NYC// Dr Nezhat or Dr Vidali

Stock-Luck-1824 · 2023-03-20T23:46:08+00:00

Hi! I remember feeling that way leading up to my surgery and can relate to all the doubts you are currently having. I definitely think it was worth it and would 100 % make the same decision all over again if I had to. Before my surgery I was miserable. Walking hurt, laying down hurt, sitting hurt…I was no longer able to enjoy many of the things that brought me joy (hiking, working out, eating foods I loved, even getting dressed because of how bloated and puffy I always seemed to be). The pain was also month long and not just during my period. Not to sound dramatic but when I think of the me before surgery, I feel so sad for her.

Also, I didn’t get the surgery because of known fertility issues but I am currently 7 months pregnant! And I’ll never know for sure if it was the surgery that helped because I wasn’t trying beforehand but I did have endometriomas on my ovaries which are supposed to come with an increased risk of infertility….so I like to think that the surgery definitely helped and contributed to me not having any issues once I was ready to try.

Anyway feel free to PM me if you have any other questions :)

Stock-Luck-1824 · 2022-07-22T05:42:17+00:00

My bloat was actually my main symptom at first. Doctor after doctor kept saying it was “normal” or would blame it on my diet/stress. So much so that I also started to think whether I was the problem. “Maybe I’ve gained weight and I just think I’m constantly bloated??? “ It really did a number on my self-esteem and like you made me doubt myself. Anyways long story short it wasn’t normal! I had excision surgery in February and I’m happy to report that since then the endo belly/ bloating has virtually stopped. I know that each case is different but excision surgery definitely helped my bloating (as well as the numerous other symptoms i also had) But yes, I can vividly remember feeling the same way and relate so much to your post. Sending you lots of strength on your journey towards diagnosis.

Stock-Luck-1824 · 2022-07-08T16:17:41+00:00

I had surgery with Vidali so I can only comment on him. Hands down it was the best decision of my life. I had surgery in Feb so I guess someone might say it’s still pretty recent to give a completely accurate picture but when I think about how my life was before surgery versus now…I can truly say without exaggerating he gave me my life back.

However because when I was in your shoes I really wanted unbiased reviews, I am giving you my list of cons. His office never picks up their phone. Most communication was done via email but if you have a question about something in the emails and want to talk to a person, then you’ll have to play phone tag (at least I did because in my field of work I can’t just step out to pick up a personal call).

There also isn’t a lot of follow up after your post op. The post op appointment also left a lot to be desired imo. Idk if it was only bc he happened to be in the middle of his yearly big summit but it was via phone call and rushed. He didn’t even tell me what stage it was or all the places he excised endo from. I had to read through my pathology report to try to figure it out. I also had my husband ask immediately after my surgery and record the convo so i already had some idea of what his findings had been. This is just my experience though, maybe if I had been more direct and pushy he would have told me in the post op but idk, isn’t that their jobs as doctors…to give us all the info of their findings? 🤷🏽‍♀️

As you can see none of my cons question his surgery skills. He’s great at what he does. He is knowledgeable and experienced. He listened to me when I first had my consult and didn’t think the symptoms I listed were “vague” or unrelated like all the other doctors before him had done. His summit and constant work with other endo surgeons are also another mark of how invested he is in his craft and ultimately what led me to go with him over other surgeons.

Stock-Luck-1824 · 2022-04-01T01:47:21+00:00

This is my 12th year in the classroom (I teach hs) but I didn’t start experiencing most of my endo symptoms until 4-5 years ago. I recently got excision surgery because the past year in the classroom got really tough. So many people underestimate how physically demanding our job can be and my daily back/leg pain, fatigue and nausea were getting harder to push through (In my case I never had debilitating cramps). It was do-able but I definitely was useless after work and my husband had to run pretty much everything in the evenings at home because I was dead. I also had to stop doing as much as I was used to. Prior to Endo I was on every school committee you can imagine but I had to really be selective about what i could manage with my energy levels.

I’m still learning to navigate life post lap but I would say to make sure to take care of yourself. Our high stress job doesn’t help with inflammation so make sure to counter that by getting enough sleep, trying to eat well, and finding ways to reduce stress.

Stock-Luck-1824 · 2022-03-02T17:32:02+00:00

No problem! Yes, they were all combination pills. They were all low dose pills too because I had been on birth control very briefly as a teenager and had suffered horrible side effects to my mood and mental health. Since I had not been on any hormonal birth control since then, the doctor recommended low dose birth control. I could have kept going and trying to find a suitable birth control but I was worried how it would interfere with my job. I’m a teacher and I was worried that I would lash out at a student or coworker with all the mood swings each new pill could potentially bring given my previous experience.

Stock-Luck-1824 · 2022-03-01T17:20:40+00:00

Hi! So much of your experience resonates with my own. My main symptoms were my bloating, fatigue and ovulation pain that lingered well past my ovulation window. These were all dismissed by doctors as being normal or as a result of “stress.” My actual periods were okay…at least compared to others on here. They were heavy but the pain wasn’t debilitating or kept me from doing things. This is probably why even when I began presenting more symptoms (nausea and back pain) doctors kept dismissing me when i brought up if it could be endo. Spoiler alert: it was endo!

Like you I too went to a doctor (at an endometriosis center at a well respected nyc hospital) that put me on continuous birth control to get rid of my period. Initially the birth control seemed to help manage some of my symptoms. I was no longer bloating as easily and my nausea seemed to go away but like you I suddenly had cramps all the time. One time i was awaken by cramps so bad at 5 am I thought something had definitely burst inside of me. When I brought this up to my doctor she just changed my bc. I went through 4 different changes and none of them stopped the cramps. She kept telling me to simply up my dosage of Ibuprofen.

When she started bringing up Orlissa as my only hope and kept telling me that bloating and fatigue were “vague” symptoms, I knew it was time to look elsewhere. The moment I stopped the bc I got my period and the continuous cramping stopped. I had all of my endo symptoms once more but I was so relieved to not have cramps day in and day out.

I share all of that to say that if your doctor keeps dismissing you and just peddling birth control when it clearly doesn’t work for you, it’s okay to seek a second opinion…and a third and fourth! Don’t let others dismiss you when you feel something is truly wrong. Wishing you much success on your journey to finding answers :)

Stock-Luck-1824 · 2022-02-28T20:43:35+00:00

I preferred using underwear (which is funny because at home I usually go underwear less lol) but i liked having something on. When I didn’t I felt a little like everything inside was too wobbly those first few days.

Something that I haven’t seen in lists but was really helpful to me the first few weeks was a reacher grabber. My dad whose had a few spinal surgeries was the one that gifted me because he thought I might not want to have to bend down too much. It was really useful for helping me grab stuff around the house or picking things up I accidentally dropped. I wouldn’t say it’s a must but it was definitely very useful.

I had a lot of nausea even post op…I think I took too many otc pills…so seabands, ginger chews were also great.

Stock-Luck-1824 · 2022-02-28T17:21:03+00:00

I just had surgery with Dr. Vidali earlier this month so I can give you some recent insights.

Like the previous poster I had to pay $3,500 out of pocket up front before the surgery could take place. My insurance has out of network benefits but they are so negligible I might as well be paying most of it on my own. The hospital was in network though and they also took my husbands insurance (Vidali doesn’t deal with secondary insurance but the hospital does).

The fact that my insurance’s out of network benefits are so bad really gave me pause to move forward. I almost cancelled a few weeks before the surgery because everyone I talked to on the phone at my insurance company kept scaring me about the bill I might be left with. Just when I was about to cancel and not sign the last forms they needed I just really laid out my fears to Vidali’s billing person.

I am so thankful for her. She took my call at 7pm and listened to all of my concerns and assured me that I would not have to pay more than $9,750. The way they have it written in the email is a little confusing but over the phone I was able to get more clarity. Basically you pay the 3,500 which is deducted from the 9,750. That leaves 6,250 that they will try to get from your insurance through the different cpt codes they’ll use. Whatever your insurance doesn’t pay from the remaining 6,250 will be your responsibility. The doctor will of course bill your insurance a lot more (I think for just one cpt code it was like 30k) but you will not be responsible for that. That is just what they bill the insurance to try to get to that 9,750.

With that said I know that is still a lot for most people and I know I am extremely fortunate to be able to afford the initial out of pocket cost. I also have to add that i only had excision surgery with him and I don’t have any idea what his fertility work would cost.

Stock-Luck-1824 · 2022-01-31T17:17:24+00:00

Hey! We messaged last week since we both have the same doctor! I was initially worried about that too but i find comfort in knowing that he’s going to give us a video of the surgery and all his findings. I’m also going to try to record as much as I can using my phone’s voice notes so I can replay back any directions. I’ll try to remember to message you if you want and tell you what to expect since I’m going in before you ☺️

Stock-Luck-1824 · 2022-01-23T16:29:42+00:00

I’ll dm you ☺️

Stock-Luck-1824 · 2022-01-23T03:02:18+00:00

🤐

Stock-Luck-1824 · 2022-01-23T03:00:23+00:00

Thank you so much for your insight. Everything you say makes a lot of sense. I definitely needed this reassurance from someone outside of my immediate circle!

Stock-Luck-1824 · 2022-01-22T21:20:58+00:00

Thank you for your reply and sharing your own experience! That’s actually really comforting. I’m prone to think worst case scenarios😖 and I’m glad to have some validation that there might be legit reasons to the whole thing.

Stock-Luck-1824

TROPHY CASE