This is a letter to express my deep appreciation for the wonderful treatment of my hernia surgery on June 10, 2010. It is amazing to me that with the complexity of this hernia operation that I awoke with virtually no pain or discomfort. Just as equally amazing is the fact that only a couple of days later, my life is totally back to normal and I am well and fit.
Probably the best way I can explain my confidence in you is this. My health insurance United HealthCare would have paid 100% for this operation at almost any hospital in Maryland, Washington DC, and northern Virginia. Even though I tried with persistence and perseverance, this preferred provider plan won’t pay outside this network. However, I chose to come to you and pay my own way because, quite honestly, you are the very best. There are so many vital organs in this region and so many possible complications that I couldn’t possibly list them all because I am not a doctor. But I do know that there can be many complications when the surgery is performed by an average surgeon-such as a nicked bowel during surgery and dozens of other serious complications that have longterm highly unpleasant consequences.
This doesn’t even begin to touch upon the possible high percentage of hernia surgical failures caused by other surgeons-such as what happened to my father-in-law a dozen years ago. In his case they later had to do “exploratory” surgery and cut him open from stem to stern to figure out what was wrong-which was later traced back to the tangled “mesh” installed with his initial hernia surgery.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I would absolutely, positively do it again because it was unequivocally the right choice. To you my complicated hernia surgery was just another average routine hernia surgery that you probably could have done in your sleep. To me, it was everything. You are indeed a caring and magnificent surgeon, a true gifted healer, and I can’t possibly begin to thank you enough for restoring me back to health.
Dr. Grischkan, you clearly have my gratitude and thanks.