My Overall Impressions of Dr Regan and his Staff

Apr 27, 2010

 Doctor Regan is an interesting guy who I think is genuinely caring and concerned.  He must have a difficult job.  I say this because when patients come out of surgery I would think that most of them regret having done it, at least for a day or two.  That has to wear on him.  At the same time, he has to be heartened to see the positive impact on his patients as the post-op months and years move on.   He has a great staff, and his nurse, Sue Dugan, is spot on excellent.  Her sage counsel and quick responses have enhanced my entire experience.  Dugan is both concerned and caring and you should take advantage of her as a resource.   But you should know, that Dr. Regan is very clear and very firm that if want to get weight loss surgery the success or failure is up to you.  Weight loss surgery is a tool, not an easy fix or a panacea.  I don't know that he would accept lazy or unmotivated patients who want the surgery to change their lives without effort and to Dr. Regan I have to say, "Good for you".  I also owe him a note of thanks for minimizing the scars from the surgery.  I think I will barely be able to see them in a few months.   I appreciate that Dr. Regan didn't sugar coat what I was about to go through and will go through over the next few years.  It wasn't an easy decision for me and he and his staff respected that.   The bariatric patient weight loss support groups are really geared toward people who have had gastric bypass surgery and advocate for gastric bypass surgery.  How can you blame them for supporting the decision they have made -- I am just glad it did not affect my decision to stay with the lap band.  The nurse running the meeting, Mari, was wise and quick to point out that the lap band is the right choice for many people, while gastric bypass is better for others.   The staff dietitians offer great counsel and are wise beyond their years.  However, the pre-op diet consultation with your family should be prior to the 2-week requirement that you start the liquid protein diet.  Fortunately they did make themselves available when I called and offered spot-on advice that made it bearable.   What a sweet sweet feeling it was to speak to other pre-op lap band patients at the pre-op diet consultation.  I am heartened to hear that St. Mary's will soon be structuring fills at the same time each month so patients can talk to other lap band patients.   As for aftercare, I didn't want much but still they followed up with phone calls to check on my healing progress at home.  A 3 week post op visit as been scheduled and I'm looking forward to my first lap band fill at 6 weeks.   I did get the sense that Dr. Regan is a busy man and while I don't think I saw him prior to being put under for anesthesia, I may not have remembered due to some work by a top-notch anesthesiologist.  The next day Dr. Regan stopped by to check on me and stayed until all of my after-care questions had been answered.   Overall, I'm happy to have chosen Dr. Regan.

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