Finding a surgeon??!!??

I am 27 yrs old. I have a 2 1/2 yr old daughter and have been HAPPILY married for a little over 4 yrs. I have been over weight as long as I can remember. I have tried several "diets" just to gain back what i lost if not more. I am currently at my heaviest at 330pds. I am about 5'10". I was diagnosed with a kidney disease (focal glumerosclerosis) after the birth of my daughter in 2001! The drs put primary cause as ? and secondary cause as obesity! Because of the Kidney disease I am currently on blood pressure meds. Also since the birth of my daughter I have on thyroid meds because they are all out of wack. I have bc/bs of Alabama PPO insurance. I have gotten the green light from my kidney dr and im ready to find a surgeon....But WHERE do I start?? Is there a place I can go to see how many surgeries he/she has done? Also does anyone have any recommendations for a dr. I am near Baton Rouge!! Thanks in advance. Crystal

There is a place called Neweigh in Baton Rouge. I just came back from there last week. They were wonderful. My doctor name is Dr. Bellanger. He was the nicest man and answered all of my questions and my husbands. We did not feel rushed at all. I am waiting on my insurance to reply for my surgery. Good luck to you.

Hi Crystal. I also live near Baton Rouge, but I chose to go to Dr. Mando/Dr. O'Connell in New Orleans. They have a program called Renew that is VERY good. I had my surgery in February and I have lost 127 lbs.. I started out at 304. You can email me if you like and I can tell you more about the program and my experince with the surgery. My email is [email protected] (the o in p0ky is a ZERO, not an O). Take care.. Sarah

There is a good surgeon in Monroe, LA named Dr. John Price. He does open and laparoscopic RNY gastric bypass. I am a bypass patient and I work for Dr. Price. He is the BEST!

crystal, my doctor is doctor philip gachassin. i had surgery with him on june 26 of this year, and i swear by him. he is the most wonderful, most caring doctor i have ever had in my 51 years. his bedside manner is out of this world excellent. everyone who has had surgery with him feels the same as i do. i don't know if there are doctors in baton rouge doing this surgery, but i promise you won't regret it if you choose dr. gachassin. he's located in new orleans (metairie), la. and does his surgeries at east jefferson hospital, just a couple blocks from his office. i found his charges to be reasonably low, which was good for me, considering my insurance would not cover 100%. his phone number is 504-885-8318. best of luck to you. rhetta domingue galliano, la.

Crystal, I too have been to NeWeight in Baton Rouge. I had my surgery July 1, 2003 and Dr. LeBlanc from NeWeigh did mine. So far I have lost 65 pounds. The staff there at NeWeigh are WONDERFUL!!! I would suggest anyone to go there. There are 3 different Dr's there that I know of. Give them a call and see where it takes you. The number there is 225-769-1401. Jennifer or Kathy usually answer the phone and will be happy to answer any questions they know the answer to. Good Luck to you!!! Dee