okay so the hospital in my city has gotten like four or five strikes against them in the past year so i'm a little iffy about going there now. there is a commerical that i see for a hospital all the time an hour away. i also ask because my best friend wanted me to have it done where she had hers done and she lives almost five hours away. is it silly to drive hours away to have this surgery? or is it better to stay close to home?

I don't know anything about the different hospitals so I don't know which would be better for you but I think you should keep in mind that the doctor may want to see you as much as once or twice a month for the first year or so. Mine only meets once every other month but my mom's surgeon had her come in once a month for the first 2 years. 

First check out the hospital that is near by, if you doubt them even for a second choose the hospital further away. You may want to try the "seminar" which most hospitals host from there you can usually meet the team and ask questions. You are trusting your life in these people if you don't feel confident about them look somewhere else. One hour is really not that far of a drive for a better overall experience. Keep in mind you will probably have to drive there at least 10 times if not more. It is really up to you, but it would be wise to use the best possible surgeon at the best possible hospital. 

i don't think i'll mind driving the hour. whenever i do go, it doesn't seem that long lol. i attended a seminar last year at this said hospital but after hearing what my coworker said today, i'd feel better going the hour away. i've taken the 4hr hospital out of the running and basically just decided on the one in raleigh. now to just get started!

 The hospital I used was over 3 hours away from where I lived.  It was okay the first 2 years, then in the 3rd year I had a complication which made the distance more difficult. At that time I switched to seeing a dr closer to home.  The initial surgery is the difficult part, so I would want to go with a doctor who has an excellent track record and a facility that is capable of handling emergency situations that can happen during or right after you have the surgery.  For follow-ups, usually it's something like 2 weeks after, a month after, and then like 3 months, 6 months and a year out.  After that, for me at least, it was anual until my complication (which was a freak thing, so in all likely-hood you're not going to have problems).