Got an orchiectomy with Dr Arnkoff, mixed feelings about the man himself

[Double22 (imported)]

This is a modified version of the post I made in VirPed.

He only accepted cash. We looked for a currency exchange after exiting the security threshold at the Detroit airport and discovered that all such exchanges outside security were permanently closed. it was already after 5:00PM when we arrived in town that evening, meaning all the exchanges and banks in town were closed, with us being due at the clinic 8:15 the very next morning. I say this because the clinic's clerk called a few days beforehand and gave my time as being 915. When I explained this to Arnkoff and asked when we should be at the clinic, he said "an hour early", which lead me to believe that we needed to be there at 8:15. So I spent most of what should have been an evening of joyous anticipation dreading how I would get the money changed over in time, only for the anesthesiologist to call, whereupon I got the clarification that the surgery was at 10:30, and that what the clerk who called me meant was that I was due to arrive at 9:15. Ugh.

He would not accept my Canadian currency, even though my appointment was 15 minutes after the exchanges near the clinic opened. Exchanging the currency was something that would have been far simpler for him to do after the surgery than for us to do without a car within 15 minutes beforehand. This is especially jarring considering that he was surprised that my surgery was at 1030, making me wonder if he really did expect us there at 815 and didn't know the clinic wasn't open until 9, or if he simply wasn't paying attention when we were talking. My aunt and I scrambled in a high anxiety to scrounge up what little cash the two exchanges had available during the first thing in the morning. We had to go to both places to get enough because it was so early and they empty their vaults the previous night for insurance reasons.

I don't normally flog off responsibilities on other people, but a doctor who is so adamant about not having a paper trail that he wouldn't do a patient that kindness under those unexpected circumstances is just bizarre. This really was 20 units of misery for us, 2 units of inconvenience for him.

When I met him in person, he seemed like he was on his last two weeks at a job he wasn't passionate about and had almost completely checked out. He did not give me any information on how to care for the wound when I texted him afterwards. https://ibb.co/sWRXQ2F The discharge paper that I mentioned in the linked text conversation had Yes/No options for fields of hygiene like "Shower", "Bath", "Shampoo", "Sponge bath". This discharge paper also lacked Dr Arnkoff's signature on the field Physician's Signature.

By contrast, the nursing staff and anesthesiologist were very kind and supportive; the latter (who is the father of a transwoman) even personally thanked me for paying for the surgery myself instead of getting it for free in Canada by screwing the system by pretending to be transgender. He spent more time with my aunt in the waiting room than Dr Arnkoff did. Indeed, Dr Arnkoff sat next to my aunt in the waiting room for about a minute to remark that his next patient was an hour away, and that he was leaving. I only say this because he definitely wasn't strapped for time when he insisted on us getting the currency changed over before the appointment. The nurse was apologetic to my aunt for the lack of information on the discharge paper, but was legally prevented from giving advice because it technically wasn't the BCSI's procedure. I think most of them knew why I was there.

The sad thing is that my experience with Dr Arnkoff was still the best experience with a medical professional regarding this problem thus far. Almost every other health care worker I saw did an excellent, professional job of denying me the interventions I needed; Dr Arnkoff did a limp, unprofessional job of actually providing me the intervention I needed most of all. I'll take the latter over the former any day of the week.

[Double22 (imported)]

I want to emphasize that the currency exchange was an 8 minute drive from the clinic.

[Cseriess (imported)]

Sorry you had that experience, but hopefully things are better for you now. When did you have the orchiectomy?

[keyman419 (imported)]

Sorry to hear you had such an experience. I've talked to him on the phone several times about different elective procedures (urological related) that I've been interested in and he does seem to be a more direct person. I guess like you said, he provided the intervention that you needed, and I'm glad for that. It probably would've been different if he was still able to do your procedure in the office rather than a surgery center. My procedure requires the surgery center and I've had a hard time getting the actual costs presented for me to plan. But oh well.

I hope your life is better now that 'the boys' are gone. Please keep us informed of your progress and thanks for posting such a detailed account of your experience.

Best wishes.

[CFI10000 (imported)]

He charges a lot of money considering that he only accepts cash. It's a stretch for many people. When he was doing a couple of weekly procedures, that quickly could add up to six figures (under the table - tax free for a Saturday morning job). His office is 30 miles from the airport. An expensive UBER ride. It's not the ideal place to be having this done.

[Double22 (imported)]

Sorry you had that experience, but hopefully things are better for you now. When did you have the orchiectomy?

I had

it done on July 28th, things are slightly better now.

Sorry to hear you had such an experience. I've talked to him on the phone several times about different elective procedures (urological related) Please keep us informed of your progress and thanks for posting s

uch a detailed account of your experience.

Best wishes.

The right side of my scrotum is doing a lot worse than the left, and that is where virtually all the post-op pain is. Even right out of surgery I noticed that the skin on the right side was more bubbly and pinched along the stitch line. When my mom examined it, she remarked that it looked like someone was trying to stretch out a very low supply of suture, and that in some places two stitches could fit in the space that Dr Arnkoff dedicated to one. I have to be careful how I walk and sleep.

I d

ecided not to pick up the painkillers, due to having a mild, high-functioning substance usage problems already.

He charges a lot of money considering that he only accepts cash. It's a stretch for many people. When he was doing a couple of weekly procedures, that quickly could add up to six figures (under the table - tax free for a Saturday morning job). Hi

s office is 30 miles from the airport. An expensive UBER ride. It's not the ideal place to be having this done.

I originally picked Dr Arnkoff because he did it under local and because he was close to the border, making land travel feasible. But by the time I learned about the lidocaine shortage forcing him to use GA and Via Rail workers in Canada going on strike, the appointment was already set. I had to spend just as much money and also fly anyway. If I had known that would be the case a few months ago I would have looked elsewhere.

[Valery_V (imported)]

I wish you a quick and complete recovery.

[kristoff]

The right side of my scrotum is doing a lot worse than the left, and that is where virtually all the post-op pain is. Even right out of surgery I noticed that the skin on the right side was more bubbly and pinched along the stitch line. When my mom examined it, she remarked that it looked like someone was trying to stretch out a very low supply of suture, and that in some places two stitches could fit in the space that Dr Arnkoff dedicated to one. I have to be careful how I walk and sleep.

Suturing can sometimes be a bitch. At times the skin will swell and cause pulling and can be painful sometimes. Not much to do except ice it to reduce swelling. I had some skin cancer excised from my left arm about a year and a half ago. When I got home, my nurse practitioner now ex, looked at it and asked if the surgeon worked with a chain saw. It had swollen a lot and pulled a great deal. Took a while but it all healed.

[WheelyCurious]

At the same time, I believe I've seen several comments from posters here about less than ideal cosmetic results from Dr. A, especially folks getting more than the minimum orchie procedure...

There are supposedly already many other more satisfactory options, and one would hope there will be even more after the much anticipated SOC 8 release...

WheelyCurious