Did anyone watch NBC Nightly News last night?

I did, and there was a "Life Line" segment that dealt with Gastric Bypass Surgery. I watched the piece with an open mind and I must say that I found no real "value" in watching the piece. It seemed to contain more "shock value" than information. I also didn't like how the patients "interviews" were nothing more than declarative statements. NBC likely spent hours interviewing these patients and used only 5 seconds of the entire interview. At the end of the story I found myself hollering at Robert Bizell for his shoddy reporting. I hate to sound cold and heartless, but this is MAJOR surgery and it's not the surgeons' fault that these patients don't take this seriously. It is the responsibilty of the PATIENT to research the surgeon and find out if this procedure is right for them. I just hate when major news outlets run these shock pieces without a balanced look at all the surgeons who do this procedure well... particularly Dr. Duncan . Thanks for letting me vent!!

I guess it was an attempt at higher ratings. I had a friend (who knows I had the surgery) call to tell me about it. She then called me after it was over to tell me ooh-ah- see how terrible it can be. I simple told her yes it is terrible when people are willing to put their lives in jeopardy by going to an incompetent surgeon (who may have have a weekend lesson on the procedure) and having a poor outcome. I also told her again how much I researched, how much I tried other diets and how happy I've been with Dr. Champion and my surgery. She happens to be a size 6. Skinny friends just don't "get it". I wi****old no one.

Hi Joe, I didn't see the piece on NBC news, wish I had. Was it a negative piece about wls? I was interviewed by CNN back in November about my wls, well actually about my complications from my wls (see my profile). The piece aired in December. They do indeed take many hours of footage and condense it down. I agree with you, it is up to the patient to research the surgeon, but it is very difficult to do. You will hear plenty of the good, but very little of the bad. And when a former patient is willing to share the bad, many many times..........prospective patients do NOT want to hear of problems. Everyone assumes it cannot happen to them............well I'm here to tell you, even doing everything right, it can happen to you. I'm living proof of that. sorry to get on my own little rant