Talk of The Villages Florida - Medical care in the Villages

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- Medical and Health Discussion (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/medical-health-discussion-94/)

- - Medical care in the Villages (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/medical-health-discussion-94/medical-care-villages-353248/)

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Originally Posted by Stu from NYC (Post 2373893)

We see Dr Ramirez at Advanced Dermatology. Yearly we remove all clothing put on a gown and he does a 100% inspection of our skin.

Would settle for nothing less.

Good to know. My buddy is a Dr with that group up in MD. I've been going to him for years.

I'll seek him out when we make the big move...

Dr Judy Cheng in summerfield with Ocala Dermatology. We miss our doctors and dentists from VA. I agree with others that it's a process to find the good doctors here. Talk of the Villages helps if you use the search feature. It's possible you might have to go further for certain specialities but most of the main ones are well represented here. Keep trying and reject any substandard care you encounter.

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Originally Posted by Angelhug52 (Post 2373622)

Would you share name of doctor and practice please.

Absolutely. Dinesh Rao, MD, Advanced Urology. I am seen at their Oxford clinic but I believe they have several sites.Medical care and service is absolutely top-notch but in all honesty their support staff (schedulers, office personnel) do leave a bit to be desired.

My primary is Florian Gigaj, MD, Cleveland Health Center, though most of the patient contact is through the two APRNs who work there. I don’t know if he is accepting any new patients at this time though he apparently is looking at opening another office in the southern end of TV. We see Aubrey, one of the APRNs, who is personable and thorough but who is not afraid to tell it like it is. We’ve found that she’ll also go to bat for you with other practitioners/services, should that become necessary.

I go to Dr. Johnny Gurgen at Leesburg Dermatology. They have an office on Rolling Acres near Griffen. I think they're a bit too eager to do surgeries. I have a "mild" atypical mole they want to cut out, and a "moderate" one. I told them if/when either becomes "severe" I'll gladly let them cut me again. But right now I have a gap on my nose where they cut out another one and a gouge behind my ear where they took the skin to sew onto the gap on my nose. It'll be another month (it's been almost a month) before they're both completely closed and covered with healthy skin tissue again.

That's after 2 melanoma surgeries, 5 weeks of radiation for a carcinoma on my forehead, and another slow mohs to remove another atypical mole from my back. All within the last 12 months.

So from now on - if it's not a severe mole or actual cancer, it can wait. I might just change to this Aliant you are all raving about, when I pick my health care plan for next year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ofcred (Post 2373480)

Hi Neighbors,
I moved here 2 yrs ago and immediately heard about the medial care. Because of all that I heard I continued to fly back to Michigan for any continuing issues I may have had. This wears thin after awhile and so I found some Dr's here. Some have been good and some just ok.
I felt compelled to write this because of a recent incident I had with Premier Medical associates in Lady Lake . I decided to try a dermotologist for my annual skin exam.
Now let me preface this with a little back ground of my experience from my MI exam. I had to lay on a table. The PA used a hand held magnifying glass and went over every inch of my body. Anything she questioned she had a larger magnifying glass with a light and went over it again. If it was covered with skin it got checked, every crack and crevice ie: between my toes, fingers the bottom of my feet.
This exam started with the questions of why I was there. I explanined that I have had breast cancer in the past and that my mom and aunt had skin cancer. I'm also very fair and covered in freckles.
I was never asked to remove any under garments. The PA had me stand next to the wall. I would be generous if I said this exam took 5 minutes.
My gown opened in the back. The PA did a quick scan of my back by eyeball, quickly felt up and down my arms. She never looked at my chest, upper thighs, my feet or hands/fingers. I told her I had eczema in my ears which she never looked at. She did a quick scan of one side of my head and said I had psoriasis. That was the extent of the exam.
I was dumbfounded that being in a state known for its abundance of sunshine (which I'm sure has a large amount of skin cancer) could be so cavalier about something that could be so deadly.
I'm sure others will say they have had good experiences but I just wanted to vent and perhaps let others know that this is not the norm when having skin exam.

You need to find a different dermatologist. We like the Dermatology Institute in Brownwood. They check you from head to toe.

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Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby (Post 2374168)

With melanoma, I'd see a cancer specialist and not Gurgen. Melanoma is so insidious and needs to be followed closely. Clean margins after that surgery does not always mean it's been conquered. I hope you've taken those steps.

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Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive (Post 2373519)

…And this is known how?

This past spring blood was detected in my urine during a routine physical here in TV. The APRN immediately referred me for a scan that revealed a bladder growth, followed within two weeks by a cystoscopy that confirmed cancer, which was removed soon after by the urologist i was referred to (who the APRN confirmed was “best in The Villages”). The urologist had a description for the type of cancer, which I’ve forgotten, but he did say that “if you have to have cancer, this is the one to have”. Two 3-month follow-up cystoscopies and urine tests have revealed no return of the cancer, and I feel great!

I have nothing but praise for the people who were involved in my care during this process. They were quick, caring and very professional. I cannot conceive of how my service could have been any better.

Would you share what urologist cared for you?

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Originally Posted by ttc1991@aol.com (Post 2374529)

Would you share what urologist cared for you?

Post 48.