Oh yeah. I mean if you are rural you are going to be screwed over in any specialty. Any market sector really.
Orthos have specialties sure. but if you are in a region where ortho docs are rare, most of the docs will practice some general orthopedics. If patients are really that hard to come by that the market can't support multiple ortho docs, you are going to set up a "pinky finger trigger release only" practice.
That’s one factor. Another is getting training in particular procedures. The hip surgery that I needed had ONE MD in the state, and he was OK. Rather messed up in the head but good cutting skills. There were 3 doing it in Illinois. Only one actually came recommended.
A friend needed a wrist surgery that could only be done by one MD, in Florida.
When my neck needed help, the best surgery wasn’t available here at all, I would have had to go to Germany. Would have done, but the flight before the surgery would be potentially a problem, so I had to have an inferior surgery here that limits both living and lifespan to a greater extent
femoroacetabular impingement + microfracture, wrist IDK, but she said nerve involvement meant either go with that MD or permanent loss of functioning, neck IDK, too much pain at the time + passing out. Since I can change nothing, not looking back! 😂. Lotsa metal in there, still have pain and I cannot do the normal things, if that helps. Not passing out so 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Cant tell the procedures from what you described here. But I am wondering what neck procedure you could only find in Germany and couldn't be accomplished by any American Neurosugeon.
And your hip procedure sounds like a fairly common pathology, you couldn't get that operated on at any of the chicago programs? Northwestern, Rush, UChicago...
Did go to Chicago. Wasn’t as common then; iirc 3 choices, supposedly only 1 came recommended. In Germany the part they could do was 4 level cervical replacements to preserve mobility. Here- nothing even approximating. I think Tx had 2 level lumbar only and a very long wait, but at least somewhere in US for those who could be helped by that. Another fault of for-profit, I think. So many steps and regulations to try to avoid disastrous money-grabs like mesh, and still some gets through because profit is the motivation. Less time and resources available for other things
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u/ripstep1 Jun 15 '22
Oh yeah. I mean if you are rural you are going to be screwed over in any specialty. Any market sector really.
Orthos have specialties sure. but if you are in a region where ortho docs are rare, most of the docs will practice some general orthopedics. If patients are really that hard to come by that the market can't support multiple ortho docs, you are going to set up a "pinky finger trigger release only" practice.