Gynecological Oncologist

[Grandmere68]

My ovarian cyst (10cm) surgery is scheduled at a private teaching hospital near here.  My ob-gyn and a surgeon will do the laparotomy.  There are no gynecologic oncologists available in our area.  It would be very difficult for my family if we tried to see a doctor at a larger city some distance from here.  My doctor and the surgeon do this surgery often (nearly weekly), and all my treatment has been appropriate.   We are comfortable with the hospital.  A family member is insisting I should see a gynecologic oncologist.   How many of you had surgery done by gyne-onc's as opposed to gynecologists and surgeons?

Thanks.

grandmere

[furrycat]

my surgery was done by a gynaecologist with a sub-speciality in gynaecological cancer, don't know if that classes as a gyn/onc? she is director of cancer services at the hospital too.  Anyway I didn't choose her, just ended up getting an appt with her but I'm glad I did because I liked her manner.

[TrudieC]

I had my ob/gyn do the surgery.  I live in Canada and we cannot just choose to have a gyn/onc do surgeries unless our gyn has suspicions that the cyst is cancerous.  My surgeon felt pretty sure he was dealing with simple cysts and he was right.  Good luck with the surgery.

[Sandymac]

Even though my cyst was smaller and I had the laparoscopy, I will share what my Gyn. told me.. We are near large cities.. the problem however, is that our population is so large... especially older residents, that the Gyn/Onc are really booked solid .. The only way to get a referral to one is to have a "strong suspicion of malignancy" by your Gyn. And, I guess I can see their point. The ideal situation is to have a Gyn/Onc do the surgery or at least have one on "standby". I understand that if the Gyn/Onc were to attend each and every cyst/ovary removal, they would have little time to see the patients that definitely need their services. But........

I would ask what kind of cyst does your Dr. think you are dealing with? Bear in mind though, that they can't be really sure till they do the procedure...  And.... on the "off chance" that there is something found that is more than a plain cyst, what steps will be taken? It would be terrible to have to go through a second surgery... and there are other steps taken by a Gyn/Onc that perhaps a surgeon doesn't do.

You seem to have a lot of confidence in your Drs and it does seem they have lots of experience in this area.. I think YOU have to be comfortable with your "team".. and by the way, many teaching hospitals are absolutely "the best".. and this comes from a dear friend who is a well known Thoracic Surgeon in Florida.. So good luck, and ask plenty of questions.

Sandy

[MarieMichele]

My surgery was done by a gynecologist/oncologist who is very reputable in my city (I asked to be referred to "the best").  In fact, when I was in the hospital prep area the nurses repeatedly told me (without my even asking) that I had a great doctor.  They clearly had a lot of respect for him.  He performs several surgeries a day (laparotomy and/or laparoscopy) three days a week and sees patients in his office two days a week.  I traveled out of my way to both this doctor and the hospital (over 30 miles from home as opposed to about 15 miles for other hospitals).  I wouldn't use my local hospitals on a bet (never heard anything good about them).  That's my personal experience.  Everyone's situation is unique.  If you have doctors that do this surgery frequently, then I would say they are well qualified.  It would help if you could get some positive reviews from people that know these doctors and their work, but not sure how you would go about getting that.