Surgeon

That is just silly to assume there is something wrong with a doctor not being a member of a non-hospital online community.  My NUT and doc warned me about this site because people come on the boards and give advice that is not always the most medically sound.  According to the OH statistics, there are 97 bariatric surgeons in Michigan, and only 31 of those are registered here. Just because a doc advertises does not mean they are good.  In fact, programs like U of M do not try to go out and get patients.  They are more geared toward being very very selective about who they operate on so the outcome is sucessful. As I said before, do your research but be smart about it.  When talking with a surgeon, you will be able to tell if they are willing to give you their statistics, or just quoting "in general" figures.  Get a list of questions ready when you go for your appointment to make sure you get everything answered.  Also said before, find out what the procedure is for calling with questions after surgery.  You want to know that if you feel queasy in the middle of the night you can call someone. When you do ask about complications, leaks, etc. it is also important to find out the cir****tances of such things.  If you surgeon has lost two patients on the table, that could be because of the risks of being obese in the first place. Perhaps others can post what questions they asked at their consultations to help you out.

Bstar, You picked Doctor your way I will pick mine the way I will. It just seem simple to me we all know that this is a risky surgery operating on people 100 pounds over weight or more never is easy.... we all come in with health problems some greater than others So if you have 3 doctors to pick from or possibley more in some areas. I would pick the one with the least deaths, the least leaks, and the least over all complications. And the best over all program. There are many very good doctor's in Michigan and some okay one's. And some people really like the okay ones. For me and this life changing surgery I wanted best. With the least complication rate. And that is the program I went to !!! Each person has a choice.... and everyone should want only the best END OF MY STORY

Ummm...ok. I'm not sure where this thread is going.  I was just trying to help Dana with her question about looking at surgeons.   Brenda

I agree with Brenda 100 percent.  Surgeons do not have to be registered on this board to be any good, nor do they require to be.  It is OUR job to research and choose the surgeon for our needs, this is simply another TOOL that we can use to locate people and surgeons.  My surgeon is not registered here and I know his success rate and did my homework for years before I had RNY. This site is a support website thoroughly designed to bring people pre ops and post ops together to discuss our lives and questions.  Whether or not a surgeon advertises or states their membership is NOT a requirement.  Period. The question was "what is your opinion" therefore she is doing her research and more power to her for doing so. I studied RNY for 10 years before I chose to do mine. And no website had ANY influence on my success or choices in any fashion and I can only hope the same for anyone choosing to have this done. Stacey W

I am having rny surgery on February 12th with Dr. Yenumula.  My husband and I have met with him and he was very nice.  We watched a half hour video that he had prepareed first and then, he took his time with us and was kind and gentle.