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539750 tn?1226521677

Question on Doctors in Southern CA

Hi All,

I have Kaiser and I am wondering if there are any doctors in my network that specialize in CM.  I saw an NS already who said I need surgery, but I told him I wanted a to interview more doctors before I commit to one.  I did call Dr. Daniel Won who is Fontana, CA I talked to his nurse and asked if he is a specialist and said there are so few cases that one doctors can't really be called a specialist...

Any suggestions?
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620923 tn?1452915648
COMMUNITY LEADER

  Hi can you please create a new thread with a bit more info...this is an older thread and I am not sure what area you need Drs names to research...I know Kaiser is a medical INS group in CA...but I am not sure if it is in a certain area....please add more info and I will help the best I can,
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Avatar universal
I would also like any new info about CM specialists at Kaiser
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Avatar universal
This is an old thread, but any additional details on a CM/SM specialist at Kaiser?

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539750 tn?1226521677
GS, sorry about your mom!  I actually had surgery in Jan, with Dr. Won.  I think he did a great job!
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Avatar universal
In 1991, my vibrant mother WALKED in to UCLA for spinal surgery with Dr. Batzdorf to shunt what he perceived to be a cyst on her spinal cord. It was not a cyst. It was scar tissue. She came out of that surgery paralyzed from the waist down and has been a paraplegic for the last 18 years.

I was 10 years old then, am now a 28 year old professional woman, and have a full understanding of my mom's health history. I still feel compelled to share this with you.

I understand that 18 years of training and study since that fateful surgery may have resulted in Dr. Batzdorf becoming a world-renowned specialist in his area - but my mom, and our family, were altered forever by his surgery.

I too wish you all the best,
GS
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620923 tn?1452915648
COMMUNITY LEADER
I am so glad u were able to find someone in ur netwowrk!
keep me posted how u make out!!


Good luck
Godspeed
"selma"
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539750 tn?1226521677
I contacted Dr. Won's office and sent an e-mail to my doctor early last week to get a referral to Dr. Won.  I followed up yesterday and the nurse read a note in my file which said I should request the referral from Dr. Abdou when I see him (tomorrow).  I told them I was hoping to see Dr. Won next Wendesday because I will be in the LA area so she said she would put in the request.  Then I had a call this morning that they wanted to verify with me that Dr. Won is in the Kaiser network!  So I called Dr. Won today to see what his avilablity is and he is booked until Dec 3rd.  I am about 120 miles away from him so I was hoping to see him while I was up there.

Thanks for the info, I will see if they can also put a referral in with Dr. Cahan.
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620923 tn?1452915648
COMMUNITY LEADER
were u able to contact ne of the drs on the list?.....just wondering how u r doing locating a dr.


"selma"
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620923 tn?1452915648
COMMUNITY LEADER
Kim, I've pasted some info I found on the web....please review and investigate any of them ...I do not have any knowledge other then what I read....and just because it's on the web, does not mean to believe it....I found that we do need to travel to geet to drs that r experts with chiari......if u r considering surgery, be well informed and have an expert.
below are from the web:



Dr Daniel Won, Neurosurgeon, Kaiser Permanente, 411 N. Lakeview Ave, Anaheim Calif 92807.

This is the Chiari expert in California . Alot of people go to him.
Ulrich Batzdorf, MD.

http://neurosurgery.ucla.edu/Faculty/Batzdorf/Faculty_Batzdorf.html
Professor of Neurosurgery and Director of Spine Surgery
http://neurosurgery.ucla.edu/Programs/
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Los Angeles, California

also others :
West Coast Neurosurgeons Experienced With Chiari Malformation
After reading voluminous web sites about CM/SM and seeing repeated mention of the names Dr. Milhorat and Dr. Bolgnese in New York, we started wondering if New York had a lock on Chiari surgery expertise. That’s simply not the case. I am sure that Drs. M & B are great at what they do, but so are many other neurosurgeons across the country.

Here is some general info on West Coast doctors that deal with Chiari Malformation / Syringomyelia (CM/SM) on a regular basis. I’ll add more information as time allows and as I get new information.

Dr. Leslie D. Cahan
Kaiser Permanente, Los Angeles (Sunset)
Dr. Cahan does all of Kaiser’s pediatric Chiari Malformation surgeries. We have met him personally and we are currently scheduled with him for Jaden’s surgery in mid April, but we are hoping to move that appointment up. Obviously, we feel very confident in Dr. Cahan’s expertise in decompression surgeries. His skill as a surgeon was verified by a non-Kaiser doctor we consulted for a second opinion (Dr. McComb, below).

(Update: We used Dr. Cahan for Jaden’s surgery and he did an AWESOME job, by the grace of God!)

Dr. Soohoo Choi
Kaiser Permanente, Anaheim (Lakeview)
We were referred to Dr. Choi by Dr. Cahan to get an intra-Kaiser second opinion. We met him, and although we would probably feel comfortable with him doing the surgery, he said that the Sunset facility (where Dr. Cahan practices) has a pediatric ICU, while the Lakeview facility does not. He also told us that he does more adults, while Dr. Cahan generally handles pediatric patients. For these reasons, we have scheduled the surgery with Dr. Cahan. We later found out that Dr. McComb (below) trained Dr. Choi and has a lot of confidence in his abilities.

Dr. J. Gordon McComb
Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, Los Angeles
Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles
We saw Dr. McComb to get a second opinion outside of the Kaiser system. He was extremely thorough in explaining things us and was very knowledgeable about Chiari Malformation and its unique symptoms. For non-Kaiser patients, I would highly recommend a consultation with him.

Dr. Ulrich Batzdorf
UCLA Neurosurgery
This recommendation came through a CM/SM patient who called me with a good report on Dr. Batzdorf. She also recommended Dr. Lazareff for pedes patients.

Dr. Jorge A. Lazareff
UCLA Neurosuergy
I received positive feedback on Dr. Lazareff for his treatment of pedes Chiari cases.

Dr. Richard Ellenbogen
University of Washington Spine Center
I recieved positive feedback on Dr. Ellenbogen for those nearest to the Seattle area.


I hope the above info can help u in ur search for the right dr for u.

Good luck
Godspeed
"selma"
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