If you saw Dr Nakaji or Dr Lawton in AZ how soon did they get you in and have you in for the surgery?
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Though Dr. Lawton has done successful ES surgeries for a couple of our members, he’s turned away quite a number who clearly had need of styloidectomy & vascular decompression. We puzzle over how he picks & chooses which cases he will take. Dr. Nakaji is a better choice as he seems more ES patient friendly.
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Hi Maddy, I am also waiting to see one of these specialist, (Dr Fargen) I have been on a list to receive a call from his team for one month. I have called myself trying to speed up the process, but they will not give any information on how long it will take to get an appointment. I also want to try and get a referral to Dr Nakaji, I hope your scheduling goes well and keep us posted
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Im also trying to see Dr. Nakaji. I called the office to see what imaging is required before the initial visit, specifically for VES (IJV compression eagle syndrome) the answer I got was all of the following:
- MRV brain thru C2 in neck flexion
- CTV brain thru C2 in neck flexion
- Dynamic cerebral angiogram/venogram w/ rotation and neck flexion
Im going through the same process to get referred and figure out a timeline, you might have some luck calling his office and seeing what they say. Id love to here what they tell you!
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Today I started the process of getting the referral sent to Nakaji. I was told send imaging discs, chart notes/Dx, and Insurance card. After they receive information you will get a call in 2-4 weeks and should be scheduled within a month. So we’ll see… At least it seems a little more promising than Fargen’s office that will give me no timeline whatsoever. I have been waiting over a month for a call, and they will only call on fridays to do an intake and review, not schedule at that time. My Neurologist ultimately wants me to see Dr Fargen in case of a stent. But starting to feel hopeless, and I feel more opinions the better if I am able to see both providers.
So I am anxious to see how the referral process goes with Dr Nakaji, I will keep you posted and please do the same.
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@birdie1 - Thank you for your update. Quite the process to get an appointment with both doctors! I’m hopeful that Dr. Nakaji’s office gets back to you as promised & hopefully sooner than 4 weeks.
As I mentioned before, stenting should be a last resort not the first line of defense for vascular impingement. If the cause of compression isn’t removed, stents can eventually become ineffective & can’t be removed so the patient is really stuck without a way to resolve the compression when that happens. I’d bet your neurologist isn’t familiar with IJV decompression surgeries & how successful they’re becoming.
We’ll look forward to following your progress with appointments.