Seminar this Saturday at Touro Infirmary

My wife, oldest daughter, and I are attending the seminar at Touro Infirmary on Saturday. I want to find out what to expect. The group my cardiologist wants me to use is the Weight Management Center group. My entire family is supportive of the surgery. When I see my cardiologist in October, he will talk to me more. This way after the seminar I will be able to understand more that he will be talking about.

The seminar for my surgeon is Aug 23... but I know the surgeon is a great one. I work with his patients (on the unit where his patients stay at Ochsner) and I'm very glad to have such a skilled surgeon. Good Luck, and make sure your insurance will cover that person (network stuff, etc). My last surgeon sent me to a non-covered sleep study agency... thank god I found out before the study... bill would have been $5000.00 WHEW! I've heard a lot of the same things about Dr. Martin being "too busy" and it was part of the reason I chose not to use Touro. I'm looking forward to having my surgery sometime in October! Kat

Hi Charles, I'm glad you are going to the seminar and that your wife and daughter are so supportive. It really is important to do lots of research so that you understand everything involved in making this surgery successful. As my surgeon says, this is a tool that you can use to treat morbid obesity and how well this works depends greatly on the patient. So, the more you learn, the better prepared you are to be successful. I had my surgery done in New Orleans, too, but my surgeon was at Ochsner and he was and is terrific. The care I received was great. If you have any problems scheduling with Touro, I would strongly recommend checking out Dr. Richardson at Ochsner. Best of luck on your journey, Linda

Charles, That is where I had my seminar, and will be having my surgery soon. What to expect. There will be someone there that will take your insurance information first thing and your drivers license, I guess to prove you are who you say your are. They will give you a booklet with some information in it about gastric by-pass and the Lap-band. Then there will be someone to talk to everyone about the difference between the two. The speaker will be someone who has had the surgery themselves. Our speaker showed us pictures of herself before surgery. She had surgery five years before so she was not new to it. You will fill out a questionnaire; letting them know which surgery you are interested in. The lady that spoke to us talked a lot about her surgery and things to expect after surgery. I learned a lot from her. The insurance lady will then speak to everyone about insurance approval she will tell you some of the things you may need for insurance and which insurances usually require the three to six month supervised diets. They will check with your insurance company and let you know what your insurance company will require. I will also be using Dr. Martin for my surgery. And yes his office is very busy and it takes them longer to get stuff done, but that is because they are very thorough. But he is well worth the wait. He has been doing this for 23 years he is one of the pioneers in this field. You should go check him out here: http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/bariatric+surgeon+profile+Louis+Martin+lm.html If you have any more questions I would be glad to answer them. You can also read my profile to see what I have had to do to prepare. Hope this is of some help to you. Tina

I had my surgery done by Dr. Martin 10 months ago and I could not be happier. He is a GREAT surgeon and his whole staff is very supportive and friendly!! I think that you will be impressed. Blessings, Pam

Hi Charles You seem to have a great support system. Thank God for that. I also had Dr. Martin as my surgeon about 4 years ago. I could not be happier or in better shape. His staff is very friendly and understanding. Yes, there is a long wait in his office but there are a lot of people there, also. I will be having a hernia surgery and tummy tuck done on the 18th and Dr. Martin is again my surgeon. Take heart, he is great!! Have a great day!!! If you read my profile, I hope it will help. Sorry about taking so long to reply, but I have been so busy clearing problems, I just have not had time to get to the board. Shirley -355 & still losing