Anyone opinions on Dr. Maynard?

A surgeon cannot open a practice straight out of med school.  Surgeons must complete a residency which lasts 5 years.  There is no way he could have started a practice as a surgeon without a residency in surgery.

I think LaShelle simply misspoke. She meant he was fresh out of residency.

There are issues with his residency training, however. that potential patients need to know about. He was terminated from USF's surgical residency program after failing to advance quickly enough, unprofessional behavior, etc. He sued the state, but lost. He ultimately finished his final residency year in Nebraska.

That fact alone made me realize I would second guess every decision he made and wonder if any complication could have been avoided. I chose to go with Dr. Houston and have had a fantastic experience.

http://altlaw.org/v1/cases/1127465

Good luck!

I had my initial consultation with him this past Thursday but my mom has all my info we got from him looking over it...so I can't give you the exacts but I do remember he mentioned working in Omaha Nebraska.  He also told me that when he first started his surgical rotation in Florida that he had no intention of doing bariatrics because the situation was that there was no support program either before or after the surgery.  It wasn't until he did his rotation in Omaha and worked with a center that had an actual Bariatric Program that he decided that he would go into this field.  They base their program on the one in Omaha...when I get my paperwork back from my mom I will send you more info from him.

Just a coincidence this was posted by one of Dr. Maynards patients last week on the DS board:

"well had a few bad times... 30 minutes before we left my insicion opened up!!! I am 2 1/2 months out and I was oozing and bleeding.. I finally figured it out seems that one of the stitches from the inside didn't dissolve and had gotten a tad infected... by Friday it was starting to clear up.. now it is only about 1 inch long.. "

Dr. Houston sutures and double staples the staple line, plus the lapro surgery is less risky.  There is no reason for you to be bleeding and oozing 2 1/2 months out!!! That's insane. This is 2010 for goodness sake.

You should only be having an open surgrey in extreme cases wherre there are risks for complications.

Well, I called Dr. Smith's office and it's a no go. They don't know if they will ever be in network with Aetna HMO. :( I'm so sad.

I am actually still going between RNY and DS. If I have DS I will have to use Dr. Houston and I just don't know if I can go out of state - but more importantly to me at this point is choosing the procedure that I feel I can live with.

Just my two cents here.  Dr. Maynard was censured while performing his residency, but much of it was about changing schedules, failure to attend seminars and administrative issues.  A decade later, his office seems to run smoothly and professionally. 

Dr. Maynard has many satisfied patients and has never lost a patient or been involved in any arbitration or malpractice lawsuits as far as I can tell from the Georgia Board of Medicine.

As for lap versus open surgery, there are benefits and risks to both.  Most studies have found that while there's an increased risk is 30-day complications with open, longterm results are comparable.  There's an increased risk for incisional hernias with open, but there's an increased risk in internal hernias with lap.  Further, many patients with a particularly high BMI aren't suitable candidates for lap surgery.

I met with Dr. Maynard and found him to be knowledgable and keenly interested in making sure the patient understands the surgery and what to expect.  He specializes in the DS because he believes it's the most successful procedure and didn't even discuss RNY with me.  I intend to keep him as my surgeon.  Just my view on the whole thing.  Good luck in finding a surgeon with whom you're comfortable.

Thank you, Kim!

I am having such a difficult time choosing between RNY and DS. My BMI is 40.5. I'm just really really struggling with which procedure to go with. I have a seminar tomorrow with the RNY surgeon to learn as much as possible about RNY, but I also want to meet with a qualified DS surgeon. 

I am just so confused....and I'm afraid to ask too many questions about it on the forum for fear of being jumped on.

It's my experience that people here are eager to answer questions, so ask away.  The more you learn and listen to personal experiences, the more informed decision you can make.  Good luck.

Make sure you ask each surgeon if you qualify in their practice for the different surgeries. 

My understanding is that -most- surgeons require a higher BMI for the DS, therefore you may not even be a candidate for the DS and your decision will be easier in that regard.  Also, some may require certain co-morbidities while others don't and that may factor into the entire equation.   I'm assuming, like any surgery, though, different doctors recommend different things.....so you may qualify for different procedures with different surgeons.

You're doing a great job trying to do as much research as possible. 

Best of luck to you....

Sorry for the late reply,  I rarely visit the GA Forum..I'm on the DS board....I love Dr Maynard.  I have his cell phone # and have direct access to him for any questions.  Yes,  he only does it open,  but I don't think that make him any less of a surgeon,  He's just being very cautious.  I prefer for someone to know their limitations vs overselling themselves. 

I highly recommend him.  Yes his office and program can be a PITA..but it's worth it.