I have a consult with a new doctor

I called a local doctor whose office staff said that they will take another doctors patients. But I'm a little concerned that the office staff seems pretty clueless. She said, "The doctor doesn't do xrays." So I asked, "What about periodic checks for band position? Does he do that in the office or at the hospital." Her response again was, "I don't think he does xrays." I made a consultation appointment so that I could meet the doctor and ask him questions. I'm hoping, hopefully not unrealistically, that it is just a clueless staff member. I hope this works out because this is the only doctor less than 2 hours away who will even consider seeing another surgeon's patient.

My surgeon does the fills himself, and never uses flouro for fills. He would use it if there were a problem, but he is very experienced and I trust him. Hopeful this new doc will be the same as mine. I so want your band and you to become friends again!

My surgeon's office doesn't typically use fluoro for fills either (though he has the facilities to do so if needed). I just haven't heard of a doctor who never does fluoroscopy. And all of the out of state doctors I talked to about taking patients from other surgeons said that they would do a fluoro to check the position of the port, the position of the band and to assure themselves that everything was in good shape before they started giving fills. Even my surgeon's office does period checks for band position on their own patients periodically. So I was a bit confused by the reaction of the office person to my inquiry. Particularly since I'm having some concerns about my band (maybe my fickle band isn't just being fickle). I'd hate to end up with a totally inexperienced doctor. KWIM?

Hey Carole! I'm glad you are going to see someone. Don't be too alarmed if he doesn't do fluoro. My doc doesn't at all. I've never had one since being banded. But, if he felt it was necessary he wouldn't hesitate to do one, I'm sure. Let us know how you make out.

Thanks Karen. I guess I'm just a bit worried because she sounded so confused by my questions. Though she did later say that she's only been in the position of "bariatric coordinator" since January 1st. So maybe she's just really new. I'm being a bit overly cautious because I'm starting to worry that my band being fickle might be the signs of a problem. In which case I think I'm going to need to have things looked at to make sure I've not got a slip. I just don't want to waste a lot of time and money trying to find a doctor who will see me and knows what they're doing. This move has been so good for my husband and my daughter ... but for me it has been nothing but a headache.

My fill doc doesn't even have a machine in his office. He would order a fluoro if he suspected a problem. I see my Mexican surgeon at least once a year to check position.

Hoping that all of your questions can be answered satisfactorily and that you conform a new relationship with this surgeon. BTW, my surgeon doesn't use fluro for fills either. He also performs fills himself.

Just to clarify - I wasn't asking about doing fills under fluoro. I don't believe they need to be done. I was asking about their ability to do fluoroscopy, period. Since I'm having some problems that could just be being too tight but could also be an actual problem with the band I wanted to know what their procedure for fluoro was and the cost. I also wanted to know if his office had a policy (like many other doctors' offices that I've either talked to personally or heard other people talk about) where new patients have a fluoroscopy to verify band position and port location. I don't believe that fills have to be done under fluoroscopy. I just wanted to know what his policy was and if necessary where/how it is done. My surgeon and his group don't do fills under fluoro either. So that, in and of itself doesn't bother me. The clueless state of the office staff is what worries me. Her statements were said in a very confused voice. This doctor has only been doing Lap-Band since August of 2006. So I guess I'm just being really cautious (and I'm a natural worrier )

I can certainly understand being cautious. I hope that this new doctor is the one you need to help you continue your band journey. Also, I misunderstood why you were questioning about fluro. Thank you for clearing up my confusion.

Carole, I changed surgeons midstream too. My first fill HAD to be done under fluoro, because my doc wanted to see the band for himself. I would be kind of concerned if this wasn't a requirement with this doctor. Here's to hoping that the lady you talked to is just clueless because she is new. Good luck, Amy