Surgical Consultation: Prep

Karen's had a tough week battling nausea. The CPT-11 has a character all it's own. Ordinarily chemo is tough but about 8 days after treatment Karen will begin to feel better. That hasn't happened for her this week and I'm hoping it settles down for her soon.

For some time now we have been working towards surgery. Of course it's of paramount importance to find the right surgeon and facility for the job. The default response when someone mentions cancer in New York is "Sloan Kettering Memorial". The main reason (we feel) that you'd want to go somewhere like Sloan is to participate in the wide selection of clinical trials that they are running. Fortunately Karen is not at the point where clinical trials (read experimental treatment) are being considered.

Dr Moriarty recommends focusing on the individual performing the procedure more than the facility in which it'll be performed. Through a sequence of referrals from family friends we have found Dr Thanjavur Ravikumar [LINK] of North Shore LIJ [LINK].

Dr Ravi is the chairman of the department of surgery at LIJ and specializes in hepatic surgery as well as "complicated oncologic surgery".

Although we arrived at Dr Ravi independently of Dr Moriarty, it turns out they have worked together in the past. In fact Dr Moriarty's face lit up when we mentioned him which is certainly a good sign.

This hospital is not the largest in the tristate area however it comes with an excellent reputation for patient care .

North Shore LIJ was voted "Number one hospital in America" by AARP Modern Maturity magazine, the largest circulation magazine in the United States. Whatever doubts you might have, to be voted number one hospital in America is no joke.

The following article highlights the liver surgery capabilities available through LIJ [LINK].

We will be meeting with Dr Ravi on Friday morning and have as always, high hopes.