I’m looking into perhaps going o Dr Patsalides in NY, has anyone gone to him? If so, what has your experience been?
He is very thorough, & lets you have a decent amount of time in appointments. Also is very skilled when it comes to catheter angio/venogram testing, & has a great bedside manner if that’s something you would eventually need. His general take is he believes jugular vein surgeries are overdone, and that the data would suggest we aren’t yet at a point where he can recommend them with absolute certainty. He generally believes lack of standardization across the field + surgical techniques + follow-up are barriers to closing the gap on surgery success/failures. Very intelligent though & worth seeing IMO.
Thank You dreamliner. I appreciate your feedback so much!!
You can use the search function on the site for discussions about him, but here’s one @vdm posted you might find interesting:
Interesting about Dr. Patsalides opinion re: IJV decompression surgeries. There are a growing number of doctors being trained by Dr. Hepworth, Dr. Hui & some others who are working to help standardize IJV decompression surgeries with the understanding there can be some unique characteristics of the compression with each patient & learning/knowing what to look for to identify & treat those for best surgical outcome.
Here’s a webinar from 2023 that demonstrates the medical interest in this topic & was conducted by a number of the key surgeons in this movement:
Absolutely, I’m not sure how much of a connection he has with them, but perhaps with their standardization efforts, it might lead him to change his approach over time. This is pure speculation, but I do wonder if some of his hesitancy stems from not being connected to the actual surgeons themselves when it comes to the procedures. Perhaps he feels that he’s (for lack of better words): “Sending people into the void” when he recommends surgery, & therefore doesn’t want a continual flow of people coming back to him saying that surgery was a mistake.
I know he works the closest with Dr. Lo, however I’m not sure how much exactly Lo’s surgical outcomes are affecting on his thought process. Perhaps in a case like Dr. Hepworth & Hui, Dr. Hui has more of a connection with Dr. Hepworth & therefore has more confidence in his ability/outcomes & therefore is less reluctant to refer people for surgery? Not sure but just a thought.
You make very valid points, @dreamliner. I know Drs. Hui & Hepworth have a remarkable working relationship & they deeply respect each other & each other’s work. Dr. Lo also works w/ Dr. Costantino which is the connection where we mostly hear his name. It makes sense that he also works w/ other doctors such as Dr Patsalides who also has a notable reputation.