Dr. Frantzides??

Okay I scheduled my first appt with Dr. Frantzides. I hope I am spekking that right. What should I expect? What happens? I am really nervous as my husband will not be able to attend with me. I was able to get an appt on March 11. I am assuming it si an informational meeting? Can anyone tell me?

Hi Kym. My surgery was performed by Dr. F. He is the greatest. I am two years out and maintaining my weight loss. I received my surgery date my first meeting with him. You have made a great choice. Good Luck!

I agree that Dr. Frantzides is great and you do recieve your date the first visit. His staff is also wonderful. I'm five months out and down -87lbs

Hi Kym, You will get a BIG packet of info (they should be mailing it to you), then at the appt. they will discuss the information in the packet, answer your questions, see if you qualify for surgery, discuss insurance approval process and your likelyhood of being approved then go over your payment options. I would really do a bit of research and take a list of questions/concerns with you. The packet is informative but as I said, its big and it didn't all get absorbed into my memory banks so I had asked questions which were answered in the packet and I had forgot to ask about other questions (I didn't write down my questions). Also if you have any medical records, weight loss information (like a weigh****chers journal, etc) and a list of any co-morbidities you should bring them. If you/they agree to the payment options / surgery then Dr. F. will schedule a surgery date (which will be changed if approval takes longer, etc) and write up needed pre-op tests. He is very honest about whether you will get approved, qualify for surgery, etc. Dr. Zeni is very kind and intelligent. Oh, sometimes they run behind so bring a book You have made the best decision to go with him/his staff. Dr. F. located my mom's cancer due to his pre-testing and he performed the cancer surgery (lap). Dr. F and Dr. Zeni have continued with my mom's followup care that is above and beyond the 'surgeon' requirements. I suggest Dr. Master for the EGD. She also takes that extra step that is rare in today's doctors. They are all excellent! Blessings!

Kym: You've made the right choice - he's great. I'm scheduled for surgery on 3/8. Issues you might wish to consider: I'm not sure he is in any insurance network. While the hospital, and other member of the medical team are in network for BCBS, Dr. F is not. He asked me to bring a check to cover his fee on the day of surgery. What BCBS reimburses, I will keep. Moreover, I don't know how his fee compares to others, but I doubt he is on the lower end of the scale. Still, you get what you pay for - other docs have told me he's the best. Believe me - I'm a big chicken - I don't like risk. I did lots of research. I have absolute faith in him. The other replies given to you about the first meeting are on the button. My biggest surprise was how quickly this all unfolded. My consult was near the end of January - now a little over a month later I'm on my way to loserland. This speed, in part, reflects my insurance - BCBS-Federal, that doesn't require or provide a pre-approval. They just spell out what you need to qualify for payment and you have to gamble on their coming through. Good luck on your journey. You've made a great first step. Harbor