Saturday, February 18, 2012

Chat with Dr. Herzenberg

Through PFFD.org I was introduced to a monthly chat that is offered to parents of children with limb lengthening needs.  It allows us to ask Drs who host questions and they give us their thoughts.  Dr. Herzenberg and Dr. Standard are both Ortho surgeons, like Dr. Paley, also among the World's finest.  They are the co-founders of the International Center for Limb Lengthening at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, MD. 

I attended my first session on Feb. 16 and was pleased to see how accessible the Drs are.  I was able to talk to Dr. Herzenberg when it was my turn to ask questions.  I sent him a picture of Elsie's Xray.  Unfortunately, he was in agreement with Dr. Nowicki that Elsie's discrepency was on the severe side for PFFD.  Of course this is without a physical examination, but it was a hard blow for me to take.  I guess I've been holding out hope that her case wouldn't seem severe to someone who deals with limb lengthening on a daily basis. 

There was good parts though... Dr. Herzenberg mentioned that even though most Doctors would recommend amputation, he believes they could operate (estimated total of 7 surgeries - that's disappointing!) and also, he was asking about if Elsie keeps her knee bent or if she can straighten in.  When I said she straightens it, he said that's a good sign.  So that made me happy. 

Even though we're going to see Dr. Paley in June, I would like to keep our minds open to working with Dr. Herzberg or Standard.  I keep thinking of how personable Dr. Herzberg seemed via the chat.  Also, I like the thought that monthly I could communicate with him in an open chat Q&A without an official appointment.  Finally, others in the online community that I've been fortunate enough to learn from have had great experiences with him.  As an added benefit, MD is much closer to home than FL. 

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