Number of surgeries?
Hi Lauren ,Your concern is very valid. In fact the State of Mass issued guidelines for bariatric surgery last summer. You can get them on the web. I believe you will find many surgeons at the major hospitals who have done oodles of surgery. If you are looking for lap band--the numbers will be extremely low. The band numbers are low because it did not become an insurable method until Jan of 2004.
I choose a Doctor at Brigham because I felt he had a great number of laprascopic surgeries on the obese. This type of surgeon already has the skills of the trochars and the management of the obese.
I have Blue Cross, and if you log in as a Member Self Service-you can search hospitals than "obese surgery" and see the number of surgeries each hospital does. It does give a break down--but will give you the big hitters.
Also, Don't feel afraid to call around to each center you are considering and ask them directly-how many lap bands have you done, how many open rny and how many lap rny have they done.
Also, per the State Guidelines you want a hospital that has an entire Weight Management Program with dedicated resources--personnel throughout the hospital trained, and equipment that will fit an obese person.
Don't be afraid to travel out of your area. In the beginning there are a lot of appointments and testings, but after 1 year the appointments will calm down.
Another resource is to post on this board and ask people to email with their physician referalls(after you update your profile as to the type of surgery-hint hint) and then post on the OH board for lap or main board depending your route. Not all Mass people come to the Mass board.
I hope this legnthly post has been helpful--Like with any other big ticket item you purchase-it is ok to shop around.
Let me know if I can assist.
Joan F
Thanks for all the great information. I thought my profile was updated, but I guess it wasn't. I am already scheduled for lap-rny on July 5 with Dr. Partridge out of Newton-Wellesley. I went with this practice because it is who my PCP recommended.
Now that the date is getting closer, I am starting to worry more and more about little things like how many surgeries she has done.
Thanks again,
Lauren
Lauren, your doctor may be very qualified, even if she hasn't done many of them. Take your time to research this thoroughly, especially if you are having doubts. There are so many extremely qualified doctors out there. I go to New England Medical Center. I know one of the doctors, Dr. Scott Shikora, has done about 800 of the lap RNY surgeries. 80% of his practice is bariatric surgery. I am having surgery on 4/18 with Dr. Michael Tarnoff at the same hospital. He is not as experienced as Dr. Shikora, but he was trained by him, has been doing this surgery for more than 5 years, and I have complete faith in him. I agree that the trips into Boston are harrowing and inconvenient. But I am so glad I am going there. I feel like I am in the best place possible.
If you can, go into your doctor's forum and see what patients have to say about her. For the record, I love Newton-Wellesley Hospital, and have heard great things about their program.
Good luck and keep us informed.
Linda 
Hi Lauren;
In my reading, I've seen that mortality rates seem to increase in cases where the doctor has performed fewer than 100 procedures (but, of course, this could just be the random number they chose to survey people about). The practice's mortality rate is below the national average, and they have had three deaths in the past three years. Dr. Partridge is board-certified in lap, so even a worry-wart like me is reasonably confident in her abilities. I wish I would have thought to ask her that question, though! You were smart to do so!
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