Doing Some Extra Homework

You might have heard that I'm having cold feet about this DIEP reconstruction. It's a long, involved surgery so that's probably normal.

My mom, who's going with me for part of the 10-day trip so my husband can stay with our son (I don't want both of us to be away from him for 10 days), suggested that I do some extra research to convince myself that my decision is a good one and that the surgeon is qualified.

Good advice, naturally.

I looked again at Dr. Massey's resume--undergrad and medical school at Duke; experience in cardiothoracic surgery; fellowships in plastic surgery, including one for 6 months under Dr. Robert Allen, who pioneered DIEP's advancements over TRAM flaps; about a year and a half as part of Allen's practice; about 10 years as a doctor overall and six in plastic surgery.

It's not like I read a lot of medical resumes or even know that much about most of my doctors, but I'd say this looks solid.

Then, I wondered, how else do you check out a plastic surgeon? With all the talk about the importance of doing this lately, it's probably a good use of my time.

Here's how I did it:

I found this article from the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS).

Following some of its advice, I went online to see if she is ABMS certified in plastic surgery. After a simple matter of registering (free), I found out she is ABMS certified in that and in general surgery.

Then, following the suggestion to check out discipline actions and licensure, I visited the Federation of State Medical Boards website and paid $9.95 by credit card to immediately receive a "Physician Profile."

Then, really cruising with the research, I checked out East Cooper Regional Medical Center, where I'll have my surgery. According to U.S. News and World Report, they are certified by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations.

I also put her name into a couple search engines and turned up some positive posts about her. I didn't find a lot of information about her this way, but then again, I didn't find anything negative.

She met with my husband and me for four hours on a Sunday at short notice and she also spent some time on the phone with us after I e-mailed her a list of follow-up questions. My impression is that she was knowledgable, professional and interested in getting a good outcome.

So, lookie there, I guess I've talked myself into this after all.

I'll still be happy to accept any prayers, good thoughts, etc. because this just doesn't seem like a walk in the park.

I'll keep you posted.