Okay...I have no social skills...I'll be the one to do it...

And I hope this turns into--with the input of other vets, especially--something that someone feels is worth bookmarking or something...I did not use any names because it is, unfortunately, an situation that has the potential to repeat and repeat.


I am a *****y old curmudgeon.  A smart ass.  I appear to think I'm a know-it-all...I'm really not.  There's lots of stuff I don't know...but because I'm pretty sure that I do know what I do know...it looks to some people like I think I know everything, so...so be it.  (Also, buy the time you get to be THIS old, you have learned a lot...and might as well share before you forget it all...which could happen momentarily.)

I hang out here and occasionally attempt to add some value to the conversation by way of information that is unknown to perhaps a "newer" person.  I do not do it with finesse.  I tend to use a sledge hammer.  My technique, however, does not negate the value of the information.

There are other people who have been here for years...several of them highly experienced medical professionals themselves.  They tend to be less indecorous than I.  So if you don't like being yelled at by a drill sergeant (me), we have folks here with actual manners.

Moving right along...I f'ing KNOW what it feels like to be morbidly obese.  Intimately.  I understand the desperation.  I also get living on the edge financially...btdt. 

But being broke and desperate is NOT a good reason to sprawl out spread eagle in front of an oncoming freight train and just wish for the best.  ESPECIALLY when others tell you that a freight train is approaching.  And it's not a good time to put your fingers in your ears and keep yelling, "LA la la la la...I can't hear you!"  It's not a time to hide...and seek input only from those who will agree with you no matter how stupid what you are about to do may be.

I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT HAVE "I told you so" feelings about what recently happened...any more than I do about previous catastrophes.  What I DO have is a desire to let other pre-ops and lurkers know that some of us who occasionally spend our free time on here warning you about some of your plans are doing so for a damned good reason.

I am one of those who DID try to tell our latest sad casualty in this war on living with morbid obesity that her logic was flawed.  I may be one of the people she was hiding from when she decided to do what we all told her was a really bad thing.  Please do not do what she did.  Do not bury your head in the sand and refuse to listen to those who are telling you something you dodn't want to hear.

I was talking to my daughter about this because it really upset me.  She listened as I read from previous correspondence.  Then she said, "Mom...I know you have trouble with this concept, but you are NOT responsible for making sure that everyone in the world makes a reasonable decision.  You--and all your other old DS buddies--told her what she needed to hear and she chose not to hear it."

But it doesn't make the notion that perhaps if I...if SOMEONE...had tried harder, she might be with us today.

Damn. 

Sue

Sue, I'm so sorry you are carrying this burden of "what if" on your shoulders.  It sounds like there are several on here feeling the same way.  It was a sad, sad thing that happened, not anyone else's fault, just a sad misstake on Stephanie's part wanting to have the DS so bad that she chose the less expensive way out.

We are older, less compulsive, and have seen more in our lifetime than what she had.  The youth and desperation of being MO, combined, made for a bad decision on her part, and it cost her her beautiful life.

Let go of the burden, it is not yours to carry.

Vanishing Mom and I both were friends with her and we both tried to change her mind.  I got so far as to have her talk with my surgeon.  She said she'd use him as a "back up".  If she had used him she'd still be here.  I wonder if we'd pushed harder would she still be here.  I think that she would've just pushed us away. 

Her surgeon, in my opinion, lied to her.  She was under the strong impression that he had enough skill and DS's under his belt  that she would be in safe hands.  When in reality Husted was supposed to assist on her surgery and he bailed on Juarez and Juarez's ego carried on with that surgery. 

She needed patience.  She would've only needed to wait a couple more months for Srikanth, but she was too desperate for the surgery.  It's sad that we let our lives and safety boil down to time and money.

I will always wonder if there was something more we/I could've done.

I dunno about other people, but one of the basic things I do when getting information about ANY new doctor is a visit to the appropriate state licensing/disciplinary board to see what history, if any, exists. Maybe I'm weird that way *shrug*.

A visit to the AZ med board shows that Juarez is a habitual liar of a VERY VERY bad nature. It also shows that the AZ med board has its head up its ass, cuz last time I checked, the illegal prescribing of controlled substances was a rather large felony, and he got not so much as a professional slap on the wrist, much less a trip to prison.

So I'm REALLY DOUBLY PISSED about this. The agency that should be protecting AZ patients shows a significant history of falling down on the job. I wonder what else this little gem of a surgeon has gotten away with.

Hello newbies and lurkers? You think we're cranky *****es with sticks up our asses who think we know everything? Um, apparently we DO know more than some folks do. Maybe two or three people will listen for a couple of days now.

It's sure too bad someone has to die for people to pay attention and stop whining about the delivery method for a little while.

I agree with Diane. You did what you could and probably got a load of grief for it, too.

But, I completely understand the feeling. When Kramer5 posted last night that she was canceling her DS with another unknown---a Dr. Lopez who had supposedly been assisted previously by Dr. Ungson--I felt so much stress leave my body. I hadn't realized that my stomach was in knots until I read her post and they all relaxed.

A part of this is very personal. Touches us very personally.

We've seen too, too much death and physical devastation brought about at the hands of inexperienced surgeons. There's no way we can walk blithely away when people voice that they will be taking unfathomable risks with their lives. But, when we don't walk away, we are often called bullies by the very people we are trying to save.

It is very telling that Stephanie did not post after she discovered that Husted would not be attending her surgery. She KNEW what we would say about it. You DID get through to her, her actions, or lack thereof, proves this. She KNEW.

But, she was a young, stupid kid. Stupid in the way that many kids are. She thought she knew better than her elders, she was determined to make her own decisions despite our advice and knowledge. She may have spoken of death, but like many her age, she couldn't internalize it. Of course, SHE would never die so taking this risk was acceptable to her. The inviolability of youth.

No one feels like this is an "I told you so" moment, but her death is a powerful reminder and warning to those who think they know better than the people who have witnessed this for years.

And maybe next time, there will be enough us speaking out that a mind WILL be changed and a life saved.

I raise a toast to you, Sue. You fight for what's right no matter the artillery firing at you.

Well then.

I thought we were going to wait a day or two, but really, you're right - there's no time like the present, and while feelings are raw, perhaps you might make an impression not only on those of us who have been throught this numerous times in the past, but also on those who are just starting out, and maybe THEY will take up the flag as well.

Let's see, shall we start out with a chronicle of the DS disasters we've seen over the years?  Please feel free to copy this post into yours, and add your own comments, links and additional information.

There was Sifer, the surgeon in KS who SAID he was giving people DSs, but in fact was giving them BPDs.  He dropped dead during the litigations, saving others from his world of hurt:
(the case was lost based on filing in the wrong court, but the fact are set out here:
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/mo-court-of-appeals/1477996.html)
(here's another case, lost due to the statute of limitations passing, but the facts are there:
http://www.kscourts.org/cases-and-opinions/opinions/ctapp/20 08/20080502/97057.htm)
And this news report: http://www.pitch.com/kansascity/the-final-operation/Content? oid=2177193

There was FrankenHeap, and his Mini-DS (an abomination of a surgery that has been dismissed and derided by every other surgeon): http://www.duodenalswitch.com/forum/showthread.php?t=452&hig hlight=heap

I stumbled upon another fraudulent DS surgeon, Scholten, while looking up Heap: http://www.duodenalswitch.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1005&hi ghlight=heap

Voellinger has had some crappy outcomes, including Michael S (anyone have a link to his sad story?) who was DROPPED transferring him off the OR table, and with other complications, spent at least a year in the hospital and in rehab before disappearing.

Hoddinott was a vetted DS surgeon who has been dropped after some bad experiences: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/ds/4424010/Kevin-Hoddinott /

Huacuz: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/mexico/4195834/Do-NOT-go-t o-Dr-Huacuz/

Almanza-Reyes: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/mexico/4432181/DO-NOT-USE- JERASULEM-HOSPITAL-FYI/

Warden: Ginger K had a defective surgery by Warden that had to be redone by Maguire - her story is somewhere in here - maybe she can help find it:
http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/ds/board_id,5357/user_id,1 73727/a,messageboard/action,memberPosts/
 
Schlesinger: this is just ONE of many complaints about him, including SAYING he was giving people a DS, but giving them ERNY instead, in at least one case with what was later found during revision to be a 20 cm (!) common channel: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/AZ/4032574/Wound-Infection s/

Deveney: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/amos/4224914/Lets-discuss- the-duodenal-Switch/

Deveney's associates at OHSU, e.g., Patterson and McConnell: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/ds/4260243/Was-I-deceived/

And of course, Husted (there are at least 2 lawsuits pending by people who were later found to have a 20 cm common channel; he also has his own "special" and utterly UNPROVEN surgeries he sells to self-pay patients, the VERGITO and the HIT (?) Husted Ileal Transposition?):  http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/revision/4345702/Who-is-th e-top-US-surgeon-for-RNY-to-DS-revision/#35934345

Please feel free to add your own information!

Well, Sue couldn't wait and I didn't want her standing out here on her own.

Great/horrible info you posted.

I only hope that pre-ops thinking that they will be "trailblazers" with an unknown surgeon will follow the links and take heed.

Voellinger himself dropped him?  I would assume that multiple people were transferring him and it was nurses,  techs, etc.

What other issues besides this dropping one has Voellinger had?

Inadequate loss and nonexistent followup come to mind, but unfortunately only as dim "this rings a bell" type memories, not as stuff I can find and link.

IMO it doesn't matter WHO mistreated Michael. The degree of maltreatment was absolutely incredible and all but unsurvivable. It's a shame we have had no further updates on his story. I am pretty convinced it's because he's gone, and hope that his family is pursuing every possible avenue of redress. The details of the foulups were just piling up really incredibly badly as I recall. There was a LOT of nursing neglect type stuff, like not getting any mouth hygiene, not getting turned, no management of pressure sores etc. At the time of the last update he'd been hospitalized (mostly at the same hospital, with an attempt at one or two care facilities) for over a year. He'd gotten into medical emergency status enough times that he either had to go back into the hospital or couldn't be transferred out.

Sorry I'm so vague. My bottom line, reading his story, was that I wouldn't touch surgeon OR hospital, and that there were no additional options for same surgeon, different hospital.