Don't know how I feel about my surgen

So I got a call this morning for my first appt. with the surgen.  My appt. is on the 11th with Dr. Smith at St. Joes.  I was soooo excited and over the moon.  Then i came on to OH to tell everyone the news and decided to go back in history and read the threads that had dr. Smith in them..... I dont think im too excited anymore.  I dont know how I feel.  I wish more Dr. Smith people would come out of the woodworx and let me no how their experiences were.  I honestly feel like i should call tommorow and tell them I wanna switch surgens before i even meet the guy.  Am I over doing it?  or am i taking a  risk going through with dr. smith?

Thanx
NK

  Need to make that judgement yourself. Do research on him. That's what's important r his stats. Requesting a new surgeon may set u back!

 St joes is a centre of excellence for a reason. All the surgeons in Ontario are so qualified and good at what they do. Or Ohip wouldn't cover it. Your surgeon doesn't have to be warm and fuzzy. Just really good at what he does. Hope that doesn't sound harsh. I don't mean it you. You need to be comfortable that he's a good surgeon. But some of the best surgeons lack bedside manner. But they get it done right. The first time :)

 No thats not harsh or mean at all!  honestly i dont care about his bedside manner.  but i read about at least 2 people on here that had major issues after their surguries.  but im sure hes done so much more than 2 surguries.  but there are not many people who have said good things about him. so it kinda worries me.  how would i be able to get stats on him?  I dont no, just lookin for feedback.  

NK

 I know what people you mean and yes one lady here has really had a hell of a time with her post op life.  I have watched posts on him carefully and I will say that since he's been a part of the new bariatric program here, I've heard lots of success stories and happy patients.  I know the one lady was with him well before the program and probably in his more inexperienced days.  good luck in your decision.  

Dawn

I too read those posts and was worried..I have my OTN with him July 6. I have chatted with a few people and they say he is good.

I had Dr Smith for my surgery last week and he is excellent. He is a very nice man and answered all my questions. He made me feel very comfortable. He is chief of surgery at St Joe's, as associate professor at U of T and trains other surgeons on minimally invasive techniques across North America. He checked in on me 3 times when I was in the hospital. I am going great at 11 days out.

I don't know the details of the two negative experiences with Dr. Smith, so cannot comment on them, but I can say this:

post-op difficulties frequently have to do with other mitigating factors, such as -
 1) "lazy" bowel activity - it's been traumatized by the invasive procedure, and extreme constipation can be very difficult and even dangerous to deal with
 2) post-op infection issues - very frequent, have more to do with infection control and overuse of antibiotics (therefore antibiotic-resistant bacteria) in hospitals in general
 3) hernias and other mechanical bowel issues - this can include strictures, which can happen with any surgeon. Can also be dangerous.

It is true that each surgeon has a slight variance on his adaptation of the generally accepted technique of Roux-en-Y procedure, and that each of these slight differences will change your experience post-operatively. But each patient reacts differently to them - Dr. Smith's personalized approach may be exactly right for you.

As was previously pointed out, our Ontario WLS programme is one of the best around, and our surgeons are generally very very good. My advice would be to do your research, but if you decide to put your trust in the system, you will probably not be disappointed.

 Hello guys,
Thank you for the feedback, im feeling better about the situation, although i dont know if i could blindly just trust the system.  does anyone know where i can get stats on this surgeon? i just want to do all i can so that i can go into that room confident that i made the best choice.

NK

Don't forget, you can ask Dr Smith any questions you have about him. He will tell you about his training, experience, number of surgeries he's done, etc. Your appointment with him is to address any questions you have so ask away!