Monday, September 28, 1998
Northwest Florida Daily News
The syndicated column of Dr. Art Mollen
Southwest Health Institute, Phoenix, AZ

Medical
Services
Available

DEAR DR. MOLLEN:
I've been reading your column for years and have heard you talk about getting a second opinion.

Besides seeing another doctor and spending more money, is there a medical information service available to get a second opinion about an illness?

John K.
Salina, Kan

DEAR JOHN:
Good question. Second opinions are indeed an important part of medicine, particularly if you are trying to find out about a new procedure for your illness, a new medication or an alternative treatment. Although, seeing another physician for a second opinion may be best, a reliable medical information service may work for you.
One such service is Second Opinion Medical Information Resources, located in Fort Walton Beach. Their address is 211 Tooke St., Suite D.

PRESIDENT CLINTON'S THANK YOU LETTER TO SECOND OPINION -

10/1999
John,

Wanted to give you an update on the outcome of my endoscopic discectomy with the physician you recommended.
The day after surgery, the terrible throbbing pain in my leg while sleeping completely disappeared. I do however continue to have leg pain when I walk, but this is getting less and less everyday. I am still off work. The residual leg pain is most likely due to surgery inflammation and some compressed nerve damage that needs time to heal. I think the doctor you recommended did a good job, and I am pretty sure we can call this a complete success if recovery continues at present rate.

You were correct in that EVERYONE (insurance co, other surgeons) say large fragmented disc herniations cannot be performed via endoscopic. And I believe you are also correct that without lots of experience, most doctors would indeed fail at this procedure using the endoscopic approach. The key is to find a doc that does it a thousand times.

I have no I idea how things would have turned out had I gone the traditional discectomy route - but I feel very fortunate having talked with you.

Hope you are doing well.

I had Second Opinion research EPILEPSY SEIZURES for me. My friends doctor could not figure out how to control his seizures or what may be causing them. Second Opinion found out it was the chemical's he was working with causing the seizures. They also sent me a list of other products know to cause seizures.

Dina Watkins
Ft. Johnson, N.Y

Being a skeptic, it was comforting to know that a service like this exists. I was amazed that they could locate a hospital in a different part of the country that had a better success rate than others. It was also comforting to know that my doctor was well qualified to do the procedure I wanted done.

Danny Dodge
FWB, FL.
 

I tried researching Paget's disease on my own and found very little. Second Opinion found all I ever wanted to know and more. I was very pleased.

Al Riccio
Amsterdam, N.Y.
 

Second Opinion saved me over $450.00 a month on my Hepatitis C drugs.

Privacy please - Pensacola, FL. 
 

Doctors wanted to perform exploratory surgery on my mother because she had blood coming from her vagina. (for weeks) They did all kinds of tests and could not find out why it was bleeding or how to stop it.

Second Opinion found me a doctor who said surgery was not necessary. After tests they performed, they gave her medication to take and it stopped.

I truly believe my mother would not be alive today if we didn't get a Second Opinion.

Anonymous in Alabama/Florida

Fast, easy to read information. It was everything I needed.

Scott Smith
Oregon

Mr. Kalinsky was asked to do a Physician Background Check for one of Sally’s viewers. Show aired, April 17th 2000.

A Second Opinion Medical, was established in April of 1992. John Kalinsky, who started this business is a prime example of how valuable current information can be to someone in need of medical care. This is his story.

On September 5, 1982, I was involved in a motorcycle accident and sustained brachial plexus nerve damage to the spinal cord which left me with no use of my left arm. My doctor informed him that I would never regain the use of it.

In February of 1983, I learned of two procedures for this type of injury. One, electrical acupuncture that could possibly stimulate the nerve to promote growth so the nerve endings would connect. The second, brachial plexus nerve grafting, a procedure being performed in Toronto, Canada and throughout the United States.

I visited the facility in Toronto and was told that the procedure was most successful when performed within two months of the injury, but a chance still existed. While deciding whether to have the operation or not, I conferred with my original doctor. My doctor said he was aware of the procedures but did not recommend them at the time of the accident because he did not believe in them. The nerve grafting procedure only had a success rate of 38%. I was very upset. He had known about the procedures yet had not offered them as options. My math says 38% is a little better than 0%. What was he thinking.
Later, after researching the procedure, I found that the operation worked 38% of the time in Albany, NY where I was - 46% in Houston, TX - and 72% of the time in Toronto, Canada. ( If operated on within two months of the accident. ) 

I underwent the 11-1/2 hour operation on March 23, 1983.
Unfortunately, the operation was only partially successful. Movement in the arm did not return but some feeling in the arm did.
I will always wonder if I was told of the option’s sooner, would it have saved my arm. Regardless, the options should have been given to me.

John W. Kalinsky, Owner of Second Opinion Medical has been published by :

Planning to buy a washing machine? You've probably done your homework, perhaps looking at a consumer magazine and comparing models.   

Looking for a doctor or a medical procedure? you may ask a friend or getting a referral from your doctor can help, but what you really need is objective information about quality of care. This is how Second Opinion Medical can help you.

High cost and quality don't necessarily correlate.
Comparing two hospital's in Philadelphia on heart bypass surgery, one charged $84,000.00 and the other charged $44,000.00. The higher priced hospital had a higher-than-expected mortality rate, while the other had a death rate in the range expected.

A busier surgeon means better care. (Comparing bypass surgery)
Surgeons doing more than 50 operations a year did significantly better (an on average risk-adjusted mortality rate of 3.2%) than surgeons doing fewer (average rate, 7.2%).

The type of surgery you have may depend on where you live or what hospital you're at! ?
The chance of an Iowa man with enlarged prostate will undergo surgery for the problem varies from 15% to 60% depending on the hospital treating him.
 
The chance that a woman in Maine will eventually have a hysterectomy ranges from 20% - 70% depending on where she lives.
Why the difference, local preference rather than any scientific justification.

This Cancer Surgery Can Kill You.
In certain cancers, the intrusion of the surgery itself can prove deadly down the road. Gastric and rectal cancer could improve its success rate by as much as 40% if the surgeon would stop operating with the old techniques.
 
The majority of surgeons in the U.S. are still performing outdated procedures that can cause the accidental spread 
of cancer cells.