"When I called to make an appointment Tracey mailed an information packet to me. The packet contained detailed info about Dr Walters including education, surgical experience and professional affiliations. It also contained all the medical history forms. I found it very helpful to fill these out before going to the Dr's office. Dr Walters has a good sense of humor. He made jokes several times during the meeting with me and my husband. The Doctor talked with us for about 2 hrs. He explaned the possible surgical procedures, the one he prefers to do on most patients and why. He talked a lot about nutrition. Stated that my calorie intake would be around 800 cals/day postop. He emphasized choosing nutrient dense but low calorie foods and gave several examples of poor choices vs better vs best choices. He told me that the surgery will only give me a tool to aid my wgt loss and that it is up to me to use it effectively. He said that if I melted ice cream and drank it I would not loose wgt no matter how small he made my stomach. Dr Walters also talked about the risks associated with surgery and anesthesia. He told me that there is a "Staple mates" support group is San Antonio and recommended that I attend some of the meetings before having surgery. He gave me the order sheets for preop lab, chest x-ray,& EKG so that I could have them done with my internist & fax the results to his office. He also required that I be checked for sleep apnea & can do that here in Austin. He said that his office will file for preauthorisation with my insurance company when he recieves all the test results. I felt the experience was very possitive and informative. The bigest drawback so far is having to wait a month for an apointment with the sleep clinic.
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