@astphi889 Congratulations on your consult at Mayo. Dr. Fogelson is very down to earth and humble. He's like the guy next door, and excels at his job which he loves. If you look at his background, you'll find a full scholarship for undergrad and awards in his field. He also donates for a college scholarship fund. You will be in excellent hands. I don't know Dr. Atkinson, but sometimes Dr. Fogelson will have another surgeon assist if needed. Dr. Fogelson is a spine deformity expert which is what you need. He will explain your imaging and how he may address the issues. He is very well respected at Mayo. If you were assigned to him, it was because Mayo Neurosurgery thought it was a good match. When I saw him, his surgical nurse also came to the appointment which is nice. It helps you get comfortable when you know who will be caring for you. I chose him when I applied to Mayo because I read literature he had co-authored and knew he would understand my symptoms. 5 local surgeons missed the correct diagnosis. I found medical literature with a case like mine because I looked up a term in a paper Dr. Fogelson co-authored.

You might also like this post with photos of the first time Dr. Fogelson saw his portrait at my one year follow up appointment. There had been damage to the lovely frame in shipping, and I got it replaced, so I returned to Mayo later to deliver it. By then, he had grown his beard and I didn't realize it was him walking up to me until he started talking and I recognized his voice and I laughed at myself. I had really studied his face while painting him, so that is what I expected to see.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/221703/
If you have any questions, please ask. He does surgeries at St. Mary's Hospital which is about a mile from the clinic buildings where the exam offices are. Do you need suggestions about lodging? If you are driving to Mayo, you can stay anywhere. Most hotels have Mayo Clinic rates and transport shuttles to Mayo buildings and the hospital. If you have some time, you may want to look at the historic Plummer building which is right across from the Gonda and Mayo buildings where the offices are. It is the background in my painting of Dr. Fogelson. You can also take the elevator to the 2nd floor and see the historic suites with offices of the Mayo brothers. It has beautiful brass doors full of carved figures about the history of Mayo with many symbols and even the initials of C.M for Charlie Mayo. I discovered all of that when I was painting it.

I thought you might like to hear his voice, so here is a Mayo video of Dr. Fogelson. I almost missed it, I see you just joined Connect today, so welcome! I do all of this on Connect because of my experience at Mayo changed my life. I'm 8 years past my spine surgery and a new beginning.

Jennifer