Pediatric Surgeons
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Seeking Pediatric Surgeon for Thyroidectomy
Sept 2015
My cousin and dear friend is looking for an experienced pediatric high-volume surgeon to perform a thyroidectomy on her almost-three-year-old son (the surgery would probably be done when he is three or four). They live in Seattle, but are willing to travel anywhere in the country for the surgery. This is an unusual surgery for such a young person, but it needs to be done to prevent development of a very rare type of cancer that results from a genetic mutation that he has been confirmed to have. I would appreciate any recommendations for top-quality doctors who can perform such a surgery. Thank you! Concerned Cousin
My child had this surgery at age nine.It was done by Michael Harrison at UCSF.We researched it throughly and knew he was the best.We were very happy with him and the results.We had a HMO at the time and had to fight with our insurance company to go to him.Fortunately our Pediatrician went to bat for us and the HMO let us use him.It turned out he also worked at Kaiser one day a week so we later switched to Kaiser after the surgery at the next open season. Ellen
UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland performs thyroidectomies. While pediatric thyroidectomies are rare, the UCSF pediatric surgeons are very experienced, with seven full-time 100% pediatric surgeons, all board certified in pediatric surgery. Anesthesiologists, radiologists, and nurses are also 100% focused on pediatrics. To make an appointment for a consultation, call (510) 428-3022 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Susan
Feedback on Pediatric Surgeon Oijire Idowu
April 2007
My 21-month old son is going to be scheduled for hernia/hydrocele surgery with Dr. Olijire Idowu at Children's Hospital in Oakland next month. Has anyone used this pediatric surgeon. I would like feedback. Thanks. WCreek Mom
Our son had hernia/hydrocele surgery with Dr. Idowu last October, and we think he's great. Our pediatricians highly recommended him (though they said all the Children's surgeons are excellent) and our son had a straightforward operation and a normal recovery. I haven't heard anything but good things about Dr. Idowu. Also, I don't know how worried you are, but they told us that this operation is basically the ear infection of pediatric surgery -- they see them all the time and do a ton of them. That was helpful to know. We did think that because it's a straightforward operation, people may have minimized its impact on the child just a little bit -- they said he'd be up and running around in two days, and he was within three days or so, but the first 24-36 hours he was in a good bit of pain, which was kind of unexpected given how much people had minimized the surgery. Also, he was really upset about the bandage (a couple-inch gauze square), which was on for a couple of weeks, and would just freak out every time we took his clothes off or tried to bathe him. That took about two months to go away completely. But it did. He was 25 months at the time of the surgery. Best of luck for a smooth ride and easy recovery. I think you're in good hands! Beth
Surgery at Children's - Steven Yedlin
April 2005
Our 2 month old daughter has been diagnosed with Hirschsprung's Disease and is going to have surgery in the next couple of days. It looks like she will be having a one-stage pull-through done laproscopically at Children's Hopsital done by Dr. Steven Yedlin. I am wondering if anyone has experience with Hirschsprung's, pull-through surgery, Dr. Yedlin or surgery on an infant. jessica
My son had five surgeries done by Dr. Yedlin at Children's Hospital; he was born with a congenital birth defect called TEF. Dr. Yedlin was truly terrific, both competent and compassionate. I found it very helpful to talk to him before one of the major surgeries; he walked me through exactly what would happen, answered every question, and when I didn't understand something, he explained it. He was very candid and honest, speaking to me person-to-person, as opposed to making pronouncements from on high. Knowing what was going to happen made dealing with the surgery much easier for me. My son, now ten, doesn't seem to have any memory of the surgeries. He is very proud of his scars and has been known to show them off occasionally. I remember in preschool he took his anesthesia mask in for show-and-tell. That said, the hardest part of the surgery was right afterward, because he was miserable. However, Children's is good about medicating for pain, and the misery part definitely didn't last long. The situation of a child needing surgery is stressful and surreal--our friends and relatives seemed to have no notion of what we were going through--so be sure and be very, very nice to yourself. On the plus side, the only other surgeon whom we dealt with who I admired as much as Dr. Yedlin was Patty Bishop (she did one of my son's surgeries too); she's Dr. Yedlin's wife. My son liked Dr. Yedlin too, by the way, and named one of his bears Stevie in his honor. grateful
Patty Bishop at Children's hospital?
Feb 2002
Does anyone have any experience with Dr. Patty Bishop at Children's hospital? May 19 mos. old daughter is scheduled to have an infected lymph node removed from her neck by Dr. Bishop. We are nervous because apparently there is some risk of damaging the nerve to the lower lip. Has anyone else dealt with this condition either through surgery or antibiotics? Any responses would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Patty Bishop did our son's hernia repair when he was four. I thought she was absolutely and completely terrific. She takes time to answer questions, and treats you like a human. Before the actual surgery, we had a visit to Childrens' where we saw the surgery room, and could talk through the entire process of the surgery. We felt that we knew what was going on, which made it somewhat easier. I talked very directly with Dr. Bishop about my fears about the surgery, and we discussed any potential risks. She is a mom herself, and is very warm. By the day of the surgery, I wasn't all that scared. Be sure and take extra good care of yourself; it can be hard to relax at times like these. Marina