How to know what spine surgeons and their reviews are honest?

@gravity3 I'm only leaving this message because of my personal experience over the past three years (July of 2023 to today), and the very surprising treatment I've endured.

I live on the West Coast, and there is Cedars-Sinai, Keck of USC, UCLA, Providence, St. Johns, and Kerlan & Jobe. When people see/hear the names of these hospitals (I've heard several say this), they are under the same impression, "Oh, they're the elite doctors / hospitals!" Believe me, again from what I have been going through, and am still going through, every one of these hospitals has a problem you are surprised that they do.

I've been lied to, mis-diagnosed, treated like a child (I'm over 60), yelled at by a surgeon (my wife thought it was coming to blows), and the number one thing these "elite" hospitals do, is ignore you. I have a primary doctor I gave up on after more than a year of never hearing back (I went to other doctors in the mean time), the first spine surgeon I saw in 2023 ghosted me for over a month before I moved to another hospital, and I have a pain management doctor
that is the nicest guy, but his schedulers / assistants are the worst.

I started seeing this doctor in December of 2025, and to this day, no one from this office has ever called me for anything; when the insurance denied a procedure request, never received a call, I called after two weeks of hearing nothing; when the insurance approved another request, I was never called, I only found out after waiting again, and calling again; then I finally resort to messaging my primary to let him know what the delay is, he then emails the pain doctor, then I get a call to set up an appointment.

So, just because there is a famous name attached to the hospital / doctor, you cannot assume they are the "elite" in their field. The healthcare system is broken in the US, and it is only going get worse before it gets better.

@marcd2k

What a shame that you have had such a tough time. I hope that you are able to find the care that you need.

@gravity3 I'm only leaving this message because of my personal experience over the past three years (July of 2023 to today), and the very surprising treatment I've endured.

I live on the West Coast, and there is Cedars-Sinai, Keck of USC, UCLA, Providence, St. Johns, and Kerlan & Jobe. When people see/hear the names of these hospitals (I've heard several say this), they are under the same impression, "Oh, they're the elite doctors / hospitals!" Believe me, again from what I have been going through, and am still going through, every one of these hospitals has a problem you are surprised that they do.

I've been lied to, mis-diagnosed, treated like a child (I'm over 60), yelled at by a surgeon (my wife thought it was coming to blows), and the number one thing these "elite" hospitals do, is ignore you. I have a primary doctor I gave up on after more than a year of never hearing back (I went to other doctors in the mean time), the first spine surgeon I saw in 2023 ghosted me for over a month before I moved to another hospital, and I have a pain management doctor
that is the nicest guy, but his schedulers / assistants are the worst.

I started seeing this doctor in December of 2025, and to this day, no one from this office has ever called me for anything; when the insurance denied a procedure request, never received a call, I called after two weeks of hearing nothing; when the insurance approved another request, I was never called, I only found out after waiting again, and calling again; then I finally resort to messaging my primary to let him know what the delay is, he then emails the pain doctor, then I get a call to set up an appointment.

So, just because there is a famous name attached to the hospital / doctor, you cannot assume they are the "elite" in their field. The healthcare system is broken in the US, and it is only going get worse before it gets better.

@marcd2k Shucks yes those are supposedly good hospitals, esp Cedars-Sinai.

Can anyone recommend a spine surgeon who will be honest about whether they truly believe they will help my symptoms or make it worse? I've interviewed too many surgeons. Two said they didn't think I would get the relief I'm looking for, the rest say they think surgery "would be beneficial" but one of those lied to me about something that happened during the laminectomy/laminotomy he did on me.

@ccchang Exactly, and Cedars has actually been the worst overall. When this started in July of 2023, my wife drove me to the ER because my low right side back pain was so bad, like a knife was stuck in my back. They performed a CT scan of my abdomen and pelvis looking for kidney stones, but all of my organs were normal, and no stones were present.

The ER doctor then proceeded to either lie to me, or mis-diagnose me, either way, not a good look for Cedars. First, a little context at the ER. I was there from about 1pm until 5pm, so actually not the longest ER visit, but still as much fun. While I was waiting to be brought to the CT scan room, there were nurses and doctors rushing around, and I heard a couple of them comment on how busy it was that day. So, when an ER employee says it is hectic, it is hectic.

This is what I believe happened...since I was not in distress to where I was rolling on the floor screaming, and they needed to clear out some patients because it was that busy, I was given a line of BS by the attending physician.

He told me the CT scan showed Diverticulosis in my colon (I researched all of this when I got home, didn't know details at the ER). He actually drew on a piece of paper, showing me what happens in the colon, especially after a certain age (I was 60 at the time), little pockets bulge out and this is where food/waste can get stuck. If there is no problem with trapped food, and there is no infection (which is Diverticulitis, when you need anti-biotics), there are no symptoms. So, no pain in the abdomen or low back, and the only way to find Diverticulosis is when another scan (like my CT scan) is run.

There were two problems with this diagnosis. First, after telling me false information about my condition, I asked him what do I do, and all he said was "eat more broccoli", then walked away. So, I was sent home with the same pain I arrived with, and as I stated, either lied to, or mis-diagnosed.

The reason I say this is two-fold; Diverticulosis has NO SYMPTOMS, as there is no infection, and no trapped matter in your intestine / colon. The only time you will have pain from this condition is when it progresses to Diverticulitis (an infection). And the pain from this condition will be in the LOWER LEFT ABDOMEN, not the LOWER RIGHT SIDE of my BACK. And this is why I say it was either a lie (he didn't know what was wrong, but needed to clear out some room in the ER), or it was a mis-diagnosis, where he didn't know the difference between the two conditions. Not sure which is worse, would have to ask the hospital which situation they would rather explain to their patients.

This was all the VERY FIRST DAY of my now more than three year journey into medical H E DOUBLE TOOTHPICKS. I have been going through multiple hospitals, I've seen multiple doctors, and they all have their problems, even the "elite" ones. But the way I've been treated overall has been very disappointing, so it doesn't help just because I changed hospitals / doctors, someone will still mess something up.

I just had Fusion done - I interviewed a few and selected my surgeon - I trust my surgeon, can recommend, but where are you located?

@marcd2k Oh no, what a terrible experience! Maybe UCSF or Mayo (Phoenix)? I hope you're able to find a good doctor. I've seen many doctors too - all kinds.

Can anyone recommend a spine surgeon who will be honest about whether they truly believe they will help my symptoms or make it worse? I've interviewed too many surgeons. Two said they didn't think I would get the relief I'm looking for, the rest say they think surgery "would be beneficial" but one of those lied to me about something that happened during the laminectomy/laminotomy he did on me.

Can anyone recommend a spine surgeon who will be honest about whether they truly believe they will help my symptoms or make it worse? I've interviewed too many surgeons. Two said they didn't think I would get the relief I'm looking for, the rest say they think surgery "would be beneficial" but one of those lied to me about something that happened during the laminectomy/laminotomy he did on me.