United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!! I just want to ask if anyone has had surgery done by Dr. Terzis and what surgery did she do and the outcomes of it. I see that throughout this forum, everyone has something nice to say to other doctors but very few have mentioned Dr. Terzis. I'm curious to know why and also because my appointment with her is coming up and I want to know what to expect. Thanks!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Kim - Its 11-30-04 and my first time on this site. I am very familiar with Dr Terzis and a former patient. I had 4 major operations by her from 1996-1998 after a near fatal sledding accident in Dec 95. Due to my age - the nerves have not re-generated as planned & with the "lack of support" from my insurance carrier after 3 years, my rehab & continued surgeries had to be put on hold. My injury is a left paralyzed shoulder/arm(Global Advanced Brachial Plexus). After my first operation I was able to move/shrug my shoulder, but as for the rest of my arm - no feeling or use. Hope this helps & please let me know how the visit goes. PS - Karen in billing is wonderful.

I just had my first appt. with Dr.Terzis. My left arm has no feeling or movement from the shoulder down. It is not Advanced global bpi but 4 out of five nerves in the neck have been unplugged. Able to shrug and move shoulder. Dr. Terzis has been doing these operations since 1981 with great outcomes. There are only four doctors in the world that can do these operations with good results and she is one of them. A part of my decision is cost. Most of the other doctors only accept cash. Terzis has Karen contact your ins.(office manager) My first operation will be in Feb. and I will certainly have Terzis do it. Cost w/out ins is $180 thousand. Expect to at the office for at least 8hrs.

What do you mean that most of the other doctors only accept cash? I have never heard that before!!! Is this just something you were told when you went for your consultation?

In fact, maybe you can clear up something I'd read before about Dr. Terzis - that she wouldn't work with insurance but instead had the patient pay & then the patient had to try & get reimbursed by insurance themselves.

Best of luck with your upcoming surgery & recovery.

Take care,

Ellen

Last question & then I'll shut up.

Is the $180K the cost of the first operation or projected cost of all four? If just the first, based on other postings & our own experience, that's pretty steep...

Thanks for clearing up my confusion about Dr. Terzis.

Ellen

Ellen you read my mind. I have heard that Dr. Terzis didnt work with insurance either. That is what I heard from others around here that went to her. But I have to agree about the money thing, that is an outreagous amount of money for one op! Just my opinion!

Please do clear this up for us Todd.

COurt xx

I would also be interested to hear who these 4 doctors who can do advanced nerve surgery on the brachial plexus are-because I know of 3 in the UK alone who can do it, I'm sure there are many more. Will these doctors (or more likely their marketing teams) say anything to get new patients? I wouldn't believe ANYTHING I read on a doctors own website unless I checked it out for myself. I have read some very tall tales indeed on some of them and this looks like another one.
No disrespect to Dr Terzis, she's written some good papers and definitely knows her stuff, but there are plenty of good, very experienced bpi doctors out there, many more than four and all over the world including the USA.

Hi, this is Kim, the person who posted this thread. I couldn't log in my registered name because when I click on the log-in button, it just takes me to a page that says error. So, I'm replying as a guest.

Neways, I had my appointment with Dr. Terzis on Dec. 1st. I saw two specialists and a photographer but I met with her. With the data from the two specialists, she said that I avulsed C8, T1, and a little bit of C7. She wanted me to have three surgeries, the first one being in Feb. The first surgery would take 18-20 hours. Doesn't that seem a little too extreme? I mean, my arm functions normally although it is a little weak. My hand is the only thing paralysed. I'm afraid...

For the financial aspect of this... I am working through my paralegal. I don't have insurance and the guy that hit me is refusing to admit fault (btw, he going to court the 16th, for his DUI charge). It's true that Dr. Terzis charges 100k to 150k per surgery. I don't know how my paralegal is going to handle so but I'm hoping everything gets settled or compromised quickly so I can have the surgery and be on the road to recovery.

Thank you all who responded and happy holidays!

Kim C.

Over the past couple years, I've been in touch with a fair number of bpi patients via this site - and quite often they go to several bpi clinics before making a final decision. (Of course, I strongly encourage them to include Mayo Clinic on their short list!)

I'm amazed how much misinformation is given (intentionally?) when some of the other doctors are asked how their surgical options compare with Mayo. Suffice to say there are several examples I could give of statements these doctors have made that are completely false about the Mayo team's qualifications and experience - but one of my favorites is when a patient was told earlier this month that Mayo hadn't done a phrenic nerve transfer... when my son's was done almost two years ago.

I've discovered that many of these doctors have come to bpi surgery with education & experience in plastic surgery - and it's possible that they aren't as informed about those doctors who have different specialties & training. The Mayo team, for example, combine orthopaedic, hand & neurosurgery disciplines - and we felt the team approach this enabled was a big plus. I know I'm rambling, but bottom line - I'd prefer to think that the incorrect statements are based on lack of knowledge than from trying to intentionally mislead. In no way am I conveying that plastic surgeons don't also do exceptional work - since they, also, developed excellent micro-surgery techniques way back when. I'm just wondering if that is why these generalities are made about who's "out there" performing bpi surgery - and what their qualifications may or may not be.

An example of how many phenominal bpi surgeons there are worldwide: one of the Mayo team was recently awarded a fellowship that will enable him to travel extensively in 2005, all over the world, meeting with the best of the bpi best & learning from them - and I can assure you he will be meeting with MANY more than four doctors. (Kind of makes me wish John's injury could be rescheduled for 2006!)

Thanks for letting me ramble - you know how I get sometimes!

Take care,

Ellen

PS question - for Todd. When Dr. Terzis told you that only four doctors worldwide could do the surgery, what specifically was she referring to? Like I and others have written on this post, there are many phenominal bpi surgeons worldwide - but I guess it's always possible Terzis is referring to a very specialized procedure that isn't commonly done by the others. Please give us an update when you know more.

Thanks!

Ellen