My Mom Won't Support Me and Is Being Very Negative!

Because she argued herself into a hole trying to justify her choice, that's why.  And also why she has disengaged from this discussion and not answered your question.

I have no fault with your decision. You get to decide what factors matter to you. I chose what mattered to me: surgeon experience and success.

I would like to respond to the "incredibly busy practices" comment...

I can tell you and anyone who is reading this thread is that Dr. Rabkin and his team are never "too busy" to take my calls or answer my emails and I am more than three years out. Their aftercare program is pretty damn good and they keep data on all of us, years and years down the line, so that keeps them "busy." Dr. Rabkin still does liver transplant surgeries one week a month, so he must condense his bariatric surgeries into three weeks. And he is starting to do more and more revision surgeries. He is routinely called on to do the DS on patients who actually fight Kaiser and win their appeals.Oh, and he actually gets his ass out of his ivory tower and attends our support grup meetings, even as far as Chicago, where I live!!!

That said, two of our local (Chicago) support group members recently got their insurance approvals and were on his table in less than one month (and I think that's because they had to arrange their travel plans), so I'd say his caseload is not too "busy."

Paclap (Rabkin's group) is well-run, organized and efficient. Their long-term weight loss and maintenance results are stellar. And this is purely anecdotal and my opinion, but I hear far less grousing from their patients about intestinal issues or failure to reach goal. 

As to the Lapband, that's a recent thing Paclap added and they do precious few of them. I hate the damn thing and you can believe that I talked with Rabkin about it (as I am sure you could have,  too) and the fact is that the Lapband marketing machine draws tons of patients to participating doctors for informational sessions. Each patient walks in the door and gets the full presentation of WLS options. It is left to them to decide what procedure they want to do. I suspect that once most of them get in the door, learn they have different choices with different results, they do some soul-searching on their decisions. Let's hope that's true.

Nicolle

Just FYI and a question.

Whose nutrition plan are you following after?

OK, that said, I know this guy and he is very caring and is not afraid to stay up to date on technique and such. He was once convinced that in talking to me, I was a dead woman due to my short common channel. Being as contrary as I am, I just go on being alive and healthy.

At some point, he may have seen the light. Dr G was this guy 5 yrs ago. Then one day they open their eyes, because they already have heart, and voila, a much loved DS surgeon can be born.

So, when you might diss him, rememeber that our beloved Dr G was once adamantly against any short channel procedure, too. Once upon a time.

By Dr. G., do you mean Dr. Greenbaum?

 Thank you all for your replies!  I will just try to ignore my mom for the rest of the time I am here!  I do have more research to do on Dr. Lauter but I have an appt. with him before my surgery where I intend to find out a lot of these answers and if they are not satisfactory to me then I have no problem at all canceling my surgery and finding another dr.  I can't go to Dr. Srikanth in WA because he doesn't take my insurance.  I have already checked.  Anyway, thank you again and I will keep you posted.

Deanna

Make sure you understand what "doesn't take my insurance" means, because it can mean several things.  It can simply mean that the EXPERIENCED DS surgeon does not PARTICIPATE with your insurance plan, and so he is out of network.  It does NOT mean that he can't submit to your insurance company for a partial payment.  If you have out of network benefits, and the hospital the EXPERIENCED surgeon uses is in-network, it may be more expensive but not ridiculous to use the EXPERIENCE surgeon and pay the extra copay plus the difference between the EXPERIENCED surgeon's full fee and the UCR.  Maybe $2-4K.  You should ask. 

I'd be more than willing to pay a couple of thousand bucks for an EXPERIENCED surgeon.

One other thing - if there is nobody within 50 miles of you who is an EXPERIENCED DS surgeon, you may be able to get your insurance company to pay in-network rates for the EXPERIENCED surgeon.  That's what I did.  It will still cost you money, but perhaps a bit less, and without an out-of-network deductible.

Now, let me just say for the umpteenth time - I've never heard of your current surgeon, and I wouldn't even CONSIDER letting anyone but an EXPERIENCED surgeon touch me.  Do you catch my drift??

Do yourself a favor before you waste your time and money on a consultation and call and ask how many DSes he has done overall and THIS year. Then ask for the names and phone numbers of some references---patients who have had the DS.

I did a Google search looking for reviews and one site said for weight loss surgery go to, GET THIS:

bypassorband.com

I put that in and it was automatically redirected to:

http://laparoscopynw.com/

Which is his current site. Now put your cursor on Weight Loss Surgery on the tool bar. It lists gastric bypass, the band, and the sleeve. Not ONE mention ot the DS.

You may be walking into a Bait and Don't Switch scenario. It is a well known practice of some sleazy WLS practices to say they do the DS and then apply high pressure sales tactics and fear factors to get you to agree to the surgery that they do perform.

Don't fall for it and don't waste your time.

There are people here who are highly experienced navigating the insurance landscape who would be more than willing to help you get the DS with an experienced DS surgeon.

Where did you find this guy, anyway?

On September 9, 2011 at 7:12 PM Pacific Time, RedElf23 wrote:  Thank you all for your replies!  I will just try to ignore my mom for the rest of the time I am here!  I do have more research to do on Dr. Lauter but I have an appt. with him before my surgery where I intend to find out a lot of these answers and if they are not satisfactory to me then I have no problem at all canceling my surgery and finding another dr.  I can't go to Dr. Srikanth in WA because he doesn't take my insurance.  I have already checked.  Anyway, thank you again and I will keep you posted.

Deanna


I thought I was all done here and then I noticed something else you posted...that you are a grandmother.  I had assumed you were a lot younger.  If you are old enough to be a grandmother and STILL coming undone due to your mother's lack of support, you may NOT be a candidate for the DS.  (I said "may.")

To succeed with the DS, you have to be able to advocate for yourself and stand up for what you need and occasionally challenge your doctors' decisions.  It doesn't appear that those things come naturally to you.

I'm sorry about your mom saying those things to you.  If you choose a vetted surgeon your chances of complications go way down.  Luckily you have one in your area.  Dr. Srikanth.  He's my surgeon and I love him. I've met about 5 of his patients in person and one online and they are doing great.  I get my surgery on the 22 of September at Evergreen hospital in Kirkland.  I'm from the Tri-Cities.  It's a drive, but I think he's very worth it.  Please go to him if you want the DS.  Good luck with your surgery and life.  I hope you listen to some of the good advice that you've gotten here.  

You have had SOME good advice given here and I am going to add my $.02.

I would not agree to any member of my family going to an unexperienced DS surgeon. Period.

There was no DSfacts when I had surgery but the criteria I used to seek out a surgeon was the same as that site uses.  Had I not been able to find an experienced surgeon, I would not have had surgery.

I use the same criteria for any surgical procedure and I have had numerous surgeries prior to my DS.

It just makes sense not to put your life in the hands of someone inexperienced in this type of surgery. This particular surgery is complex and has a steep learning curve.

I wish you well,
Michele