"Dr. Kelly of UMASS Memorial Campus (Worcester, Massachusetts) was a small frame man with a gentle sounding voice when I first met him. Although I traveled almost an hour away to see him, I had done my research. He had performed thousands of gastric bypass operations using the laproscopic method.
When I finally had my one-to-one consultation with Dr. Kelly e was very thorough in his explanation of what was to come. His staff was also very helpful and supportive and they too reviewed the procedure with me. The nutrition class was very helpful and the 4 sessions with Dr. Kaplan about the psycological effects of eating was excellent. Dr. Kelly made it very clear who succeeds and who does not. Exercise MUST be part of your life and walking just doesn't cut it. The treadmill and more aerobic activity, especially in the first 18 months are very important to successful weight loss. This is a critical time period. He said I have to take responsibility for eating and exercising for total health.
The only problem with the whole procedure was that the expected 6-12 month estimate for this surgery with Dr. Kelly ended up to be 17 months from the time my name went on the list at my second group seminar until surgery date. This was mostly due to the growing list of patients, but there were several administrative errors and delays. Someone had cancelled my first appointment by accident and I had to wait another 3 weeks to get one. The required 4 week class with Dr. Kaplan atarted at the beginning of each month and I had to wait 6 weeks to get into the next class.
Dr Kelly visited me several times while in the hospital and the doctor who assists him visited me each day. "Nicole", which she likes to be called, examined the incisions, changed dressings and removed the drain on discharge day. She was also very supportive emotionally. Dr. Kelly returned my husband's cell phone call after getting out of surgery and left a very detailed message. A genuine doctor with surgical competence with great bedside manner!"
