How to find background info on surgeons for RP

Welcome to our community. Sorry about your diagnosis.

I looked at every rating I could regarding my surgeon, oncologist, and radiologist. I looked at the ratings through Healthgrades and the hospital system’s own rating system. I valued the comments too. I interviewed each one. I walked away from providers that didn’t take the time to review my case ahead of time. My criteria was they had to be competent and a decent listener. You can also do a YouTube search to see if they’ve done any interviews or medical presentations.

I’ve watched some impressive presentations that included care providers from the University of Colorado. It appears to be a center of excellence which is generally a strong foundation to build on. You may get excellent care at a local hospital or independent cancer treatment center but they’re rarely involved with research and teaching.

This is always a tough choice.

If you don’t choose radiation, don’t make the decision based on “….once you've had radiation treatment (and hormone therapy), you can't have a prostatectomy after that.” First, if there is recurrence following initial radiation, 1/2 the time the recurrence is distant from the prostate, so surgery isn’t even a consideration. The other 1/2 the time, there are about a half-dozen other options (depending on the nature of the recurrence), with surgery being the last and final option, and only then if medically necessary.

For surgeons, I started with this list (https://www.intuitive.com/en-us/provider-locator), found a few in my area, and then asked each office those questions.

Good luck!

I am 59 , almost the same situation as you. I had an appointment with a surgeon yesterday.
The way I found him was basically
By “word of mouth “, my urologist
Also a surgeon , but I asked about
Recommendations , since they key here is experience.
The way I approached him was asking: if you were on my shoes,
Who or where will you go for surgery?
For the appointment yesterday I had a list of almost 20 questions
He answered almost all of them even before I ask,
He have over 25 years experience with a track record of more than 1000 surgeries, and trained at
John Hopkins with Dr. Patrick Walsh.
One other thing I still considering is to schedule appointments via zoom, with other centers as, Mayo
Clinic, Anderson Hospital in Texas.
Good luck!!keep searching, keep in touch!

I am in the same boat here in Colorado Springs
My Urologist is Dr. Telang. I am supposed to have surgery with him next month. He days he has been doing Da Vinci surgery since 2006, and did other surgeries before that.

It's so confusing, and I have seen two different oncologists one on Denver, and one here. They seem good and listened to my questions
.
I am deeply worried about the surgery.

I understand that you’re worried about the surgery. To be fully honest, I was terrified and quite depressed. I called everyone that I knew that had gone through prostatectomy and asked them to relate their experiences. What I learned was that none of them had experiences that were what I would considered terrible. All of them experienced some level of discomfort for a few days, but not misery. And guess what. My experience was similar. The care that I received at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago was outstanding. I met some of the kindest, most compassionate and competent people I’ve ever met in my life. My surgery was more complicated than most and lasted 4 1/2 hours. I typically don’t handle anesthesia well and even that wasn’t a problem. I feared having a catheter. I thought it would be torture. The truth is it was somewhere between a nuisance and uncomfortable, but not unlivable. I’ll tell you what my friends told me: You’ll do fine. There is a little to worry about. Do follow doctors orders!!! If you have questions about how I prepared and what recovery was like please feel free to send me direct email and I’ll do my best to answer them promptly and honestly.

Best wishes for success on your journey to being in cancer free!

I was similar. Decided on surgery for the same reason. I picked a Banner Hospital which is also MD Anderson affliated and went with the best reviews. Mayo would not take any Medicare at the time. Surgery went fine, hospital was fine, recovery was fine. I had no complaints concerning the surgery. I had some worry about needing blood but I did not need any. However, 4 1/2 yrs later I am still incontinent and impotent. This was despite the Dr. statistics of 85% success on both. Would a better Dr have helped? I might be a 15% type guy? That to me is the reason for the best.

We have the exact same urologist and I also met with him yesterday to discuss options!! Small world.
It really helped me looking up laprascopic prostatectomy here on this forum. There were lots of positive feedback stories and some very helpful suggestions on how to prepare and what to expect afterwards.
If I may ask, who did you speak with in Denver? I am also planning to get second opinions now and possibly looking at surgery mid-summer.

I saw Dr. Tzou at UC North Memorial. I was referred by Dr. Telang to her as he wanted me to see a radiation oncologist. I saw Dr. Robin at Anschutz in Denver. He basically confirmed what the other doctors had told me. They also were very willing to refer me to Mayo in Phoenix if I wished.

I am getting a second opinion from Dr. Mancini at St. Francis on Monday.

How do you find Dr. Telang? I feel he has been very honest with me and done all the things he was supposed to be doing ( confirming scans etc).

Just looking to confirm his experience. I sometimes think I should have gone to Mayo right away, and still wonder if surgery is the way to go. The requirement for ADT if I do radiation is what is driving me to surgery.

Dr. Tzou was very patient and has called me whenever I had subsequent questions. I’ve been impressed with her.

Thank you for the information! Just messaged you.