Baptist Memorial Hospital Bariatric Center

DR. KING IS A FINE MAN. HE IS VERY GENTLE, AND VERY COMPASSIONATE TOWARD HIS PATIENTS.
I HAVE TALKED WITH A COUPLE OF HIS PATIENTS THAT HAVE ALREADY HAD SURGERY AND THEY SEEMED TO BE VERY COMFORTABLE WITH HIM. HE ANSWERED ALL MY QUESTIONS AND HIS STAFF WAS ABLE TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT I CALLED LATER AND ASKED. EVERYONE HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL.
AFTERCARE IS VERY IMPORTANT TO DR. KING. HE ALSO LETS YOU KNOW OF ALL THE POSSIBLE RISK THAT ARE TAKEN IN HAVING THIS SURGERY.AT THIS POINT(BEFORE SURGERY) I WOULD RATE HIM VERY WELL.

Haven't met with surgeon yet, but his staff is very helpful and kind. Will update after I've met with him.

12/8/00
I met with Dr. King two weeks ago and I really like him and his staff. A program called Liv-Lite organizes his bariatric surgery patients and their insurance. Those ladies are very nice, too, and helpful. Dr. King's office is about 3 hours away from my home, so my mom and I will go up the night before all procedures to get an early start at the hospital.

Dr. King requires a mental status letter so I have an appointment with a psychiatrist Monday (12/11) and also to get my daily meds changed.

Dr. King also requires an endoscopy to check the stomach for bacteria and any blockages, etc. This is scheduled for Tues., 12/19. If all goes well with the endoscopy, my surgery will be on 1/8/01.

Will update later

01/17/01
I had my endoscopy and they found a little ulcer, so I've been treating the ulcer for a month. My surgery date was postponed from 1/8 to 1/24 - NEXT WEEK!! I just wanted to say how much I like Dr. King and his staff and the LivLite counselor, Becky Wilson. They've been great.

2/6/01
I am almost two weeks post-op and have nothing but good things to say about my doctor, Michael King, his staff, and the hospital where I had my surgery. I can highly recommend his team.

I have not yet met Dr. King, though he has come highly recommended to me and I look forward to having an appt with him in the next couple of weeks and hopefully having surgery before Christmas. My intake was done over the telephone by a really sweet counselor (Beckly Wilson, RN with LivLite). She told me my insurance company is good about paying and that my Policy does cover the surgery. I have had the psychological evaluation and now we are only awaiting the written approval. Then I will go to Oxford for the initial appointment with Dr. King. I am undecided as to whether I will have the open or the Laparoscopic RNY procedure. I will have to leave that up to the surgeon's recommendation. I would like to have a "Panni", but do not know if Dr. King ever does that procedure in conjunction with the RNY. Probably best not to stress the system with too much at once, I guess. Friend Susie McKinney is having her surgery on Monday, November 6. Anyone Post-Op with Dr. King in Oxford, Mississippi (go Ole Miss!!) please Email me. Anyone at all, feel free to Email me. I will answer all mail. I have the time to offer moral support and prayers. Good luck with your decision!

Dr. King is wonderful!! He is very sweet and compasionate. He has answered all of my questions, usually even before I ask them!
My impression has always remained the same to date.
The office staff sometimes seems a little kurt and "too busy" but the nurses are all very nice and helpful.
I have not found anything so far that I do not like about Dr. King.
Fell very free to ask him any questions, as silly as they may seem. He is very open about everything.
He stresses the importance of after care both medically and with diet.
He does give you a copy of what your aftercare plan will be on the first visit.
I asked him very frank questions and he was very open with me about ALL the risks.
Though I have not yet had my surgery, He has been a wonderful doctor thus far.
I will know more after surgery.

I have had an awful time with doctors in this surgery!
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First, through HealthLink in northeast Mississippi I was referred to <b>Dr. Linda Haigh</b> in Tupelo. I had an appointment on November 4, 1999. She said I was a good candidate for gastric bypass and wanted me to meet with her associate, <b>Dr. Mathis</b>. I scheduled an appointment on January 11, 2000 and took off another day of work only to be told by <b>Dr. Mathis</b> that <i>NOBODY</i> in Tupelo did gastric bypass surgery anymore and I would have to go to Memphis to see <b>Dr. George Cowan</b>.
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<b>Dr. George Cowan</b> had a required seminar before he would make an appointment, which I attended on February 2, 2000 (missing more work) and scheduled an appointment on March 2, 2000.
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March 2nd rolled around and just as I was walking out the door for the 2 1/2 hour drive (and missing more work)<b>Dr. Cowan</b>'s office called and said my appoinment had been cancelled and I would have to call for another one at a later date.
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It had been four months and I had not even actually talked to a doctor who would do the surgery, my insurance company had not been contacted, and I had lost <i>ALL</i> patience. Frustration is not the word.
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I had heard about <b>Dr. Michael King</b>, in Oxford, Mississippi on this website and called his office. I didn't know - and still don't know - if my insurance company will even pay for this surgery! I felt like I was getting nowhere. <b>Dr. King</b>'s very kind staff put me in touch with LivLite in Oxford, who files all insurance papers and gets approval before I ever see the doctor. Immediately I faxed all necessary paperwork (test results, etc.) and answered all health questions.
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The biggest hurdle I had was that my insurance company - Unicare - insisted that I go in my PPO first. I had to get a letter from my PPO provider network stating that nobody in the PPO did the surgery. It took about 10 minutes on the phone.
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<b>Becky Wilson</b>, the nurse on my case, was beyond wonderful. She was patient and kind and would answer every question. She filed the paperwork on Tuesday, March 14 and I can't wait to hear from the insurance company. A part of me is afraid to get my hopes up. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I wait to see where this journey will lead.