How much time did you get for the surgical consult?

[catwoman]

I didn't meet my surgeon until maybe the day before my surgery. He was on vacation when I had my 2nd cardiology consultation, and I decided to go with that cardio and the surgeon he recommended.

When John needed MV repair, we had a consult with my surgeon and he spent a lot of time with us. Then we had a consult with William Ryan at Dallas Presbyterian, and John chose him. Dr. Ryan spent quite a lot of time. Don't remember how much, though. Both appointments were in the afternoon, when the doctors were not involved with hospital rounds or other appointments.

One of the surgeons let us watch a DVD that explained what to expect. The actors in the DVD were patients, staff and hospital volunteers.

 

[Bina]

Hubby and I refused to watch the video.....bunch of weenies we are.

 

[Cris N]

My appt with the surgeon was somewhere between 30-45 minutes. No exam since I had been examined by just about everyone over the past 2 weeks. I met the surgeon on a Friday and surgery was on Monday - my whole process was just 2 weeks. The surgeon did have a PA and an incredibly fantastic nurse practitioner who were available (at least for the rest of the day Friday, lol) to answer any questions. He did a very good job, though, of answering the questions I didn't know to ask. I never felt at all rushed.

 

[kfay]

I think my surgeon spent about 30 minutes or so with me on my first visit with him. I was actually about an hour late because they had changed my schedule around, but he hung around and waited on me. My second consult with him, the day before my surgery, was only about 15 minutes long. I also didn't have an exam by him. He did briefly listen to my heart and check my legs for swelling, but that was it. I had just left my cardio before I saw him, so I'm thinking he was relying on her for all of that.

Kim