Dr. Sudan @ Duke

Hi

I am looking to have a revision from RNY to DS with Dr. Sudan @ Duke. I know that he came to Duke last year from Omaha, but I have not heard of anyone having a revision from RNY to DS with him at Duke as of yet. I live in SC and have Medicare/Medicaid. I know that Medicare is accepted; I'm not sure rather or not SC Medicaid will be accepted? I will be in attendance at his WLS seminar this week, and anxiety has set in because I have heard some less than flattering remarks about his office staff. Has anyone had the DS or revision to DS with Dr. Sudan since he has been at Duke? I know that no two people will have the same experience, but I would love to learn about your experiences with Dr. Sudan. Hopefully, my experiences with his office staff will be a little more pleasant =). How long did your procedure last? Did you have complications? How long were you at Durham Regional post op? Thanks in advance for your response!

I know that medicaid is a state only program. In NC doctors do not accept medicaid from another state unless it is at a hospital and an emergency. I would check with the hospital let them know that you have SC medicaid but I worked at DSS until a couple of months ago doing adult medicaid. I have never seen anywhere accept medicaid from another state.

Sarah
Thank you so much for providing me with that information!

I didn't have surgey with Dr. Sudan so I can't answer that part of the question.   However,  I *did* have surgery at Duke.    They had some problems with the office staff awhile back and they made some significant changes.    My experience with Dr. Pryor and with the office staff at Duke was nothing but positive after those changes. 

Also, bear in mind that you are more likely to read negative comments because people don't take the time to post when they had a good experience with the office staff (unless it was really over the top great). 

Thank you for your response!

I had RNY almost 2.5 years ago through Duke, but Dr. DeMaria was my surgeon. You might try contacting the NB board to see if you can find anyone that has had a RNY to DS revision with him and/or the Revision board or DS board where you might also be able to find someone with that specific experience with him.

My husband also had his surgery through Duke and he had his last December. To be honest, while there were some 'bumps in the road' with the office staff, I have found that they have worked out most of the kinks and they have a top notch team. 

I don't know who handles their insurance issues now, but I'd give them a call and let them know who your carriers are and ask for some help/input from them.

Wishing you all the best.

Thank you so much Barbara!

I had the DS with him on 11/12.  (I was the first one at Duke!)  I had a lot of issues with the office staff, but most of them were related to me traveling and them not making some simple accommodations.  It did all get sorted out in the end.

I just saw him today for my 3 week post-op visit and I was asking him random questions while he was entering some stuff in the computer and he said that he will often change failed RNYs into a distal RNY (leave the pouch alone, but configure the intestines more like those of a DS) as opposed to doing a full DS revision in order to lessen the risk of complications.  He then went on to say that he does realize this often leaves people with the worst of both procedures.  I didn't ask any more questions about that since it didn't apply to me, but if you want to be revised to a DS I'd make sure you ask him if he will do it (and has done it before).  If not, you may want to find another surgeon.  I know of Elariny in northern VA and Dr. Smith in GA, though I'm not sure if Smith does revisions.

Good luck!

Thank you so much Tessy! I will be attending Dr. Elariny's weight loss seminar in January as a matter of fact. The more that I think about this revision, the more convinced I am that Dr. Elariny is the right choice for me. He does so many of these RNY to DS revisions and I have heard nothing but rave reviews from his patients.Thank you so much for your response! Best of luck to you on your journey!

I had Dr. Sudan do my surgery on 11-20. I'm a failed RNY, and he converted me to a distal bypass. So far, I'm down 12 pounds. When I was talking to him during my preop appointments, he did say he had done a DS from a RNY, but he preferred the distal due to the least chance of complications. I could have gone to Husted or Greenbaum to get my DS conversion, but due to the location and insurance, I decided to go with the distal.
Hope that helps.
Cheryl