"I am scheduled for surgery on 8/30/00 with Dr. Clark in San Diego, but will meet him for the first time on 8/24/00 at my pre-op visit. I went to an informational session with Dr. Weber in Seattle and had a consultation with Dr. Thirlby at Virginia Mason, but really wanted the laparoscopic RNY due to the shorter recovery time. Am currently fighting Aetna U.S. Healthcare for in-network coverage (they approved out-of-network at 70% with no problem) since noone in Seattle does the lap. I went with Dr. Clark because he and Dr. Wittgrove were the surgeons who pioneered the lap technique for this surgery, have published their results, and seem to have the most experience with this type of surgery. I will post more after I meet Dr. Clark and/or have some resolution on my current appeal for in-network coverage with Aetna."
