Hey Valarie!
Come check him out for yourself and ask your questions.  He's presenting at the Banner Gateway support group this evening at 6 pm (60 and Higley in the conf room past the cafeteria).

Support group presentations are a great low key approach to gathering your p.s. information.

He'll show some amazing Before & Afters of other weight loss peeps and their post p.s. results.  We'll have some of his post-ops there to answer some of the personal questions (like:  what was recovery really like?  Did it REALLY hurt?  Do you like your results?  etc)  ....Don't be surprised if they just lift up their shirts and show ya the "stuff"!  LOL!  They are proud of their bodies and love the results!  And...it wasn't that long ago that they were in your exact shoes!!!

I'm headed out the door but give me a call if you have questions.  480.814.7466

Dr. M will be at other events in the future if you can't make it tonight or.....just call the office for a consultation.  I actually had my very own consultation with my good Doc last week!  LOL!  Check out my blog on my profile to see where I'm at......Yikes!  I need to go update it...I have more news to add:)

Good luck!  This is the really FUN part of the journey!!!

Woooooo Hoooooo!

My WOW moment came 2 1/2 months after surgery when I could sit the coach class of an airplane and not need a seatbelt extender and had a small amount of hip room!!

 does anyone know anything about this dr.  I have heard good things and looking for a good plastic surgeon....    also looking for a good price...  I bet he is expensive!  

I appreciate you wanting to defend your friend, nothing wrong with that.  But we do disagree about support groups not being a place to sell surgery.  MANY people go to a support group of a specific doctor or a specific procedure and they are sold right then and there.  Sadly, not because of the doctor's skill but because they really like the "staff" that are present.  You know that better than I.

We used to have a Phoenix lunch, actually ... we still do kinda I just haven't put it together lately.  We would go to lunch monthly.  There were always newbies there considering surgery.  We had people from many different doctors and they had the opportunity to ask questions about lots of doctors and yes, most of them were Mexican. (GASP)  But a support group is every bit as much as a seminar when it comes to newbies.

Regarding a doctor doing several procedures vs. just one, we disagree.  Doctors can be capable of doing 4 procedures and being very experienced and skilled in all of them.  If someone goes to a band mill the surgeon does not usually spend time talking about other options.  It would be like a Toyota dealer talking someone into going to a Honda dealer and giving them the business instead.  It's not going to happen.  Your doctor is an example of this very behavior.  I would suspect most who are unable to do all the procedures would be.  There is great value in not being pushed to one procedure vs. another because the doctor is better at surgery type A vs. surgery type B.  It should be all about what is right for that patient vs. pushing them into something that might not be the best.  What about these 400# people being banded?  We all know 99.9% of them will never come close to goal let alone maintain it but the band mills are banding them anyway.  I guess it's good business, they get to do the revision in a few years,  But I digress.

I see far more value in going to a surgeon that is experienced and skilled in all 4 major WLS types vs. just one.  Otherwise it would be a bit like saying one doctor specializes in appendectomies and another in Tonsils.  Doctors can do them both quite well.

I believe you missed the point about selling surgery.  Darcie is suggesting that since I show people how to research their surgeon in MX (or the US, it works for both) that I was somehow benefiting from this.  If I did that I would need to give out more info about myself but I don't and I won't.  I have posted much personal information about my weight loss journey and I look at this like an AA meeting.  I get to keep my contact info personal.  That is a far cry from this being a business and earning a profit from "working" the boards which is exactly what she was doing.  Using support boards to sell people bands.  She's had no interest in OH since 2005 but now that she's selling bands she suddenly wants to be helpful and supportive to OHers.  Bah... Nobody is going to buy that one.

Darcie was completely and totally inappropriate and the way she represents a surgical center and doctors.  She was out of line and I can't believe they will approve of these posts.  She has a responsibility to behave in a professional manner when posting with their link at the bottom of each post.  I feel quite comfortable this will be dealt with well.

All,
There are many people who work in our WLS business that have NOT had any surgery; yet we put our trust in them.  Why?   Because we assume they have had specialized training and that they definitely know more than we do.  Darcie has had countless hours of lapband training. 

I have met very few Bariatric surgeon's who have had weight loss;  yet they sell a surgery.  I have had 2 kinds of weight loss surgeries and yet I share information on all types of procedures to everyone.  Am I an expert?  Not if being an expert means one has to have had every type of procedure that they talk about.  But, having workedi n the field for 6 years and being very active in support groups for almost 8 years; I think I have a few pieces of info that can help others from time to time.  Some use it.  Some don't.

People are inspired by a weight loss!  Millions tune in each Tuesday evening to get their 2 hour dose of inspiration from the Biggest Loser!  They haven't had our surgeries of chocie but they share our determination to be healthy and succeed!  ..... Darcie is inspiring!  Period!  Why does it matter whether she's had a lapband or an Rny?  Kudos to her for being at goal weight NINE years post-op from her surgery.  I'd say we ALL have a lot we could learn from her!!!!  Some day the newbies on this site will realize just how impressive that really is!  Losing happens...maintaining is the real work!

As for someone on this thread saying that she likes docs who do ALL types of surgeries; well good for her.  But, many people want to go to a "specialist"; someone who does hundreds and hundreds of one thing is going to be pretty darn good at it!!!!  Someone who does several things will have a broader perspective but won't have nearly as much time and experience into one piece of the curriculum!  .So the good & the bad of both options.....And the same person stirring this pot on this site implies that she doesn't sell any surgery.  Bologna!  WE all sell a surgery when we give our personal testimonial of someone or something that we are passionate about!

I feel badly that people had to pop out of the wood work to lynch someone who was offering a FREE support group (note those are usually AFTER someone has had surgery so she wouldn't benefit from it at all!)....and was sharing her story....which is something done by thousands on this support site!

I think we should all calm down.  O.H. allows everyone to advertise support groups that are open to everyone.  It's not breaking any of their rules.  If someone is honest (and the accused was very honest about being an Rny working in a lapband environemtn) then O.H. has always applauded the sharing of experiences that inspire!

Use your delete button freely if you don't like something someone is saying.  I'm sure my posts are deleted on a regular basis by the masses!  But, one person may be moved by one thing on one day.  That's the thing!

How bout we all be the warm Arizonans that we should be?

If someone crawls out from under a rock to attack someone then consider the source. 

Support groups tonight:

AZ Grads of WlS:  5:30 at Phx St Lukes (all welcome)
Banner GATEWAY AT 6:00 PM (all welcome)  -  Dr. Mazaheri, plastic surgeon is presenting

Hugggzzz,