Best Doctors in real life

Alexis² was born with severe cardiac defects. By six weeks she had developed signs of respiratory distress, congestive heart failure, poor oral intake and failure to thrive. The family was told there was nothing that could be done, and Alexis would soon die.

Hospice care, high doses of morphine and cardiac medications were started.

To Alexis' parents it seemed as if all their options had been exhausted until Alexis’ mother called Best Doctors.

The Best Doctors' team connected Alexis and her treating physician with one of the world's top Paediatric Cardiac Surgeons, chosen from the Best Doctors' global network of 50,000 specialists.

The Best Doctors expert recommended a pioneering surgery that would not only save Alexis' life, but also offer her full life-expectancy.

A few weeks later, after the complex surgery was successfully completed, Alexis' heart worked perfectly and she now lives a normal life.

Our baby is alive, her little heart is fixed. Alexis is playing with her older brother, laughing and has no more pain. Our family is overwhelmed with joy. Thank you, thank you Best Doctors.

Mary² was 33 and had completely lost her sight over a period of months. She was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour requiring emergency open head surgery; a procedure both dangerous and disfiguring.

The location of the tumour required the optic nerve to be cut and permanent blindness would result. She turned to Best Doctors in the hope they could find an alternative treatment.

Thanks to Best Doctors she discovered she did not have a life-threatening tumour; rather she had sarcoidosis, a treatable inflammatory condition.

For final determination and expert advice on treatment, the assessment was forwarded to a Rheumatologist, from the Best Doctors global network, who confirmed sarcoidosis. The Rheumatologist immediately phoned Mary's surgeon and recommended cancelling the operation.

Mary's surgeon was sceptical, but at the insistence of the specialist, agreed to delay the operation for 48 hours. During this time, anti-inflammatory drugs were administered and the change was dramatic: her eyesight began to return almost immediately.

Today, Mary is healthy and active with full eyesight and thankful for the services of Best Doctors.

Sheila² recently underwent a routine mammography which indicated some suspicious findings and a biopsy indicated she had breast cancer. She immediately contacted Best Doctors.

Best Doctors appointed a dedicated medical professional who arranged for the collection of all her relevant medical records including recent imaging studies and a biopsy sample. The samples were sent by Best Doctors to a top pathology lab for further review by a leading specialist who specialised in breast cancer.

The expert concluded that Sheila did not have breast cancer.

To be absolutely certain of the diagnosis, Best Doctors also sent the biopsy to another top pathology laboratory identified by Best Doctors, who again confirmed that she did not have breast cancer.

Sheila's medical professional from Best Doctors provided her with the detailed report prepared by the specialist and explained the content in depth which she shared with her treating doctor.

Sheila was extremely grateful for the information which demonstrated she did not have cancer.

The outcome meant that Sheila avoided surgery and potentially toxic radiation and chemotherapy. Best Doctors also provided her with information on the follow-up she should have to ensure she did not develop breast cancer, or if it did develop, that it would be caught early, resulting in a higher treatment success rate.

When Barry² turned 50 his wife Sue² insisted he go to their family doctor for a check-up.

Although the medical exam found him "healthier than the doctor", when Barry admitted to experiencing night sweats, his doctor became concerned and ordered blood tests which revealed a low white cell count.

During the next few weeks as they waited for the test results, Barry discovered a lump on his neck. Subsequent blood tests and a biopsy of the growth revealed a lymphoma. A local oncologist recommended aggressive chemotherapy.

Sue contacted Best Doctors the day Barry was diagnosed with cancer. The Best Doctors medical professional arranged for copies of all of Barry's records, charts etc. to be forwarded to the leading medical specialist.

After intense review, the Best Doctors report stated there had been an error in interpretation by the initial pathologist.

The specialist's analysis revealed that the tumour had potential to develop into a more malignant type of cancer, and would require different treatment than was initially proposed.

A new treatment was recommended, and John avoided the second round of more aggressive chemotherapy the earlier prognosis would have called for.