Looking for Specific Information on Surgeons

Hi Colorado, I am (again) in the process of doing investigation into having WLS (leaning to Lap Band, but open minded).  Last summer I attended an information session given for Dr. Georgescu out of Thornton.  But due to many factors in life, I did not pursue the surgery.  I am currently scheduled for an information session presented by Dr. Johnell out of Greeley this Tuesday (session is in Lafayette).  I will be calling to schedule a third information session presented by Dr. Snyder out of Denver this coming weekend. I read many of the reviews of each of these surgeons and seems a high percentage of each of their patients absolutely love their selected surgeon.  However what I am looking for are impressions from people who also looked at two or more of the three surgeons and let me know why they chose their surgeon.  I am looking for a bit of insight on what other people were looking for in a surgeon to help them make that decision. From what I can tell there are nearly 4 times as many reviews for Dr. Snyder as there are for Dr. Johnell, and Dr. Georgescu only has 3 or 4 total.  Is this an indication of people thinking Dr. Snyder is a better choice?  Or is it because he is centered in Denver, he has a vastly larger population pool of potential patients? Based on the information provided by their own websites and information I have read here, I do not see much of a difference between them.  Other than the matter of distance (Greeley vs. east-central Denver) it would be a coin toss for me to choose. Thanks for your input. KRE

I was banded 10 days ago 4/10/08) by Dr. Michael Snyder of Denver (denverbariatrics.com). I cannot begin to say enough about him or his staff. I feel like I can do an infomercial for him. I was a big chicken about having this done (huge needle phobia!!!) He took my fears seriously and took the time to really listen to my concerns and talked me through each and every one of them. I have never known any doctor who has ever treated me with the dignity and respect that Dr. Snyder has. It starts the moment you arrive in his office, he personally comes out to the waiting room and brings you back to the exam room to speak with you. He never looks at the clock and takes all the time in the world with you. I feel so fortunate to be in his care and am positive that I could not be in more capable hands.

You are smart to take your time and really search out who is best for you, afterall, they will be treating you for the rest of your life, so a strong connection is essential. I hope this helps and good luck with your search.
(I'm also a fellow "Westminsterite"

Thanks Mia, Did you investigate other surgeons before selecting Dr. Snyder?  What was your defining factor that lead you to choosing Dr. Snyder? Unlike other areas of life such as home repair or other maintenance, I cannot go with previous experience or closing my eyes and pointing to a service professional out of the yellow pages in selecting a WLS surgeon.  My only requirements are professionalism, pre & post care (especially post), and my life (certainly do not want to die from the surgery).  A doctor who is a crabby individual, but has top credentials and an amazing track record of successful WLS patient weight loss results (and post-op care), is one I would choose over another surgeon who have great credentials and even an above-average post-op success rate (and care). Bottom line, I am looking for why did you chose Dr. Snyder, not what your experience was after you made the choice.

dr johnell banded me in dec. i love his office. everyone is really nice and when i get my fills im there 10 mins max. I have probly called at least 20 times with questions after surgery and im suprised they didnt get tired of me calling lol. I saw a local dr also. hes highly recommended in my area. i schedualed a fill here so i wouldnt have to drive the 2 hours to greeley. one visit with a local dr and back to dr johnell i went. i love how they keep a very detailed medical chart on me from emotional, weighloss, blood pressure, temp lol everything even pictures. the dr in my area i had to wait in the waiting room for 20 mins, another 20 in the back room, and he just told me how much he was putting in, no questions asked kinda deal and they only monitor weight. denvers a lot bigger than greeley so i think maybe dr snyder just might have more patients or whatnot but dr johnells is my pick

I live in Montana and ended up with Dr. Snyder in Denver for my surgery. I had went to a seminar in Billings, Montana. The doctors there seemed nice but had no experience and I didn't want to be a guinea pig for them. The doctor in Great Falls, MT, would not talk to me because my BMI wasn't over 40. My friend had gone to Dr. Snyder and since I was going down anyway sp went to his seminar and he just took about 15 mn to talk to me and let me know I wasn't crazy. That was it. He was personalble and very serious about helping me. Good luck on your serch.  I hear the guy in greeley is good too. After care is what you are looking for and Dr. Snyder has lots of support groups going - he even sponsored our group up here in Montana. Diona

Thank you chilliebaby for you response. And thank you too Diona, that is the kind of information I was looking for.  I will find out this Saturday for myself how I feel about Dr. Snyder.  I met Dr. Johnell yesterday (Tuesday) and right now, he's met all my initial requirements.  I would also agree that after-care is a big part of it since that is really when the work begins.

I took a different route.  I first called the Bariatric Coordinator that is the first hurdle to getting to a surgeon on Colorado Springs.  I spoke to her twice and did not find her to be helpful, always rushed and bored, and not very informative - especially when she found out that my insurance company excluded WLS.  This bothered me in that I feel it's important to be able to make an appointment with a surgeon, ask my questions, AND then I'll discuss my plans to pay for it.  (I was self-pay, knew I had the money and could get the money within a week - I felt it was NONE of the Bariatric Coordinator's business to tell her that; it was between my surgeon, the hospital and myself!)  So no way I was going wit any one in Colorado Springs. So then I moved on to researching doctor's in Denver.  The first thing that struck me about Dr. Snyder is I felt everything was a dog and pony show.  Lights, camera ACTION!  When I called, I was very put off by the fact I got a bank of in-coming call telemarketers - what!?!?!  Even though they couldn't answer some of my questions, they wanted MY name and number so they could get credit for talking to me and "send me some information" - uh, no I don't want your bulk mailings when it comes to something so personal and involving MY BODY!  Then they decided that I really should to talk to someone in the office and the call was disconnected.  When I called back I had to go through the very same routine I just did minutes earlier including them wanting my name and number and the speel about "our special mailings!"  NO THANK YOU. Some other doctors, including some in other states, I felt were in it for the money.  This really really bugs me as if I had all the money back I have ever spent on Weigh****chers, Diet Center, special diets, supplements, and pills - I'd be able to pay cash for my surgery and yours too! So I finally decided to actually meet with Dr. Chae - I didn't go to an informational meeting.  I met with him face to face.  I had already researched his background.  I didn't want a cheerleader make me feel good meeting; I wanted the facts, the good, the bad and ugly.  It clicked and I walked out knowing he was my surgeon.  I really don't care about bedside manner (though I think Dr. Chae has a great bedside manner for a doctor!); I want information, guidance, and honesty. Good luck! Jana

Hi Kevin, I remember you.  I was at Dr. Johnell's seminar as well and sat in the front row next to the projector.  I also attended Dr. Snyders on Saturday, I saw the gal that sat next to me but not you.  What a difference, huh?  3 people vs over 200.  At first I was put off the the sheer numbers and volume  of people, sortta thought of it as an assembly line but then when Dr. Snyder started talking, etc. I was at ease right away.  I also went to the seminar yesterday (every Monday) by Colorado Bariatrics at Pres./St. Lukes for Dr.s Brown & Metz.  There were about 6 of us there.  What put me off about the seminar yesterday for Dr.Brown/Metz is that the dr.s didn't attend, no chance to meet them or anything.  I asked the RN giving the presentation and she said we wouldn't meet them until our consult appt.  Also, the seminar was in a very hard to find conference room and started late (the RN was late) afterwards she took us to the actually office to meet the staff and ask more questions and had to go to 3 rooms to find someone willing to meet with us and then all they wanted were our insurance cards.  That was another strike for me.  During the seminar I asked the RN how many surgeries the surgeons had performed and cost and she didn't have that info either.  But sounded like Dr. Metz had only done 40 or so.  I am going to have to be self pay for the reasons we discussed at Dr. Johnell's seminar (exclusion) and Dr. Brown was way cheaper, but I needed to feel more at ease so opted not to go there.   As for Dr. Johnell, I liked him, he didn't have the personality of Dr. Snyder but like you said personality isn't so much a deal breaker as knowledgeable surgeon.  However, the deal breaker there was, Ed who gave the presentation took our insurance cards as you know and said someone would call and let us know our coverage.  I waited til Friday, still no call, so I called and left a message.  I did not get a call bac****il late Monday evening.  If they are that bad at follow up and returning phone calls before you are a patient, what would it be like after?   So that leaves me at Dr. Snyder, I left a message at 830 when I called (thinking they opened at 830 but it was 9) someone called me back at 845 and I have a consult appt.  Then someone else called to be sure I had gotten called.  He seemed very knowledgeable at his seminar, very experienced and my former next door neighbor had bypass by him and says there's none other like him and is super satisfied.  So that is where I will go. My consult is May 14th, I have my psych and Pulmonary screenings teh 6th and 8th and will get my lab work tomorrow.  I believe I am on my way.  Just hope it doesn't take months to get the surgery scheduled, they said it should be rather quick since I don't have to await insurance approvals.   I thought of going to Dr. Kirchenbaum, but opted not to after Dr. Snyder main reason not being a Center of Excellence.  He is the same price as Dr. Brown which is considerably less than Dr. Snyder but for major surgery price isn't my only criteria.   This is probably way more info than you wanted, and I really have no experience with the dr. one on one yet but thought since we met at one seminar I'd fill you in on my thought process.  Good luck with your decision.  Oh and I am having lap band, I know you said you were still looking at both options.  Have you gone to any other seminars? 

Also, tonight, Tues. May 6th, there is a support group meeting for Dr. Snyder at Northglenn Library at 630.  Lana from Dr. S's office called and said anyone could go, even if I haven't seen Dr. S yet so that might be a place to check out for more info, etc.