Surgeon

I am considering have lap band surgery with Panduranga Yenumula at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing.  Has anyone had him do your surgery?  What is your opinion of him and also the hospital? 

i have not heard of him did you look at the patient comments here on OH I know that Jon Schram is one of the leaders in Lab Band, that is why he is now able to be the first doctor to do the new band by Johnson and Johnson.

Dr. Panduranga Yenumula is not a member of the OH board so no information about him is available. 

then he does not pay for a membership. that would be enough information for me. Have you asked the important questions How many has he completed His completions rates. Not not national status I would also talk to the hospital Medical staff office at the hospital they will have information. Be careful it was not that long ago we all we sadden by a death up here from lap-band surgery. Get your surgery done at a place where they do this operation all the time !!!

As you can tell I am new at this.  Thought I had another six months to decide on surgery and surgeon but my insurance has changed their requirements so can have any time.  Why is it important that he be a registered member of OH?  Just noticed that the two doctors that do bariatic surgery at Ingham Regional Hospital are also not members.  You have given me some very good questions to have answered.  Thanks for your help. 

I had my surgery with Dr. Yenumula in September. I liked him. He seems to be quite competent. He is not super-talkative, but he is very good about answering any questions you have. It is my understanding that he is rated as a Surgeon of Excellence by ASBS, although SWMC is not a Center of Excellence. The people at SWMC are all very nice, but they really do not have sufficient staff to handle the number of patients that they see through all of their various programs. This was especially challenging for me, because I do not have the flexibility of going to Dr. appointments during the day. Through the process, it was not uncommon to wait a couple of months just to get in the next required appointment. If you have a more flexible schedule than I do, that part might not be an issue for you. The care I received in the hospital was quite good. All of their bariatric patients are on the same floor, so the staff on that floor is familiar with our particular needs. With the exception of one night nurse who didn't seem as on top of things as the others, I felt like the folks there were very good and responsive. Let me know if you have specific questions. Zandra Q

zandra, so did you ask about complication rates for this doctor ? Has he had any deaths or leaks?

I did not ask about leaks, but I was given a leak test the day after surgery to make sure everything was okay. As of the time that I was asking, the program at Sparrow had had one death in the years it's been doing surgery, but that was under a different surgeon. I remember that one of my main questions early in the process was how many of these procedures has the surgeon done, since statistics show that the majority of complications and deaths occur in surgeons that have completed less than 100 of them. I don't remember what the exact number was at the time, but it was high enough to satisfy me. The people at SWMC should be able to answer more specifically. There is one nurse there that case manages all of the bariatric patients, and she would be the person to talk with. Let me know if you have other questions, and I'll do my best to answer. Z

While it is nice to see information on your surgeon on this site, it should not be a deciding factor on choosing what doc is right for you. When I had my surgery in March of 06 my doc was not on this site (and still isn't).  Some professionals think that this site can provide information that is not backed by medical professionals (like postings on the boards) and want to avoid being associated with advice given that is not from them. You can do your own research and find out  information even if a surgeon is not a member of OH.  Remember that most of what you see here is paid for and used to advertise to us as potential consumers. Follow your gut (no pun intended!) and do some fact finding and you'll find a surgeon that is right for you.  In my opinion, their attitude about follow up care is what is most important.  When you ask what follow up is like, look for someone that is enthusiastic and assures you that they will be available to you with any questions.  If you're like most of us, you'll need to call with questions and concerns over the next year or so. Good Luck!

I agree and disagree with the last post. Yes post operative care is important but not not more imporant then outcomes. Every doctor that you see face to face you need to know his or her personal out comes from the surgery that you are looking at. Death rate Comlication rate Leak Rate Infection rate And you need to know the these % of the person you are thinking about getting your operation from. If they start only talking about nation status of these complications and not their own... there might be an issue. Ask Ask ask.. This is your life and it forever. The surgerons that do these operations day in and out most are all members up here. There is no reason why they would not be,,,think about it. They are trying to get more patient........ And this is a form of adverting....