Have questions on Dr. Oakley, soon to be a patient.

Hello Ladies & Gents!

My name is Danielle and I am from next door, the good old state of Montana! I have started my journey to have the DS done. I have looked for close surgeons and Dr. Oakley in Boise, ID and Dr. Simper in Salt Lake City, UT. I have scheduled my appointments with both so far but before I just wanted to hear from the patients how they liked either of these doctors. I am very nervous about the procedure because I want to be in GREAT hands. I just want to make sure I am making the right choice on my surgeon. Let me know your experiences and difficulties.

For example:

How long was the hospital stay?

Was there a pre-op diet?

How was the after care, did they keep in touch?

How was the facility and professionals?

Did any complications arise?

Would you recommend this doctor?

And of course I would love to hear your story!

 

GO AHEAD AND POST UP! Can’t wait to hear from you all!

Hi Danielle!

I am from the Twin Falls, ID area. I had a consulation with Dr. Oakley about 8 years ago for my DS, but at that time he was very inexperienced, and I seemed to know a lot more about it than he did. So when I was 30, back in 2005, I traveled to Curitiba, Brazil, and had surgery with one of the top DS surgeons in the world, Dr. Marchesini. My surgery and recovery were very smooth, and my only post-op issue has been calcium absorption, which is very common. Since I changed my calcium regimen and upped my D3 to 125,000IU per day, my levels have been much better. My common channel is 65cm, my stomach was left at 5 oz.

However, about two years ago, my sister and cousin (then 32 and 27) went to Dr. Oakley and had their lap DS surgeries from him. He gained quite a bit of experience in that six year gap. However, I would still not rate him high, but he is at least adequate now.

My sister recovered spendidly; my cousin had some severe healing complications. He won't go less than 100cc common channel, which is what I think they both have. He also couldn't tell them how big their stomachs were -- he said he uses the boogey thing that they use for the rny, and then just cuts down instead. All I know is that at 3 months out they could eat more than I could when I was a year out. But, they have both lost most of their excess weight. They have both had severe iron issues (my sister has had to have several infusions) and kidney stones. However, they may also not be as religious with their vitamin supplements and protein levels as they should be, so this may contribute to those issues. 

I have a friend who had her surgery through him a few months after my sister and cousin. She is in her 60s. She got along with him very well, has had excellent follow-up care, and has done fairly well in her weight loss and supplementation.

Another friend, in her late 30s, had surgery with him about 10 months ago. She did great through surgery, has done great through weight loss, and has had no severe issues. She is very strict about taking her vits and minerals, though! However, when she didn't agree with his dietician in her post-op appointment, they cut her off and said she was not welcome back. So she has not actually seen Dr. Oakley since her surgery. She has used this board and gotten her own bloodwork done to keep track of herself and make sure she is healthy in her weight loss.

I'm just being fully honest with what I know of him. I found a much better choice, and went with it. However, if you're not willing to travel out of country, or far across country, Oakley is probably your best bet in this regional area. Just smile and nod and take what the dietician says with a grain of salt, as she gives advice based on RNY needs, and seems not to understand the difference. 

Feel free to visit my website (listed in my "signature"). Best of luck to you in your DS journey! 

PS ... Where in Montana are  you from? I lived in Hamilton for awhile, right after graduating college, back in 1998. Loved that area!

This is a late reply but thought I'd add it in to anyone researching now.   I had surgery May 8 with Dr Oakley.

How long was the hospital stay?    2 nights... in on Tuesday morning, out Thursday afternoon. Was there a pre-op diet?  For my insurance I had to have 6mo monitoring and attempted diet but no required weight loss.  Liquid diet the day before surgery. How was the after care, did they keep in touch?  I'm only at 2wks post-op but office has been great. How was the facility and professionals?  Dr Oakley's staff is fantastic and St Luke's hospital was fantastic too. Did any complications arise?  None so far.  Everyone has been amazed at my recovery. Would you recommend this doctor?  Yes.  He's very matter of fact, but I don't know that any surgeon is warm and fuzzy.  I had also talked to Dr Valentine and didn't feel like he was a match for me.

PM me with any questions :)

ty for the reply:) its nice to know you did well with oakley. i decided to go with dr. simper in salt lake city (same distance to travel for me) . he has more experiece than oakley and thats what won me over:) just hit my 5 months post op! its been an amazing journey!! you have so many good things headed yourway:)