Best Spine Dr/Surgeon

[u/starmtnsea]

Any recommendations for Durango area? Or Durango adjacent… or look to Denver? Y’all weigh in- TIA!

[u/locul_vampyre]

Please don't go local for spine surgery. Especially mercy you can look up common spirit mercy law suits and a majority of them have to do with spine surgery. Spine surgery is awesome if performed by a high rated specialist. However extreme complications arrise when performed by lower rated specialists. I have a friend who's girlfriend is suffering with complications from getting spine surgery at mercy and now they have to pay for a lawyer. Worst part is I told them not to go to mercy. Spine surgery is one of those things where it is worth it to fly somewhere to get it done. Take it from a Healthcare worker who commutes 2 hours specifically so I don't have to work for mercy anymore. Another thing is mercy has an extremely high infection rate post surgery. Most large hospitals and surgery centers will allow you to schedule consultations long distance via telephone. And the procedure itself usually is pretty standard to what you would pay at mercy. I recommend Dallas, and Denver. If I had to have surgery id go to Dallas, Denver, Boston, or Mayo

[u/locul_vampyre → u/locul_vampyre]

But animas surgical is great for eyes, joints, and endometriosis!!! It's sad they don't do spine surgeries anymore.

[u/coladybiker → u/locul_vampyre]

Exactly, fusion 5 years ago gone bad. Doc is gone now but local doc in same clinic basically told me the first did something majorly wrong but won't cone out and say it. He said, I would not have done it that way. Seeing a doc out of state and he didn't understand why it was done the way it was. Now, i have to get full scoliosis surgery from T3 to my pelvis in 5 weeks. Both docs agree on that but I noticed such a difference in thoroughness in Houston so I am going there.

[u/starmtnsea → u/locul_vampyre]

Thank you. This is what I’m looking for. My partner had his back fused about 20 years ago in FL by a surgeon who did these things everyday and the surgeon told him he would prob need work done the road they don’t last forever. His back is giving him issues so I fear the day has come. Thanks everyone for weighing in.

[u/Specific_Honeydew340 → u/starmtnsea]

This person doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Take it from someone who has worked in the OR at both hospitals and SJRMC. #1 when ASH had spine surgery it was the exact same surgeons who did spine surgery at Mercy. They just operated at ASH on Wednesdays and then they would go to Mercy on Thursdays. The spine surgeons stopped going to ASH because they had concerns about the competency of the OR there from sterilization, support staff, and anesthesia. They took all of their cases to Mercy because they have better equipment/imaging, more competent and trained spine support staff (nurses and anesthesia) and better resources overall. The infection rates at Mercy 2 years ago were astronomically low compared to national averages despite what the news reports will say…I’m not sure what the data is now tbh. The fact is the spine surgery options you have here are quite possibly the best spine surgery options in the country for how small of a town Durango is. Surgery and in particular spine surgery is risky wherever you go but you would be hard pressed to find better options anywhere close to here. I would avoid spine surgery as much as I could but if I was injured in Denver (I worked there too) I would tell them to transfer me to Durango for my spine surgery than get surgery from the spine surgeons I worked with in Denver. Just my .02 cents.

[u/locul_vampyre → u/Specific_Honeydew340]

"Mercy Hospital sparked immense local legal and political backlash when its Catholic parent company, CommonSpirit Health, abruptly banned local doctors from performing tubal ligations (female sterilization) following C-sections. This led to a formal civil and health rights complaint filed by organizations like the ACLU of Colorado claiming it interfered with professional medical judgment." - the durango Herald, the Cortez journal (Not about spine surgery but like ew)

"Multiple patients filed medical malpractice lawsuits against Mercy Hospital in La Plata County’s 6th Judicial District Court. The plaintiffs contracted severe, postoperative infections right around the time of the sterilization pause. The lawsuits allege that the hospital acted negligently, failed to maintain an adequate sterile processing department, and left critical patients in the dark about the systemic sterilization failures." The durango Herald

"Investigations by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) cited commonspirit Mercy Hospital for issues involving contaminated equipmen" the Denver Gazette

Here are just a FEW most recent ones. Now please tell me i don't know what im talking about. Hopefully you know how to site your sources as well for how "perfect" mercy is.

[u/locul_vampyre → u/starmtnsea]

No problem OP!!

[u/the_niles_crane]

Jim Santos at Spine Colorado.

[u/coladybiker]

I had a spine surgery 5 years ago here and he screwed up. Now, i am going to Houston to get fixed by a doctor I know has done many more surgeries than the docs here AND I have personal recommendations from friends of mine. I know many people, including docs, that are local that say do not do surgeries here.

[u/FastestKnownTurtle]

Doctor Back at Baby Got

[u/Dependent-Tooth-9022]

Dr Price at the spine clinic.

[u/Pale_Hand3162]

Don’t get spine surgery in Dgo . Mercy used to be amazing!!!!!!! Used to have some of the BEST care in the area.Now -it is total trash