"After many go-arounds with my previous surgeons office, and my continued failing health issues, I have decided to Cash Pay. I have Chosen Dr. Rutledge in NC for the short operative time and recovery period. I am looking forward to better health! I have been impressed so far with Dr. R and his staff some of whom I met at a Las Vegas seminar last December.
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Dr Estakhri was my previous surgeon. I am sure she is a fine surgeon, but I think they need to rethink their process for sending patients for approval to the insurance. That is the very last thing they do, they get your hopes up, you get excited about your new life, and then *BAM* Denied. Oh well...
My husband & I met with Dr. Eskahri 12/18. I was very impressed with her and her team. It was clear that they were running late because I was not seen until about 1 hour past my appointment time, and we were interrupted a few times by some urget pages the doc received, which did not bother me at all. If I were in need of her right away, I would hope she would interrupt a consultation for me too! When she did meet with us, she took all the time we needed to answer our questions and explain the surgery and the risks involved. Their program consists of many things other than just surgery, there is a staff dietician, therapist, and nurse coordinator. After you have met with each of them, they meet as a team once a month to determine if you are a good candidate for the surgery. This is the only downside, it will still be mid January before I know if I am approved by thier team. Then they give you pre-op requirements, such as lose some weight and THEN once you meet those reqirements, they will submit to insurance for approval. That is my biggest worry, my insurance seems to like to make people appeal a few times. After I met with the surgeon and the nurse coordinator, I spent some time talking to the office manager about my insurance. She was encouraging and said they havent had too many problems with Aetna. "
