Question:
Does anyone have a surgeon that hasn't been in WLS field long?
I would like to know your input because I have been told my surgeon is very skilled at what he does and has only performed 18 surgeries. My GYN highly recommended him and that's one main reason I am going to my surgeon. He even did major surgery on me so I look up to him. PLEASE EMAIL ME AND LET ME KNOW YOUR OPINION ON THIS.... — Nicole H. (posted on May 7, 2002)
May 7, 2002
Here's my opinion! Follow your heart!!! I say this because I did not have
anyone to recommend a surgeon to me so I used the ASBS members list in
Texas and compared it to the United HealthCare list. There is a Senior
Member of ASBS in Houston, but that's a 3.5 hour drive, so I concentrated
on the surgeons in San Antonio. I had just a couple to choose from. I then
read here on AMOS all the profiles I could find for each of those surgeons
and I made my choice based on what I read and how I felt about what I read.
You however seem to have someone recommending a surgeon to you. When you
meet the surgeon at your consultation appointment, see how you feel and go
with it! Many surgeons start out doing general surgery and then find the
area they want to specialize in. Your surgeon may have only done a few WLS
surgeries, but I'm sure he's done hundreds of surgeries for your GYN to
know him! But don't feel you have to go with him either! If after you
meet him you don't feel comfortable, then you can find another surgeon and
have all of your records sent to him! Good luck!
— blank first name B.
May 7, 2002
Follow your heart is good advice. I will tell you my experience. I was
RNY patient number 6 (on april 8, 2002) for my surgeon. He is a very
skilled and competent laproscopic general surgeon and he is easing into the
WLS field. He was wonderful. I truly felt like I got better care with him
because he was new at these. He was extra cautious because this wasn't
something he was that familiar with. I felt like he checked and double
checked and listened very closely to my comments and complaints. He came
to the hospital personally 2 times per day to check on me. And his
assistant (also a surgeon- assisted during surgery) came one time per day,
and then they also sent their personal office nurse to check on me EACH
DAY.
At one week post op he took out my drain and a few days later I got very
feverish with chills, etc. He checked first for urinary infection, and
then for pneumonia (through chest xray) and then my white blood cell count.
Since none of neither of those seemed to be to blame, He hospitalized me
to check for a leak. He came to the hospital in the middle of the night to
meet the radiologist so they could look over my abdominal cat scan
together. I felt VERY WELL cared for. (In the end, they could not find
any reason why my white blood cell count was so high, and why I had a fever
and chills,--he suspected possibly a wound infection where the drain was) I
was kept for observation, and put on fluids and antibiotics.
Anyway, I hope my experience helps you in your decision. It was kinda
scary for me at first to use this surgeon. But he has such a good rep as a
general surgeon and after my initial appointment, I got a good feeling
about him and his practice. I hope things work out for you.
— A. S.
May 7, 2002
I had a fairly new surgeon do my open RNY about 9 weeks ago. I did my
homework and he was very highly recommended by my PCP and others. I was
very satisfied with the surgery end of things, but he really didn't know
what to do as far as follow-up care. Furtunately my wife had been through
this before and I was able to use her info for follow-up instructions and
her sergeon (I would have used him but he got called up to reserves right
before I got approved) has agreed to give me follow-up blood work, etc.,
after he gets back later this year. Again I would agree with the other
posters and go with what you think is right. My surgeon was very thorough
with the surgery making sure that there wasn't any problems. I have heard
some people complain about "assebly line bariatric surgeons" and
worry that they may get careless. So follow your instincts on what you feel
is right.
— Dell H.
May 7, 2002
My surgeon was fairly new, had done 30 surgeries when I went to him. He
had been a general surgeon for many years though, and I liked him so I went
w/it. He was wonderful. I would also agree w/what a previous poster said
about after care tho. He's still working on getting a support group
together, and a nutritionist to work w/him. You do already have a
wonderful support structure right here, so I'd say go for it if you feel
confident in their abilities.
— GGinMA
May 7, 2002
Her's my opinion... I went with the surgeon with a great deal of
experiance. He was at ease and a great bedside manner. If there were any
complications (there were none) I feel that he would take care of them. In
the operating room the whole team seemed to me like a well oiled machine.
------Good Luck
— Robert L.
May 8, 2002
My surgeon had only done 70 of these surgeries and most were done during
residence school. Yes I was very nervous but after meeeting him and seeing
how caring he was I knew this is who I wanted to go with. I also had
consultations with BTC in Belvidere, IL but after not getting return phone
calls from them I knew I had made the right decision. My surgeon came in
to the room before they took me to surgery and met my family introduced
himself and kindof explained again what was happening. He also was right
their in the xray room during my leak test. The day I went home he
personally came in and changed my bandages for me. He has an excellent
support group each month. I would highly recommend a "newer"
surgeon because they are going to be more caustious and I feel they are
more up to date with the times being fresh out of school.
Good luck on whatever decision you make. Rk LAP RNY 4-9-02
— Robin B.
May 8, 2002
My surgeon had only done about 50 when I met him. I went in as a self-pay
so I interviewed doctors/surgeons from across my state. Although he only
had a small number under his belt, after meeting with him, I felt
confident. I went into a lot of details on my meeting with him after I
chose him - it's on my profile under the doctor section. I asked him,
before choosing, if he was a surgeon of other things as well - I found out
how much experience he had and I asked around to hospital personnel while I
was there what they knew about him. He had an excellent reputation and
that on top of my personal 'read' on him, I knew he was the right person
for me. Good luck w/your question - I too had surgery on 04/09/02 - lap
RNY. Lisa Jordan (L.J.)
— Lisa J.
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