got my first appt scheduled with dr. paul kemmeter

I just made my first appt with the dr's office yesterday spoke to someone in his office was told since i was a revison i do not have to go through the seminar first. (newbies who never had wls surgery do have to attend his seminar prior to making appts) I have to meet with a bariatrician...not sure who or what a bariatician does but my first initial appt is with this person and they will determine if im a good candidiate for the revision surgery. To answer any questions dr. kemmeter does do revision surgery for rny to ds. I will find out how many he's done when i get to my appt with him. If the bariatrician determines im a good candidiate i then make an appt to see dr. kemmeter ,fyi they will also pull your wls prior surgery records for you. i had my rny surgery 11 yrs ago in another state and i just faxed over a signed autho to dr. kemmeter's office for them to get the records. after the initial meeting with the surgeon i believe they submit all info to insurance for approval ...once approved surgery is scheduled.  now there are out of pocket costs seeing dr. kemmeter the amount is 1000.00..... the break down is below.....

 

 

1st APPT. with the bariatrician        250.00  plus any co pays due

2nd APPT with the surgeon            200.00 plus any co pays due

3rd appt with the surgeon  this is last appt prior to the surgery and you must pay 550.00  2 weeks prior to the surgery

 

also per the rep this money covers seeing a nutrionist,dietician, and excercise expert for an entire year. you can have in person appts, emails and phone appts with these folks for 1 year.

 

fingers crossed all works out for me im deemed a good candidate and my insurance approves.  and hopefully me paying this 1000.00 means less out of pocket expense for me regarding whatever the insurance doesn't cover.

Good Luck. Have your list of questions ready... Assuming you have questions and made a list.

That's the practice I went to.  To MY knowledge, Dr. Kemmeter does NOT do RNY to DS revisions.  Please be careful.  The nurses in this practice are impossible to work with post-op with lab levels.  I quit that practice 3 years post-op when they totally ignored my iron levels.  I was blacking out, dizzy, had muscle weakness, pica, and was dead-tired on 12 hours of sleep a night.  They ignored me.  I secured iron infusions on my own through a hematologist.  After my 1st infusion, GHP then called me to tell me to START taking iron by mouth.  I had been taking Proferrin 3x daily for the past 3 years.  They had that in my records.

 

Be Careful.  Ask for past revision RNY to DS patients that he has done to CALL YOU.  That is HIPPA allowed.  What is not allowed is for them to give YOU their number to call.  If they won't do that, that means he doesn't have any revisions.  Period. 

IMO, you should be going to one of the well-known revisionists.  Not Kemmeter, certainly NOT Foote.

may i ask how long ago was your surgery? maybe in the time since your surgery he has begun doing revisions. i will contact the office today to see if they could have folks who've had a revision surgery with kemmter to contact me..were you vocal about the issues you were having....you have to be your own advocate if one nurse is being a jerk and not tending to your concerns  then you demand to speak to someone who will . I've seen other posts here of folks who had there ds surgery with him and speak highly of him. I'm not downplaying your experience with that office but i have to be my own judge. i will contact the office today and see if they could have others who've had a rny revision to ds contact me...

I'm having Kemmeter do my band to DS revision December 13th. When I met with him I asked him about his revision experience. Because I was having a band to DS revision we did not discuss RNY to DS revision extensively, but he has done them (I have no idea how many and obviously, it is best to have someone that has done a lot of them, rather than just a few.)

In general I think the practice he is in is very well ran. However, even though this is a bariatric practice and they are used to dealing with lab results and nutritional deficiences it is ultra important that YOU be your own advocate. I recently received a lab report back from them that said everything is normal when it was not. I am anemic and will continue taking supplemental iron to raise it.

Best of luck to you!

 

(edited to correct surgery date)

Crossing fingers for your surgery approval with Dr. Kemmeter. I have had all great experiences with his group, nurses, bariatrician, PA's, exercise physiologist, Behaviorists meetings. I couldnt have done it without them all, especially Dr. Kemmeter. After my virgin D.S. with him, I requested him to do my gallbladder/appendix, D.S. exploratory check, and upper Gi. all went very smoothly as expected. I was very calm going into both my surgeries, placing my confidence in his abilities. Saint Mary's hospital was super too. I've had 3 major surgeries there in the past 2 years. Everyone was so nice and thoughtful, especially Cathy Wuis, his nurse coordinator. She can answer any of your questions. Find her on the Saint Mary's Hospital bariatric site- "ask a question".

Dr Kemmeters group is still ordering and monitoring my labs 1.5 yrs post surgery. Some of my labs were close to low normal, they didnt add supplements. My A and zinc were way off, they added supplements. I receive copies of my labs to compare them to past labs, and keep them in my file. I copy them for my other docs. They really appreciate it, since they didnt ask me to bring them in. this way I have several doctors monitoring my labs. my PCP internist could increase the low labs, but agrees with Kemmeters group. Now I have a hematologist, referred by Dr Kemmeter. He wants to up my iron because of my plastic surgery in 2 months. Iron infusions are his specialty. He's in charge of my iron now, and I'm glad to have him join my team of doctors.

All in all, you can find negative people, and positive people. Each experiences the same process, reports differing experiences. Ask questions, make your own conclusions. Enjoy life to the fullest. !!!

Hi all,

 I will be a virgin DS on Dec 6. I can only tell you of my experience with them so far. All my dealings with the doctors and office has been email and telephone. I will see them in person on Dec 3rd. The office and doctors have been working closely with my pcp doctor here. I had to stay on top of everyone when your trying to work with two very busy offices but I will say it didn't take very long to hear from Dr Kemmeter's office about my vitamin  D they had me double my dose and then when i spoke to Dr Kemmeter on the phone he mention my D again and he told me to start taking more. 

 

Trish