research, and who you are most comfortable with. The rest is just sortof a trust thing. As a parent though I think it is even more stressful, because we obviously want things to go flawlessly for our child and not have to worry about any post surgery issues due to a doctors lack of experience or expertise. I mean the who thing really is traumatic enough, who wants to add more into that by having a doctor you are not entirely comfortable with.
I tend to go more on the conservative side though, and do have to also agree with the stuff that Meryaten said regarding Dr. Arnett. I'm not a big advocate of cheek implants, but I do think that perhaps they might be necessary for people getting very large advancments. I have spoken to several individuals who have had large advancements for sleep apnea, and many have complained of sunken looking cheeks so perhaps they might be helpful. Honestly though I really have no idea in regards to that. I just know, that Rosy is doing her best to find the best doctor for her child, and I know its not an easy quest.
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Brandyleigh35
- Posts: 1018
- Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:25 pm
- Location: Alaska
- Contact:
Yep...the advancements are much larger though, typically starting at about 10mm on the maxilla. Dr Casey Lee is world reknown and very good! I have three friends who have had surgery done by him, as he also does regular orthognathic surgery, and all have been very pleased with their results. He does a ton of these surgeries a year, and is also quite spendy, but I hear he is worth it.
I can only go off the folks I know he worked on and they had nothing but great things to say about him. He might be someone else to look into if your willing to do the traveling. I think he can be a bit hard to get into but he does specialize in the more difficult, larger advancement, type surgeries, and to the best of my knowledge he doesn't commonly recommend cheek implants.
If you go on my blog and check out Kristen's profile (under upper and lower jaw surgery) she was one that just needed orthognathic surgery but did not have sleep apnea issues. Also under the MMA section check out Shelby, Annie, and Roger. They all had Dr Lee and have been very pleased with their results.
Brandy
I can only go off the folks I know he worked on and they had nothing but great things to say about him. He might be someone else to look into if your willing to do the traveling. I think he can be a bit hard to get into but he does specialize in the more difficult, larger advancement, type surgeries, and to the best of my knowledge he doesn't commonly recommend cheek implants.
If you go on my blog and check out Kristen's profile (under upper and lower jaw surgery) she was one that just needed orthognathic surgery but did not have sleep apnea issues. Also under the MMA section check out Shelby, Annie, and Roger. They all had Dr Lee and have been very pleased with their results.
Brandy