I've met her for a consultation. She's okay. She seems very "business-like", as in, her interest in business seems to be greater than the patient. This doesn't mean that she is not skilled, it's just the impression I got. I will say this - her receptionist is absolutely horrible. If you ask more than one question in an email to her, she will jump to the last question and ignore the rest. Even when she answers, it's a very rushed answer. Getting your initial consultation is easy. But, once you've paid that initial consultation fee, the rest is an absolute nightmare with her (Myriam, her receptionist). You have to keep in mind, doctors in Canada get paid significantly less than their US counterpart, and they are very, very busy, so the motivation for money tends to be much greater. Canada has free healthcare, but I can tell you first hand that the quality of the healthcare is very questionable. While I can't speak for the doctors skill, I will say that the process of even trying to start with her is agonizing. I wouldn't recommend this doctor, not because of the doctor, but because you're priority is based on triage (Canada), which means if something goes wrong, you will be waiting and waiting and waiting.
Dr. Marie Gdalevitch in Montreal Limb lengthening and deformity correction
Quote from: BreaktoGrow on November 10, 2021, 05:30:29 PMI've met her for a consultation. She's okay. She seems very "business-like", as in, her interest in business seems to be greater than the patient. This doesn't mean that she is not skilled, it's just the impression I got. I will say this - her receptionist is absolutely horrible. If you ask more than one question in an email to her, she will jump to the last question and ignore the rest. Even when she answers, it's a very rushed answer. Getting your initial consultation is easy. But, once you've paid that initial consultation fee, the rest is an absolute nightmare with her (Myriam, her receptionist). You have to keep in mind, doctors in Canada get paid significantly less than their US counterpart, and they are very, very busy, so the motivation for money tends to be much greater. Canada has free healthcare, but I can tell you first hand that the quality of the healthcare is very questionable. While I can't speak for the doctors skill, I will say that the process of even trying to start with her is agonizing. I wouldn't recommend this doctor, not because of the doctor, but because you're priority is based on triage (Canada), which means if something goes wrong, you will be waiting and waiting and waiting.
Business like, hmm did she keep asking you when you wanna do the surgery?
Waiting time, you you can get the surgery asap but if there are complications then you can have to wait for weeks to get free treatment? what if you want private treatment for complications?
Business, as in, she moves very quickly. You're in and you're out. One patient travelled to Montreal from Vancouver for a consult during COVID, the hospital (public) wouldn't let her in and all she could do was email the assistant. They wouldn't give her a direct line or anything. The assistant essentially just told her that they have no control and that the doctor would see her the next day.
Waiting time can be long because she isn't exclusively an CLL doctor. She works for the public as well and so she, by her own admission, is extremely busy. This is not a doctor who has the time to really invest in one single patient. Although, this is typical of Canadian healthcare. But, for such a serious surgery, I'd be very careful to not pursue it with a doctor in such circumstances. It's not that you're waiting for free treatment, it's that you cannot pay for priority. It's all based on health priority (Canada). For example, let's say that your internal rod breaks, and you're in pain, but your vitals are fine. Despite you paying the amount you pay, if there are 10 other public patients (not CLL) that have issues that are technically worse than yours, they'll be attended to first, even if it means you paid 100k and you may end up with poor bone consolidation. People seem to forget that while Canadian healthcare is free, there are many people who have issues that progress and reach a point of no return due to how slow it is.
Again, by far the most agonizing part is her assistant. My heart goes out to the Vancouver patient. I can't imagine travelling all that way just to be told over email to wait for the next day.
Just to be clear, none of this is a comment on the surgeon's skill. While skill is important, it's quality drastically fades if it's being diluted with an overwhelmed healthcare system. One person is only capable of so much. This surgery is already heavy on the psyche. Having significant weight added on by a lack of availability and absolutely horrific scheduling would make this pursuit mentally unbearable. Remember, you're only human, and you experience 100% of the experience. But, to the surgeon, you're just another patient added on the countless others.
Quote from: BreaktoGrow on November 11, 2021, 03:45:06 PMBusiness, as in, she moves very quickly. You're in and you're out. One patient travelled to Montreal from Vancouver for a consult during COVID, the hospital (public) wouldn't let her in and all she could do was email the assistant. They wouldn't give her a direct line or anything. The assistant essentially just told her that they have no control and that the doctor would see her the next day.
Waiting time can be long because she isn't exclusively an CLL doctor. She works for the public as well and so she, by her own admission, is extremely busy. This is not a doctor who has the time to really invest in one single patient. Although, this is typical of Canadian healthcare. But, for such a serious surgery, I'd be very careful to not pursue it with a doctor in such circumstances. It's not that you're waiting for free treatment, it's that you cannot pay for priority. It's all based on health priority (Canada). For example, let's say that your internal rod breaks, and you're in pain, but your vitals are fine. Despite you paying the amount you pay, if there are 10 other public patients (not CLL) that have issues that are technically worse than yours, they'll be attended to first, even if it means you paid 100k and you may end up with poor bone consolidation. People seem to forget that while Canadian healthcare is free, there are many people who have issues that progress and reach a point of no return due to how slow it is.
Again, by far the most agonizing part is her assistant. My heart goes out to the Vancouver patient. I can't imagine travelling all that way just to be told over email to wait for the next day.
Just to be clear, none of this is a comment on the surgeon's skill. While skill is important, it's quality drastically fades if it's being diluted with an overwhelmed healthcare system. One person is only capable of so much. This surgery is already heavy on the psyche. Having significant weight added on by a lack of availability and absolutely horrific scheduling would make this pursuit mentally unbearable. Remember, you're only human, and you experience 100% of the experience. But, to the surgeon, you're just another patient added on the countless others.
Ty! I had a completely different picture of Candian health care system. A cosmetic surgery is probably not going gel well with public healthcare system like that. In the UK surgeons can practice completely privately and treat whoever they want. So I thought it would be similar in Canada.
Most people do, because Canada is highly-respected for it's healthcare system. It's a great system, but not ideal for particular endeavours, especially this one.
I highly respect Dr. Marie. I'm a Canadian and I have talked to Doctor Marie about this surgery. This was before when Stryde was available but now only Precise is available because of Stryde recall. Her price for Precise is $85000 CAD. She will probably do Stryde again once it's available. I went with Betz because I felt like I couldn't wait any longer and I didn't want to use a non-weight bearing nail because I've decided to absolutely tell no one about my surgery so I wouldn't be able to take care of myself without a weight-bearing nail. I believe she told me that's the cost for everything including Physiotherapy, medicines, etc. so her cost isn't that bad since it includes all the additional costs not on the headline bill that Betz gives. (someone please fact check if the cost includes everything ssince I don't remember 100% if she said that).
Here is some information on Montreal and Doctor Marie:
Firstly, I think Doctor Gdalevitch is incredibly qualified. She did all her studies at McGill which is a top Canadian university. She's incredibly professional and has high standards based on the conversations I've had with her. Canada in general have incredibly high standards for becoming a doctor compared to the rest of the world. You need to have to incredibly smart with about top 5% of your class, do volunteering, extracurriculars, have top MCAT scores of 95th percentile+, etc. Medical schools usually have 10% acceptance rate or lower in Canada.
Montreal is a relatively cheap city to live in. It's much lower than Toronto and Vancouver. I live in Montreal and I pay about $1450 Canadian Dollars in total with all utilities (About 1000 Euros or 1125 USD) per month for a 500sqft 1 bedroom condo apartment in a 40-50 floor building built around 2018 (everything is brand new and there's a doorman and condo services) in downtown. If you AirBnb it will cost about the same amount (before the airbnb commission fees) for this high standard of living. All the AirBnBs I've seen in Germany are so expensive and most of them are such old buildings/furnishings/designs. Being in a gas station, airport, and grocery store in Germany while seeing Betz, food and essentials are about the same price. I feel like it's a bit more expensive in Germany than in Montreal but it's hard to tell because prices are listed before sales tax (15% in quebec) whereas sales tax is already included in the price in Germany.
One of my friends told me that Montreal has the 2nd most restaurants per capita in North America (New York City being first). I'm not sure if this is true but there are so many options in Montreal. You can use UberEats/DoorDash for food delivery and Cornershop (Uber grocery delivery service)/InstaCart.
The website to rent apartments in Canada is called https://www.kijiji.ca/ if you're looking for a rental. https://www.kijiji.ca/b-location-court-terme/ville-de-montreal/c42l1700281?ll=45.501689%2C-73.567256&address=Montreal%2C+QC&radius=50.0
The second link being for Montreal short term rentals.
Language wise: The Province of Quebec usually speak only French whereas the rest of Canada speak only English. Montreal is the outlier for Quebec. Almost all people will know how to speak English. I don't know any French but if someone speaks French to me first and I say hello, they'll switch to English. It's because most jobs require both languages in Montreal and some of the universities are English speaking universities (including McGill where teaching is in English and not French).
If you have further questions about Montreal or Canada, I'd be happy to answer them.
Quote from: OnceADay on November 14, 2021, 10:24:27 PMI highly respect Dr. Marie. I'm a Canadian and I have talked to Doctor Marie about this surgery. This was before when Stryde was available but now only Precise is available because of Stryde recall. Her price for Precise is $85000 CAD. She will probably do Stryde again once it's available. I went with Betz because I felt like I couldn't wait any longer and I didn't want to use a non-weight bearing nail because I've decided to absolutely tell no one about my surgery so I wouldn't be able to take care of myself without a weight-bearing nail. I believe she told me that's the cost for everything including Physiotherapy, medicines, etc. so her cost isn't that bad since it includes all the additional costs not on the headline bill that Betz gives. (someone please fact check if the cost includes everything ssince I don't remember 100% if she said that).
Here is some information on Montreal and Doctor Marie:
Firstly, I think Doctor Gdalevitch is incredibly qualified. She did all her studies at McGill which is a top Canadian university. She's incredibly professional and has high standards based on the conversations I've had with her. Canada in general have incredibly high standards for becoming a doctor compared to the rest of the world. You need to have to incredibly smart with about top 5% of your class, do volunteering, extracurriculars, have top MCAT scores of 95th percentile+, etc. Medical schools usually have 10% acceptance rate or lower in Canada.
Montreal is a relatively cheap city to live in. It's much lower than Toronto and Vancouver. I live in Montreal and I pay about $1450 Canadian Dollars in total with all utilities (About 1000 Euros or 1125 USD) per month for a 500sqft 1 bedroom condo apartment in a 40-50 floor building built around 2018 (everything is brand new and there's a doorman and condo services) in downtown. If you AirBnb it will cost about the same amount (before the airbnb commission fees) for this high standard of living. All the AirBnBs I've seen in Germany are so expensive and most of them are such old buildings/furnishings/designs. Being in a gas station, airport, and grocery store in Germany while seeing Betz, food and essentials are about the same price. I feel like it's a bit more expensive in Germany than in Montreal but it's hard to tell because prices are listed before sales tax (15% in quebec) whereas sales tax is already included in the price in Germany.
One of my friends told me that Montreal has the 2nd most restaurants per capita in North America (New York City being first). I'm not sure if this is true but there are so many options in Montreal. You can use UberEats/DoorDash for food delivery and Cornershop (Uber grocery delivery service)/InstaCart.
The website to rent apartments in Canada is called https://www.kijiji.ca/ if you're looking for a rental. https://www.kijiji.ca/b-location-court-terme/ville-de-montreal/c42l1700281?ll=45.501689%2C-73.567256&address=Montreal%2C+QC&radius=50.0
The second link being for Montreal short term rentals.
Language wise: The Province of Quebec usually speak only French whereas the rest of Canada speak only English. Montreal is the outlier for Quebec. Almost all people will know how to speak English. I don't know any French but if someone speaks French to me first and I say hello, they'll switch to English. It's because most jobs require both languages in Montreal and some of the universities are English speaking universities (including McGill where teaching is in English and not French).
If you have further questions about Montreal or Canada, I'd be happy to answer them.
ty! for the detailed write up OnceADay,
I have some questions about this
- I have heard that the staff in hospitals in Montreal tend to speak only in French. There are some reviews written like this on Google. Some people even write that the sign boards in hospitals are all in French. Is this true?
- Dr. Marie operates from Verdun hospital which I have heard isn't good. It has a 2.8 rating on Google maps with all sorts of complaints from people. Did this concern you?
- Does Dr. Marie require a psych eval compulsorily before LL?
- If you have a complication during LL and need treatments like nerve decompression, infection treatment and stuff like that will you get treatment right away if you are willing to pay for it? Or will you have to wait for your turn?
- I read in an article someone linked that in Canada CLL is frowned upon. Do you think you would scowled at/scoffed at when the staff in the hospital found out your intentions? Something like: "We are treating the public with such major health problems and this crazy guy wants to become a few inches taller! He is stealing precious government resources all for vanity." Even in the US, one CLL patient who called 911 for some emergency found that the EMS staff were a bit angry at that patient for doing this to himself so I would expect it to be worse in Canada.
@mod
Regarding French: Hospitals in Montreal should know English (although I have never been inside a Montreal hospital to confirm this). I honestly think this is the one least concerns you should have regarding the hospital and Montreal. I was considering the surgery and never once had I thought that this would be an issue. It's because almost everyone knows English (at least enough to hold advanced normal conversations but maybe not ones with very sophisticated words or where people speak incredibly fast). Doctor Marie's first language is probably French but look at her video with Cyborg4Life. She speaks perfect English and almost everyone is the same as her. A few will have a French accent.
One issue I would point out is a very small number of people from Quebec are incredibly rude and won't speak English even though they know English. They're proud French speakers and I find that they're very similar to what some people have been telling me about Europe where some people are very proud of the nationality/language they speak and will refuse to speak other languages even though they know how to. This is incredibly uncommon. I've been living in Montreal for almost a year now and I haven't encountered one of these people yet but maybe I'm just lucky.
Hospital Rating: Generally all hospitals (at least within Canada) have bad google reviews because someone who had a bad experience will often rate the hospital poorly. None of this concerns me at all. I've been to the hospital dozens of times in my life in many cities and everything is just fine. One of the biggest issues with Canadian hospitals can be the wait times which some consider quite long depending on your expectations. You can easily spend an entire day going to the emergency room (a full 2 to 8 hours from entering to leaving). If you have an appointment in person to see Dr. Marie, they'll probably make you wait about 10-30 mins or at worst times, even up to 1 hour starting from after you arrive on time/early. But once you're in the hospital bed after surgery, generally all hospitals in Canada have advanced care and I can say that you're in good hands.
Psych evaluation: If you do the $260 CAD consultation, she asked me about mental health and whether I saw a psychologist regarding my height. I just said I didn't and that my mental health is fine but I do have dysphoria from being short. Honestly, that's probably the only psych evaluation she required. I haven't gone any further to know if there was a further step to this process but we have already gone on to discuss plans for the surgery (which didn't go through since Stryde was cancelled). Also, I had surgeries in the past on other parts of my body that weren't cosmetic so I understood the pain of going through surgery which could have been a consideration.
Complications: I don't know the exact answer to this. If you go to the emergency room they will help you no matter what and will charge you later. There might be long wait times (unless it's like a very important emergency then of course they'll just bring you in immediately to help you). If it's other complications that can wait, you probably will have to wait your turn to seek help.
Stigma regarding CLL: I think the stigma overall is equivalent to USA in my opinion. Like some people don't want to tell family or friends, etc. But I think it would be odd for staff to get mad. Maybe if it's during COVID-19 which is essentially over in Canada.
thanks OnceADay. Your reply was very reassuring.
1. What would your top concerns be with going to Dr. Marie instead of Dr. Paley or Dr. Assayag or Dr. Mahboubian?
2. Apart from the ones I asked about I would feel concerned about her availability. Is she directly reachable after surgery? Or do you have to talk to her through Myriam her assistant?
3. Does she have any rules that you need to have a family member with you to support you?
4. When do people generally get private medical treatment in Canada? Is it just for cosmetic stuff? I am curious to know how private + public healthcare work together in Canada.
@mod
1. I never really considered the other doctors that you mentioned. Only Betz and Dr. Marie.
2. Other than the consultation, I only talked to her through her assistant. But I never gotten to actually do the surgery so I can't tell you about her availability.
3. I told her I wanted to it all alone without anyone knowing. She highly recommended that I have a family member but I was adamant that I didn't want one.
4. I'm not aware of the possiblity to get private medical treatment in Canada. If you're talking about normal health care, I believe it's practically impossible unless you go to another country.
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