Dr. Micahel A. Schweitzer

Hi Jillybean,

    I haven't had surgery yet but I will be having him do my Rny. He has a high reputation for excellence. He does not require you to have any pre-surgery diet. He explains everything to you but expects you to know something about your option before you come to his office. His office personnel are great but you do have to follow up and make sure you primary doctor gets them what they need as far as charts and notes. You do not need to be finished with your 6 month diet in order to have a consult with him. I would book now. Good luck with everything.

Candie

Well, I tried calling today, and Dr. S's office won't let me schedule a consultation until after I've attended the information session. I told them I was already registered for an information session in August and asked if I could schedule my consultation for after that, and they said no, noscheduling until I'd been through the info session!

Since he is in-network for me, even if he doesn't accept my insurance, I don't see why I couldn't pay upfront and then file the claim myself and have insurance reimburse me, assuming I'm all approved and stuff ;)

I just really want him because not many surgeons do laparoscopic duodenal switch, and he's got such an excellently low complication rate.

Hi Jill!! Congrads on taking the first steps to a new and healthier you. I am getting RNY soon too and all of the pre-op stuff can be a pain but its all worth it. Every surgeon now makes you attend a mandatory seminar before they will allow you to schedule your first appt. The seminars are very educational and you will get so much information that you need. Best of luck. ~Jilly~

I know you totally just wanted to post here because of our names

hahaha TOTALLY!!!! But ya know now that ya mention it I have a TON of Jill and Jilly graphics and tags so if ya ever need any just email me at [email protected]
~Jilly~

Can't address the DS-specific questions, but he did my band, and he is a good guy.  Just saw him yesterday when I got refilled.  I was waiting in the exam room for Pat the nurse, and he poked his head in and said hi.  Have had no trouble with his office even though they had some big personnel changes while I was in the process of applying.  His secretary Alice is terrific.

Go ahead and schedule your consult now.  I did.  I was only in the second month of the supervised diet.  He decided we should go for it anyway, and it turns out that the insurance company waived the diet for me.  It's worth a shot.

Waived the diet? That would be heavenly! Do you have any idea why they agreed to that?

I can't make a consultation appointment until after I go to the information session on Aug. 5.

I have no idea exactly why they waived the diet.  I started the diet in April, which was when I made my appointment.  I never attended an info session, but I understand at the time it wasn't a  firm requirement.  All I had to do was write Dr. S an email explaining why I wanted the surgery.  A few days later, his secretary called to schedule an appointment.

When I went for my consult, I weighed 299.  I am 5'5" like you.   I told him I was on the diet, but Dr. S suggested that I go ahead and get the papers together anyway.  He suggested that sometimes, for some insurers, you can get around the diet just by showing a history of failed diet attempts, especially if you had a lot of co-morbs, which I did.  I wrote up a 25-year history and gave it to my doctor and shrink, who incorporated it in their reports.  We submitted the package in August and it was approved within a couple of weeks.

I had my surgery in early October, but could have had it a couple of weeks earlier.  However, I'm a federal employee and wanted to wait until the old fiscal year ended before taking the time off work.

My insuror is GEHA, high option, BTW.

Edie

Hi, I have a consultation with Dr. Schweitzer scheduled next Monday.  The packet his office sent me says he does not participate with Blue Cross but he will take people with it.  The hospital does participate.  The packet listed his cost for the DS at $7,500.

Apparently as of July first they changed the requirement and now you have to go to an information session before your consultation.  Also I beleive a support group beforehand was recommended.

Hope some of this helps.

Traci

Do you know if that $7500 is for lap or open?

I'm still hoping I can pay upfront and then submit the claim to insurance myself to get reimbursed since he is still listed as in-network on my plan. Maybe he just has had issues dealing with them himself.

I was also looking at Elariny as a surgeon since he also does the lap DS, and it looks like he requires payment upfront regardless of insurance coverage, then reimbursement by insurance.

I am probably going to go to a support group next month anyway, plus it's required I be enrolled in a support group both before and after surgery for my insurance, so that's no problem. I'm even going to lunch on Saturday with some MD and NOVA people who have had DS specifically, so maybe I can make them all sign something and call it a support group :-P