orphopedic consultants

[scorpious123]

i injured my back three and a half years ago i have seen 3 orphopedic consultants and had 3 opinions on my lower back and each one has had a different opinion and when you go to see them they are all old and retired and working part time. i have had 3 MRI scan now to show the damage done to my disc one said it was ll in my head one said it would take 2 years to heal and one said 3 months in to this injury i dnt need ant more medical nhs help even thought it will take 2 years to heal
i have only ever had back ack once in my life 10 years ago and since this accident i have had problems continiuos we all get wear and tear but thats all they keep saying you dnt just get wear and tear straight away with an accident i think they are idiots has any one else had problems with them

[bednobs]

thats just the nature of people though - they have different opinions on things. personally i would see an older consultant as a bonus, seeing as they have a whole working life experience to call on
Just out of interest i wonder why have you seen 3 different consultants? is it at your request?

[MrXLA]

did any of the orthopaedic consultants you saw have anything to do with your original injury? Probably not
- If you see three consultants in any specialty with any problem its not beyond the realms of possibility that you will get three different opinions because medicine is not an exact science
- If you were unhappy with a consultant then ordinarily I think its reasonable to ask for a second opinion, however you have had 3 oppinions
- Orthopedic consultants are not idiots, they are highly skilled, highly trained professionals (from starting medical school it will have taken at least 12 years for them to become consultants) they work very hard and they are certainly not all part time (although I don't see the relevance of that statement)
- you could get a fourth opinion or except that maybe they are not the idiots in this scenario

[scorpious123]

mrxla just to clarify yes the orphopedic was all to do with the same injury thats why i think they are stupid pompass *****.
the reason why i had 3 different opinions is because this has been going on for 40 months and the first one talked crap and then the second one came out with something different then the third one was laughable all idiots all need putting down in my exsperience lol

[MrXLA]

I meant in the causation of your injury
You need to understand that you are NOT a machine and cannot be 'repaired' as such.
Its disgusting that you have such low regard for dedicated professionals working in our health service and I suggest that if you place so little value in the opinion of senior consultant orthopeadic surgeons that you stop wasting their time.

[FUZZYBEE]

scorpious, it is the Consultant Radiologists job to report your MRI scans thats what you need to get hold of. I work in MRI and CT, Radiologists are the trained DR's to diagnose and the Orthopaedics teams should put it right. Your diagnosis should come from a Radiologist, we get orthopods coming down to us all the time to ask our advice.
You are allowed to view your records, failing that your GP should have got a copy of these reports ask them.
good luck

[scorpious123]

hi fuzzybee yes i did about 3 weeks a go get the reports on a cd disc and the images of the MRI scans and it was nothing whot these consultants have stated in there reports i had a car accident and ended up with a tear across my l5s1 disc dehydrated and with 2 protrusion protruding in to my theacal nerves with disc degeneration from this accident as reported on this disc from nhs all from same accident right through so why have they all come up with different opinions ?

and mrxla if you have gone through the same as me and lost a very large amount of money you to would be pead off i have come to the an end with this now and i am hoping to have this tacken out my conclussion is that when someone has an accident now they think that half this country is trying it on. and i am going to have this disc tacken out privatley

[MrXLA]

hi FUZZYBEE not a direct criticism of your post but for someone who works in radiology perhaps as a doctor/consultant? You seem to be oversimplifying the roles of both consultant radiologists and orthopaedic surgeons to someone who obviously has a very low regard and lack of respect for both the above mentioned professionals and indeed yourself.
I'm genuinely sympathetic scorpius123 about the ordeal you have had and would not wish those circumstances on anyone.
But as I've tried to convey medicine is NOT an exact science and if it was as simple (and it is NOT) as a radiologist making a diagnosis (on the basis of diagnostic imaging tests alone!!!) and the 'orthopods' fixing it (they are NOT medical mechanics, a sad misconception) then we would be machines but we are not, we are complex living organisms and with accidents as severe as you describe, very often there is no quick fix and often long term effects (which no one can prevent or cure)

NB - clearly radiologists are able to make diagnoses in many but not in EVERY case from imaging techniques alone (hence a team approach in medicine)

[MrXLA]

Oh and scopius123 assuming what you have said is accurate and surgery is an appropriate treatment its worth noting the following (most of which should be common sense and in any case part of the consent procedure):
- I'm not an expert in this field, however the following are standard risks/outcomes of surgery:

- pain
- bruising
- bleeding
- swelling
- infection
- nerve damage (specific risks of the procedure will be explained to you)
- time off work (possibly)
- unsuccessful outcome (i.e. symptoms persist or worsen)

[MrXLA]

scorpious you have asked twice why you had 3 opinions and again I'll try and be clear for you:
- you are NOT a machine
- your not like a car with a broken component that can simply be identified and replaced
- if you had seen 10 consultants then you may have had slightly different management options from all of them because each consultant is the product of years of training and experience and each patient different how each one will deal with any given case will naturally vary
- why do you think it is that simple?
- did it not occur to you that perhaps if 3 consultant orthopaedic surgeons and numerous other clinicians (including radiologists) could not 'fix you' pronto that perhaps it was because it simply wasn't possible or that easy?
- even if surgery is indicated (and I'm assuming now so forgive me) it may be that it was not appropriate to do straight away

[FUZZYBEE]

thank you for your comments Mr XLA, I am neither consultant/doctor/radiologist, however when someone posts on here with a rather complicated question in the first place, I try to give a somewhat "simple" answer if there ever is such a thing?
I was merely mentioning an avenue with the reports that maybe scorpious hadn't thought of going down rather than pinning all hopes/blame/problems on the orthopaedic surgeons and I did actually make a slight reference that we are a team because they come down for our opinion!!
I think you underestimate imaging proceedures these days i'm sure scorpious's images were looked at with 3D reconstructions/ bony windows/sequences and with intravenous contrast i'm sure they didn't miss a thing. Radiologists training is very similar with a vast array of imaging they have to do before becoming qualified, it's not just looking at x-rays. Hope you get sorted Scorpious, a bad back is miserable.

[MrXLA]

Well FUZZYBEE I agree with most of what you said however I'll be quite clear, I'm very well aware of the role of the radiology team in medicine.
I do NOT underestimate the role of the radiology team (and yes I am aware of the numerous diagnostic tests available in addition to traditional plain film radiography) and have the greatest respect for all members of any NHS department (if my post in any way suggests otherwise then I apologise).
I was merely trying to point out that diagnosis and treatment planning rarely comes down to the actions of one individual, radiologist or otherwise. Very often a diagnosis can be made by a radiologist but NOT always and traditionally the following all go together to form a clinical picture:
- presenting complaint
- history of presenting complaint
- previous medical and social history
- clinical examination
- differential diagnosis
- special tests and investigations i.e. blood tests, ECG, imaging techniques (reported on by a radiologist), biopsies etc..
- further tests (if necessary/indicated)
- clinical diagnosis (aided by but NOT necessarily entirely a result of the radiologists report)
- management/treatment plan

I sincerely hope the above illustrates that its not as simple as arranging a test and getting a diagnosis then 'fixing the problem'

Oh and I'm not entirely ignorant of the training pathway for CCST in radiology or the remit of the specialty

[scorpious123]

sorry if i upset anyone thanks any way