Dr. Kligman's Seminar.

Was anyone in Dr. Kligman's North Arundel seminar tonight? I was. What did you think? I like him.

I was at Dr. Kligman's seminar too. I thought he was pretty good but I had heard of other centers that did all the leg work with the insurance companies and setting up all the other appointments. I came home and this morning called my insurance co and my regular doctor for a referral. I guess I am starting to get this ball rolling after all. I sure would like to have the surgery but I think if I have learned one thing from these posts....be patient. What are your plans?

I liked him. I got a very good feeling from him. He seemed very confident, yet he didn't seem to have any kind of "god complex" going on. (I always think about the movie Malice and that scene where Alec Baldwin is at the table with all the lawyers and hospital administrators. "Who do you think they're praying to?" lol) To make a long story short, I have an appointment with Dr. Kligman next week. If he says I am a good candidate, I will get the ball rolling ASAP and hopefully be on the table by late summer/early fall? Didn't he say under ideal conditions... "if you walked in his office with insurance approval in hand"... the earliest you'd get in for surgery was late August? Since I'm going self-pay, I guess that's basically what I'm doing. Feel free to email me if you want further details. I'm sparing this board from another long diatribe.

I had my surgery by Dr. Klingman on March 30th and he was great. I haven't had any problems thus far (doesn't mean it can't happen)but his after care is terrific. When I call his office, I have always gotten a call back the same day. He took me on my first walk after surgery and looked out for my care every step of the way, while in the hospital. I think he is at the top of his game and his stats speak for themselves. He has an sincere intrest in his patient's well being. His office staff is great and they take care of everything for you from insurance, pych eval., nutritionist etc. His pre-op testing is extensive. Good luck in your choice and peronally I highly recommend him. LAP RNY 3/30/05 start-270/currently-204/goal -150

I like the fact that he referred to all phases (pre-op, op, post-op) as "the program". I was very encouraged by that. It puts across the notion that, like you said, he will still be as interested in his patient during the post-op phase. I wonder if he takes all his patients on their first walk? I've seen reviews about another talented surgeon who seems to be so overly-confident that he pretty much disappears when the surgery is over. I hate that. I had surgery on my sinuses a few years ago, and I could barely get a hold of anyone knowledgeable later that day when I was at home with questions. They just handed me a sheet that said "if you have this, that, or you are experiencing a lot of nausea, CALL IMMEDIATELY." I was throwing up and way consistently nauseus. I called the office, and they were like "OK so what do you want us to do about it?" "Umm... well this sheet you gave me said to call you IMMEDIATELY." Full of attitude too. I swear if they could have, they would have said "SIGH. Ok you silly wuss... if we call in an anti-nausea prescription for you, will you leave us alone??" Needless to say, I'm doing my best to avoid crap like this after WLS. I also like that Dr. Kligman seems to be a little more particular about who he takes. I feel like if I am a risky candidate or something, he won't hesitate to say so and/or reject me. My question is what makes a risky candidate? If this surgery is said to improve or cure high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. etc. then it doesn't seem like those conditions make you a risky candidate. Well, I'm sure it makes you a riskier candidate but it doesn't sound like these are reasons for total rejection. I knew someone who had a doctor tell her she was not a good candidate. She went to another doctor, hid certain things from him, and is no longer with us. I have no idea what she lied about. With pre-op testing, what can you even get away with? If I remember correctly, she hemmoraged during surgery. You can be sure I'm going to TELL THE FLIPPING TRUTH. If one doctor rejects me, I may get a second opinion... but I certainly will not hide anything. The point is to live as long as possible, and if two doctors tell me the risk of surgery outweighs the risk of not having surgery.. I ain't having surgery. What did you think of the multi-page questionaire he asks us to fill out. Understandable that he asks for that, but those sure are hard questions to answer with a yes or no. I checked off just about everything. He's going to think I'm a loon. Example... "Do you eat when you are depressed?" Well... yes and no. I go through long phases where I am taking excellent care of myself for months at a time during which I do not eat when I am depressed. At other times, usually after my weight loss screeches to a long lasting halt while I am still taking excellent care of myself, I eat when I'm depressed. I guess yes would be the answer, but I hope to have an opportunity to explain that. lol