What's with all the deleted comments?

Really?

Trying to research in a redacted library

TL;DR: I had a trachea shave with Dr. Saxon. She's an excellent surgeon and I'm happy with the result, but numerous issues with her practice manager make me question returning to her for FFS.

Dr. Saxon did my trachea shave about a month ago. I went with her because she trained in Otolaryngological (head and neck) surgery prior to her FFS fellowship with Spiegel. My Adam's apple was very large, and I wanted a surgeon that specialized in the area outside of FFS. Furthermore, I was impressed with her process to locate and preserve the vocal cords during the surgery. It shocked me to find out how many surgeons still go by "feel" considering how it's nearly impossible to treat vocal issues following a botched trachea shave.

I found Dr. Saxon to be kind, personable, and thorough. I went into the consult thinking we would only discuss the trachea shave, but we ended up doing a full FFS consult and she patiently answered all of my questions. In reviewing my medical history she noticed I'd had sinus surgery and she asked me about my results, and later at my pre-surgery consult, she saw that I had indicated a recent gastrointestinal issue on my updated medical history and she suggested possible procedures I could discuss with a specialist. I appreciated her attention to my general health as opposed to just my appearance. At both consults she drew a cross section of a head and neck to explain the trachea shave procedure. Her attention to detail helped put me at ease about the surgery. Also, I felt she was honest about the results I could expect given my age and the size of my Adam's apple.

Dr. Saxon mentioned that because of my weight (I'm on the slender side) my Adam's apple could still be somewhat visible after the procedure. At this point I can see a small lump when I hold my neck at certain positions, but when I sit or stand up straight it almost disappears. She closed the incision with surgical glue, which made my post-op care easy as I didn't have to deal with bandages or dressings, and she did a great job minimizing the scar. I still have some tightness and swelling, but nothing noticeable or unmanageable.

Overall I'm happy with Dr. Saxon's work, but unfortunately my experience with her practice was not entirely smooth. Her practice manager DeAndra was an absolute nightmare to deal with. Everything from the initial consult to payment to scheduling transportation for the day of surgery was difficult and frustrating.

My issues with DeAndra started before the inital consultation, when she sent me texts telling me I needed to complete consent forms I had already signed and submitted. When I replied to her texts to tell her I had completed the forms, I immediately received an automated response followed a few days later by another text from her telling me I needed to complete the forms I had already submitted. I called the office to resolve the issue, but my voicemails went went answered (it's rare someone answers the phone at Saxon MD; usually you have to leave a voicemail). A few days before the initial consult I received a text from DeAndra telling me that Dr. Saxon could not see me until I had completed the forms. I had to send her an annotated screen capture of the patient portal to prove I had signed and submitted the forms a week prior. Next, following my initial consult with Dr. Saxon, I scheduled my surgery and paid my deposit to DeAndra. She gave me a verbal quote for the procedure and said she would send a copy in an email, which I never received. After the pre-surgery consult I met her to pay my balance and she tried to charge me the full amount without subtracting the deposits I had already paid, so we had an argument over that. Finally, she scheduled transportation for the day of my surgery with a 45 minute travel time when I live within walking distance of the surgery center. I had to call the transportation company myself to make alternate arrangements so that I wouldn't have to sit outside the surgery center in the dark waiting for it to open (my arrival was scheduled for 6:30am).

Surgery is stressful enough without having to go through all that. The experience makes me question returning to Dr. Saxon for FFS despite the quality of her work.

Wow, can't say I was this thorough with consults for my FFS. Impressed! Sounds like you're making good choices.

It feels like everyone's default instinct is to encourage others to make the same choices they made, so if your gut says Saxon you should trust yourself. I'll offer my recent experience in case it's helpful...

I'm about 6 weeks post-op w/Kuperstock. During the consult it sounded like he'd done a LOT of procedures during his time working w/Spiegel and his solid knowledge left me feeling pretty comfortable that I was in good hands. He was super responsive to (many) emails both before and after. The surgery itself went really well and I'm still healing but am impressed with the results.

Also noteworthy, his office was really good to deal with (pre and post-surgical) and the Invoa hospital in Fairfax VA where the procedure was done was REALLY nice.

Good luck with your decision and (ultimately) surgery!!

I can’t really comment on Dr Mundinger for FFS (though I kind of had an informal consult for it yesterday 5/17) during my 2 month follow up with him after he performed my GRS in New Orleans. I honestly cried because he is going to go to the Crane Center, but based on what we talked about yesterday, if I decide to get FFS I will probably reach back out to him.

Thank you for sharing your detailed research! Very helpful!

Thanks for doing such a well thought out review. It really seems like you covered all your bases and it's nice to hear about some of the smaller surgeons. If you don't mind me asking, I was actually considering jumaily as I haven't seen much negative feedback, what were your issues / concerns with him?