Quote:
Originally Posted by villagerjack
During 2014/2015, I visited three separate Dermatologists. One up North and two in The Villages as I had to change doctors due to an insurance change. I let each doctor make his/her own decisions. This went on for close to a year. Each doctor took their own biopsies on entirely different areas, some more than others but during the course of the year, each doctor concentrated on different areas and ignored other areas that the other doctors thought were important. On at least one occasion, when a doctor wanted to biopsy, I told him I did not have the time and to spray it instead with LN. It was gone by the time I visited the next doctor.
On another occasion, I had a biopsy taken and was informed it was Squamous. Since I was headed up North for the summer, I could not have the surgery in The Villages. During the summer, I received a letter from the doctor telling me that if I did not have the surgery, it could spread and result in death. I showed this area to my Northern Dermatologist and he looked at it carefully, sprayed it with LN and it went away completely in two weeks.
I have been going to a Dermatologist religiously 4 times a year for at least the last 20 years and only in the last 5-6 years have I noticed a large increase in requests for surgery. In the first 15 years I had one surgery. I have had many since then but this last year visiting 3 separate doctors made me very cautious.,I am sorry to say that for the first time in 20 years, I am now beginning to question the need for some of the surgeries from Dermatologists not just in The Villages but some here apparently do their "fair share" even the "good" ones getting great recommendations.
I don't know what the solution is for you. Perhaps to go to another doctor as a new patient and get a body exam and see if he comes up with the same diagnosis and areas as the other doctor did. Personally, I am very skeptical of all the dermatologists. There is way too much surgery done.MY OPINION ONLY.
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I go to the dermatologist 4 times a year, for the last 15 years. Dr. Casper was consistent with what my northern guy did, and found. I do a full body exam yearly (probably because that's all the doc can handle
). My question was, and I believe was answered, is that peer second opinions are a search to find a doctor that gives the patient the diagnosis they want. For whatever reason, you had more faith or trust in your northern guy or had little or no trust in your guy down here. Either way, your concern was that there were too many surgeries performed. Your northern guy's diagnosis justified that so you went with him. As a previous poster stated, I think that happens more that we think. I might have asked the two docs to discuss what they found for a meeting of the minds. Both my wife and I have taken advantage of second opinions but they have always been up the chain, not peer to peer.