Off Topic: Anyone Know Of A RL Surgeon?

I know this isn't really the place to post - so apologies for that, but I need to hit a global audience, and chase any leads. I have posted on other forums I am a member of, but they are mainly british audiences.

Does anyone know of a very sympathetic RL Gallbladder surgeon ANYWHERE in the world - although preferably in the UK (I'm in London), who performs Single Incision Keyhole Surgery, otherwise known as Scarless Surgery, for Gallbladder removal - using the Clipless method - this is a method that does NOT leave metal staples within the body after Gallbladder removal.

I need to chase as many leads as possible after my surgeon I found via a widely advertised Clipless surgery link, just ditched me this morning, as I have too many fears, and anxieties. I have quite chronic Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and just need time spent answering any questions and a lot of empathy from the surgeon.

This procedure is very rare in the UK (I only found the one surgeon doing this), but apparently common in the USA and mainland Europe, and is something I am looking for due to allergies, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome, complicating normal sugery methods.

Thank you.

You can IM me in-world, if you don't want to post here - Jinnywitha Cleanslate

There are some RL medical presences in SL. Run a search and send inquiries about what you need. They may be able to assist you. Or, run a google search on what you need. Lots of RL medical presences on the web.

Could be easier to start with Paul McKenna and fix the OCD first, then your choice of surgeon will not be irrationally constrained. After all, you want the guy who does the best job, not the guy who happens to fit into the nervous-tic-of-the-day...

OCD is an illness with no cure. You can get drugs to help deal with the symptoms, but you can't just hypnotise it away, any more than you could magically cure someone of schizophrenia.

OCD has no cure? I think with a combination of behavioral therapy and in some cases medication it can be greatly improved to the point of a practical cure. "Cure" is overused terminology in my opinion. (How many things really have a cure as opposed to treatment or excision?)

A loved one has OCD! I hate hearing there is "no cure" said so bluntly. Especially not knowing anyone's RL qualifications to make such a statement. Sorry.

BTW I found this unnecessarily cruel:



You added nothing to the OP's quest, merely took a cheap shot. Feel better now?

Having just had a laporascopic cholecystectomy a few weeks ago, I'm interested to know how keyhole surgery can be done with a single incision. Once the camera goes in, where do the instruments go???

Open surgery is a single incision affair, leaving a (approx) 4 inch scar, but anything laporascopic usually requires more than one cut.

I beg to differ with this. Cognitive behavioral therapy has been shown to be quite effective with OCD in many cases, and drugs are not necessarily indicated.

Schizophrenia is not completely hopeless, as you make it sound, either!

/me nods. Schizophrenia has in some cases been correlated to gluten allergy and greatly improved merely by dietary changes. Believe it, or don't.

Second Life? Lol.

Although there is currently no OCD cure, there are many treatments that can provide some level of relief. Treatments vary, although most offer a combination of both a biomedical remedy and therapies that help the sufferer to cope with the condition.

Though some claim to have discovered OCD cures, little data has been produced to substantiate these claims. With no verifiable cure available, medication and therapy remain the OCD sufferer's best defense against the symptoms of this condition. A person who takes medication has greatly reduced levels of anxiety and is therefore able to deal more effectively with, and even resist, compulsive urges. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is also extremely effective, and is often used in conjunction with drugs to help ease tension and reduce OCD symptoms.

Pretty much what I said.

Again - the word cure is over used. How many illnesses of any type have an actual 'cure' i.e. as if it never existed - as opposed to ongoing medication and/or simply removing the entire part from the body. But I know, and know of, people who have become basically free of the illness for all practical purposes - a 'practical cure'.

Howie Mandel and Howard Stern are two who say they are tons better than before treatment. Their lives are different.

(And again, dispensing any medical advice over the 'net...best we can say with any dignity is 'this is our own experience/opinion.' Someone can claim to be a doctor or expert but how to prove it? And who wants to?)

Anyhow...Second Life forums? Lol

I may be oversensitive to "oh you can just go out in the sunlight more!" style solutions to people's mental health problems. I would expect hypnotherapy may help some people in conjuction with medicine, but it's not something you can just magic away and it is a real thing involving science stuff like brain chemicals so I am quite irked by handwaves of "oh just get hypnosis and cure yourself!"

I... don't even know where to start on schizophrenia being caused by gluten allergy.

I had laporascopic gallbladder surgery 10 years ago. 4 tiny incisions about 1/2 inch long.. no scars at all. I have no metal clips in me, although I do have a tiny amount of synthetic suture material. My father just had this same surgery 2 months ago. His was done with 3 tiny incisions.

On a side note, medical grade stainless that's used in clips doesn't cause allergic reactions in 99% of those that have some. Also, the surgery for gallbladder takes place just below the liver and away from the digestive tract. The bile duct is detached at the gallbladder side, not the bowel side, and patched to the inflow duct coming from the liver. The gallbladder stores bile for use, and is released with fatty meals to aid in their breakdown. After the surgery, bile cannot be stored, so it constantly trickles into the digestive tract at a constant rate, instead of a big rush only during fatty meals. For me the result was better regularity and I lost some weight.

Edit: No, I'm not a doctor, but I had a surgeon kind enough to explain the surgery in detail.
Plus, I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night

Agreed. My surgery left four half inch incisions. All sutures were internal and naturally dissolving; no stitch marks or leftover hardware.

Still interested to know how the surgery is done with one 'keyhole' incision, as per the OP's claim.

Ok, curious enough to Google. Seems it is done by a few surgeons. Would love to see it

One might contact the American Medical Association and see if they can help locate surgeons who do the one incision keyhole surgery, and comparable organizations in other countries.

Here's a link to a story about one doctor that does this operation:
http://www.dailynewstranscript.com/archive/x1751725263/Caritas-surgeon-performs-keyhole-procedure.
That's about Peter J. Lydon, MD.

and

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/surgeons-carry-out-north-texas-first-single-incision-gallbladder-removal_10022412.html
That's at UT Southwestern , done by Homero Rivas and J. Esteban Varela.

and a variation that presumably leaves no normally visible scar at all
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2009/02/25/gallbladder.removal.through.vagina.offers.minimally.invasive.alternative

Thank you for your posts.

I am untreated, apart from being a member of some forums and a mentor group. Ongoing issues with my GP whom I am stuck with for the time being means that I am left handling things on my own, despite repeated requests for help.

Single Incision keyhole Surgery is a very new technique, only having been out there since 2007, and in the UK there are only a handful of surgeons who are using this technique, where a single port is placed into the navel area, and all instruments are passed through this port. Cosmetically and recovery time, is a lot quicker, but this surgery is not suitable for everyone, and can be converted if the surgeon thinks it is needed to more ports or to open surgery. The fact that there is no single specialist governing body dedicated to registering this one particular surgery method, is not making things any easier for me. I emailed the Laproscopic Surgeons governing body, and got the response that they were unable to tell me about any of their members, or where they practice, due to Data Confidentiality. My response of "what's the point of your association if you can't tell me anything about any person registered with you" was met with silence.

Keyhole surgery is, as a matter of course within the UK, completed with Staples left inside, or with permanent surgical structures. Surgeons here do not want to run the risk of leaking Bile ducts - or haven't had training in alternative methods. Either way, they use staples. The problem I have, apart from the OCD, is that I am highly allergic to many many things, and one of the early surgeons said they would put the staple in and wait and see if there was a reaction.... I asked him what if there was as reaction, he replied after a long 'errrrrr' - we'd find another solution when it comes to it and added 'think A-Team'. Ummm......RUN AWAY! lol.

OCD (sometimes called the hidden disease) is thought to affect one in 4 adults. The problem people have, is the reaction you get when people find out you have OCD. I started telling people at work when I felt I could trust them, and that branched out into friends. I have lost a lot of people who I thought were friends, because they got stuck on the fact that it is a mental health disorder, and not the fact that it is just a thought that causes fear and anxiety and panic. It initially made me very wary of telling people, but it is a part of me, and accepting that fact, has made me more confident in myself, and do everything I can to fight the fears every second of every day. I have visited schools to give talks about the condition, as it is common in children too, and if they don't know why they are fearful if they don't wash their hands for example - it can be isolating. I have helped a lot of kids get into therapy through identifying their problem and getting them to see their more understanding medical practitioner. It has been a long journey to reach the point where I am open to tell people I suffer from this. But I am proud of myself so far, and each person I help, has given me more insight into how to help myself.

OCD is never 'cured' it is merely managed and in some cases, to the point of virtually complete control. Treatment involves Talking Therapy, and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. CBT is where you challenge yourself in carefully monitored exercises, become aware of your responses and work through the panics, continually working, and teaching your brain that it doesn't have to react so strongly to certain things. Drug therapy can help, but on it's own, is not proven to be long term effective. But even with these steps, you can be still caught off guard in stressful situations, and feel compelled to complete a 'ritual', such as hand-washing a certain amount of times, in order to stop the panic attacks. The lucky ones can 'grow' out of it. My brother was one of the lucky ones, and although greatly affected as a child, and grew out of it after 10 years. Both my parents have it (it is known to run in families), and mine developed off the back of a car crash and being stuck in an unclean hospital bed about 6 years ago, and now is deemed as 'chronic'.

Because the condition is so irrational, and illogical, it is frustrating and difficult for sufferers, friends, and family. The more stressed you are the worse it gets, and also the more tired you are, the worse it gets. Unfortunately because of my current condition, I am in a constant battle with myself at the moment. But I can only keep on fighting. The reaction from the previous surgeon, was yet another live demonstration of the fact that it is not a 'well known' condition, other than it is a mental health disorder. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise, that he didn't want to treat me, and a very definite indication that I need to find someone a little more understanding.

Thank you for all your replies, and I will be certainly following up all the suggestions with regard to locating a surgeon.

you might want to go ahead and have a little scar. My gallbladder gave me no warning signs, just blew up like a big ol' balloon and they had to make a huge 12" curved incision just to get it out without having it blow apart inside. In other words, take the small scar, don't wait.

Tell them: So is ignorance.

Best of luck in your search for a more compassionate surgeon. With your courage and tenacity I feel sure you will find what you seek.

Ralektra - Im trying to have it out. Thats the problem. Can't find a surgeon that can do it taking into consideration my 'special needs' in terms of the no clips. Gallstones are really no fun. If I can at least find a no clips person to do the job, then I can go from there.

Clarissa - Hahahahah - I will remember that - love it! I don't blame people for their ignorance. I simply feel sad that they aren't willing to open their minds and educate themselves. Even if they don't reach another conclusion about how they stand on any given viewpoint, it is wrong for people not to try to learn. A lot of my friends asked me a lot of questions, some stayed some left, the ones that just left without question as soon as I talked about my condition...I wish them well.

Hee.



As someone who has a lot of allergies herself I can empathise with your struggle to find clipless surgery. Surgery of any type would scare me. I might have the same allergic reaction to a foreign object (like a 'clip') left in there, who knows. Enough to concern me about it; so this concern isn't that unusual, in my opinion. Btw if you have gallstones is there not a procedure that uses sound waves to make them so small they pass naturally? Might ask the next doctor about it.

I am totally unfamiliar with the health care system in the UK, and so I can't help you there. (I'd be nervous about giving medical advice anyhow) But I'd say, it's really grinding at times trying to find someone who will and/or can help with any medical issue - but the main way is, keep trying. At least it's free there...that's one benefit. The uninsured here must do the same AND go broke doing it. Cold comfort but perhaps a small positive thing to think about.

Again I have faith you will solve this. There has to by law of averages be a good doctor out there.