Appointment with Dr. E

Last Thursday I had an appointment with Dr. E. He is a hip surgeon that is about 2 hours away from where I live.  I have had an appointment with him for about 2 1/2 months so I didn't want to cancel it once I got in to Dr. B.  My thoughts were that I would meet with both surgeons and choose 1 to move forward with. Well it is a lot easier said than done.  I liked both of them!

My husband and I showed up about 45 minutes early to my appointment because I knew there would be a lot of paperwork to fill out.  I'm glad we got there early because they sent me to X-ray to get a couple of new images.  All of these surgeons are so particular!  While in X-ray, my hip started to flare up from getting moved around in different positions.  I took an Aleve but this did nothing.  I started to feel like I was going to pass out from the pain.  The fun continued when we got called back into the exam room.  Dr. E's PA and nurse met with us first.  His PA moved my legs all around checking my ROM.  By the time Dr. E came in to meet us, I was so foggy from being in pain and then he of course did another exam to test my ROM and impingement.  So, I was struggling a bit to explain why I was there and what my hip story is. Luckily my x-rays and MRI clearly show what is wrong with my hips.  Dr. E is recommending that I get a hip arthroscopy.  His recommendation is consistent with previous surgeons I have met with.  He says he will need to remove some bone from my acetabulum and femor head as well as repairing my torn labrum.  He didn't see any reason to wait and said I could call back in to set up my surgery.  His eagerness to operate without knowing my complete history makes me a little nervous.  I decided to email him some additional questions and concerns and am waiting on his response.  I hope I hear from him tomorrow.

My gut says to go with Dr. B.  I just felt really comfortable with him.  I really respect his conservative approach and how thorough he is being.  On the other hand, Dr. E has an amazing resume (as does Dr. B), is only 2 hrs away and in the same city my parents live so I could stay with them, he is willing to book surgery now, and my pain management specialist is a colleague so they could communicate.  I have a lot to think about and need to make a decision soon.  My follow up with Dr. B is on March 2.  I hope he gives me an idea of when he could do the surgery.  I really don't want it to drag out much longer.