Anyone considering surgery at Midwest Bariatric Solutions?

If you are considering bariatric surgery at Midwest Bariatric Solutions in Neenah, Wis, I would suggest that you contact me by e-mail in private.  You will be only as successful as the surgeon and/or the surgeon's staff.  I would like to outline for you the past two years of my life with all of the supporting documentation one would need.  I would not hesitate to mail my private information to anyone who wishes to read it.

I am not talking about being thin or how much weight loss one has had.  I am the thinnest I've ever been; lost more weight than I've ever lost - in fact, that is just the problem.  I can't stop losing weight. My band was removed in August of 2006 and I have lost an additional 97 pounds since that time!!  Kevin Wasco (I refuse to refer to him as DR) told my family and myself for thirteen months that he knew exactly what to do and that he would "be fixing it soon".  After 6 surgeries, 13 months of vomitting and nausea and begging this man to listen to me we switched to another facility.  I am now being fed by a tube in preparation for a surgery that will eliminate the gastric emptying disorder I have.  Ironically, it turns out that the surgery I need is the same surgery that Kevin Wasco described to my family and myself in January of 2007 as a "weight loss surgery revision ".  It is not a weight loss surgery revision, it is a sugery necessary for gastric emptying disorder (there is a huge difference).  Kevin Wasco was going to do this surgery that he was caling a revision because he was fully aware that he had damaged my vagus nerve in the previous surgery or surgeries and that repeated surgeries to the stomach area cause "thinning of the stomach muscles".  Thankfully, I developed additional problems that absolutely prevented him from doing any additional surgery at the time!!  Don't be so quick to judge someone who has seen the other side of this.  You did not spend the last two years spending approx 4 out of 7 nights sleeping on the bathroom floor so you could be near a toliet to vomit in.  You did not spend the past two years going to work (working with the public one on one as I do) and having to excuse yourself during numerous appointments to go vomit.  You did not spend the last two years in emergency rooms about every two weeks because your potassium level was so low you were in danger of going into cardiac arrest, as very low potassium levels can do.  You have not spent the past two years going to emergency rooms to be rehydrated because you were so dehydrated from constant vomitting.  You did not spend the past two years physically unable to care for your terminally ill Mother, as I did prior to the problems I encountered. Perhaps if Kevin Wasco had a little more compassion for human beings and developed some listening skills and grew a spine, I wouldn't be writing this tonite.  He didn't want to hear about one of his failures, because in his twisted mind he doesn't have failures.  We all have failures, but it is the true person that can own up to them.  I have had failures in my life, and I have had to own up to them.  Thankfully I am in the care of a team of physicians who are compassionate and became pysicians to help others.  Perhaps someday Kevin Wasco will become ill, or his Mother will, or his wife will or a child of his will - I wonder how he would feel if he or someone he cared about deeply ended up in the hands of a physician like he has been to me.  Throughout all of this, and even now that he is fully aware of what other specialists have discovered, do you want to know how many times he called to just say "I hope you're doing OK", or "I wish I would have done this or that differently", or said "I hope you get better", or "can I do anything to make this better". Zero times!!!  He wouldn't even have to call - he could drop a note or leave a message, but he simply does not care or wish to acknowledge that he may have made a mistake.  That's all it would have taken to end the anger I feel towards him.  My gynocologist, who has absolutely nothing to do with this, calls about every ten days just to say "I'm thinking about you and hope you're OK". It takes him about 3-5 minutes, but it makes all the difference in the world to me.  Don't criticize me unless you've walked in my shoes.

I don't think she was judging you at all. In all fairness she was saying that although someone here has a horror story to share which is why you are here slandering MWB and steering people away, she has had the opposite experience and should also be able to share her success. Almost sounds like you are judging her because she didn't have complications.  Bottom line this is a Weight Loss forum and everyone's experience is going to be different. It wouldn't be fair for only one side to be shown and not the other. I am sorry you have had such a horrible experience and I wish you speedy recovery, however there are those who have had positive experiences as well and they are free to share their story. No one is criticizing you, you just seem to be very defensive. Perhaps this is a talk you should be having with Dr. Wasco and his staff, I just know that I don't wish illness on anyone or their family and hope that he doesn't have to experience that. Best wishes to you.

I don't wish illness on anyone either.  Not Kevin Wasco or anyone, BUT if something should happen to Kevin Wasco or anyone in his family I said I hope they don't end up in the hands of the type of care I received from him.  Everyone should know the risks associated with this surgery or any other.  Illness can come upon anyone at anytime.  That part is the fault of no one.  How it is handled by the physician who played a roll in your treatment or care is in the hands of the physician.  I wish I could count for you how many times my family or I attempted to speak to him about this.  I wish I could count for you how many times it fell on deaf ears.  If he knew the diagnosis 13 months ago I shouldn't be talking about it today.  The bottom line is that he failed to intervene surgically 13 months ago.  If anyone knows anything about a stomach emptying disorder they know that it will continue to get worse with time.  The muscles walls of the stomach are not going to repair themselves.  My physician whose care I am under now wrote "he (Kevin Wasco) failed beyond all comprehension to intervene surgically when surgery was clearly indicated" .  The bottom line is Check out the physician or physicians you are dealing with.  Furthermore, if you read back further in the past on this website you will note that other former patients of his have had similiar experiences with him.  I still am not faulting him however as being the cause - only for the way he handled the situation once it was brought to his attention.  I beleive that he took an oath when he became a MD to help people, not turn your back if the situation heats up.  I only know I could not turn my back on any human being or any living thing in need.  I find it deplorable that a professional  that works in the field of medicine would, as do many of his peers at this point.  

Again, sorry to hear of your misfortune. I haven't read anything bad here about Dr. Wasco, but as I pointed out in my last post each person has a different experience as well as a different view. I'm glad that your illness was diagnosed and hope that you get all the help you need.

I would like to comment on this. I have not yet had surgery but am planning on if approved by insurance going to have surgery at Midwest Bariatric Center. My friend had surgery there about 5 or 6 years ago with great success. Like the posts before this state, eveyrones experience is different and in the informational meeting that everyone has to attend before having the surgery they do state that complications can occur and that even death can occur from having this surgery. It is a choice that we are taking. No one is telling us that we have to have this surgery or forcing us to have this surgery. We all go into this knowing full well there are complications that can come from having this surgery. Is it a risk we are willing to take, most of us will say yes. I am sorry to hear that you had complications. I am sorry to hear that Dr. Wasco did not listen to your complaints but that again is all one sided. I am not saying that you are lying about talking to him or that they did not listen. That is completely between you and him, but I would think that if you were having complications for so long that you would have gone and gotten a second opinion sooner instead of waiting a year. I know that if I was that sick and my surgeon was telling me it would get better and it did not within 2 to 3 months I would definitely be going to another physician to get a second opinion and then taking the information the second physician gave me and bringing it back to Dr. Wasco's attention. If he sitll did not do anything then you could go back to the physician who gave you the 2nd opinion and have the work done. That is why there are more than 1 doctor in this world to treat a condition so that we can go to someone else if you feel you are not being given the best care that you deserve, but what you may consider good care and what someone else may consider good care may be 2 different things. You are going to find that everyone has a different opinion as to how a doctor should be. I may think that a doctor is very kind and caring and calling me after a visit to see how I am feeling and that may be great but some other person may be like why do they need to call me. I am fine. It all depends on the person. Some of us might be more sensitive than others. I know I am a very sensitive person but I would not expect my doctor to call me every 5 or so days to see how I am doing. Yes it is nice of them but working in the medical field I know doctors do not always have time to do that. I do think it is good that you are willing to share your story without people but I also believe that you do not need to be so negative either and that people can share their stores of success too. All information is good information when you are considering this surgery. Please do not speak ill will of someone when someone else may have a different opinion.

jwj, I completely understand what you are saying and you have a right (and in my opinion almost an obligation) to tell your story. Please don't let anyone convince you otherwise. I feel that you are very kind and wise to post your story to warn others of the situation. I would like to understand the emptying situation better. It yours the type that can be a complication of diabetes? One of my doctors mentioned it as a possibility to me (related to diabetes) and I am looking for more information about it. What type of surgery can repair this problem? Thank you again for trying to help others avoid a bad outcome. DrP

Mine is not from diabetes, it is from excessive surgery in the area of the stomach that have thinned themuscle walls of the stomach and have caused damage to the vagus nerve.  The surgeries being considered are called either a pyloroplasty or an antrectomy.  (You will have to check my spelling on those).  Other suggestions have been medication - three have been tried and three did not work.  There is a gastric pacemaker which may be less invasive than the two surgeries listed above, but I don't feel comfortable with that.  I mainly don't feel comfortable because it is a pacemaker surgically placed near the stomach and helps the stomach contract when you eat.  I don't think you should rule that out just because I have.  The only person in the Northeast Wis area that I am aware that does this procedure is Dr Jon Gould at UW-Madison.  You should talk to him before you make any decisions.  He is a wonderful physician - he is kind, he is compassionate and he is highly respected in this field.  The condition I have been diagnosed with, among other conditions that Kevin wasco failed to diagnose is called Gastroparesis?  Is that your actual diagnosis?     

Thank you for the information, it is very helpful. I have not been diagnosed with gastroparesis, but one of my doctors mentioned it because of some of the symptoms. Have you lost way too much weight?

DrP