Bad Bedside Manner

I must vent.

Many chemo patients have ports installed in their upper chest to allow the evil toxic drugs easy access to veins. When chemo is finished, the port may be removed. Doctors seem to range among 2 opinions regarding port removal: 1) get it out and get on with your life or 2) leave the port in for 2-3 years just in case you need more chemo. My oncologist is from camp #1 and the local surgeon who can remove my port is from camp #2.

So yesterday, I had a doctor's appointment (arranged by my oncologist's office) with the surgeon who is to remove my port. Before the port was installed in November, the surgeon lectured me on her opinions about waiting to remove the port. So I knew before seeing her that she was not going to be pleased to see me.

First she made me wait for 25 minutes before coming into the room, then she walked into the room with a "why are you here" attitude. First she tossed my file down on her little metal table that she uses when taking notes on patients, and asked me why I was here. I explained that the appointment was made by the oncologist's office, that the port was occasionally uncomfortable, fear of clots, and concern about limitations of physical activity. She poopoo'd all of my concerns. But that isn't the best part...

I won't bore you with a play by play but she disapproves of my choice for reconstruction surgery, demanded to know why I made the decisions that I had made, why did I choose Cleveland for mastectomy, commented on how I travel to the big city for my important surgeries but only use her for the little ones (biopsy, ports), told me that the medical community disapproves of the DIEP surgery (but that if this is the surgery I want that I should go to the best and gave me the name of a surgeon in Boston), how she could put me in contact in with a very good plastic surgeon who comes to our small town for implants, informed me that she attends medical conferences, talked at me about the best ways to do incisions to save skin (without asking why I hadn't had a skin salvaging mastectomy), ....

I have probably even forgotten the best parts but I think you get the general gist of what happened in that office yesterday. Her 20-minute tirade ended with her telling me I could set up a port removal whenever I was ready. And I'm going to get charged for this appointment. She made me feel so horrible that all I wanted to do when I got home yesterday was crawl into bed.

I am tempted to report this surgeon to the local hospital for bad manners, but this is such a small town that my attempt to save someone from her venom may have bad results for me. And I doubt, in the end, my report would do any good.