The Jerk Surgeon

July 24, 2013

Today I woke up and my knee was extremely sore. I think it was from all the moving around and acupuncture that Dr. Xaio did yesterday. After some rest and an Epsom salt bath, it was much better.

I decided to keep my appointment with the surgeon to see what his opinion was of the whole ordeal. Dr. Thomas Carter is supposedly an elite surgeon with TOCA who works with the Phoenix Suns, ASU football and the Mercury. I knew that he’d push surgery so I was prepared for that. As with all allopathic/western medical facilities, I was called back to a room about a half-hour after my appointment time. It took another 15-minutes for the PA to come in and perform some manual tests. And yet another 10 to 15-minutes for Dr. Carter to arrive.   

After a he completed the same manual tests as the PA, he automatically said, “I know you have some financial issues so we need to talk about using your patellar tendon or hamstring instead of a cadaver.” Richard and I were shocked. He went straight to the surgery route without blinking an eye. He appeased me for a few minutes as I asked him a variety of questions including if he’d ever performed surgery on a martial artist, would travel affect me, etc. I also asked him if he’s ever torn his own acl. He took offense to the question. A few minutes later, as I was in mid-question, he got up and opened the door to leave. I asked him who I would speak with about fees and he said, “I’m the surgeon. I don’t handle any of that stuff.”   

His bio on TOCA’s website says that he is considered a national authority on the topics of meniscal allografts and articular cartilage. He may be a national authority on knees but his bedside manner is severely lacking. What a jerk.

You know how in restaurants if you don’t like the food, you can send it back or they take the meal off your bill? I wish it was that way in doctor’s offices. The only thing my $140+ office visit paid for today was reassurance that I will not be coming back to see Dr. Carter.

(I do have to mention that he did offer me peace-of-mind that I could start to put me knee in flexion and even begin swimming and using a stationary bike to get it moving so something good did come it)

Picture taken PRE-meeting Dr. Carter! No 'thumbs up' from me afterwards