DragonLove - I changed from wanting the Sleeve to a DS.  None of those Dr's perform the DS. I had my surgery on 12/4 with Dr. Smith who is an excellent surgeon and very thorough.

What do you mean that they do not complete the surgery you are seeking?  They all do the sleeve and that is what you said you were looking for.

Obviously you must have a surgeon that you feel comfortable talking to and who you trust!  

I also used Dr Hart and have loved it so far.  I was self-pay because my insurance covers zilch, so I can't speak to that part except to state that my hubby had RNY with Dr Champion (retired) three years ago and his surgery was more expensive but it covered more of the meetings so it probably came out pretty even.  

I had my surgery almost 4 weeks ago. I have had to pay for several appointments, but everyone knew I was self pay in the office so I never considered them asking for insurance.  I would double check and be sure that they really said that they don't file insurance for those appointments because that does seem odd.  I paid for mine with my HSA card.   Also, Dr Hart's staff is all awesome!  These people have been super helpful for me and always went the extra mile to find me an answer when I had one.

Not only do I personally like Dr Hart, even though he is very busy, I have NEVER felt rushed when meeting with him.  While I was thinking, trying to figure out if there were any more questions, he simply sat and smiled and gave me time to think.  Even right before my surgery, he came by where they were prepping me and asked if I had any concerns or questions before we got started.

anybody know of support group in area

I looked on Southern Regional's website, and they have ones, but it says for patients only.  I am a week post-op, and doing well, but I would like to find more people in our area. We need it to be successful.