Grandma's somewhat shady eye specialist

Do I take my grandmother to the quack opthalmologist who can get her cataract surgery done immediately, or do I force her to wait and see a different non-quack one.

That's the question I have been pondering after finding out some questionable things the specialist, Dr Lee, has done in the past and in present.

Seeing a specialist, especially one who can speak my grandmother's native tongue, took a while. It was about six months ago when the referral was made by her general practitioner and it's been a lot longer that grandma has been forced to see through the equivalent of cloudy milk as her natural lenses are no longer clear.

First, I didn't like Dr. Lee. He rubbed me the wrong way. Perhaps it was the culture and language, but I didn't like the way he conducted himself, nor how he spoke to me. More on that later.

He told me that there are two types of lenses that could be used to replace grandma's cloudy ones, hard and soft. The hard lens is covered by the provincial medical service plan, but it is dated technology, would require stitches in the eye and take a month to heal. The soft lenses cost money, but is what most people choose now as recovery is fast, almost instant and has less complications.

For soft lenses, there are three types. The basic lens for $350 each, which he didn't recommend. The $600 each ones, which he recommended, which provide UVB protection and light adjustment so she can see better at night. Then there were the $1,800 each lenses which have the UVB protection, light adjustment capability and is a multi-focal, which means no reading glasses required.

Grandma wanted the more expensive one of course and because she literally has no money for reasons beyond her control, I would have to some how fork out the money. Yeah, as if I have that kind of money to spare. But considering I would elect for the better product (you can't ask for the cheap lens and have them replaced with an expensive one in the future. What you get, you are stuck with for life), so I couldn't reason with my grandmother to live within her means. I would be a hypocrite.

When I asked the ophthalmologist to write down the the cost of the lenses and the types, he took that as me being cheap with my grandmother. He actually said that he's seen many families say their elderly parents or grandparents should just get the cheapest ones. To paraphrase it bluntly, he basically said that most families don't think an old person deserve expensive lenses, because the old person will likely not live that long. I literally argued with him until he reluctantly wrote it down for me on his business card.

That obvious wasn't the case for me and I didn't appreciate him assuming that I was like these other families he's seen. I wanted to do my own research and call around to see if the prices he quoted were reasonable. I question everything as a journalist, no matter if you're a doctor or a judge.

I made some phone calls and the price seemed to be on par with other ophthalmologists. I actually called the College of Physicians and Surgeons first, but they said they don't track such prices because that soft lenses falls under private practice. I then asked them to look up the specialist for me, since I had them on the phone, as all doctor investigation results are available to the public.

The person said there was an issue, but that was in 1992. I thought, "oh, that was a long time ago, no big deal." But I figured I might as well hear it. The woman said she would get someone else to call me back.

One of the doctors at college called back and asked me some questions on why my grandmother went to see Dr. Lee. I explained everything to him, including my issues, and he said that he would call me back before giving me the results of the 1992 investigation. Interesting, I thought.

Turns out this ophthalmologist was investigated in 1992 and his operating licence was pulled due to a high number of complications from the cataract surgeries he conducted.

Oh...

He took some tests and got his license back, but quickly gave it up to focus on office work.
Now because of my inquiry, the doctor at the college said they are launching an investigation on him for misrepresentation. I was under the assumption that this specialist was going to conduct the surgery. The college actually called the receptionist at Dr. Lee's office and impersonated a perspective client. The receptionist flat out said Dr. Lee conducts the surgery himself.

After more investigating, the college found out that Dr. Lee actually has another ophthalmologist, who is very good, conducting the actual operation and Dr. Lee is just there to oversee it.

The off-the-record advice I was given: take grandma to another doctor for a clean slate.

I have since taken grandma back to her GP and got a referral to another ophthalmologist. The appointment is not until the end of the month and who knows when the operation would be. Dr.
Lee's surgeon was available to operate two weeks after seeing grandma.

This is the unfortunate thing about seeking a second opinion or wanting for a different specialist, if you don't like the first one you were referred to. The wait almost forces a person to go with the first specialist they can see, even if you don't like them or if they have a record with the college. Otherwise your risk waiting longer and perhaps ending up in worse shape as your condition worsens with time.

I can't help but wonder now if I should just go with Dr. Lee. I would obviously sit in on the operation to make sure the licensed ophthalmologist is doing the work then.

Hmm...