If you have a question, a doubt, or investigations you would like to show me — an X-ray, an MRI, a medical letter — you can write to me directly by email. Many of those who write to me are people who have already been offered surgery and want to hear one more opinion before they decide. Others write for a parent who is limping and no longer want to postpone it. It is a first point of contact: I reply personally, so that together we can establish the next steps.
When a second opinion is worth it
A second opinion does not mean distrust in your doctor — it means a decision made with full understanding. In my experience, there are four moments when it brings the most:
- You have been offered surgery without conservative treatment — physiotherapy, medication, injections — having been tried, or at least discussed. For many joint conditions, surgery is the last step, not the first.
- The diagnosis was not explained to you in plain words. If you cannot say in your own words what you have and why an intervention is recommended, another discussion is needed.
- You have received two different opinions and do not know which one to follow.
- The symptoms do not match the explanation you were given — “back” pain that does not go away with back treatment may come, for example, from the hip.
In any of these situations, a second pair of eyes on the images and on the story can confirm the recommendation you received — which gives you peace of mind — or it can open up an option that was not discussed. Both outcomes are useful.
What I can tell you from an email — and what I cannot
The answer you receive is not a diagnosis and is not a treatment. I do not treat patients based on X-rays or analyses sent — no serious medical decision is made without examining the patient. What I can do by email: look at your investigations, tell you whether the situation described deserves an evaluation and how soon, and point you towards the right next step. The medical discussion itself takes place in the office, at the consultation.
For emergencies — recent trauma, severe acute pain, fever with joint redness — do not write: go to the emergency department.
Messages and documents sent are used exclusively to reply to you. They are not published anywhere and can be deleted on request.
What is useful to include
- your name and what is bothering you, and for how long;
- what you have tried so far (medication, physiotherapy, injections) and with what result;
- the investigations you have, as attachments — clear photos of the X-rays are sufficient; the written conclusions of an MRI help, but the images say more;
- the medicines you take regularly;
- what concretely limits you in an ordinary day — how far you can walk, what you can no longer do;
- a phone number, if you prefer to be called.
It does not have to be perfect. A five-line email with two photos is a very good start.
What happens after you write to me
I read every message personally. As a rule I reply within a few working days; in periods with a busy operating schedule it may take a little longer — if your situation is pressing, say so in the subject line.
In the reply you will find my indicative opinion based on what you sent me and a recommendation for the next step: sometimes completing the investigations, other times a consultation — at MedLife Craiova or, with a referral, at the Craiova Emergency County Clinical Hospital. If from what you write it turns out that the problem belongs to another speciality, I tell you that openly too.
If you are from outside Craiova
An important part of my patients come from outside Craiova — from Slatina and Olt, Târgu Jiu and Gorj, Râmnicu Vâlcea, Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Pitești and Argeș. For you, email is the best first step: we get to know each other before the journey, and when you come, the consultation is prepared. The evaluation, the surgery — if it is needed — and the follow-ups all take place in the same place. If you work abroad and are planning your consultation or surgery for a period when you return to the country, write to me in good time — we schedule everything within the window when you are home.