which dr. is best for my location

Hi. I'm near Columbus, Indiana.  I have thought about Columbus Regional Hospital, but I've heard Dr. Inman at Clarian North is the best. I don't want a long drive though. Any suggestions???

I live in Crothersville,IN near Seymour. Schneck Hospital has a GREAT bariatric program.  Dr Robert Cooper is the surgeon who performs the procedures.  He does lap band, RNY and gastric sleeve.  His office is great and the bariatric dept and the hospital gives you great support.

Thanks so much! I heard he was good, but I also heard I should go to a center of excellence in Carmel with Dr. Inman, but the trip would be 2 hours one way. :(  So I would love to go here since its local.  Can you tell me more about CRH?  What to get prepared for, etc.?  I am so excited to get started, I am just hoping my insurance doesnt' make me wait for 12 months or anything (just getting insurance with SIHO this month).  Did you have to have skin removed when complete?  How much have you lost?  I have a million questions LOL. :)

I'm assuming your response is towards both of us, so I'll answer a few points.

From what I understand the Bariatric Center at CRH is working on becoming a center of excellence, I had a couple forms that I filled out prior to surgery to allow my info in their application.  Honestly, if I were you I would go to the info session.  They hand out packets and discuss the entire process.  The staff is great!  Very friendly, they actually care about you, and really go out of their way to make sure you're doing well and any questions are answered.  The nurses are fabulous and I'm just delighted with Dr. Lee.

My insurance is through Cummins Anthem which was really quick as Cummins is viewing this more as an overall Wellness/Health surgery and figuring that if they invest now it will be less expensive for them in the future.   You'll need to gather info from your GP, and hopefully you have discussed needing to lose weight with your Dr that way it's in your records.

I'm only 5 weeks out, so no major body changes yet.  I'm 22# down though since the surgery.

Feel free to send me an email or come find me at the support group if you plan on coming.

 My husband and I BOTH had WLS a year ago this month.  We live in Bloomington.  Dr. Inman was our Dr.  My husband did lots of research and also had worked with her years ago.  We LOVE her and have referred several people to her.

Very pleased with her and the results we've had.  This is a tool and a major mental thing.  You gotta change the brain.  I will say it is a bit of a drive for us a well......but WELL worth it.  I had my gallbladder removed a month ago, and where did I go----back to St. Vincent's Carmel for Dr.Inman to do it.

She knows her stuff!!

I went through the Bariatric Center at CRH and I've had a GREAT experience.  My surgeon is Dr. Lee and what a great guy!  Not only is he a good person, but he's an excellent surgeon.  My surgery was textbook, I had no complications and was up and walking very shortly after surgery.  The team there has walked me through the process with no real bumps along the way.  They've also been very friendly and kind, there for any questions I have.  They took care of all the paperwork and knew exactly what insurance needed (approval w/in 36 hours).  The support group is very good and they have good programs with local athletic clubs.

The only downside with CRH is they're only doing bands and RNY, so if you want a sleeve or DS you're not going to get it..

If you have any other questions about CRH feel free to ask me.  If you're interested there is an information session and support group meeting tomorrow night.  Dr. Dunkle-Blatter is doing the info session (she's also really nice) starts at 5:30 PM and the support group topic is "Best and Worst of Local Restaurants" and that starts at 7 PM.

I went to St Vincent's in Carmel and Dr Inman was my surgeon.  She is fantastic and the facility is great.  I loved the staff on the Bariatric Unit, they were all so sweet and helpful.  It was a bit of a trip, but well worth it to me.  

I also think there is a DR in Franklin that does WLS, a female, but I know nothing about her.  I wanted to go to a Center of Excellence and I had already heard good things about Dr Inman. I also looked her up online and she has more experience than most at doing WLS.

St Franics in South Indy has a GREAT bariatric center.  It's called the Weight Loss Center.  Dr Olson is a great doctor for pre and post surgery stuff and Dr Mandlebaum is a great surgereon for any type of surgery.  It would only be about 45 mins from Columbus.  Not a bad drive.  If you want any more info on St Francis please let me know and I will help ya.

I did a lot of research to decide were to go, and I think that any doctor from the St. Vincents Bariatric Center of Excellence would be the right choice. yeah it is a little bit of a longer drive for you, but wouldn't you really drive as far as you had to for such a major surgery? They were labeled as a bariatric "center of excellence" for a reason, you are only given that label, if you meet many requirements, whi*****ludes doing many many of these surgeries (they have done over 10,000) with many many wonderful outcomes. Yhey also have a great program to keep you in line for years after your surgery. I live in Terre Haute and drive over 2 hours to go there, but I think it is worth it. there are only 406 bariatric centers of excellence in the whole country and st. vincents of carmel is one of them. I believe Clarian North Medical Center is also a center of excellence. good luck on your journey!
cybil



"St.Vincent has been named an American Society for Bariatric Surgery (ASBS) Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence. The ASBS Center of Excellence designation recognizes surgical programs with a demonstrated track record of favorable outcomes in bariatric surgery."