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Inguinal hernia Surgery in AZ: time between appointment and surgery?

Posted by johnpais1 @johnpais1, Oct 13, 2016

What is the typical delay between appointment and actual surgery at Phoenix clinic. I would be travelling for the visit so need to plan how long i will be staying in Phoenix area.

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Kanaaz Pereira, Connect Moderator | @kanaazpereira | Oct 14, 2016

Hello @johnpais1 and welcome to Connect.
This patient guide will give you a general overview about becoming a patient at Mayo Clinic's campus in Arizona:
http://mayocl.in/2dNKvd8
Several Connect members have shared their experiences about traveling to Mayo Clinic and the efficiency of planning a visit that involves testing, surgery and consults. @cynaburst @gailfaith @johnbishop @kdubois are a few that can tell you how it worked for them.

If you call the AZ campus http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63 they will help plan your visit to make it as efficient as possible. Did you know that they even have free travel services? @gailfaith can tell you more about that.

@johnpais1 do you know whether the surgery will be an open hernia repair or a laparoscopy?

REPLY
2 replies
Kelly, Alumna Mentor | @kdubois | Oct 14, 2016

Hi @johnpais1, Mayo runs things in an extremely efficient and streamlined manner, and it's very different from how other medical centers are run.

At home, I was used to seeing a doctor, having them order a test that would take weeks to complete, and then having a follow-up with my doctor many weeks after that. Then if you needed to see a specialist or different doctor, it would take another few weeks or months.

At your first Mayo visit, you will see your primary doctor. They will ask what medical conditions you are trying to address, and they will ask how many days you are there, for instance five days. They'll then schedule tests and other doctor appointments and try to fit as many in as possible during your visit. Mayo has the bandwidth and uses a scheduling methodology that enables them to easily do this.

And if you have any appointments set in the future (i.e., past the week you are there), you can be a "checker." You go to the department of the doctor you are scheduled to see, and tell them that you want to be a "checker." If any other patients cancel or no-show, and an available doctor has the proper skill set for the condition you need to be seen for, they will give you that person's appointment. Checkering has worked extremely well for me in the past... I'd say that I have experienced at least an 80% success rate, even with getting in to see doctors I already had a relationship with.

I actually leave this Sunday for Mayo - Rochester for GI surgery on Tuesday. When I was at Mayo late last August, I met with my GI doctor and we decided that I was now a good candidate for the surgery. We then scheduled testing during the same week to confirm this, and after the testing, I had a follow-up with my GI doctor, and he also had a thoracic surgeon along with a thoracic surgery PA come to the appointment. (How many people can say that they've been in an exam room with two doctors and a PA at the same time?)

We reviewed the test results and decided to do the surgery. We knew that I would have to take some medication for at least six weeks first to repair my esophagus. They pulled-up the surgeon's schedule on the computer right in front me, we figured out his and my availability, and we picked a date. We then planned my pre-op tests and appointments, too. So, everything was planned in just a few minutes.

They make it sooooo much easier and less time consuming that it's much, much less stressful.

REPLY
2 replies
johnpais1 | @johnpais1 | Oct 14, 2016
In reply to @kanaazpereira "Hello @johnpais1 and welcome to Connect. This patient guide will give you a general overview about..." + (show)
@kanaazpereira

Hello @johnpais1 and welcome to Connect.
This patient guide will give you a general overview about becoming a patient at Mayo Clinic's campus in Arizona:
http://mayocl.in/2dNKvd8
Several Connect members have shared their experiences about traveling to Mayo Clinic and the efficiency of planning a visit that involves testing, surgery and consults. @cynaburst @gailfaith @johnbishop @kdubois are a few that can tell you how it worked for them.

If you call the AZ campus http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63 they will help plan your visit to make it as efficient as possible. Did you know that they even have free travel services? @gailfaith can tell you more about that.

@johnpais1 do you know whether the surgery will be an open hernia repair or a laparoscopy?

Jump to this post

Thank You. The information has been very helpful and reassuring.

REPLY
johnpais1 | @johnpais1 | Oct 14, 2016
In reply to @kdubois "Hi @johnpais1, Mayo runs things in an extremely efficient and streamlined manner, and it's very different..." + (show)
@kdubois

Hi @johnpais1, Mayo runs things in an extremely efficient and streamlined manner, and it's very different from how other medical centers are run.

At home, I was used to seeing a doctor, having them order a test that would take weeks to complete, and then having a follow-up with my doctor many weeks after that. Then if you needed to see a specialist or different doctor, it would take another few weeks or months.

At your first Mayo visit, you will see your primary doctor. They will ask what medical conditions you are trying to address, and they will ask how many days you are there, for instance five days. They'll then schedule tests and other doctor appointments and try to fit as many in as possible during your visit. Mayo has the bandwidth and uses a scheduling methodology that enables them to easily do this.

And if you have any appointments set in the future (i.e., past the week you are there), you can be a "checker." You go to the department of the doctor you are scheduled to see, and tell them that you want to be a "checker." If any other patients cancel or no-show, and an available doctor has the proper skill set for the condition you need to be seen for, they will give you that person's appointment. Checkering has worked extremely well for me in the past... I'd say that I have experienced at least an 80% success rate, even with getting in to see doctors I already had a relationship with.

I actually leave this Sunday for Mayo - Rochester for GI surgery on Tuesday. When I was at Mayo late last August, I met with my GI doctor and we decided that I was now a good candidate for the surgery. We then scheduled testing during the same week to confirm this, and after the testing, I had a follow-up with my GI doctor, and he also had a thoracic surgeon along with a thoracic surgery PA come to the appointment. (How many people can say that they've been in an exam room with two doctors and a PA at the same time?)

We reviewed the test results and decided to do the surgery. We knew that I would have to take some medication for at least six weeks first to repair my esophagus. They pulled-up the surgeon's schedule on the computer right in front me, we figured out his and my availability, and we picked a date. We then planned my pre-op tests and appointments, too. So, everything was planned in just a few minutes.

They make it sooooo much easier and less time consuming that it's much, much less stressful.

Jump to this post

Thanks. Your experience together with the other replies gives me some good guidelines.

REPLY
Kanaaz Pereira, Connect Moderator | @kanaazpereira | Oct 14, 2016
In reply to @kdubois "Hi @johnpais1, Mayo runs things in an extremely efficient and streamlined manner, and it's very different..." + (show)
@kdubois

Hi @johnpais1, Mayo runs things in an extremely efficient and streamlined manner, and it's very different from how other medical centers are run.

At home, I was used to seeing a doctor, having them order a test that would take weeks to complete, and then having a follow-up with my doctor many weeks after that. Then if you needed to see a specialist or different doctor, it would take another few weeks or months.

At your first Mayo visit, you will see your primary doctor. They will ask what medical conditions you are trying to address, and they will ask how many days you are there, for instance five days. They'll then schedule tests and other doctor appointments and try to fit as many in as possible during your visit. Mayo has the bandwidth and uses a scheduling methodology that enables them to easily do this.

And if you have any appointments set in the future (i.e., past the week you are there), you can be a "checker." You go to the department of the doctor you are scheduled to see, and tell them that you want to be a "checker." If any other patients cancel or no-show, and an available doctor has the proper skill set for the condition you need to be seen for, they will give you that person's appointment. Checkering has worked extremely well for me in the past... I'd say that I have experienced at least an 80% success rate, even with getting in to see doctors I already had a relationship with.

I actually leave this Sunday for Mayo - Rochester for GI surgery on Tuesday. When I was at Mayo late last August, I met with my GI doctor and we decided that I was now a good candidate for the surgery. We then scheduled testing during the same week to confirm this, and after the testing, I had a follow-up with my GI doctor, and he also had a thoracic surgeon along with a thoracic surgery PA come to the appointment. (How many people can say that they've been in an exam room with two doctors and a PA at the same time?)

We reviewed the test results and decided to do the surgery. We knew that I would have to take some medication for at least six weeks first to repair my esophagus. They pulled-up the surgeon's schedule on the computer right in front me, we figured out his and my availability, and we picked a date. We then planned my pre-op tests and appointments, too. So, everything was planned in just a few minutes.

They make it sooooo much easier and less time consuming that it's much, much less stressful.

Jump to this post

Thank you @kdubois for taking the time to share such valuable first-hand insight and experience to answer @johnpais1's questions. Although there is so much information available online, it is always more reassuring to hear it directly from people who have experienced the process.

Not only a fantastic comprehensive answer, but you have echoed Mayo Clinic's mission and values: "To inspire hope and contribute to health and well-being by providing the best care to every patient through integrated clinical practice, education and research,"

REPLY
Kelly, Alumna Mentor | @kdubois | Oct 14, 2016

Glad to share! I don't mind helping, especially for an institution that saved my life earlier this year... and it helps that everyone there is so incredibly kind. They've cultivated and maintain a very special culture that I wish was the norm everywhere.

REPLY
gailfaith | @gailfaith | Oct 18, 2016
In reply to @kanaazpereira "Hello @johnpais1 and welcome to Connect. This patient guide will give you a general overview about..." + (show)
@kanaazpereira

Hello @johnpais1 and welcome to Connect.
This patient guide will give you a general overview about becoming a patient at Mayo Clinic's campus in Arizona:
http://mayocl.in/2dNKvd8
Several Connect members have shared their experiences about traveling to Mayo Clinic and the efficiency of planning a visit that involves testing, surgery and consults. @cynaburst @gailfaith @johnbishop @kdubois are a few that can tell you how it worked for them.

If you call the AZ campus http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63 they will help plan your visit to make it as efficient as possible. Did you know that they even have free travel services? @gailfaith can tell you more about that.

@johnpais1 do you know whether the surgery will be an open hernia repair or a laparoscopy?

Jump to this post

gailfaith here! I've been to Minn Mayo twice and the first time (2013) I apparently I used Mayo Travel to help with the airlines. I live two blocks from Lancaster PA airport and a small airline flies to Dulles and then thru Mayo Travel, I connected with a two more flights from Dulles to Minneapolis then to Rochester.. I had to book the local airline tickets.myself.

This time I used frequent flier miles and Mayo Travel can't work with them. Going things were fine as I booked everything myself. However, when I got to Minnesota, Mayo changed my schedule to accommodate surgery and I had to pay $150 to change flights Had I NOT used my frequent flier miles, and had booked thru Mayo Travel, that fee would have been waived..

Returning home was another story as the line flying from Dulles back to Lancaster had changed hands during the week I was gone and my return flight was cancelled. However, there was another woman also booked for that flight. They asked if we wanted to drive and she said if she wanted to drive she wouldn't have flown. . So gracelessly they got a van and driver and drove me to my front door and the other lady to the airport where her car was parked.

Mayo Travel can't work with a small airline or with frequent flier miles but otherwise they are a great go-between you and scheduling,

REPLY
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