I am so Depressed!!!!

Maybe some of you remember, I mentioned I had an appoint with Dr. Voellinger and then it was cancelled only 2 days before the appointment and I was sent a packet to complete and had to mail it and $150.00 in to the office. Well, the day after they cashed the check, I happened to call to see if I could have some of the nessaceary appointments done here in my home town or if they had to be with the Drs on the list they sent. When I asked them this, they informed me a letter was in the mail to me to inform me that Dr. Voellinger would NOT take me on as a patient!! I asked if I could get back the $150 since I never saw the dr and no test or anything had been done. No!!! It was an unrefundable deposit!! Now the Dr. had had my chart from my previous surgeries because they had been done by his current office, and I had an appointment set up already, when they told me they needed a little more info and the check for $150. The info only included my basic info, like weight, date of birth, name, phone #, etc. It did not have any thing more about my previous surgeries. I was told that reason he would NOT take me, is because of how the previous surgeries were done. So why couldn't they tell me when he got the post-operative notes from the first 2 surgeries that he didn't want to take me on?? Why did they have to have my $150 to tell me no????? I could be using that money to travel to another Dr in the state that does do revisions and is already reviewing my case, WITHOUT any money up front. Dr. McDonald's office told me NOT to send any money until they had time to review my post-op files that I faxed them. When the Dr reviews them and decides if he will do a revision on me, then they will set up an appointment and I can pay my co-pay at that time. No up front fees at all!! I am glad I was turned on to Dr. McDonald in Greenville, NC. They will review my case and decide if they can do my surgery, with out me having to shell out any up front money. I just think Dr. Voellinger's office could have been nicer about it and NOT charged the $150 when they already knew what they were going to do!!! I feel like I was ripped off!! I am really depressed right now!! Patty

I am really beginging to wonder what in the world that 2nd Dr. did to my insides to make the last surgeon decide he HAD to reverse my surgery and to make 2 seperate Drs, now, decide that my case was "just too complicated" for them to handle!! What in the world did that Dr do!! I know the second surgery never was right and I had lots of problems with it, throwing up and all right from the begining, but even one of the surgeons in the office he was from refuses to work on me!!! I am begining to feel like Frankenstien!!!!HELP!!!!! Patty

Maybe you should talk to an attorney about malpractice.

I saw a surgeon today that has only been doing WLS for 1 year, but has been an excelent surgeon for 20 some years. He explained the increase of danger in doing revisions and afterall this will be my 4th surgery in that area!! He said my odds of death will be much greater, that it is 1 in 100 normally(I have heard that and 1 in 200, and I don't know which is correct)but my odds would be around 1 in 50! He explained all the complications that revisions have that 1st timers don't have, but he said, I was in pretty good health and I was young (I wonder what he was looking at, I'm 52) and he deemed me an excelent canidate for the revision. He also said he was not qualified to do my revision, but he would get in touch with Dr. McDonald in Greenville, NC who has done lots of revisions and also teach other Drs how to do the surgery. He is going to send him my chart and share his knowledge of my situation with him and put in a good word for me,AND he is going to set up the appointment! He thinks he can get one sooner than I could on my own!! He really made up for the other Dr, that took my $150 and didn't take me as a patient. I only had to pay my $15 co-pay today and he was really honest with me and is working to help me get the surgery I need!! Patty

Patty, I am sorry that you are having to go through SO much! I will pray that you find the perfect doctor for your cir****tances and that you will come out a success. The 1 in 50 rate worries me but you know what it right for you and your life. I wish you the best. Please email me if you need any suppport! Leigh Ann