Deposit has been made and surgery date reserved. For those contemplating their choices, my criteria for selecting Dr. Paley was as follows:
- Experience. I don't think I need to belabor this when it comes to Dr. Paley, there is no one like him in this field and particular specialization
- Organization. Of the Drs. I considered, Dr. Paley's staff was leagues above the others in order, process, organization. This, to me, was indicative of the precision and detail that goes into patient care. This was a really really big deal to me in selecting a doctor for this surgery
- Emphasis on safety. It was literally in every sentence, and every shred of research I could get my hands on (and I went through a lot, including most of the diaries in this forum, from all the other surgeons) showed that Dr. Paley consistently has the lowest number of problems and complications with his patients. Drs. Paley and Packer's advice of "come to us healthy, and we will get you back healthy" really resonated with me. Same for the PT and other procedures (IT band release, etc.), and that are done both preventively and proactively to get me as fully back to normal activity, including my many athletic activities, as possible
- Supporting cast. Dr. Packer has thus far been wonderful, as has everyone at the Paley Institute. No one has never been not available to answer questions, return calls, etc.
- Transparency. I asked a lot of questions, and felt I got very honest answers. Both Drs. Paley and Packer were up front about the initial pain, every medical option, the new (close-to) full weight bearing nail, and whether that would be a better option for me (if it's available, I will use it, but I am not waiting for it), and so on
Physically, this will be the hardest thing I've ever done. I am as prepared as I can be, including a degree of flexibility I haven't had (full splits, JCVD style !!). I'm going to continue to prepare both physically and mentally to get there in peak condition, follow Dr.'s orders to rehab, and after 3 tough months, come out smiling.
The surgery is early next year. I'm not sure if I'll keep a diary (initially I wanted to, I've stated my reservations for doing so now on another thread). I will post a summary of lengthening process, recovery, and any complications (hopefully none of the latter), once I am off crutches and walking.
I hope my summary and posts helped someone. This forum has been a great source of information for me personally. At some point, medicine will have evolved to where a pill will be available instead of having limbs broken, but sadly, we're not there. For others considering this and looking at a variety of physicians and options, my advice would be examine the entire ecosystem around the surgeon, and do not look at cost as a driving factor. You get what you pay for seems to ring very true in this case. I suppose I will test that theory personally soon.
Regards,
--JBC
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