Help with starting out.
I second Cindy's opinion on Nancy, the Dietitian @ Sinai Hospital. I had Dr Li do my sleeve(VSG) and honestly I couldn't be happier with Dr. Li, Dr. Gandsas, Nancy and the entire staff of Bariatric Surgery @ Sinai Hospital. I also would give you the same advice as to go to a couple of the Dr's seminars, and after you narrow it down, ask some of those Dr's patients any ?? that you might have. I really don't know of anyone that their WLS experience has been a total nightmare. There are many very qualified and experienced Doc's in the area. It really comes down to location and personality yours and theirs. Good Luck with your journey, and if you have any ?? about Dr. Li or Sinai Hospital feel free to ask. Take care, Leslie
Hi Dawn and welcome to board. Here are things that I considered when choosing my surgeon:
1. I first pulled a list of all surgeons that were approved by my health care plan.
2. I only wanted an office that was a Center of Excellence office because I wanted to know the statistics for my surgeon.
3. I wanted a highly reputable surgeon and I talked to many people before making my decision.
4. I had narrowed my search down to two surgeons and from there I considered these two things:
a. Hospital Affiliation and Distance from my home: I knew that I would want to return to this hospital's emergency room if I needed emergency treatment post op. I also knew that Support Groups are essential to success and I wanted to be close enough that distance would not deter me from attending support group.
b. What was included in the program fee being charged by my surgeon: My surgeon's program fee included my visits with his nutritionist and psychologist/LSW, both of which are on his staff, so I did not have to seek these services elsewhere and pay extra for them.
After considering these things, I chose Dr. David von Rueden at St. Agnes. He was formerly at GBM****il he took the job as head of Bariatrics at St. Agnes. I preferred St. Agnes to Bayview (where my second choice surgeon was affiliated) because I was able to get all of my pre-surgical testing done at the hospital. All of my testing was scheduled within a 2 week period and the results were in a database accessible to my surgeon's office so I did not have to wait for reports to be sent. As previously stated, my nutritionist is on staff and a psych is now on staff as well, to perform pre-surgical evals, post-surgical counseling and she leads our support group meetings.
The decision between RNY and LapBand can be a touch decision, but your surgeon will discuss that with you and help you make that decision. My BMI was 48, but my start weight was only 264, so I was on the fence. I opted for RNY because I had co-morbity factors, such as diabetes and sleep apnea. These are the issues that your surgeon will discuss with you. Good luck!
I had my rny sugery done by Dr. Liao at GBMC. while the information at the seminar is pretty general, i can tell you that Dr Liao and Dr. Mo are awesome doctors, and their staff is top notch. I do agree with others on the board that maybe you could visit a couple doctors to find one you like. I didnt have the lap-band surgery, so i cant offer any advice on that specifically.
i hope you find this info hepful
brian
