Dr. Afram

I just signed up for a seminar with Dr. Afram. The lady that called me said that a Dr. Matthew Phillip is the person that handles Aetna. Has anyone ever used him? He isnt liste on the web site and I couldnt find him listed on this website either. Maybe I misunderstood her maybe he isnt a dr i was just so excited i forgot to clarify everything can anyone help me. If he is a dr and you have used him how did everything go? I did my research on Afram but not him. Can anyone help me out? Thanks

Rebecca I know there are a couple of people that used Dr. Afram in our support group. Can you join us tomorrow night at the Lexington Park Library? We meet at 6:30pm and you should be able to speak to them directly. I had my Lap RNY done by Dr. Mark Kligman at the University of Maryland Medical Center and have been completely satisfied. Let me know if you have any other questions and I will try to help out. Tanya Lap RNY 11/17/05 328/258/???

I would love to come but I work in DC and don't get home until 6:30 sometimes later so I dont think i would be able to make it in time to get there. I would love to come one time though to meet everyone and ask questions cause i have been debating for years on whether this is what i want and now i have made my mind up i am gonna do it support or no support! My family doesnt want me to do it so I will need support and i think the groups would be a great place to get it If i can remember next month i will put in to leave early so i can attend it. Thanks for the invite!

No problem...you can also keep in touch with all of us and post questions at our website http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SO_MD_WLS/ Like I said I know we have some people who had Dr. Afram and they are pretty good about responding. Keep in touch....see you on the losing side soon!

Rebecca, I had my surgery done with Dr. Afram's office. Different doctors there are associated with different insurances, however, Dr. Afram is always in the operating room when the surgeries are being performed. That is an excellent practice. If you need further assiantance, feel free to contact me. Be Blessed, Sharonne

Thank you so much!!! I got my paperwork today to fill out and looking forward to going on the 1st I hope the dr that works with aetna does Lap but i guess i will find out soon I have procrastinated enough and it is time to get my butt into gear and get this done haha Thanks again!

Dear Rebecca, I've never posted anything about this before, but I did NOT have a good experience with Dr. Afram. I think he is an excellent surgeon (and my surgical scar is 'beautiful', apparently), but I don't think he gives a hoot about his patients. I'm happy to go into details if you want, but won't bore you otherwise. Through (multiple)visits to the ER, I found out about Shady Grove's program and Dr. Green. If I were doing this over, I would have surgery with Dr. Green at Shady Grove and I would have laprascopic--not open. Anyway, sorry to be negative, but if I had known in November what I know now, I would have chosen a different surgeon.

I would love to hear what you have to say. I want to have the best experience possible with this because this has been a tough decision and i dont want to regret it or have "what if's". Please feel free to email at [email protected] with your story. Thanks so much for you response! I think hearing the good and the bad is necessary. I do want to have it laprascopically not open and that is not soemthing that i will budge on at all. Thanks for everything and look forward to hearing from you! Becky

Becky, I really don't know much about your surgeon of choice. However, sometimes lap versus an open isn't the choice the patient gets to make. If there is a lot of scar tissue a lap can become an open quickly and they don't know until your out that this even needs to happen. And truly it may hurt a little longer but for the surgeon an open he can see everything. I am not so sure that this is a bad thing. As for no regrets, many wls patients somewhere in the first 6 weeks say to themselves what did I do. No amount of preparation can prepare you for immediately after surgery nor all the hormnal effects that take place because you're a woman. You can prepare your body for surgery by begining to exercise now and get it into better shape, but for the actual changes each person has their own issues to work through. Some have it easy and others a really rough time with it. I am in no way trying to discourage anyone from having surgery but it's not just a physical adaption it is a mental one as well. There are new rules that you must now follow for life and your pouch may not agree with those rules. And guess what your addiction to food didn't go anywhere either. Maybe initially it went to sleep but when it wakes up it's an all new whammy. Know the root of your addiction and begin working on that because he may give you a tool for your stomach but he's not doing brain surgery on your head and changing the thoughts on food. Good luck on your journey Denise

Well, I have already taken steps to try and change my eating habits. I joined Curves and have begun exercising and also joined Weigh****chers. My insurance requires 6 months of doctor supervised exercise and diet so I will have plenty of time to try and change my habits. I have had 3 friends go through this so I know that most people say what did I do afterwards and even though I know this is gonna be a struggle to get used to I know this is what I need. If I don't have something to help me lose the weight I will die. This is an adaptation I am willing to make and I have been working hard the last few months to try to change my habits. I have done a lot of research and have joined many support groups and I have come to realize that this is only one step in the process, that is also why I think it is a good thing that the insurance requires this step to get approved and at first I was frustrated that I had to go through that but now I have come to appreciate the fact that I will have a chance to work on myself mentally as well as physically before hand so it wont be so hard afterwards. I also have read that sometimes it may have to go from a Lap to open and I also know that 2 of my friends had to have open and the other chose open. So I am aware that I may not have a choice but I do want to have a doctor that does lap because that is what I want to have but if he were to tell me that he couldn't do lap on me that I will have to have open then that is fine with me although I don't want the extra pain and missing extra work I will take it if that is what I have to do to get the help I need. Thanks for the advice I do appreciate it. I know one of my friends that had it hasn't changed her habits and still eats drinks everything she did before hand even if it means she dumps. I know it will be hard and I know I may have set backs but I am going to do everything in my power to make sure I use this as a tool and not as a miracle cure. I think your advice is absolutely correct. People definitely need to know their habits and addictions and correct them before hand. Thanks again!