Good Morning. Do you know who your surgeon is?

It makes me really nervous when a new person ignores a question from a vet about who their surgeon is. There are some scary and unscrupulous deadbeats out there taking advantage of the obese. How do we ask that question without coming across as aggressive, arrogant and "negative"?  {sigh}  This happens a lot on the DS boards and groups because there are so few good DS surgeons. Just makes me wary and scared for the new person but it also angers me that the person take offense and shuts down, digging their heels in. That can be a deadly decision.

I hope everyone has a great Wednesday. :)

--gina

It is a very scary thought.  I guess I took it as a no-brainer to research everything I possibly could about my surgeon before I made any commitment - even if my insurance wanted him because of his Center of Excellence designation (I have Blue Cross Blue Shield).  That included talking to other patients of his.  I'm very happy that I chose him because, if it wasn't for him, I quite possibly would not be here.  But, it is troubling to know that there are folks that are rushing headlong into the decision of WLS.  Like you said, it can be a deadly decision.

I don't know if there really is any way to gently ask the question - especially online. :(

With that said, you have a great Wednesday too, Gina and everyone else!  I need to get my tween girl's breakfast and school lunch ready.  At least hubby is on vacation this week and has offered to take her to and from school for me... a nice break for me anyway.

 Good morning,
I know I researched everything I could find on surgeons before I decided on one. I had to travel a long ways anyway so it didn't matter to me if I flew one more state over or not. I don't think I could go into a surgery without doing the research I would ******vous wreck! I on the other hand never felt like someone was being aggressive when asking me who my surgeon was. I chalked it up as being curious. Have a great day all.

Trish

 Hi Trish, sooo who is your surgeon? Can you list him under your Avatar, or signature?
Your friend, Sandra  ;-)

 Hi Sandra, My surgeon is Dr Kemmeter same as you! I havent taken the time to figure out how to do that yet but I will. :)

I also had to use a Center of Excellance and did research which of the surgeons there I would use.  I would have been comfortable with either of them but would have had another 4-6 months to get on the other surgeon's list. 

A dr friend of mine when talking about my knee, talked about surgeons who could get in and out, doing their work, but leaving minimal damage otherwise.  I tried to research my knee surgeon but had a hard time finding out anything other than the basic, school, degrees, accrediadations, etc.  You can talk to others patients but as I know now, each persons body determines part of the outcomes, no matter how good the surgeon is.   Maybe there is more info out there for WLS.

I'm one of the ones asking lately on the DS board...trying to frame it as curious not negative and mostly get ignored...

Jeese, we have seen what bad surgeons do...the end results and any WLS takes skill...some take more training than others but they all take skill. We only ask because of concern that they aren't in the hands of someone we know has had bad results.

Today is my oldest half sister's birthday, I was 19 when she was born...that was 39 years ago. Can't believe she's sneaking up on 40 already. She is the only one of the four of us without a weight issue.

Liz

There really are some scary surgeon's out there.  I did lots of research on surgeons and where I wanted to go.  I talked with people that had used them.  I check the Licensing Board to see if they had complaints against them.  I found one that did.  He had evidently used some type of drugs at one time and gotten treatment and was back practicing.  I hear he was a great surgeon, but I did not want to take the chance that my surgery might be the morning after a slip up.

My insurance required a Center of Excellence also, but there are lots of those.  I talked with 2 surgeons.  I am so happy I picked the one I did.  He does not do the DS, but we did talk about it and he said if that was what I wanted he had someone that he knew and he would refer me to him.  He never said don't do that.  He did not recommend the lapband for me because of my diabetes.  I had a notepad with all kinds of questions.  All the complications and how many he had or each one.

I think you should feel very comfortable with your surgeon and do your homework.  It is not just for the surgery, but the follow up is for the rest of your life!!

Back to work now.  Hope everyone has a great Hump Day!!

Linda

Whilst you may not reach the OP (and I do remember someone who ignored advice and paid the price), but you may well reach many many others.

I lurked on OH for 18 months before getting switched and if there's one thing I took away, it was to get a vetted surgeon (plus vites and protein are VERY important). So don't feel what you're saying is wasted.

To put it another way 'he who has ears, let him hear.'

Gina this is aVERY SORE subject for me and any time I am approaced about who did my surgery or if I hear someone's having it done they get more than a few words from me. (sorry so long)

We have a local Surgeon who does WLS and although he is a very good surgeon there is A LOT more to WLS than having your gall bladder or appendix out!!!!  You don't just heal up and go on with your life.  WLS is a Life Changing Operation!!  I think it's really important to have a whole team and good follow up care.

The woman (including my sister-in-law) who I know that have gone to him have failed and I think it's so sad and I blame a lot of it on his lack of knowledge.  The other part I blame on them for not doing their research before doing something so drastic. 

II went to his office when I was starting my journey and he didn't even want to meet me until I was through with the 6 months that was required by my insurance company.  His receptionist gave me all of the orders for getting my testing done and a check list of what I needed to schedule.  I thought that was way to strange and left me feeling very confused and uncomfortable  so I did some research and  asked friends who I knew were successful for recommendations.

The woman who used the local Surgeon didn't have a clue what to eat after surgery because all they got was 1 visit from the hospital nutritionist  while they were still drugged up.   The Surgeon only  did 1 follow up call  6 weeks after surgery (a lot can happen during those first 6 weeks).   My SIL came home from the hospital and ate candy bars!  She didn't have a clue that she was dumping and went to the emergency room thinking she was having a heart attack.  She also started eating real food right after surgery and was in pain all of the time.  She wasn't a lightweight and she only lost 60 pounds total and has gained all of that back. She is very unhealthy now.  Way worse than before WLS....it's so sad.