DUODENAL SWITCH

I am from Baton Rouge and I have been approved by Aenta to receive RNY. Since my approval I have been looking on OH more and came across the DS forum. I had never heard of this type of surgery and really love it. I want the DS so bad. I looked on the DS websites and saw that there weren't any surgeons in Louisiana that did DS. Well someone told me about a website whyweight.com and there are several surgeons a hour or so away that do DS!!!!  I just wanted to know that if anyone has ever heard of Dr. Gary Stevens or Uyen Chu?? What were your experiences??? Thanks

Congrats on your approval, that's soooo exciting!!!! I do believe you are talking about the surgeons in Lafayette @ Southwest Medical Center??? If you are then, my experience w/ them was not to impressive. I went to one of their seminars and I just got a vibe from them that I was not comfortable with, it felt more like they were more interested in the money and how many they could do than the actual people whom they were dealing w/ & I have spoke to ALOT of people who have actually used them and they were also not impressed. BUT this is only my opinion & you will probley find that there are some who loved them. I am not trying to knock down anyone surgeon, I personally did not feel comfortable giving my life to them. You can contact my surgeon who is also in Lafayette, Dr. Philip Gachassin @ 337-233-9900. I do believe he does DS. I trusted this man w/ my life he is absolutely wonderful, he is knowledgeable about every aspect of ALL the surgeries, caring bedside manner, a loving team of people he has working w/ him they all become your family before, during, & after surgery. In the hospital he was so tentative & also when I went home he called my house to check on me a few times. He really is there for you at any time, he is also at the support groups every month!!! I cant say enough about this man. If you have any personal question you can always pm me. Good luck w/ your search & make sure you do your homework on any Dr before you say ok well they are the only ones who do the DS i guess I have to use them. You are headed in the right direction, stay positive!!!!
           Katherine

Thank you so much. I will look into it!! 

I said it before, I'll say it again.  Go see Dr. Warden.  He has done many many of these procedures and for a surgery that requires such technical precision, you need someone who has done the particular operation (not just any bariatric surgery...DS specifically) for YEARS.

I wish you good luck.

I know I am the one who sent you the information on whyweight and I did because you were hopeless in finding a DS surgeon in Louisiana.  I have never met any of them personally nor has anyone else who is commenting on them so far. From my experience AS A NURSE, every patient who has had a successful surgery will RAVE over their surgeon and think that THEIR surgeon walks on water. The reason there are so many docs out there besides the demand for them is because every doc has a different personality and not all people want a doctor that will joke and be easy going, matter of fact most people want a doc that is professional and stature (this is the attitude they portray) yet there are still people who complain that their surgeon although good has poor bedside manner. All surgeons had to have their First, Second, and 100th procedure eventually you will no doubt be an addition to anyones stats.  You have to research, visit, make your own personal decision based on your feelings towards a doc because in the long run if something goes wrong, you have to live with it not anyone else on the board. My best friend went to Dr Stevens and she can't say enough good things about him and she fusses at me all the time about why I don't just go to him cause I know (she knows) what good work he does and like I told her, I have spoken with, made appts and changed my mind several times over, I need to find the one for ME and I am still looking. Granted we don't all have $200 to spend on a consult fees 5 times a month, I understand that, but just make sure that you go with the office staff, surgeon and location that you are comfortable with, not anyone else. Cause like I said before no one but you will reap the rewards and consequences and they all eventually make mistakes and you need to feel like you made the best decision you possibly could based on your need to stay near home and human connection. Doesn't matter if a doc has done 10,000 procedures mistakes can be made and not always because of a docs knowledge or skill , granted it doesn't hurt that he could do it with his eyes closed, mistakes could happen because of something in YOUR body that no one could predict. I hope you the best and hope that you come to a decision soon. Make sure that you find an office staff that is supportive and understanding because you will be stuck with them for a few years for pre op and post op. Good Luck again. Jennifer

I believe Dr. Andrew Hargroder does the DS, his office is now in Gonzales.  You may want to check him out,  he has info. on this website you can look at.