Off-topic/Help: How to find the "best" surgeons within a specialty? (Hand/wrist)

[nixm01]

Hey guys, I was hoping some of you could give me some help.

I am needing to find a new wrist (/hand) surgeon for an existing golf injury, but this time I want to make sure I see the "best"/most distinguished specialist. I am within driving distance from Most major areas in Texas (Austin, Dallas, Houston, etc.) and Louisiana (New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, etc.), but will make even farther trips if I have to.

I realize there are no particular ranking systems for the "best" surgeons in the country to the worst, but I was hoping for an idea of how to sort through them.

I am kicking butt in school and my ultimate goal is to become a surgeon. My wrist problem has not been able to be diagnosed correctly in the past year and if I can't figure out what is going on, my dreams of being a surgeon could possibly be over. I'm ready to seek out the best - wherever they may be.

Any ideas/help??
(BTW - I only have 2 in my immediate area and they are who everyone refers their patients too. I have seen them both, am NOT impressed and they don't seem to be in particularly good standings with all other IM and orthos in the area but that is all we have and know.)

I AM IN NO WAY ASKING FOR MEDICAL ADVICE, ONLY IDEAS ON HOW TO DISTINGUISH/FIND THE MOST RESPECTED AND DISTINGUISHED ("BEST") SURGEONS IN THEIR FIELD.

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[miui]

Google the surgeons' names that are around you. Very often you will find their names in review-type sites where patients comment and rate their experiences there. Also, you can look for their educational and experience background, often available publicly online

 

[nixm01]

Thanks for the reply. I have seen the few that are in my area and once I start branching out to the areas above, I begin looking at a plethora of specialists - around 50 or so - and that makes it difficult to determine who are the best.

I guess I can start reviewing publications and reviews found when googling each of them.

Thanks for the advice.

Anyone else?

 

[TropicalKitty]

Since it's a wrist motion type issue, look for ortho surgeons. There are people who specialize in hands or forearms. Look at their affiliations and training. You can also find reviews from patients online.

You could start with your local hospitals, or the bigger better hospitals in your area. Just go to the hospital's website, go to ortho and you should be able to look around for their staff.

Here's an example from Vandy:
http://www.vanderbilthealth.com/orthopaedics/16915

Also, I think US News has the top ortho rankings list.

 

[LizzyM]

Look for someone who has done a hand/wrist fellowship and perhaps a member of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH)



http://www.assh.org/Public/Pages/HandSurgeons.aspx


The surgeon who operated on Luke Donald, Trevor Immelman and Jim Furyk is a member, and past president, of ASSH. (publicly available information, I'm not violationg HIPAA)

 

[nixm01]

Look for someone who has done a hand/wrist fellowship and perhaps a member of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH)



http://www.assh.org/Public/Pages/HandSurgeons.aspx


The surgeon who operated on Luke Donald, Trevor Immelman and Jim Furyk is a member, and past president, of ASSH. (publicly available information, I'm not violationg HIPAA)

More great information, thank you very much. From other information that I'm gathering, I understand that the Kleinert Hand Inst. in Louisville, Kentucky is a world renown institute so I will also look into that. Only 11 hours away! (a bit of sarcasm)

 

[aSagacious]

More great information, thank you very much. From other information that I'm gathering, I understand that the Kleinert Hand Inst. in Louisville, Kentucky is a world renown institute so I will also look into that. Only 11 hours away! (a bit of sarcasm)

Yeah, you're looking for docs that are very specialized. It wouldn't surprise me if they were few and far between.