Surgery at PSL or Dr. Metz??

Just wondering if anybody had their WLS at Presbyterian/St. Lukes?  I have an appt w/Dr. Metz for next Tues, and though I've heard good things about PSL and Dr. Brown, I don't know anything about Dr. Metz.  I also have an appt w/Dr. Chae down by Skyridge, but it's not until 3/7.  I see some people on here have had him and really liked him & his staff.  Anybody want to share their opinion?? Thanks~ *Angel

I had Dr. Brown do my surgery 12-17-07 and liked him very much and have to say I think PSL is a cleaner hospital.  I had a friend have surgery a few weeks ago at St. Joe's with Dr. Chae and the room didn't seem as nice.  Also Dr. Chae ALWAYS puts in a drain for after surgery and Brown only does it if absolutely necessary.  I liked Brown because he is up front and will get to the point.  I hear Dr. Chae is excellent and very nice.  It is a hard decision to make.  Now Dr. Metz I don't know much about but if he is under Dr. Brown I'm sure he must have the highest standards to have Dr. Metz join his practice.  Also I really like Dr. Brown's team, especially Allison she is the nicest nurse I have talked to.  Here is some info. on Dr. Metz from Brown's website: Matthew Metz, MD Dr. Matthew Metz was recruited from the Cleveland Clinic, where he completed a Fellowship in Bariatric and Laparoscopic Surgery under the expert guidance of the world-renown ASMBS President, Dr. Philip Schauer. While in Cleveland, Dr. Metz performed over three hundred complex procedures, including revisional bariatric surgery, advanced endoscopy, and numerous foregut operations. He has published several papers in the medical literature, and is currently awaiting release of a review textbook on Bariatric Surgery, of which he is a co-author. He is an active member in several surgical societies, and has made presentations at national and international meetings on advanced laparoscopic and endoscopic techniques. His sensitivity and easy-going nature make him very approachable to his patients and their families. We are very fortunate to have Dr. Metz on our staff at the Colorado Bariatric Surgery Institute.  Hope this helps.

Hi Angel,      I've had an initial consultation with Dr. Metz, and after that consultation, I scheduled surgery for March 6.  Dr. Metz is young, but he seems very competent, and his training is tops.  I chose him because he has some experience in the gastric sleeve (VSG) which is the surgery I wanted.  I debated about also seeing another more experienced surgeon, but after meeting Dr. Metz, I felt confident in his abilities, so I canceled my other appointment.       Oh...and if you send him an e-mail....he answers it!     So, I guess you saw him today?  What did you think?  What kind of surgery are you having? Susan

Thanks for the info Ducky2Lucky...very helpful!! Susan, I actually meet with him next Tues, so I will let you know how it goes.  When was your first consult?  I'm finding that most places it takes months to get in for either the consult or surgery, but when I talked to Amy last week about wanting to do the surgery at the end of March, she said "we could pu**** back to the end of March if you wanted," which I guess means they could probably do it sooner??  Let me know how yours went.  Did you have any insurance issues? Thanks again~ *ANGEL

Hi Angel,     My first consult was Feb. 5, and they told me at that time that I could have a surgery date as soon as Feb. 28.  I chose Mar. 6 instead.  (Hey....I had a hair appointment on the 1st that I didn't want to miss! ha)  I had to wait probably about 3 weeks from the time I made my first appointment until he could see me....and yes, that seems pretty typical.  That's one of the main reasons I decided not to see the other surgeon I was considering.  I just didn't want to put this whole process off another couple of months.        I am a self pay so I didn't have to worry about insurance.  Here's a tip for you.  When I made my appointment, I thought I was only making an appointment to talk to the doctor, but it turns out, when I got there they had me see everyone....the social worker, the nutritionist, the financial person.  This probably isn't an issue if your insurance is paying for it, but since I'm a self pay, it was an issue.  As it turned out, since I went ahead and scheduled surgery, it was good that I had all that done, but if you're just in the fact finding stage, you might not want to go thru the whole drill.  Then again, it sounds like you are anxious to get going, so you may want to get all those things done.         Let me know what you think after you see him.  Do you know what kind of surgery you're having? Susan

You must've been there at the same time I was Susan as my lap band surgery was also March 6th.

March 6th @ 7:30 AM (5:30 AM arrival in AM Admissions).

Talk about a small world.....

Cheers

Dr, Brown did my surgery, and I'd recommend him to anyone.  I can't imagine Dr. Metz would be any different, although he came on board after I had my surgery. As for PSL, I wasn't pleased at all with my hospital stay.  My nurses were lazy and I had to beg them to help me up so I could start walking after surgery (as Dr. Brown said we should do).  They brought me sugared Jello and juice for my first post-op meal. When I'd push the call button, the nurses wouldn't come to the room, they'd ask via intercom, "What do you need?"  A classmate from surgery class had surgery the same day as me and her experience with PSL nurses was as bad.  Not only that, the person who cleaned the rooms didn't clean them in a very sanitary manner.  She mopped the bathroom floor first and then the hospital room floor without cleaning the mop or dipping the mop in any cleaning solution.  Ugh. My surgery was uneventful, so after Day 2 of marginal care at PSL, I told Dr. Brown I wanted to go home!  He was fine with it, thank goodness. I've also been a patient at St. Joe's.  Yes, the hospital is old and tired, but you won't find better nursing care anywhere.  The nurses are responsive and caring, and the support staff also treat patients with dignity and kindness.  I will be glad when they build a new St. Joe's! Another friend had her surgery with Dr. Chae at Sky Ridge, and she loves him to death.  Sky Ridge is a brand new hospital, but I have heard different opinions as far as nursing care.  I can't speak to it personally, though. Kix

I too wasn't all that overly impressed with the hospital itself. The left hand almost NEVER knew what the right hand was doing when it came to what meds I need to take and when (They operated on THEIR OWN friggin' schedule rather than mine).

Classic example of what I mean.....

I have to take a potassium supplement to assist my anti-sezure meds with guarding against seizures as I have Epilepsy and many other ailments as well. Instead of giving me 90 mg. of potassium (Which is what I normally take each night), they gave me something like THREE TO FOUR TIMES that amount. And EVEN THEN I had to have the nurse order it from the pharmacy.

When he finally gave it to me, THE STUFF TASTED LIKE CRAP!!!

The therapists were okay though. Heck, even the OT therapist offered to walk me around. I took her up on the offer and did what I always did there. Just take a short jaunt past the nurses station and back around to my room.

The nurses came fairly quickly whenever I or my roommate needed them, so no problems there. Though when my roommate was hauled off to surgery and never came back, NO ONE bothered to secure his stuff. Fortunately I was there practically the whole time and would've seen anyone trying to take it. I thought the man had died in the OR or something (Not that I really cared or anything, but geez!).

And to top it all off, the railing next to the toilet and bath tub was loose. I told AT LEAST one of the nurses about it. Did they do anything about it? NO! Maybe they need to wait till somebody sues them or something, I dunno.

Rose is MUCH better at handling the distribution of medications than PSL seems to be.

And here's the final clincher....Admin. staff at PSL called me TWICE to get the info. on my meds. and when I take them, yet during my stay what did they do? FOLLOW THEIR OWN FRIGGIN' SCHEDULE!!!

To them and the pharmacy staff, it was TO HELL with the patient's schedule.

Ohh yeah, I too was kept on the clear liquid diet by hospital staff after surgery.

CBSI needs to do a better job in COMMUNICATING to the hospital that we need to be on the pureed diet immediately after surgery just as the guide says. Just a little feedback there guys.

So there you have it. My story of my stay at PSL

Dr. Metz is Dr. Brown's partner. In fact, THE ONLY time I've ever met Dr. Brown was the day I checked out of the hospital (Dr. Metz performed my surgery though I'm sure Dr. Brown was somewhere in the same OR).

Hope this helps & isn't too late....

Cheers