Dr. Bedi is a very talented spinal surgeon. I suffered debilitating pain for many years, and was loosing my ability to walk. This surgery allowed me to walk without excruciating pain shooting down my legs. This is the one star earned in this review. My recovery has been a very different story.
As many in this country who have a job with benefits, we pay into disability insurance. If surgery or long term illness happens, we rely on the corroboration of documentation from our physician to keep income coming so we can pay for our lives. Dr. Bedi does not "do disability." His notes state that I had "no restrictions, no limitations," when I had barely begun physical therapy and still required a walker to get around. He does not listen in follow up appointments. Every appointment he had a computer up with before and after images of my spine on screen. If I was sharing what I was struggling with and was still working on in therapy, he would repeatedly dismiss what I was saying. Then he would turn the monitor displaying the comparison and say, "But look at that! Look how great it looks!" Pictures do not account for balance, ability to dress one's self, take showers, or any other common obstacles one has after major spinal surgery.
The man was always more fascinated with his handiwork on screen than anything I was replying when he asked how I am doing.
Long story short, he is indifferent once my surgery was over. I have copies of his progress notes. He wrote notes based on his inflated ego and not the reality I was explaining or that my therapy team had documented. This caused my disability insurance to stop paying in January. Now it is May. I could not return to my previous job because I could no longer physically do my previous job. I have been forced to support myself for months as I continue to recover.
His refusal to document what I was telling him led to termination of my therapy from January thru March. A full three months of nothing. I fell multiple times because I still needed help. The spinal fusion caused limited range of motion in one leg and I have other health issues that slowed my recovery. None of this was relevant to Dr. Bedi. Its been 5 months and I'm still supporting myself without the small yet necessary supplemental stipend of my disability insurance coverage. I had to sell my home, move in with a friend, I have lost my retirement and I have had to apply for state assistance to survive. I have paid most of my bills, but my budget included that stipend. Without it I have literally lost everything I worked and saved for the last 20 years.
I have been lucky. Most people do not have any savings, especially if they have had health issues. I find it ironic that a surgeon will bill me for several hundred dollars for each office visit, and thousands for a surgery, but willingly cuts off the income required for me to pay him for his services. I believe there is an ethical responsibility to any physician who you put your trust in, to be supportive through your recovery process. Especially one who does extensive surgical procedures that directly involve your central nervous system. This man took my spine apart, then inserted multiple pieces of supporting hardware, then put it back together. My pain was atrocious. My recovery has been slow. If it was not for a friend who opened their home to me, I would be homeless and on the streets. I have lost everything. Looking back, this is not a fair trade. This was supposed to improve my life but instead it destroyed it.... but I can walk better. The only support he gave me was another PT prescription after three months of struggle, but only after I kept falling.
I'm still in physical therapy and will be for some time.
Bottom line, his talents were not worth the cost I have had to pay with my life. I have explained my situation to him and his staff. He has remained unchanged in his decision to, "not do disability." I can understand hesitation for not wanting to do "social security disability, but I cannot comprehend why he refuses to appropriately document in his progress notes so the insurance I paid into for many years would continue. Especially so after I told him multiple times I needed it to survive. He fails his patients by refusing to listen, refusing to be supportive and relying on x-ray images and his inflated ego rather than quantifiable documentation from physical therapists, the input of my other physicians and my personal account.
If you are independently wealthy, he is the surgeon for you. If you are like any other middle class American, find another surgeon who will be honest, listen and support your recovery. If not, you will find yourself in a dangerous situation and struggling in poverty. He is an incredibly talented spinal surgeon but he is a failure of a human. read more
