Not in AR but using AR doctor for surgery

Hello, I attended a seminar in Little Rock today by Dr. Ozment. I have pretty much decided to use him for open rny surgery. I am going to have to self-pay as my insurance has an exclusion. I was impressed with Dr. Ozment and am looking forward to the surgery but also a bit anxious as this surgery is such a big decision. I live in Memphis but plan on recuperating for a couple weeks at my parents who live in AR. I look forward to talking to other who have been through this experience. I have researched this for quite some time and feel ready to take the plunge. Melinda

Hi Melinda, Congrats on a great choice! I too was self pay and went with with one of the doctors at St. Vincents. Over all i was impressed with the whole thing except the hospital stay. I think I wrote it all in my profile. Take a family member with you if you want health care, that is my only advice. If you have any questions please let me know i will be happy to help if I can....

Melinda, I am in the same boat that you are. I live in Tulsa, Ok and am going to have Dr. Ozment do my surgery on Feb 17 (30 days and counting). I talked to a gal here who had Dr. Ozment and she loved him and his staff. As for the hospital stay, what the gal here said was at night the nursing staff was a bit short handed. Even Dr. Ozment suggests that you bring a friend or relative. The other recommendation was if you are hot blooded to bring a fan. One of my big concerns was being 4 hours away from my surgeon. There is no easy way to get to Little Rock from Tulsa execpt driving (to fly you have to change planes somewhere). I asked Dr. Ozment about that, and we talked through all of the things that might possibly go wrong and require surgical intervention - and when we were through I was very comfortable. Have you gotten a date yet? Good luck. Sharon

Sharon, I think that Dr. Ozment is a very highly respected and well liked surgeon. I picked March 1st as my date, I have some things to take care of before I can be off 3 weeks from surgery. I have heard some bad things about the stay at St. Vincents as well. I plan on having someone stay with me each night. In regards to the trip from Tulsa to Little Rock, have you thought about Amtrack? I think they run from OK to AR. Just a thought. Goood luck, Melinda

Hi! I, too, live in Oklahoma. I'm about the same distance from LR as you are in Memphis. Dr. Ozment did my surgery on Jan. 6 He and his staff are WONDERFUL! I have absolutely no regrets of using them. Dr. Ozment is a very caring doctor and he is very punctual. When he says he will be there, he is there. I stayed at St. Vincents, obviously, and I have no complaints. The temp in my room was fine, but I froze my husband out. As soon as I was in my room, the nurses showed my husband where everything was (blankets, pillows, snack area, etc) so he could make himself at home. All of the staff from the nurses to the cleaning crew were very nice and courteous. The nurses were very understanding, exceedingly friendly and quick to help me with anything that I needed. I did have my husband with me at all times, and that helped as I felt more comfortable with him helping me walk, to the bathroom, etc. My biggest advice is BRING YOUR OWN PILLOWS! Bring GUM! It helps to chew gum while you are walking, because your mouth will be SO DRY from the meds. Most of all, take it easy and let yourself heal. Good luck! Amy