@bad2thebone I would advise caution if you are going to point out mistakes to a doctor. That may get some adverse comments put into your medical record and because records are shared between hospital systems on Epic, perhaps all your doctors will see it and it will reflect badly on you, the patient. A doctor does not have to accept you as their patient. You can fire a doctor and they can fire a patient. Anyone can make a mistake, but you also have to consider that doctors are entitled to their opinions because they are trained experts and most patients do not have their level of training and qualifications. They are licensed to provide a diagnosis and without those advanced medical degrees, a patient is not. Often doctors vary in their opinions anyway and interpretation of imaging can vary a lot depending on what they are looking for when they view it. It is much better to talk about it here and remain anonymous. It is better to have good relationships with physicians and that will lead to better and more accurate care for you. If you go down a rabbit hole with a disagreement, that can distract the provider from thinking about the right care for you. If you advocate for yourself by asking good questions, you'll get better responses from your providers.

I'll give you an example in my experience. 5 spine surgeons missed my correct diagnosis. All of them could read the MRI and see that there was a disc osteophyte complex pressing into my spinal cord, and I could understand the MRI and see that too because I have a biology degree and understand a lot about anatomy, but not the same degree of detail as a doctor learns. They missed my diagnosis because my symptoms didn't match their expectations from my imaging. I found cases like mine in medical literature, and with that information, I came to Mayo and had surgery with a surgeon who understood that type of "rare" case. I did later send that literature to one of the surgeons who missed it and I was kind. I did that to share information and let him know that I had successful surgery that resolved the problem which was the only way to prove that my symptoms were related to the correct diagnosis. I made sure that I only shared the knowledge from my surgeon and not my own opinion because I did not want to make any accusations. He is a smart enough guy and will understand that he missed it. I never heard from him after that and perhaps his people may not have given him my letter.

At first, I tried to get my other doctors at the same medical center to help me address this with the surgeon who had missed it, and no one would help because they would not challenge the opinion of a specialist who was a leader and directer of a spine center. Their advice to me was to seek another opinion elsewhere, and that is when I came to Mayo.

Wow, what a story! If you have an infection there, why isn't your ortho treating it?

bad2thebone, I so appreciate the candor of your post. I wanted to cheer you on for your motivation to let the pain doctor know to save a lot of others. After reading Jennifer's response, I wonder what you will do.
I was convinced that the success rate of the artificial disc made it the best choice. Your caution and your interest in protecting others is very generous.
Thank you, again.
Gently

I can relate to your situation. I injured my lower back skiing a number of years ago. With meds I was feeling a whole lot better. But, I still had an occasional bad pain day. Was referred to an orthopedic surgeon. He had another MRI done ( I had two done previously). He told me that my L5 and S1 had been knocked out of alignment (spondylethesis). No previos reports showed this. He recommended fusion of the two vertebrae. What did I know (back then in 2017)? He was the expert. Surgery went fine, but provided no relief from the pain. If I had it to do all over again, I would not have that fusion done. I would insist on a second. maybe third radiologic interpretation done. My best advice: don't rush into anything. get second opinions.