Picking a surgeon in Missouri or Kansas

Hi my fellow Missourians! I have decided to go through with having WLS, yep finally put my fears aside and weighed the pos. and the negs. My dilemma now? I am very indecisive about which surgeon to chose. I have been reading reviews on this site. I have gone to 2 seminars and will be attending a 3rd this coming Wenesday (Sedalia). I would love to hear who my fellow Missouri Message Board members choice was/is and why. I'd like brutal honesty about your choice, were they great at the informational seminar that you attended before you chose them? Did your feelings change when you started to see this surgeon in their office? How was the office staff and your Hospital stay (and staff)? What did you like most about your choice of surgeon? Was this surgeons BMI cutoff a factor in why you chose them? Did your surgeon offer OPEN RNY and LAP RNY or just LAP? Once approved by your insurance, how long did it take for the surgeon's office to get you a surgery date? How was the surgeons billing staff when dealing with getting the insurance aspect taken care of? Sorry to ask so many questions but I'd really appreciate any feedback that I can get. TIA, Cassandra

Dear Cassandra, I went to Dr. Hornbostal in Sedalia, I found him professional and straight forward, but also very warm. I like his staff. It took 6 days for my approval. I have Medicare. His office takes care of all the paper work. I really liked Bothwell Hospital. I found the staff there very caring. If you have anymore questions please feel free to e-mail me. Carol Holman

Thanks so much for your response Carol! I have been reading feedback from patients of Dr. Hornbostal and I've been trying to hold out for his next seminar. It is this coming Wenesday and I will definitely be there. I love the reviews/feedback that have been left about him, mostly his aftercare program, it seems to be really good. I went to 2 other surgeons seminar and one I liked his feedback as well but found Dr. Hornbostal's feedback just a tad better. The other surgeon didn't have the feedback that I had hoped he would. I'm leaning towards Dr. H, just want to make sure I've gotten as much feedback about other surgeons so that I can pick the right one. My DH felt very confident about the last seminar, I did also. But I need to make sure I'm as comfortable and confident as possible with who I choose to do my surgery. Thanks you again for your feedback. Cassandra

I am glad you asked because I never get tired of talking about Dr. Hornbostle! He is great. He is caring and genuine. He will answer your questions in a blunt way but in a caring way. I have absolutly nothing bad to say. When I got my approval I was scheduled the next day. The staff there at the office are so nice and will answer any of your question even if you call everyday (believe me I did for a while). I was scheduled to have surgery on a fri. so the hospital staff could have been better. Colette comes on this website and a very good friend of mine had a great experience during the week. I am not sure about the lap or open. I had lap and boy it was so easy to recover from it. Surely he does open because I think he mentioned that if he starts out lap and can't complete it for some reason or another he will do open right there. I hope I helped a little. Also, Sedalia is closer to Lexington than anyone else. By the way I grew up in Braymer which is just 30 minutes from you. So I consider you a hometown girl. Good luck in choosing, if you are a praying gal see what God has to say and if you have peace in your heart when you pray about a certain doctor that will tell you if he is the one. God Bless, Penni

My Dr. so not working any more so if I was starting over I think I would look into Dr.Scott or Dr.De La Torre they seem to be very good.If you do go with New Start stay on top of them call once a week or so.Best of Luck to you.. Shelly -150

Hi Cassandra~ First, congrats to you on taking charge of your life.... I live in the St. Louis area and I actaully travel to Joplin, MO and had surgery with Dr. Hargroder. He is a wonderful surgeon, wonderful bedside manner.. answers his own cell phone at 11p.m. on a sunday night. My surgery took about an hour due to scar tissue from my c-section. I was released from the hospital the following day and was in the park playing kickball on thursday and friday with my 2 1/2 year old twins. I have had no complications from the MGB. Dr. Hargroder was great about putting my fears aside and answering all my questions. I was exactly 125lbs overweight.. with a BMI of 41 I think! He monitored me every 3 months and had to have my blood work checked. I was amazed that a weight loss dr. would answer his cell phone and speak one on one with you! Good luck on your weight loss journey! I hope I have answered all your questions, if not feel free to get back with me at [email protected] DS

I spent three years researching this procedure every which way I could think of before I finally did it...my choice of surgeon was Dr. Roger de la Torre (works mainly out of Columbia, but still one day/week in Wentzville). He has done surgery as a team with Dr. Scott (now exclusively in Columbia) for many years. I thought I was pretty darn informed, but I still learned some significant information at their pre-surgery informational session. Because they have been doing WLS for so many years, they present some very good long-term informaton. It was also the first time I learned about ghrelin, the hunger hormone manufactured in the stomach wall (the part which is bypassed). The number one predictor of a successful/safe outcome is the surgeon's experience. Drs. delaTorre and Scott count their WLS patients by the thousands (unlike some other surgeons who are now offering WLS). They actually hold the patents on many (39, I believe) of the specialized laproscopic instruments used for WLS. Their mortality rate (how many patients have died) is WAY below any other surgeon that I considered. This particular surgical team was one of the NIH study teams years ago who pioneered weight loss surgery before it was generally approved. Their surgeries are frequently broadcast to surgeons' meetings as a means of training others -- I liked the idea of being operated on by the guy(s) who are asked to teach others how to do it!! My starting weight was 274 (BMI of 48.5). I had Lap RNY, and I think it's fair to say they favor laproscopic surgery because it is so much safer and easier on the patient. However, they have years of experience with various procedures and present information on all of them. At 11 months, I am down 115 pounds without a single complication. I have not experienced anything that was outside the expected post-surgery experience -- yes, my abdomen was pretty darn sore until the drain was removed on the 10th day; yes, I got tired of the mandatory progression through liquid, pureed, soft foods; yes, I lost some hair for a few months; yes, I have enough extra abdominal skin that I am now starting to research plastic surgery; but, this surgery gave me my life back. Within two months after surgery, every single comorbid condition I went in with was GONE!! I no longer take any prescription medications and, now that I can, I actually enjoy exercising. Paperwork was not a problem with insurance approval in approximately 3 weeks and a surgery date 30 days from the date approval was received - but I got in very early to Drs. delaTorre & Scott starting a new program in Columbia. I recommend that, no matter what surgeon you apply to, don't just drop your forms into their system and hope for a positive outcome. Be proactive. Make sure you know where your paperwork is in the process. Once the surgeon's office submits it to your insurance company, CALL the insurance company yourself -- OFTEN, if necessary. Don't believe much of what you are told about the status. Ask them EVERY TIME for the dates reflected in their tracking system -- what is the policy & expected time frame to get a benefit determination and an authorization. Keep a log of dates, times, the name of who you speak to, and what you are told - quote it back during the next phone call. Elevate the approval process to a supervisor at the earliest opportunity - chances are it will have to go to that level anyway. Sad, but it is often the squeaky wheel that gets greased... They have a very good support program for post-surgery. We have monthly meetings with very pertinent topics and good discussion. Sometimes, they feel a bit like group therapy sessions, but that's not all bad -- you WILL be coming face-to-face with issues related to a life-time of food addiction. Both the RN who coordinates the University bariatric program, and the psychologist who moderates our group sessions are successful WLS patients, so they are both professionals and our WLS peers - a good combination. Prior to my surgery, I began attending the monthly support meetings being held at Boone Hospital Center in Columbia (at the time, the University program hadn't started up yet). Approximately half of the people who attend those meetings regularly actually patients of Drs. Scott & delaTorre rather than the BHC surgeon (Dr. Pitt). The only thing I have been sort of "HO HUM" about is the clinic visits to follow-up the surgery (at least the ones from 3 months on). Because I have had zero problems or questions, these later clinic appointments have felt like they were more to benefit the bariatric program (completing the checklist of which comorbid conditions had resolved, etc) than they were to benefit me. However, through the support group I know of two other patients who had other abdominal surgery needs (not directly related to having had WLS) come up and they were very thankful for the follow-up clinic appointments. I just don't like sitting around in the waiting room, completing the nurse's checklist for her bariatric program notebook, enduring the same questions from first a medical student & then a resident, only to have a 2-minute long, no exam involved, discussion with the surgeon about how great I feel - end of appointment. If you have questions about the University program in Columbia, I will be happy to answer - just e-mail me. I am still convinced that Drs. delaTorre & Scott are the most experienced bariatric surgeons available in Missouri and I have no regrets at all in choosing their services. Cindy (-115) 274/159/140