New surgeon and support

Hi,

I am trying to find out information on surgeons. I was scheduled for surgery last Tuesday but on Friday the surgeon's nurse called and said it was cancelled. The only reason given was for a medication I take for ulcerative colitis and the colitis. I haven't had a problem with the uc in 4-5 years. I started this process back in June and saw him for the 1st time last December and qualifed for Gastric bypass. The health issue was a concern but never in all the six months since has he ever said he wouldn't do it. I have done everything that he has requested - 3 weeks of physical therapy, sleep study, I sent him the colonoscopy photos, etc. . Last visit in May, another  hurdle - he told me that I would have to have a screen to trap blood clots placed before he would do surgery, which would require a procedure prior to surgery and then removal 3 months after surgery. At this point, I talked to my sister (an RN) and my husband and deceided that the lap band would not have the side effects that the surgeon said I would have because of the colitis. At that point, I had lost 51 pounds and qualifed to switch to lap band, which is what the surgeon wanted to do from the start), so I called my family doc to get a letter requesting the change and also the insurance company and I was notified in less than a week that it was a go. I called the surgeon's office to tell them and they started the process for surgery to move forward. I stopped my meds as requested and started the pre-surgery diet on 5/16. I even had my last consult the dietician and the instruction from the nurse, my pre-surgery check up, bloodwork, etc. Not a word from surgeon at this point.  When I got the call on last Friday, I was devasted. I have worked so hard and done everything asked. I had an appointment that afternoon with my pulmonist and told the nurse that called me that I would be in their office after my appointment and I wasn't going to leave until I saw the doctor. We got there and the nurse came and got us and took us to a room. We were told that the doctor was too busy to see me and that his decision had been made. But, if I would see a gastro specialist, it might go a long way to clear the path for surgery But that was still no guarantee that he would do the surgery, even then. I told her that the very least the surgeon could do would be to talk to me and explain why he had me do all this stuff when he had no intention of doing the surgery. He refused to talk to me. I had my husband and my sister with me at every visit and not doing the surgery was never discussed. I went ahead and scheduled with a gastro specialist and will be having another colonoscopy and biopsies to see if I have colitis or not  and if I had it before. As far as the med goes - the surgeon kept telling us it was an autoimmune suppressant drug. The specialist said it is not that type of drug. Both the specialist and my family doc, say that there is no reason that I couldn't have either surgery. I will not return to the surgeon. I am trying to find out information on other surgeons in this area.

I am so sorry.

I am so sorry to hear that!! You made the right decision, I would look for another surgeon as well- if he does not even want to talk to you, then there's no point to keep hopes up with him.

Also I wanted to say congratulations to over 50lbs weight loss, that is an amazing achievement, keep up the great wor****ep us updated when you found a new surgeon!
Eve

Wow, you've jumped through a lot of hoops just to hear no at the last minute. I am very sorry. I would get another doctor for sure. Maybe do a search online. That is how I found mine. Of course, make sure they are board certified and experienced. Also, they should have a psychologist and nutritions as part of the team. Good luck!

While I know it is very frustrating to go through all that you've been through, I think it's probably for the best that you are going to find another surgeon.

It sounds like the one you started with is either too busy or doesn't have enough people skills to be the type of doctor that you will need for post-surgical care.  There are some surgeons who go into surgery because they're just not good with people one on one.  Doesn't mean their not skilled at what they do, you just don't want them for procedures like WLS which require close followups, esp. banding.

This really can be a blessing in disguise.  I had similar happen to me when I was looking for an oncologist.  The first one I saw was probably very good, but we couldn't come to a meeting of the minds on how to treat my cancer.  I am one of "those" patients who doesn't just lie down and roll over.. LOL.  I eventually found an oncologist that I love.. and while I did have to submit to surgery for my cancer (which I didn't want to do), it was a much less invasive surgery and I have minimal scarring and recovery was a breeze compared to what the first oncologist wanted to do to me.

Hang in there, this will all work out for the best!!

P.S.  Be very sure that the drug(s) you are taking are not auto-immune suppressant or that your colitis isn't auto-immune related.  I know of someone who had a band erosion that might have been due to auto-immune problems.  They're not sure exactly what caused the erosion but allergan now has a statement on their site regarding auto-immune situations.

http://www.allergan.com/products/obesity_intervention/lap-ba nd.htm

Thanks everyone for your kind words and support. I am going for a consult next week with a new surgeon.By then I will have had the colonoscopy and biopsies to confirm whether or not I have or had ulcerative colitis, if it could be something else or possibly was an infection and how to proceed. My specialist said that the medication that I have been taking is one of the safest medications on the market and it is not an auto-immune drug, I had to go off of it on 5/16 in preparation for the surgery. The specialist said that I may not even have to go back on it. I hope you are all doing well and I will keep posting, so let me know how you are all doing, too.

Update - My blood test for uc came back negative. I don't have the results yet from colonoscopy and biopsies yet but will not have to continue the medication. I found a new surgeon this week. It was such a difference from the original surgeon. My support group was impressed, too. I have to redo preop and I  started the preop diet yesterday and I am scheduled for lapband June 24th. I can't believe it - my birthday is the day before so I am looking at as a birthday present to myself. A new me, new life, and a work in progress. Going to a birthday cookout tonight. I need to look at my diet for today, but I can have 3-4 oz.meat and veggies with 1/2 c. of starch - yahoo! I can eat at the cookout and stay on preop - how great is that! The orginal saga continues though. The day we say the new surgeon, I received a letter from my insurance company, stating that the orginal surgeon decided 4/1 that he was no longer going to participate in the ic's network. The ic was notified on 5/4. (I saw surg on 5/6, no one said a word.) The letter stated that anything done after that date and before I received the letter (Letter dated 5/26, I received 6/9) were not covered and my responsibility. My heart dropped. Here I had had my sleep study, cpap, followup, preop, labwork, followup with surg and dietician, etc. How was I ever going to pay for that. Letter said to call in to ic. Really upset, I couldn't believe that someone would knowingly continue to see people and schedule tests, procedures when they were no longer in network. Upset, not just for me, but for all the money the ic has paid for all of this (and up will go our premiums and costs). The person I talked to was very kind and understanding and explained. Good news - don't have to pay for anything. Between the time ic was notified and I got the letter, the surg retracted his message as it was in error - he is still seeing some patients but is focusing on a new position. I was to told to contact patient advocate about surg and to also send letter to ic so they can track problem.