Do orthopedic surgeons ever decide you don't need surgery? (MRI, pain, doctor)

[reneeh63]

How many folks here have been referred to an orthopedic surgeon and were told to try non-surgical treatments before or in place of surgery?

I ask because my sister has been in physical therapy and they want her to see a surgeon. She's had no imaging done or had any other kind of treatment for her knee pain - she started physical therapy for a different issue. I'm concerned because she is the type that actually loves getting surgery rather than seeing if other measures could be of use.

My impression has been that surgeons of all ilks tend to find reasons to do surgery, because that's what they do. Is it possible to get balanced advice and treatment from an orthopedic surgeon?

[Mikala43]

My husband's surgeon had him try physical therapy first, when that didn't work they operated.

Why not have her go for a second opinion.

The most important question, if your sister is the type to get surgery because it may be an easier fix, what help would our answers provide?

[jaminhealth]

I've dealt with lower back OA and degenerating discs for many yrs. Maybe about 30some yrs ago I went to see a back surgeon and he said my back was NOT a candidate for back surgery. I went on to do chiro work, PT, DO work, exercise, stretch and still do. Over the years it's gotten worse and thanks to the last episode of being in hospital beds for 4.5 months even worse. I would NEVER get a back surgery and don't even go to docs at it. Had 2 MRI's after hip surgery in 2010, the results were pretty scary. Had 2 scripts for epidurals, but could NOT bring myself to do them.

A couple yrs I talked my 72 yr old brother out of back surgery as he said "the ortho doc said he needed a back disc and lam surgery. He changed his mind, cancelled his scheduled date and does exercise and stretches daily.

I suppose there are good results and lot of not good results. One surgery can lead to another and another and another....I've heard those stories.

[Hedgehog_Mom]

My husband saw an orthopedic surgeon when he fell off a ladder at work and dislocated his knee. The surgeon ordered a MRI and then said that my husband didn't need surgery.

[Texas Ag 93]

Originally Posted by reneeh63

My impression has been that surgeons of all ilks tend to find reasons to do surgery, because that's what they do. Is it possible to get balanced advice and treatment from an orthopedic surgeon?

Yes, it's absolutely possible, and not at all uncommon, to get a consult from an orthopedic surgeon and have them advise against surgery. Same applies to most surgical specialties.

Are some surgeons, regardless of their specialty, inclined to perform surgery more often than some of their colleagues? Yes, but doing so often doesn't work out in the surgeon's favor.

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by Hedgehog_Mom

My husband saw an orthopedic surgeon when he fell off a ladder at work and dislocated his knee. The surgeon ordered a MRI and then said that my husband didn't need surgery.

Years ago I had a torn meniscus in one knee. The orthopedic surgeon I saw gave me the options of arthroscopic surgery to fix it, or to just hold off on the surgery to see if it got better on its own. Since it had improved somewhat from visit 1 to visit 2 to the doc ( with an MRI in between to see what was going on there), I chose option #2.

Guess I could have chosen the surgery had I been of the same mindset as the OP's sister, but to me going under the knife is the last resort.

[Calvert Hall '62]

Originally Posted by reneeh63

My impression has been that surgeons of all ilks tend to find reasons to do surgery, because that's what they do.

I've gotten the opposite impression.

[reneeh63]

Originally Posted by Hedgehog_Mom

My husband saw an orthopedic surgeon when he fell off a ladder at work and dislocated his knee. The surgeon ordered a MRI and then said that my husband didn't need surgery.

Yes - I just want the surgeon to do some real tests that don't rely on her subjective complaints of pain, which seem frequently exaggerated and inconsistent; and don't rely completely on the surgeon's subjective opinion either. Just some objective pieces of information and a refusal to do surgery before having more to go on.

[old_cold]

How about this for opposite?
My daughter was sent to one after her other doctors determined that the only option she had left was a spinal fusion for painful and limiting deteriorating spinal problem.
The surgeon declined to operate and told her to wait, that sometimes the spine might fuse by itself!

[Dragonmam]

First ortho I saw for shoulder injury had me do PT in his office but it was very passive, like massage and TENS stuff. When I still had pain after months, he just decided I needed surgery out of the blue. In one sentence we went from it still hurts to "I'll have my assistant schedule surgery." It was almost like he was expecting it.

I sought a second opinion. He said since the MRI was negative,he wanted me to repeat PT through a different provider before he would operate. That round was far more intense and focused on strengthening, I improved range of motion and strength quite a bit, but still had very specific pain with certain ranges of motion. We tried cortisone injections twice. The first was very helpful and lasted weeks. The second last only a few days. He said now he could justify exploratory surgery. He found and repaired a torn tendon, then ordered me to more PT outside his office to recover from the surgery.

The only money the second one made was off the surgery and a few cortisone injections. Literally not more than $1200. The first guy made thousands more by not suggesting surgery sooner or changing the PT order. Either way, I would eventually have surgery and recover, but one way made a surgeon a lot of money without ever operating and the other made one very little by postponing it in favor of giving PT a real try.