Dr. Cirangle and Dr. Fowler

Has anyone had either of these Dr.'s Dr. Cirangle has a lot of reviews, but there's only 1 or 2 for Dr. Fowler. Can anyone tell me something about either of them. Thanks, Shelley

Sorry I can't help you, I had my surgery through Dr. Murayama at Queens. But I wanted to welcome you to the "quiet" Hawaii board.

Hi Shelley!!! Welcome to the Hawaii Board!!!! It's nice to see more people posting. It's been awfully quiet recently. I had lap rny by Dr. Cirangle on January 10, 2005 at Pali Momi Hospital in Aiea. He is an awesome surgeon and I truly feel one of the best in his field. He also has 2 other doctors in his office, Dr. Jossart and Dr. Feng. I see him about every 3 months for followup visits at Pali Momi. He is very knowledgeable and really cares about his patients individual issues. Although he is not here he is always available 24/7 by his personal cell phone. I find that awesome, since in the beginning I did have to call him with some questions. I know that everyone is different, but I have not had any problems after my surgery. He is very straight forward and explains exactly what his program is and what you need to do to make this new tool successful. He also has monthly support group meetings at Pali Momi Hospital. I can highly recommend him to you. I do know that recently he has been having his Hawaii patients fly to San Francisco for their surgery, instead of performing it here in Hawaii. He told me that the plane fare and hotel stay is part of his fee. I noticed that you live in Kailua, I live in Kaneohe. If you are interested, maybe we could get together. Please let me know. I don't know much about Dr. Fowler, but I do know that he only does the lap band method. If given the choice I would not think twice about it and go with Dr. Cirangle. Just to let you know, I started at 261 pounds and currently weigh 130 pounds. I'm only 5 feet tall and feel that I should lose another 10-15 pounds, but Dr. Cirangle told me that this may just be where my body feels comfortable. I started out with high blood pressure, diabetes, joint problems, high cholestrol, sleep apnea and also had a BMI of 51. I currently no longer have any of these issues except for high blood pressure which Dr. Cirangle told me is most likely related to my gene makeup, since both of my parents had high blood pressure. I'm sorry if I was so long winded, but as you can tell, I feel so fortunate that I had Dr. Cirangle perform my surgery. Please let me know if you would like more information! E-mail me, or we could get together. If you like I will e-mail my phone number to you and we can talk. Have a great week!!! I look forward to hearing from you!! Hugs and aloha, Pat

Hi Shelley, I do not know much more about Dr. Cirangle that Pat posted here. However, I do know about Dr Fowler and Castle's program. I choose the Castle program for me because my being obese is is a two fold problem. One half is overeating. I felt the band was a tool to help me with this. The other half is emotional. I choose Castle because of their extensive after care program and follow up services. I dont want to get banded and then be left on my own without structured follow up. After much prayer, I was lead to the Castle program and Dr Fowler. I need to correct something that Pat said. No, dr Fowler does not only do the lap band. He also performs the RNY. However, he does all his procedures laproscopically. As a nurse, I was aware of what a huge advantage this is. Some people may point to the newness of the program, and the low numbers of procedures that Dr Fowler has performed in comparision to Dr Cirangel. However, while the bariatric numbers are low, he assured me that he does mostly all of his other general surgery via laproscope, making him very confident in this type of procedure. Unfortunately, for medical reasons, I will not be having the procedure anytime soon. I am very, tearfully, disappointed. However, I did all the presurgical consults and am impressed with everyone involved, Dr laVette (psyche), Susan (PT/Exsercize) and Mary (nutritionalist). If you want to know any more, I encourage you to call the coordinator, Anna, as she will answer all your questions and send you a packet as well. Also, Dr fowler has an information meeting once a month which is very informative, and Anna can give you the date. I wish you the best in your search. Feel free to contact me with any questions etc. Darla

Hi Darla, if you decide to go with the Lap Band, I had mine put in on 12/7/04 by Dr. Lapschies. I am very happy with my band and I could answer any questions you may have. Feel free to contact me. Aloha, Paula

Hi Shelley, I did respond to your other posts. But I just wanted to share my experience with Dr. Cirangle and the procedure I chose. I had the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy and I am very happy with it. I felt very confident in Dr. Cirangle and his ability to perform any one of the WLS that I chose. I also felt confident that if something was to go wrong during surgery, he would be knowledgable and experienced enough to know what to do and be able to do it. Once I learned of the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, I knew there was no other surgery for me. I feel that it is my best choice because I do not have the maintenance of the band or the malabsorbtion of the RNY, which can cause many other health problems down the road if enough nutrients are not absorbed. I also liked the fact that the hormone grehlin is removed with my stomach, so I do not feel that constant hunger. This has beed the easiest thing I have ever done in my entire life. I want to say that I was not persuaded to chose one surgery type over another, I was only given the option and the education that this procedure existed. I am very thankful to Dr. Cirangle for educating me in all of the surgeries.

Hi Joley! I'm glad to hear that you are doing well!!! Hope you don't mind me asking, but has your weight loss been going as you expected? I guess with this new procedure, you don't need to keep up your protein intake? Do you also not need to take the multiple vitamins, iron, B-12, calcium and biotin? I know that these supplements can really add up financially. Just my Isopure alone runs me almost $95.00 per month at GNC. I try to wait for sales and coupons and I normally will purchase a couple of buckets. Wishing you continued good health and success in your journey!!!! Have a wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous and Blessed 2007. I can't believe I'll be 24 months postop on January 10, 2007!! God Bless you and yours. Hugs and aloha, Pat 261/130

Hi Pat - Sorry I took so long to reply. My weight loss has been great. I am now down 78lbs and I am feeling great. I have not gotten sick once and I am amazed at how little I can or want to eat. I do keep up with my protein. I by the Nectar and it runs me about $30 a container, which lasts me about a month and a half. I have it for breakfast and one in the afternoon. I also do take one multivitamin and one B-12. My body does absorb everything I consume, so I do my best to take in foods with value. I really do not get hunger sensations or those overwhelming feelings of wanting to eat everyhting in sight. I suppose my weight loss would be more if I would actually exercise. I started to do the eliptical, but have not really stuck with it. Life has seemed kind-of crazy since just before Thanksgiving and it still hasn't stopped. But I am extremely happy with my weight loss and it seems to be going the same as others about my starting weight and height, in some cases even more.

To Dr. Ciragle's patients: Who does your fills and do you have to fly to San Fran for fills and all follow up visits? Thanks, Carmen