Any Dr. Matt Glas**** patients here?

I would love to hear your thoughts on your surgeries, etc. I am waiting for approval, was submitted the end of July but I had to have a couple more procedures before they would tell me if I was approved or not. Should hopefully know some this week I think! Let me know your experiences! Thanks! Melissa

There are quite a few of us here. Mine was in Dec 2003. Dr Glas**** is a great surgeon & never for a minute have I regretted going to him. He has his rules & he expects you to follow them & he'll let you know that he isn't happy if you don't do what you're supposed to be doing. His staff are also very good, especially Angie, the PA. I understand there has been changes in some of the staff in his office. I'll miss them as they have been very helpful to me. My experiences have been pretty unremarkable. My surgery went flawlessly & my weightloss was pretty normal, except I stopped losing at 9 months but I guess that just happens. I never got to the weight I wanted but I keep working on it. Eventually, I'll get there & if not, I am so much healthier that I'll learn to be satisfied with the results. The part of his program that I feel is essential is lifelong support. He expects his patients to continue to come back for followup care & they really help you if you have concerns. There are programs in our state that fail terribly with this. Ask around & it won't take long to learn that some doctors do the surgery & a few follow up visits during the first months & then they cut you loose. Believe me, the surgery is just a small part of this whole change. We need that support & his office does a very good job of providing it. One night last fall, I got very sick & was in horrible pain, bad enough that I didn't even think of calling him & talking with the person oncall. The next morning my pain was gone but I called his office anyway. Angie, the PA & I had quite a conversation & she got the ball rolling to find out what was going on. When the gastroenterologis couldn't figure out what was going on, Angie, with Dr G's input, suggested more tests & they showed that my gallbladder was not working (no stones, just not working)& that was my problem. I never even considered going to another surgeon. Dr Glas**** will be doing any surgery my family needs. I actually had another procedure scheduled that my gynecologist ( his ex-wife, by the way) was going to do so he agreed to do the gallbladder removal at the same time so I only had to be put out one time. It took some schedule changing on his end & I really appreciated it. Another thing they offeris support group meetings; again some doctors don't. The next one is next Monday at Sartori at 7:00. I believe that a chef from UNI is coming to cook for us again. He did this last year & was really good & gave sime very good suggestions for cooking with low fat, low sugar & just plain the way we need to be eating. Oh, and the chef, well, he is one of Dr Glas****'s successes. As you can tell, I think you made a very good decision. I don't think you will regret it. Just a warning. Unless things have changed, sometimes you do have to wait for them to get paperwork done & to contact you. Oh, & you really don't get to see much of Dr G once you've had the surgery. That's where Angie comes in. She takes over pretty much & takes care of all the routine appointments. Don't worry, she is in constant contact with him &if she feels you need to be seen by him, she'll arrange it. Dixie

Hi Dixie! Thanks so much for the awesome reply to my question! I could be wrong but I believe you were one of the patients that came and spoke at the seminar I attended back a little over a year ago. I could be wrong but you look like a familiar face. If so, I thank you very much for sharing your experiences that day. It helped to aid my decision of choosing gastric bypass surgery. My husband is 4 years post op. I met him when he had his last 25 pounds to lose before goal. I had lost 100 lbs through diet and exercise and we connected online because of our weight losses. Well i am sure you can guess that I no longer have kept that 100 lb weight loss off. I am bigger than before. He looks good. He has done very well. I didn't start researching right away but always felt in the back of my mind that I would end up going this direction eventually. Being a nurse I was worried about the long-term effects (I still am actually with all the malabsoroption) but to this day my husbands labs are great other than b-12 and I give him an injection once a month for this. Anyway, in 2004 we started getting serious, we lived in KC at the time and started visiting surgeon after surgeon until we found the "perfect fit". Never found it in KC, my husband is from Iowa and he wanted to move back there, thought I would enjoy getting away from the larger city and slowing down a bit. So we did. Started visiting many surgeons here too, wasn't that impressed until I met Dr. Glas**** he blew my socks off, literally. I am a nurse as well, and I work with a lot of surgeons, so bed side manner and professionalism and follow-thru are VERY important to me. I don't appreciate a surgeon that isn't 100% in it for me. SO I thank you for your words of reaffirmation about his care he provides. I am completely confident that he is the best there is for me and what I feel I need and I agree the follow-up he provides sounds absolutely fabulous. I wasn't into being pushed through a factory if you will and then left to sink or swim. I am so glad he provides the excellent care he provides along with his staff. So far I have really enjoyed them. Not sure of the office changes, rebecca has been wonderful so far to work with. I must say my insurance co. has got to be sick of hearing from me. But if they dont get the info they are looking for, etc, she is on the ball with resending it. I sure hope I hear something this week, it takes everything I have not to call day after day. I am so impatient with it. But my PCP has been working with me SOOOOO closely this year. I am only 29 and found that I have diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia all this year. I have had hypothryroidism for years as well. So I don't think the insurance co. will deny me. I did their 6 mos required diet and exercise program as well surperivsed by my physician and dietician. Fingers crossed. Thanks again dixie, you are an amazing success story and an absolute inspiration to me. Melissa F.

Dixie really covered everything - she's amazingly thorough! I just wanted to say "hi" as another patient of Dr. G's. My surgery was almost a year ago and I guess I should really post an update. Good luck with everything, and I jsut wanted to second everything Dixie said! Amy

Well, I'm hoping to be his patient. I did my visit with Angie and the dietician. I also did my psych eval with Dr. Raju. I got denied 2x's because of the 1/month dr visit for 1 year thing. My dr wrote me 2 letters to send telling all the diets I had been on thru the years but still rejected. I've been doing monthlies for about 4 months now. When I went to Dr. Glas****'s seminar he struck me as very straightforward, but honestly a guy who cares what happens to you. Best of luck, I hope I get to join the rest of you on the other side!

Hi Lisa! You got denied because you were supposed to see the doctor once a month for a year? Is that what you meant? For a supervised diet program? Yes, Dr. G seems absolutely wonderful. I am majorly picky. I work in healthcare and therefore I have standards that are hard to meet. Dr. G was the 10th surgeon I visited! He was also the last and I am happy with my choice so far and seems others that are post op continue to love him and I am so happy for that. How long did you psych test with Dr. Raju take, I was surpirsed I was there less than a 1/2 hour! It was a piece of cake. My husband's took much longer.. like 4 hours or something! I am still waiting on isnurance to get this last bit of info they want.. ekg and egd results. It has been a couple weeks and have had to have rebecca from Dr. G's office resend everything.. its like I am at a complete stand still until I hear from them. I sure hope I am approved. Sorry to hear you have been rejected twice, I am sure things will change for you, sounds like you are taking all the right steps. good luck to you and keep us updated on your progress! Melissa

Melissa, Yes I have to do the 12 month supervised diet thing. It's soooo arbitrary, as I have been on a diet my entire adult life, but I can't afford to pay for this myself, so I guess I'll just have to put up and shut up! Good luck to you!!!

Hi Lisa, Geez, I had to do the 6 month one. I started Jan 1st and wouldn't you know they keep coming up with other tests for me to have. Today they decided I needed cardiac clearance and the EKG the ordered originally (yes the insurance company "ordered") wouldn't suffice that I would need to be seen by a cardiologst and get cardiac cleranace for my surgery. They jsut came up with this! So I feel your pain, my process is going on 9 months and still no approval. So I am right there with you almost.. hang in there. I will not give up on this, I know others would have by now but I refuse. Stay strong and just do everything they ask and try to keep your patience. It will happen if you are persistent enough! Melissa

Hi Melissa~ Congrats on picking the best surgeon in the biz (in my humble opinion!). As usual Dixie said it best in her post, but I wanted to just give a big thumbs up to the office staff as well. Angie is such a great person to deal with and she really cares for everyone that walks through the doors. Plus she's always ready to take your phone calls if you need her. I lost my goal of 120 lbs in 8 months, had twin girls and am currently 5-10 lbs (depending on the day!) under goal! So I'm VERY pleased with my RNY! Good luck and keep us posted on your journey! Stephanie Proud mommy to Alexis (4.21.02), Ty (8.8.03), Addyson and Mackenzy (4.17.06)

Thanks Stephanie! Congrats on your success, you little ones are precious! Melissa