CidGrad
Connecting the Dots: The Role of Your PCP in WLS
Jul 21, 2010
So ... this post will garner a "duhhhhh ... no shit" response from some and it will be an eye opener for other. Here goes:
This is about the relationship between your surgeon and your PCP and how critical it is that we Pre-Ops understand this. For weeks I have been (i) dreading a conversation with my Primary Care Physician (PCP) and (ii) trying to determine why surgeons push you so fervently to get clearance from your PCP. My thought process was that I could care less about my PCP's take on surgery so long as I did not need his clearance for insurance purposes. In my case I did not.
Now let me clarify something: my PCP is excellent. He is very well-educated and he truly cares about people (perhaps too much!). I was dreading the conversation because I believe that he fundamentally wants to see his patients diet / exercise and lose weight. It is what it is. I finally go to see him for pre-op testing and for a gout flare up that I'm having. He does not lecture me about surgery. He supports it in fact. What he did say, though, was that while my surgeon will operate on me my overall health is HIS responsibility. He said that if I have gout going IN to surgery then that is a sign that there is a chemical imbalance inside me that will leave me in a world of hurt after surgery. He knows that I'm anxious but wants me to have a complete battery of additional tests to make certain that I am chemically balanced prior to surgery.
I told him that I do not intend to delay surgery. He said that that was HIS decision and that he would see where I stood once the results of my blood work were in. I did not argue and left it at that.
I was slightly pissed until I thought about more deeply. Then I thanked God that I had health care providers -- PCP / Surgeon / NUTS -- who truly give a damn and who are responsive to my needs. Rather than fight against their recommendations I will embrace them fully. Rather do the right thing and end up on the loser's bench in good shape than buck the system and end up in dire straights.
Net: Pre-Ops -- get ALL THE TESTING YOU CAN! I say this to my team at work constantly: "The more prepared you are the less brave you have to be ..."
