for Southern Surgical patients in Greenville

my seminar is thursday. what can i expect? do you you have any comments or suggestions? i appreciate any responses.  also- how do you know whichdr to choose? is that done for you ?

Well, they will make you fill out a lot of paperwork (or have sent it to you to bring that day).  Then, they will take you back there, weigh you and then you wait for everyone to come in.  Bobbi and Debra will talk about the procedures available (RNY/LAP) and discuss all of it in-depth, including the actual procedure, pre-op and post-op diet, etc. Then they will meet with everyone separately. They do it based on when you get there, so get there early.  We got lost and went to the wrong office, so we were one of the last ones to get back there and ended up waiting at least an hour or so AFTER the presentation ended to meet with Bobbi individually.  If you get there early, you will get to meet with her early. :) When you meet with her privately, you'll tell her if you are doing RNY or LAP and which doctor you prefer. You get to pick your doctor and they want to know that day. Investigate all of them and make your choice, but in my opinion they are all good.  We all have our preferences, but all are good.  I had Dr. MacDonald and would pick him again; however, my husband is going with Dr. Mann.  I know several people who have had Dr. Nazuri, so it is really YOUR choice. just make sure you are comfortable with him.  You will get the paperwork with appointments scheduled in a few days after the orientation.  Of course this is how it went for me and it may have changed a bit, but you can at least get an idea of what is to come. Good luck and I look forward to seeing you move through this process!!! Let us know how it goes!

thanks so much. i have done some reading and have no clue who to pick. i have filled out all my paperwork(as best i could).  i was looking at their website and saw that the scheduler, Tina is my bosses step-daughter. small world. speaking of small worlds, i didnt realize you know Michelle aka Nips :) . she use to babysit my son, Brady. you just commented on her graduation pic with him. you were right, i dont think he recognized her. im so excited about the seminar.. but not getting my hopes up since my BMI is just slight of 40 and i have no diagnosed comorbities *sigh* thanks again for your help i will get there EARLY !!!

That is so funny that you are Brady's Mom! I had no idea! I work with Michelle's best friend here at ECU... Michelle was a BIG reason I decided to go forward with the surgery! I had so many misconceptions about it and was TOTALLY turned off, until I saw how much success she was having and with no complications in such a short period of time... Look at her now? Only a year or so out and she looks like a MODEL! Of course she is really tall too... *hehe* Anyway, I forgot about the list of questions. You will remember things as they are discussed, but go prepared just to make sure.  You can also ask Bobbi if she thinks you are a good candidate due to your low BMI; although I'm pretty sure some other people on here had lower BMIs (they are called "liteweights" so I don't think you'll have a problem.  Bobbi and Debra are great though and Bobbi has been doing this for YEARS so she can answer pretty much all of your questions or find an answer for you. I chose Dr. MacDonald b/c I was originally going with ECU and Dr. Chapman, but my primary doc said why not go with SS so I swiched. I liked that Dr. MacDonald has practiced for over 20 years and has done MANY MANY surgeries with few complications.  He and Dr. Chapman (from what I've heard/read) worked directly with the doctor who was instrumental in helping develop the RNY surgery... However, my husband hs chosen Dr. Mann. He didn't like Dr. Mac's demeanor and bedside manner.  Dr. Mac is OK, but very "to the point", etc. I liked his experience though and could look past hte other. Dr. Mann is a big exercise freak and James wants to start lifting weights again so he decided to go with him. James also has a umbilical hernia and hopes Dr. Mann can fix it while doing the RNY.. As you can see, we both had our reasons for choosing our surgeons.  Honestly, I think you'll be happy with whomever you choose!  Good luck!!!

If I were to do it again I would have wrote down all the questions i wanted to ask because as soon as people started talking it all flew out the window and couldnt remember nothing. GL

Hi! Like Mindy said - get there early! I was the second one to sign in, so I got out early! I would also write down any questions that you have, everyone gets to asking questions and it threw me off. As far as the dr, that is hard.. I picked Dr. Naziri because I knew several of people at work at had him. I met him when he done my endscopy and I am so glad I went with him. He is so nice and his bed side manner was wonderful. My friend that took me said that he liked him alot, I was asking alot of questions afterward (even though I did not remember talking to him), but she said that he acted like he had all the time in the world for me.

Good Luck and let us know how it goes!!

Hey Melissa, Just like everyone else has said...  Bring a list of all your questions so you don't forget to ask, get there early and just be ready for a long appointment.  Dr MacDonald was my surgeon (5 years ago for my RNY and last year for my Gall Bladder).  I would recommend him highly and if I had to do it all over again I'd crawl to him, but I've heard good things about the other surgeons there also.   Good luck and have a great week!

I had Dr. Mann, he was wonderful!!! all three surgeons who work at Southern Surgical are AWESOME!!! my class actually came to me when they used to have Rhonda who works for Southern Surgical come and do her presentation in Jacksonville once a month, totally have your questions ready and best of luck to you!!

Darcie

Dr. McDonald was my first choice because of his training and who he trained under--my uncle.  We had scheduling conflicts because of his many speaking engagements so he recommended Dr. Naziri.  I was so pleased and had a delightful outcome.  I don't think you could go wrong with either of them.  Dr. Naziri has a fun bedside manner and does not mind teasing you a little.  Can't wait for you to join us on the Loser's Bench!

I absolutely adore Dr. MacDnoald! My father was a surgeon and thought the world of him and he is the ONLY surgeon he would allow me to go to.

Dr. MacDonald is a wonderful technician - extremely competent surgeon, a fine man with tremendous integrity. I can't recommend him highly enough. I thank God every day for him!