"I attended a seminar at Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville. Dr. Rao was the presenter.
I went in looking for the BPD/DS, because my 'issue' is DMT2. In consultation with the lead partner of the practice, Dr. Webb, it was determined that I was not a good candidate for that procedure.
So I opted for the surgery they were offering, The VSG.
The process began with the August 20 seminar. My insurance required no supervised diet, no psych evaluation. There was the initial consult with Dr. Rao, the consult with Dr. Webb and the followup (inital) consult with Dr. Rao. Then the process began.
The surgery was done on November 25. I went into the hospital at 7am and was discharged the following day before 11. The total time in the hospital was less than 28 hours.
The procedure seems to have gone smoothly. It was a Laproscopic Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy. She told me the the tube size was to be 32 F.b., which is the width of a Sharpie Marker. There were 5 incisions, the incision at the navel was 3x the size of the others. She told me that the stomach organ wall was the thickest she had ever worked with and that the navel opening had to be enlarged to remove the excised stomach.
I had my first follow up visit 2 weeks post-op. They had determined that I had lost 20lbs. The next visit is at week 5.
I gave the Doctor a 5 out of 5 rating because her manner is personable enough, she wants you to ask questions and provides answers. The cuts (well 4 out of 5) had completely healed within 2 weeks. I have progressed from Clear Liquids to Pureed soups and meatballs to now (after the post-op visit) mechanically soft foods.
My AM (fasting) B/S used to be 320-380, with the use of insulin and metformin. Since the surgery, I have not taken either and my fasting B/S has been dropping- mid 200s the first week to 170s arouuud day 10. Last two days they were in 150s. All unmedicated.
Based on my experience, I would recommend Dr. Rao. She is probably the least experienced in the practice (Memorial Advanced Surgery and ENT). I chose her simply based on the fact that she attended the same medical school as my cousin. She is probably 2-3 years younger than me (2014- I'm 45), and I think I read that she has been practicing for 11 years.
One note: It does not seem that the practice (Memorial Advanced) is focused soley on Bariatrics, or that this is even their main area of emphasis. They are not in the business of trying to sell bariatric food stuffs, although they do carry a line of vitamin and mineral supplementation. The office staff is friendly, esp. in person, but the doctor advised me at one point that I will 'have to hound the staff' to keep things moving. I have been sick for a very long time and have a lot of experience in working with medical offices.
The hospital (Memorial Hospital) carries the highest bariatric accreditation, and the hospital bariatric office consists of 3, a coordinator, a navigator and the dietitian, who is the head of the office. They are all very friendly. The hospital requires a $200 (2014) program fee, which pays for their services. There is also an $85 dietitian fee. For the $285, you get a dietitian consult, a education class, and a post surgery (next AM in hosp) dietitian followup.
The hospital offers a support group, both in Jax and in OP, as well as a monthly exercise class (at the hosp) and some type of monthly outing."
