anyone had surgery in atlanta ga

Dr Duncan always does the Roux limp attachment- small bowel to the stomach. Dr Hopson or Dr Johnson do the rest. There are video monitors connecting each O.R. so that Dr Duncan can keep contact with all the rooms.

Tonya, I keep wanting to ask you how long you have lived in Warner Robins. I worked there for over a year with Gov. Perdue's campaign. We had an office on Moody road and I got to know a ton of good folks down there. Joe

Joe, I have lived in Warner Robins for 8 years. That's too cool!! I live less than a mile from Moody Road. My neighbor is a member of Second Baptist (Gov. Perdue's church) and knows him real well. This is Sonny Territory! We are all(well most) Sonny fans and we get very excited when he comes home Tonya

Christy, I have no doubt that you have heard that, but there is no surgeon who is perfect. They could do this procedure on 100 perfectly healthy individuals and there will be at least 1 person who has complications. I know that I am in capable hands.. moreso than I would be were I going through OPEN RNY with a surgeon in rural South Georgia where I am from. Joe

My best friend had surgery last year so she thought by Dr. Duncan. He went in and had wonderful bedside manners in the morning with her. He reassured her that everything would go smoothly. However, when she went in a few weeks later for her post op appt a female doctor noticed her, and said hi to her and told her that she was the doctor that performed her surgery !! not Dr. Duncan. Needless to say my friend was totally shocked. She had no idea that Dr. Duncan was not the doctor who was going to perform her surgery,and to find out several weeks later. Something doesn't sound right to me. Needless to say she never went back to him, and was very upset about the whole situation. No explination was ever given to her at all.

Diane, I had my consult on 30 Mar with Dr. Duncan's office. Dr Speights did our consult and she made it perfectly clear that Dr. Duncan only performed the Roux limb reattachment and that the chances of Dr. Duncan performing the 100% of the surgery were slim to none. The operate as a team and it works for them. I am sorry that your friend wasn't aware of their practices. That would be a big shocker!!! She should've demanded a explanation and meeting with Dr. Duncan or whom ever mislead her.

Tonya, I am speaking of the experience that my friend had. At the time of her surgery Dr. Duncan DID NOT tell her that THE TEAM would be operating on her. It WAS NOT made perfectly clear to her. She was 100 % under the assumptin that he would be preforming the surgery. Not the TEAM. At least you will know that you will be going in under the care of THE TEAM. Unfortunatley for my friend,she did not. I wish you the best of luck. To lady who posted the question, continue to ask questions, and you need to feel 100 % comfortable with your surgeon and be aware of all of his/her practices. Debbie, I am glad that you posted your message, I was thinking about you as well, when I was writing about my best friend. Diane

Below is an email I recently posted to my support group upon a request for info on Duncan: I'm a Duncan patient. I did not have a good experience with him. I will tell you my story, not to scare you, but to prepare you. I share my story so that other's know what can happen. Many, many people go through this surgery without a hitch. I was not so lucky. Before I tell you my story let me just say. I would NEVER tell you not to use Duncan..........that is not my place. As an adult you make you own decision on who will be your surgeon. I will relate my experience with him, this is ONLY MY experience!! Had my surgery on 1-14-02.........next day had my leak test. To my horror, they found a leak, this was early afternoon. 7:30 that evening Duncan took me back to surgery. Dr. Miller (Jacqueline, who I understand is no longer with Duncan?) told my husband that the surgery would be fairly quick. Around midnight my husband started to panic.......he had no idea why the repair was taking so long. Finally Duncan and Dr. Miller came to speak to my husband........each time they repaired the leak, I would get another. I must add right here and now......coming out of being under, Duncan said to me, "did you take steroids?" My response, No, I have never taken them. First thing Duncan said to my husband in the waiting room......"did she take steroids?" Huband's response.......NO. I later found out, that taking steroids can make your tissue intergrity not good. As can smoking.........I'M A NON STEROID TAKER AND A NON SMOKER!!! Cutting to the chase, surgery on Monday and Tuesday........home Friday. Thought everything was fine, well it wasn't. On the 29th of January, I got up from the couch and was thrown into pain, mind numbing pain in my left back area. Hubby and I made the decision (which probably in the long run saved my life) to drive me to Atlanta Medical Center, instead of our local hospital. Another surgery followed to see if I had another leak. No, thank goodness. Without going into all the gory details........I spent 45 days in ICU at Atlanta Medical Center, 33 of those days were spent on a ventilator. My family during that 45 days, well lets just say they don't like to talk about it. I was sedated, they were not. From January 29th, my first moment of being aware, was on Valentine's Day.........my husband saying to me, "Happy Valentine's Day." What put me back in the hospital was........it seems that from the initial leak, an infection formed around my lung. It grew and grew, until it was so big it was causing breathing problems and the horrible pain. During my 45 day stay in ICU, because of high-calorie tube feeding I gained 20 pounds. After 45 days I was "well enough" to be moved to a rehab hospital. I had lost the ability to walk by this time and needed to regain that ability. I spent 30 days in the rehab hospital and finally came home on April 12, 2002........which was my daughter's 16th birthday!! You would think that the above information would cause me to dislike Duncan as a surgeon............well it doesn't. I cannot comment on his surgical skills, I'm not in the medical profession and I don't pretend to know anything about surgical procedures. What I will tell you is........I do not see Duncan at all and my reason for that is. During my 45 day stay in ICU, Duncan not once came into my ICU room, bad enough, right. The kicker for me is this, my huband and children spent 45 days and nights in the ICU waiting room of Atlanta Medical Center, at times not knowing if I would live or die...........at no time during that 45 day period did Duncan seek out my husband to talk with him about my care. To be fair, let me add that my husband did speak with other's who represented Duncan's practice, but not Duncan himself. Duncan was my surgeon, not the other's. I can't forgive him for that. Had he just once found my husband in the waiting area, patted him on the shoulder and said, "we are doing everything in our power to help her survive." I would be able to refer to him as Dr and not just Duncan. The above is "MY" expereince. I know there are folks who get really upset when I post my experience, because they think I am "hating" on Duncan..........sorry that is not the case. The only experience I can relate is my own. Let me also add........even with all that I went through, I'm still glad I had the surgery, I couldn't say that for a long time, but I can now. I have gone from 360 pounds to right around 200...okay, LOL a little above 200. I'm happy at my weight, I have a wonderful family and life is very good for me. my best to you. Debbie J