dr. chua

Ok, I have started this journey with a surgeon by the name of dr. kumar, and from our consult, and knowing all i had to choose from was an open rny, I have found that I am leaning more towards the ds instead, so I called Dr. Kumar's office and asked what they thought,and they thought it would be best for me to see Dr. Chua, for the surgery, So I called and they have told me I need to go to the seminar first and then consult with him and find I need to do the dietician, and the psyc eval, the only problem I have is that I already seen the dietician, had my gallbladder ultrasound, and I have a eval date set up, but by talking to the gal on the phonefor the seminar, she think's I will have to see all his dr.'s for this, so I am actually at step 1 all over again, I chose to do the DS rather than the rny due to my diabeties and the sucess rate for that, also for the fact I have arthritis, and I will need to take nsaids  for that.. I have united healthcare through badger care plus, and i am hoping I can get approved for this, if there is anyone out there who has had this surgery here in wi. and with badger care ins. please let me know..does anyone know here who has had the ds surgery with dr. chua?And  also does anyone really know how fast the process is of getting appointments and seeing the dr.'s for the dietician or the eval, how long did anyone have to wait..? I just am rambleing on .. any info would be appreciated.. thank's a bunch..

I am going thru the process with Dr Chua office now.  Before they would make an appointment they needed me to go to the seminar also.  At the seminar, they will give you packet of paperwork to fill out.  The first thing that they will ask you to do is contact your insurance company to find out what WLS they will cover, if any.  Some cover DS and some don't.  And what their requirements are.  My insurance  required me to have three visits with the NUT.  You'll need to have a letter from your primary care MD  for the insurance company and there will be referral forms for them to fill out.  Once you have all these completed, you will need to make a copy for yourself and send the a copy of all the forms to Dr Chua's office. Once theyreceive them they will contact you to make an appointment for the NUT and Psych evaluation.
After your appointments, the NUT, Psych., Nurse and MD will all sit down together and discuss your case before you get an appointment to see the MD.
There is a support group meeting tomorrow night, come and talk to his other patient to see if there is someone has the same insurance as you or has been in the same boat as you.

Tammy come to the support meeting tomorrow from 6 to 8 pm. Everyone there is either waiting to have surgery or had surgery done by Dr Chua so you can ask alot of questions and find out what he is like. My experience with him was excellent. He is a very skilled surgeon. He also teaches other surgeons how to perform the surgery's as well.

I had to do a 6 month supervised dit I also had the united health care thru badger care plus. Every month you have to be weigh in. Documentation is very important. Getting all the records to Dr Chua is very important. When it wasn't arriving to them. I pick it up myself and hand delivered it. Just to make sure the records got there immediately.

So if you want to come its Wednesday night from 6 to 8 across the street from Aurora Sinai where Dr Chua does his surgery is at Aurora Siani. Look for the heart institute right directly across the street. They have valet parking as well. And take the elevetor to the basement floor. Hope to see you there.

Oh I wish I could Make it, I have conferences tomorrow, and my hubby has the car,so I cant make it,if i could have gotten to see this earlier i could have asked for my sis to take me, but even so I have parent teacher conferences for both my boys from 6-7pm when will there be another? I really like that idea..going and talking and asking ?'s.. other wise i go on the 2nd of dec. but if there is another one before hand I would Love to go, and I will make sure I can attend..


Thank's..

Support groups are the third Wednesday of the month

Hi Tammy,

Dr Chua did my RNY 3 years ago. I HIGHLY recommend him!!! He and his staff are amazing.  Getting an appt wasn't hard at all.  I had to wait 13 months but that's only because of my insurance company.  If you'd like to talk more about my experience please feel free to email me.

Big Hugz
Michele

I had my VBG done by Dr. Chua over 5 years ago. His team is incredible and, in my opinion, the best. He is the only surgeon that has a program to prepare you completely for the lifestyle change, as well as aftercare for the rest of your life. I also speak at the seminars for Dr. Chua. There are many people who have changed doctors after starting the process, and many times, your previous records can be utilized. Usually when re-testing is done, it is because it is an insurance requirement. After the seminar and you've completed the necessary paperwork, figure about 6-9 months until surgery. It may seem like a long time, but his team will have you fully prepared for what's to come. He is not the doctor to treat you and turn you loose. Hope to see you at a seminar soon!

None of us wants to wait once we've made the difficult decision to get WLS!  However, the changes you'll make with the NUT and addressing any issues in the psych eval will be incredibly helpful and well worth your time.  It took us years to get to our highest weights, and changing our eating and exercising habits won't happen overnight.  Taking the time to make sure we're fully prepared for the major changes of WLS is A Good Thing.

The NUTS and psych folks at Aurora are awesome.  Deanna is terrific and Kimberly is an absolute riot.  She gets me laughing so hard and feeling good about making even the simplest changes.  The psychologist was most helpful with her suggestions about dealing with stress in ways that didn't involve eating.  You will learn so many great things from them. 

Liz knows insurance inside, out, backwards, and turned around.  She's phenomenal in getting procedures approved, and she is fantastic about calling back if you have a question.

It took me 8 months from the time I attended my first seminar to the surgery date.  I probably could have gotten it done sooner, but I had some vacation planned, I moved my grandma from MI to AR, and I had to be a bit flexible with my work schedule. 

Thank's everyone, I have made the decision to go with Dr. Engstrand through the bariatrics institute of wi. I have started the process with them, I go on wed. to Elmbrook hospital for all my testing and lab work.. and then I go friday for my psychological eval, I have so many appointments this month and not enough time for them lol.. I am just glad to get it all done, so all I have to do is see my nut, and my pcp every month till may.. then all the stuff gets faxed then.. I have to do the 6mth supervised diet thing, don't know what they really expect from that.. but ok im going and doing what she say's that's all that matters.. I will update you guys when I get the results from the pulmonarty tests and the ekg, and so forth.. Dr. Engstrand also found out I have a hernia so he will be repairing that once he does my ds...until next time.. HUGS


TamTam

I am seeing Dr. Chua as well.  In addition to being a bariatric surgeon, Dr. Chua is a vascular surgeon.