I would agree with many of the points that Body Builder raises. I had 2 successful lengthenings with Giotikas (one in 2019 and one in 2023). My signature block briefly discusses which methods we used.
Both times, I felt he was competent, safe, and even open to feedback/suggestions from his patients on how to improve the patient experience. He also seems to care. Case in point- he gives all patients his personal WhatsApp and responds to their questions/ concerns day and night (unless he is actively in the operating room, of course). I am not certain if other doctors do that as well. I am sure some of the European ones do, but I am not convinced that every LL surgeon does that. Another example- he actually seriously tried to talk me out of doing the surgery the 2nd time around, citing that I was already too tall and didn't need it. He was ready to refund me all the money even though it was already the day of the surgery. But I told him I really want to do it and would regret not doing it. So we pushed through. But I cite these points to showcase my opinion that I do feel he places patient well-being over financial considerations. There are other examples to further illustrate this, but I don't feel this is the right post to go into all those details.
Nothing is perfect (anywhere), including Athens. But something to keep in mind when you are selecting surgeons are the following characteristics:
-How open are they to criticism/ feedback from patients? When you raise a concern, do they brush it off arrogantly or do they genuinely listen and even try to implement your suggestions if it makes sense to do so?
-How adaptive/problem-solving does the surgeon/ doctor's staff mindset and attitude seem to be? Does he quickly react when a problem arises or is the problem-solving approach slow? Is there a system in place to deal with complications?
-Do things seem to be getting better within the operation or are things stagnating/ not improving? I feel a CLL surgical practice is NEVER perfect and can always grow and improve over time. Even the top surgeons (like Dr. Paley) probably have room for improvement, but I can't speak towards that because I have never been under their care.
So comparing my experience in 2019 versus my experience in 2023, I felt things were now better and more organized-
1). About logistics, things are just much easier now than they were a few years ago. Logistics is certainly not as important as the health/ medical part of the experience, but reducing logistical concerns causes much less stress on the patient so we can focus on the lengthening process. The Giotikas clinic now has partnerships with hotels that offer a reduced stay rate to his patients, drivers to physical therapy, the 4-night hospital stay post-surgery is MUCH better than it was before, there is dedicated nursing support, etc.
2). I also find he is actually very open to criticism/ feedback from his patients and he genuinely tries to learn from his mistakes and resolve issues as they arise. He listens to what you have to say and he wants to hear how things can be better.
3). Regarding some of the critical diaries about Giotikas- those are very legitimate concerns and I feel bad for any patient that had a bad experience with him. Nothing is perfect and things do go wrong. But things go wrong everywhere, even with the top doctors. But going back to Giotikas, I have also seen some of the diaries on here that are critical of him. I agree with some of the points raised in those diaries. In fact, before I did my surgery with him in 2023, I printed off a few the forum diaries on here that criticized him. During our consult, I asked him for his side of the story, just to see how he would respond. I will not get into the details of those interactions here on this post, but I can honestly say that his responses made sense. He even acknowledged fault on one of the cases and told me that he adjusted his methods to avoid something like that going wrong again. In other cases, he gave me additional details about the case that were not present in the diary description. This eased my concerns and made me realize that (sometimes) a critical diary/ patient experience may omit certain details that are necessary to get the full picture of why a complication arose in the first place. Again, I am not saying that Giotikas didn't make mistakes. I am just saying that it is difficult to judge a lengthening case properly unless you know the full picture of what was going on. The full picture includes hearing the surgeon's side of the story, which is usually omitted because a diary on this forum is a patient-centric affair.
I say all this just to emphasize my point that (while he makes mistakes at times) he seems to have a problem-solving (self-improvement/ adaptive) mindset. That is critical for a CLL surgeon, because something can easily go wrong and a quick reaction is necessary to prevent further (more severe) complications down the line.
All things considered, my experiences in 2019 and 2023 were not perfect, but they were overall positive. I had a successful outcome both times and am free from pain and/or complications.
I sincerely hope this post was helpful and maybe gave you some additional guidance in terms of what to consider when interviewing your surgeons. Remember- choosing a CLL surgeon is just like choosing a lawyer or a high-level/ technical service provider. You need to interview/ consult with several of them, come prepared with notes/ questions, ask them tough questions, and listen to your gut regarding who makes you feel safer and who is more competent. If the interaction with the surgeon leaves red flags in your mind, make sure you write those things down, research them, and ask follow-up questions later down the line.
If anybody wants to know more about my time in Greece or my 2 lengthenings, please feel free to respond here and/ or message me over DM, if you wish. I will try to get back to everybody who reaches out. Best of luck in your decision-making.
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Topic: Deciding between Giotikas and Birkholtz for femur precise 2? (Read 1200 times)