Second opinions
If you have been told you need spine surgery
Spine surgery is a significant decision and a second opinion is a normal part of making it. Dr. Mitchell Long sees people from across Suffolk and Nassau who have been offered an operation, and people whose previous surgery has not worked.
When to ask
When a second opinion is worth getting
Any one of these is a reason to be seen. Several of them together is a strong one.
What happens
What the appointment involves
Most of the appointment is spent on this rather than on planning an operation. Dr. Long reviews your imaging himself — not only the report — along with any previous operative notes, and examines you.
Where previous surgery has not helped, this is the substance of the visit. The possible reasons require completely different responses, and the wrong one is how a second operation fails the same way as the first.
What the problem is, what the options are, and what each would and would not be expected to achieve. Frequently the honest answer is that further surgery is not the right step, and he will say so.
Common questions
Before you decide
Bring your imaging and your operative notes
They are more useful than a new scan, and they are what makes a second opinion worth having.
Second opinions
Bring your imaging and your operative notes.
They are more useful than a new scan, and they are what makes a second opinion worth having.
One number for all six offices