U of Washington or Dr. Samji

Hi all,

I live in Seattle and I’m looking for advice on my next step. My ENT doc ordered a CT scan with contrast which ‘was consistent with’ ES.

I am in a lot of pain and would like to pursue surgery, so I need to ask for referral to a surgeon. I have identified the following doctors at UW: Dr. Futran, Dr. Merati, Dr. Houlton. It would be most convenient for me (I have two young kids) to stay in Seattle, so I wondered if anyone had recent surgery with these docs?

Or should I just make the trek down to San Jose to see Dr. Samji?

I’m very grateful for any advice.

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There is also Dr. Jeff Burry in Lewiston, ID.

I would advise you see Dr Samji. He’s very experienced with Eagles. I’ve discovered from my eagles experience that it’s much better to get the surgery done right the first time and I don’t believe the doctors in Washington that you mentioned have much experience with Eagles. I saw Dr samji for revision surgeries because my first surgeries weren’t done right. I had to travel a long way to see him and I think it was worth it. My surgeries with him went very well and were the easiest recoveries that I had. I regret that I didn’t go to him first.

Dr Samji’s office is used to dealing with out of town patients. You could call his office and talk to them about how long you would have to be there. And you could have a preliminary appointment by phone.

I know it’s hard to travel and be away when you have children. But I had such a hard time with a bad first surgery and then trying to find a doctor to do a revision surgery. So I now believe it’s better if at all possible to go to someone with experience.

I was one of the people that maintained the doctor list for a while and we compiled the list by going through past posts over the years. So the names on the lists aren’t recommendations - they’re just doctors that did a surgery on someone at some point that we think turned out ok at least once. The patients may or may not have liked them that much. Or it may be that they did good on one patient but not on another. So don’t take the list as gospel. If traveling would be very difficult, It might be a good idea to meet with the Washington doctors and see what you think of them. You could read up on Eagles on this site and then you’d have a better feel for knowing if what they’re telling you makes sense to you.

Thank you for your insight. It is so helpful! I contacted Dr. Samji’s office, and I have a non-contrast CT scan scheduled for today since he requires it, and my first one was with contrast. Hoping the results are what I need to get an appointment with him. Thanks again for your help!

I’m in WA and went with Dr Samji over UW doctors for many reasons. I think you’ll be happy with contacting Dr Samji. My surgery is scheduled for next Monday with him.

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Thanks, that’s helpful to know. Could you share what the process was like with Dr Samji? How long did it take and what were the steps? I’m at the beginning and have just communicated with his nurse about sending scans.

I have to send a non-contrast CT scan with styloid protocol to them as I had with contrast done initially. Can I ask where you had your CT scan done? I had mine at Polyclinic in Seattle. The ENT doc there tried to order the non-contrast with styloid protocol, but when I went for my appointment yesterday they said they didn’t feel they had the expertise to do it. So now I’m trying to figure out where to get it done.

Thank you again. I’m finding the advice and experience of others in this group so very helpful. Best of luck with your surgery!

Hi, I’m in the Pullman area and had my original diagnostic CT scan done at Pullman Regional Hospital. That was all Dr Samji needed and if they can do the CT scan, I have a hard time believing a Seattle clinic can’t handle it. It’s really just the radiologist needing a clear picture of the skull so they can measure the styloid process.

With regard to Dr Samji, once they had my CT scan and report, Kim emailed me letting me know that Dr Samji had reviewed my scans and I was a good candidate for surgery. That took maybe 2-3 days after they received them. Then, we set up a phone appointment when Dr Samji that I was able to schedule for two weeks later. My phone appointment was April 10th and was great. Dr. Samji was great to talk to, very knowledgeable and I felt very comfortable talking with him. I was able to schedule surgery following that phone call and he could have gotten me in as soon as May 7th. I opted for May 21 for a little more time to coordinate travel, time off of work and such. But, basically, they received my scans Friday March 22, and my surgery is next Monday, so fast process overall.

And, so far, everyone I’ve had contact with, from Dr Samji, Kim and their office staff, to the surgery center and anesthesiologist’s office, has been very helpful and great to work with.

Oh, and if you do proceed with surgery with Dr. Samji, you will have pre-op appointment on a Friday, the surgery on the following Monday, and the post-op appointment on Friday. I am flying into San Jose this Thursday evening, rented a 2 bedroom Airbnb house that seems like it will be great for recovering, and then flying out the next Friday afternoon after my post-op appointment. The surgery is outpatient.

Thank you, that’s really quite fast! I hope all goes well and you have a quick recovery from surgery.

Thanks! Oh, and just so you know, Dr Samji will be out of the country for 3 weeks, if I remember correctly during June, so that will slow things down a little for you.

Hope that you’re surgery goes well, I’ll be praying for you. When you’re up to it let us know how you get on… :hugs:

Thank you for the recommendation to Dr. Burry. I will see what information I can find about his experience.