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Glen Birkitt Jr.
"10/5/00--I have not yet met my surgeon, Dr. Glenn Birkitt, Jr., of Bristol, TN. I have talked with some of his staff and have found them to be very, very nice and extremely helpful. I have an appointment scheduled to see Dr. Birkitt on April 17, 2001. His office sent me an information packet and brochure about them and WLS. I took it to my doctor and when I told her he had over 200 of these surgeries under his belt already, and she found out that I had done a lot of research on this surgery and was still continuing to do so before my appointment date, she didn't have any problem with giving me a referral to see him. The least thing that I like about Dr. Birkitt is the long wait to get into see him. He is very booked. I am hoping that he will not only be a very competent surgeon, but will have a great bedside manner. I'll write more, when I know more. 04-17-01--Today I met Dr. Birkitt for the first time. I found him to be a very nice man, very concerned about the overall well-being of his patients. He said to this date, he has currently done approximately 260 WLSs. He has had no deaths as yet and his complications are fairly low percentages. I was very impressed. He was easy to ask questions of and very informative. He was very thorough at going over my medical history, which is very extensive, as he commented. I asked him approximately how long it took from the initial consult to have surgery. He said normally it is 2 months, but it has been known to take as long as 6 months to get insurance approval. He emphasizes emphatically about how the surgery is a tool for the patient to use and the ultimate outcome is completely up to the patient and how well they can adapt to the new changes that must be made in their life. He didn't really tell me anything that I hadn't already heard in that respect. He just reinforced what I had already heard. I will update this as I get to know him and his staff better. 10/29/02--I had my surgery by Dr. Birkitt on 10/16/02. I did great!!! I think Dr. Birkitt is a great surgeon, not just because I was pleased with my results, but because he's been quite honest and upfront with me about his track record. Originally, when I met him the first time, he told me he'd been doing this surgery for 7 years and hadn't lost any patients. A year later when I had my pre-op exam, he told me he'd lost one patient due to an embolism over the past year. I was originally scheduled for surgery on Sept. 17, 2002 and met a lady online who was to have surgery on the 19th and be in the hospital with me. She had serious pre-surgical medical problems, and needless to say, after her surgery, she was admitted to ICU for observation because of them. She developed complications due to her pre-existing conditions and she passed away on Sept. 22 of kidney failure. Her passing had a huge impact on me and I thought about not going through with this myself. I changed my mind, though, and I had my surgery. I was very pleased with how Dr. Birkitt treated me as a patient and I don't think I could have found any better. I believe that any doctor who does this surgery, sooner or later is going to have some losses with their successes. I think that is inevitable. I think the important thing to look for is how the surgeon tried to help the patient before the loss occurred. My friend's family was very pleased and confident that Dr. Birkitt had done everything he could and called in all the necessary specialists trying to help save my friend's life. She was just too weak and too far gone to fight anymore. Dr. Birkitt has an excellent bedside manner and is very easy to talk to. Anyone who gets him as a surgeon can consider themselves lucky. Getting in to see him takes awhile, so if you want a really good doctor, I hope you can be patient!!! But he is worth the wait!!! "

Bristol Regional Medical Center
"This hospital is very modern and big. It looks like a mall on the inside! Very clean and very appealing. I was really surprised when I got in the OR and was being transferred to the operating table! There was a bunch of nurses there and most of them had had this surgery!!! And they were all really happy to tell me about it, too. So, yes, I think this surgery is really well-equipped for gastric bypass surgery. "
About Me
Wise, VA
Location
37.1
BMI
RNY
Surgery
10/16/2002
Surgery Date
Sep 15, 2000
Member Since
Before & After
rollover to see after photo
368lbs
Feeling a lot better!
220lbs
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