Dr's offices

I am so frustrated, I called 7 Dr's. today to set up appointments to select a Dr. to do my surgery. Only 1 Dr's. office didn't give me any problems and it was Dr. Macik office, I have an appt for Dec. 5Th. Dr. Williams will not even see u or offer a seminar without you filling out paper work and if HE accepts you as a patient than his office will call and set up an appt. I said to the rude woman on the phone "So after all of this what if I do not accept him?"  I was a little offended. Is it really this seriously hard? Many offices offer seminars but they are all in the middle of the week and with my schedule (I work 12 hour shifts M-TH) I would never be able to make them and many offices said they do not compromise and if I Can't make it they do not schedule any other appointments(I understand they may be busy and have hectic schedules) but I was told point blank by Dr. Johnson's office(rudely) if u don't come to seminar u can't use our doctor I was a little frustrated  so if I am frustrated at just getting a consultation what else do I have to go through? So as of right now I have my appt with Dr. Macik and will attend Dr. Duncan's next seminar. So next, I think I will have to look out of state for surgeons or just pick between the 2 I will be able to consult with.

Which offices have you called?  Have you tried the programs at Emory or Dekalb Medical?  While I love the surgeon I used, he only does open procedures.  Have you decided on a specific surgery?

I called Dr. Williams(not pleasant), Dr. Macik, Dr. Johnson(very rude), Dr. Lin, Dr. Duncan,Dr. Scott...oh and yeah Dr. Steinberg very friendly staff Shameka she was very nice, I actually went to his seminar today since I was home sick it worked out. I also called Dr. Freeman in Anniston, AL. There were 2 more Dr's I don't have my list with me I know it was a total of 10(7 when this poat was done and 3 today). I am would like the Lap band.

Well.... 1st are you self pay or is your insurance covering it? If your insurance is paying for it your 1st step is to check to see what surgery they cover, where you can have it (my insurance will only cover 3 hospitals), what surgeon you can use, what prerequisites they have.  Most insurances require a supervised diet, nutritional counselling, and a psychiatric clearance at a minimum.

Ok, once you find out, you really should go to a seminar and a few support group metings. Try several different surgeons, so you will have an educated idea of pros and cons of each one.

Any surgeron who would operate without you doing this first is bad news. They are only looking out for your best interest when you go to these meetings. There is so much to learn and consider before you commit to the surgery.  Plus, you will likely meet some of their existing patients who will give you first hand knowledge of what to expect.


I wouldn't go out of state unless I absolutely had to. What about aftercare?  You will probably seeing this surgeon for the rest of your life. You mentioned in your post the appointments are inconvenient. Imagine how inconvenient it will be to travel to another state!

Dr. Macik and Dr. Duncan are both good surgeons as far as I've heard. Look up the patient posts on here under physician search for comments.

This is a loooong process. I get frustrated too. I likely won't be able to have my surgery until summer next year because of all the requirements for the insurance.

I think the "screening out" process these surgeons are using is likely because of the medical requirement (must have bmi over 35, certain comorbidities, etc), the fact that so many insurances wont cover the surgery, the fact that so many people think they want the surgery, but really don't have a clue what it involves.  They are smart to pre-screen. They probably save you and them a lot of wasted time by doing this.   I would rather a surgeon tell me upfront they dont think I would be a good candidate for them to work with, than to waste my time.

Well, I hope this helps. You can add me to my friend list if you want to keep in touch.

I don't necessarily agree about HAVING to go to those seminars.  I've been to one.  I've done my own research.  And I think it really sucks that now that I want to change doctors I've gotta go to another seminar. 

I agree, I also think that before you even go to seminar if you have any questions the offices should have some sort of patient liasion just for those purposes. I think you should feel comfortable with a surgeons office and if you can not even get them to answer a question and I mean the office not necc the actual Dr. per say as I understand busy schedules and such. I think if you go to 1 seminar and have done research you should be able to call a Dr give them this info, speak to them to get a feel and go from there.

On November 18, 2008 at 7:56 AM Pacific Time, LaShelle2 wrote:
Dr. Macik and Dr. Duncan are both good surgeons as far as I've heard. Look up the patient posts on here under physician search for comments.



ARE YOU SERIOUS....that is not all you have heard...you need to do your research... mimidoll50

??????? hmmmm.... Is there something I need to know? I have done research on both Dr's haven't found anything bad about Macik I have seen mixed things about Duncan.

Thank You 4 all of the info. My insurance has pre-req's but I can choose my own Dr and/or hospital as long as the Dr accepts my insurance. I think I was just frustrated with some of the people who answer the phones. I feel that with this people such a serious operation the offices should have someone a patient liasion of some sort to speak to people if they have questions or concerns. I do have to state that I have talked to Janet @ Dr. Williams office and she was great with giving insight into the surgeries but the woman yesterday was just HORRIBLE!!!!