Chapter 10: Surgeon Review

Today is 3 weeks post op! I'm also on my first period post op. Once it's over I'll do a whole blog post about it. Today I want to focus on reviewing my doctor, Dr. Ali Ghomi. He's located in Buffalo, New York and he operates at St. Joe's Hospital in Cheektowaga. His office is on Main Street in Buffalo in front of Sister's Hospital. I'm going to break down my experience into sections: the first appointment, surgery day, post op appointment and the hospital itself.

FIRST APPOINTMENT:

Making my initial appointment was easy. I could get in within 3 weeks, but it ended up being a little longer because I was out of town when the first opening was available. The secretary was so nice and helpful. The paperwork I had to fill out was easy to understand and arrived promptly.

The office is located in a somewhat sketchy area of Buffalo. However, there's a secure parking lot and they validate parking. I was so nervous waiting for the appointment. I did wait a long time (probably about an hour), but I was told it was because the secretary had to process a lot of my paperwork. The facility itself is old and definitely has 1970s vibes. However, everyone was so nice, especially the nurse.

I took a prescribed Xanax when I got there was because I was so nervous. I was so used to not being taken seriously that I was so close to having a panic attack by the time I got called back. Luckily, that was not an issue. No one ever ignored my pain. They listened. First a nurse took my vitals and went over my basic health history. Then she had me get undressed from the waist down and wrap myself in a sheet until Dr. Ghomi came in. When he came in, he shook my hand and asked me questions about my menstrual health history. He asked if I had been formally diagnosed with endometriosis before. I explained that I self diagnosed because 3 OB/GYNs ignored me. He immediately said that he believed me and reassured me that he'd do anything he could to help. Even just typing this is making me emotional. Hearing that helped me so much.

A female nurse then came in to be in the room during my pelvic exam. He was quick and made it as painless as possible. Usually doctors tell me to relax during pelvic exams. I actively try to not tense up my muscles. He said that he noticed my muscles were spasming from pain... not anything I was doing. That was so reassuring I could have hugged him (except I was naked from the waist down and that's just weird). We then discussed surgery and my concerns. He was very good at listening to the things that made me anxious and helping me reframe my worries. After I saw him I scheduled my surgery for October. This was mid-June. I chose to have it that far in the future because I wanted to enjoy my summer. Looking back, this was a bad idea because I had way too much time to Google fun things such as "deaths under general anesthesia," "dying during routine surgery," and "worst cases of medical malpractice." I should not have done that.

SURGERY DAY:

Dr. Ghomi was professional and efficient during surgery. He was definitely straight to the point when speaking to me and my family. There weren't any warm and fuzzies here... but I didn't need them. I needed someone to listen to me, find out what was wrong, and fix it. My only complaint is that when he went to speak to my family after my surgery, he immediately had them follow him into a side room to talk. No other surgeons in the waiting room did this and it freaked them all out. They wanted me to add to my review that his bedside manner is a little brusque. I was still out of it so I missed this, but I feel bad that my family was scared. I also wish he had called me post op to see how I was doing. My dad's orthopedic surgeon did that. My ophthalmologist did it after my eye surgery. These are my only complaints about him during the whole process. And they're easy fixes.

POST OP APPOINTMENT:

I was taken back almost right away. Mary Ellen, his nurse, was kind and compassionate. Dr. Ghomi looked at my incisions and then asked how I was feeling. He then showed me pictures of my ovaries, tubes, uterus and bladder and explained in detail what he did. He again reassured me that what I was feeling was real. We talked about future options, including pelvic floor physical therapy. He told me I could call him with any questions and sent me on my way.

THE HOSPITAL:

St. Joe's is old and in need of updating. Most of the staff was really nice, but the nurse that did most of my intake was kind of rude, especially about my use of anti-depressants. That's something I'm super sensitive to, because there is enough stigma around mental health without medical health professionals contributing to it. The other nurses, the CRNA, the anesthesiologist and my post op nurses (Bob, Kim and Bre) were all wonderful.

A Catholic hospital wouldn't be my first choice, but overall it was fine. It's old and a little understaffed (there were no security guards at the front door). It needs some updating. My pre op testing appointment took 2 hours because the EKG machine broke. But, it's worth the subpar hospital to have Dr. Ghomi as a surgeon. I am so glad that I did my research and found him. He will listen and help you to the best of his ability. I cannot recommend him more. Thank you, Dr. Ghomi.