As I continue to prepare for my surgery, I am still trying to find the best doctor for me in the MD area. I was referred to Dr. Jon Weingart at John Hopkins and I saw he was listed as one of the specialist on this site as well. So hopefully someone has some experience with this doctor and can tell me something about it. I know, I know, Dr. Henderson is the best in MD but he doesn't take my insurance so that rules him out. Any info on Dr. Weingart would be extremely helpful. Meeting with him next week.
Lori, I had Dr. Henderson. I saw a doctor for a short period of time at George Washington University Hospital in Wash DC. I don't anything about his experience with chiari however. We never discussed the chiari much; after he found a brain aneurysm, we fixed that and....then....he said the surgery I needed for chiari and basilar invagination was too risky and he was afraid to attempt it. After that, I was lucky enough to find Dr. Henderson.
Kisimi - good luck at Johns Hopkins....I hope you find the right doctor; that is so important.
i know Jon Weingaret is familiar with Chiari. there is a womwn on the internet who has been symptom free for 10 years after decompression surgery performed by him. She raves about him. I have also read others who post good results by him. He, however, was the first neurosurgeon I consulted with and he spent a total of about 10 minutes with my husband and myself. He basically told me my Chiari was too small(7mm) to be anything but a nuisance. Even neurosurgeons who are not experienced with Chiari would put that number at 3-5mm. Most experts know that the size of the herniation is not even important. It is the symptoms that should be used to judge severity. He did order a CINE flow MRI though which is a good sign. But by the time I had the results from that I had gotten my appt. at The Chiari Institute and chose to go there. Maybe the CINE flow results would have changed Weingarts mind?
Hi! I am a little late in replying, but Dr Weingart did my decompression surgery. I had the best experience with him. He is a little introverted so he is quiet, but he knows his stuff. I have had concerns post-surgery with new symptoms popping up and he has emailed with me, called me, and then I found out it was unrelated to the chiari. I feel very comfortable in his care. I am also overly paranoid when it comes to concerns/issues and he is totally fine with me asking every question I have.
Never too late and right on time!!! I actually met with Dr. Weingart today for our final meeting before the surgery. Its scheduled for next Friday, Sept. 9th and I feel very good and confident in him and his abilities but more importantly the power and blessings of God. I will come out of this alive and much better so I am at peace with it. Dr. Weingart was very good with answering all my questions and explaining what he planned to do and what to expect after surgery. His staff was really nice and overall my experience with John Hopkins has been very pleasant. I also had my pre-op testing done today and they were also very efficient and pleasant. So again, thanks for the response and it was exactly the added reassurance I needed. I will of course, keep everyone posted on my surgery experience, etc.