Congratulations and good luck to both you and your wife.

Hi Jane:  If you are concerned that you may end up with Kevin Wasco, your concern is justified.  I had a lap band surgery by him in 2004.  In 2006 it had to be removed by emergency surgery.  After that my health took a steady decline.  While I understand that there are risks with surgery, that was not my complaint.  Kevin Wasco just simply did not want to deal with it, and eventually medically abondonned me.  I cannot give much more information than that at this time.  I can tell you that I have just returned back to Wisconsin following what I hope is my last major surgery to "clean up Wasco's mess".  I have been seeking treatment at one of the largest research hospitals in the country.  The surgeon there has "substaintiated beyond any doubt that the reason for my problems was surgeon error".  I think this facility has much more reputable surgeons than Kevin Wasco, so I don't think he has made this statement without a substantial amount of evidence.  That being said, it wouldn't have upset me if Kevin Wasco had just simply dealt with the problem instead of engaging in the unethical behavior he did once he certainly recognized what the real problem was.  Everyone makes mistakes, and all he had to do was say "I'm Sorry" and that would have been the end of it.  I have not filed a lawsuit against Kevin Wasco.  I am pursuing a diffrent route or routes.  What sense would it make to file a lawsuit?  How is that going to change Kevin Wasco?  The Insurance Company would pay me off or Theda Clark would pay me off and he would go right on practicing in his unethical manner that he has done in the past.  I would rather see this loser have a license suspension, which is about the most I can hope for.  I hope everyone continues to "print these off for the office", and I hope eventually he takes legal action against me for slander?  Slander is only slander if I am passing along erroneous information.  I have affidavits, other physicians medical records, telephone records, etc to back up every accusation I have made about him.  But if he would like to engage in legal action I have only one comment  - BRING IT ON!!!  What you don't know is that Kevin Wasco has been made aware that my only concern is that this never happens to another person.  I would never want another person to suffer like I did at the hands of this incompetent physician.  Theda Clark VP of medical affairs has made him aware of this as my husband and I met with him on 10/23/2008.  I told him I would like to sit across the table from Kevin Wasco and tell him what the last 2 years of my life have been like.  I made it clear that is all I want.  The VP of Medical Affairs said he would pass that information along to Kevin Wasco,, and further stated that he would hope that "intelligence would prevail".  Kevin Wasco has had ample opportunity to make this right if he wanted to.  Evidently he does not want to, therefore I will make it my mission to make sure NO ONE ever suffers like I did at the hands of this individual.  All he ever told me husband and I is that "he stands behind his work and he will take care of things".  He failed to do that.  I don't think we are being unreasonable in our request.  Quality Control and the VP of Medical Affairs at Theda Clark also does not feel we are being unreasonable.  Kevin Wasco should grow a spine and just face this.This is not the first time we have heard the "slander" threat from him.  In a conversation with my husband in August of 2007, he also threatened my husband that if I complained about hin he would sue me for slander.  He followed that up by telling my husband that if I complained about him to the Dept of Licensing and Regulation that "he would fix it so no other physician would ever want to treat me again"  That is actually malice (threat to do harm) because he was fully aware that I would probably die without proper medical care.  My husband and two other individuals that were listening in on that  conversation had prepared affidavits before a Judge in Winnebago County ,Wisconsin ,  We have had to protect our interests somewhat by seeking advise from legal counsel, but we have not filed a lawsuit.  Our legal counsel only wants complete and ACCURATE  information in case something were to happen to me.  They simply felt that if that were ever the case they would wabt to be able file a lawsuit on behalf of my estate which I agreed with because I need to protect my family.  They have already suffered enough - this has been hard not only on me, but on them also.  As I stated previously, I just had a major surgery on 11/24/08, and I am recovering from that right now.  I did not want to complete any of the complaints I made to certain agencies until after this surgery.  Depending on the outcome of this surgery, I will then know if I have sustained PERMANENT damage.  Persons who don't have all the facts, shouldn't be advising you on my previous postings .  If they ever did confront Kevin Wasco about it, I am sure he would lie the same way he lied to me husband and I for amost two years.  He also falsified and ommitted very pertinent information from my medical records.  All of this will be corrected in the near future .  I will not go away, so all of the facts will come out as this unfolds.  Dr Georgen is a class act and as long as you are in his hands you are OK.  I'm not sure why a physician with such a great reputation would want to associate himself with this "incompetent , poor excuse for a physician", but that is Dr Georgen business, not mine!!  Demand that he be your surgeon - you deserve the best!  Why would you ever settle for anything less than the best?  Best of luck to you.  Remember, there are also other clinics in this area!      

Thank you!

I took my wife in today for her pre-admission visit.  Tomorrow she goes in for a meeting with Deb and then next Thursay is her surgery day.

She has been very supportive to me this last week and I will return the favor.  I hope she has an easy time like I did.  I am still knocking on wood that I will miss the dumping episodes!

Things are going so great at the moment.  I have had no issues with pureed meats, beans, and other soft foods.  I am taking little baby bites and still chewing like crazy!

I was approved today to add milk products.  I hope they still agree with me post-surgery.  I will find out tonight.

I have also been getting in my 1 hour of walking each day thanks to having a treadmill.  I would not be wanting to walk outside today with all of the snow and wind.

I still can not believe this.  I was expecting some issues/pain, but nothing so far.  I must admit that I am sticking strictly to the doctor's orders so perhaps if I get out of line I would be singing a different tune.

Hope things are going well and you're feeling good. Each day will be a learning experience. Keep us posted on your progress. Good Luck.

Shari
Oak Creek, WI