The Importance of Picking a Surgeon - for those considering the DS

Someone said something to me today.  A WL Surgeon is more important than a spouse.  You can always divorce a spouse.  You need a WL Surgeon who is not only skilled but will care after the surgery.  You need that WL Surgeon the rest of your life.

Just because he is on DSFacts, doesn't necessarily mean he is the best.  

All WL Surgeon's are making a lot of money for these surgeries.  Some are motivated by "being the best" in their field, other's are simply motivated by money and there are other's who just want to cut and happen to be good at it.

When you go for a consult, ask a lot of questions - Write them down, have them ready be prepared.  Listen to their answers.  If you live in an area that has more than one, go to 3 to decide.

Good Luck!!!

The rest of your life?  I know some do aftercare but there are many who don't.  I saw my surgeon twice after surgery and that's it.  And it's been 10 years.  MOST surgeons are cutters, and after you have recovered, that relationship is pretty much over.  And more than a few of those excellent cutters hand out totally wrong info on how to live postop.

In my opinion, we need to be smart enough to be our own advocates and learn to manage our own care.  Assuming we are generally healthy, we get to decide to a degree how medicalized the rest of our lives will be.  Just like the 'normies', some of us will run to the doc convinced that every sniffle or twinge is a portent of an early demise.  Others learn to deal with small problems themselves.  Because I am generally healthy I manage my own labs and supplements.  If and when I run into a problem I can't deal with I will find the necessary medical professionals to help me.

The DS is just normal life to me.

Well said, Patty! 

I couldn't disagree more.  You need an EXCELLENT cutter.  A surgeon *****ally knows how to do this complex surgery.  One with excellent stats for low complications like leaks.  One who will actually DO a DS even if they get in there and find it isn't as easy as they had hoped.

AFTER surgery why in the world would you need that surgeon?  I haven't spoken to my surgeon since I saw him at 10 days post op when he approved me to go home (4 hours by car).  He has no idea what vitamins I need.  He has no idea what diet I need.  If I listened to his NUT I would probably be dead by now.

If I have some SURGICAL problem in the future  I will have my local surgeon consult with him because no local surgeons have every heard of the DS much less seen one.  But that is the only reason I can think of that I would ever need to see or speak to my surgeon again.

The reason to be very careful in picking your surgeon is that you want to A) really get a real DS, B) get the real DS not half of it C) have the best chance of no complications and D) have the most DS experienced surgeon you can find.

The aftercare program they provide is meaningless.

If the patient is not able to research and find out what they need to do to live after getting a DS they shouldn't get a DS.

~Becky

A surgeon is just that, a surgeon.  I haven't seen my surgeon since about 2 weeks after surgery and I will be 8 years out in 2 weeks.  It is up to us to find a good PCP and educate them if necessary.

If they are not on DS facts it also doesn't mean they are the best. Personally, I wouldn't use a surgeon that wasn't on DS Facts.

DS surgeons generally make the same amount for doing a DS as an RNY only the DS is much more complicated. DS surgeons are not motivated by the money or they would be churning out RNY's instead.

I disagree with the statement of only seeing your doc once or twice then that is it.  My practice (WCBS: Dr. Smith and Jean-Pierre) made it clear I was their patient for life. It is not just the Docs... the nurses, nutritionist, psychologist etc.  I am three wekks out and have seen Dr. Jean-Pierre 4 times since surgery. Last week I was back in the hospital due to dehydration and pancreas issues, at the time I was admitted he was in surgery, however as soon as he got out he was in the emergency room consulting me and the ER doc... scrubs and all.  

It is very important that you have a Doc that is committed to you and your weight loss journey mentally and physically.  They are not mandatory post-op but I enjoy attending the practice support groups and activities.  Just like the DS is a tool, your practice should be support for you to achieve a healthy life style... not just a drive-through quick fix.

Wow... feel bad that some people don't have the same commitment from their practice that I do.  I mean we do pay them a lot, as most have program fees.  I guess some surgeons can be cutters and others cutters and care providers.

Some of us had to travel very far distances for our surgeries.  We chose our surgeons for complex and specific reasons.  The key is to go into this being 100% aware that some surgeons are AMAZING cutters, but don't always have the best vitamin and nutritional advice, or time, for that matter.  We are the captains of our own ships!  We need to be on top of lab work, weird symptoms, etc.  For the last 4.5 years, I've been the one advocating for my health.  I was the one keeping up on my labs and requesting more lab work through 2 pregnancies, seeing low numbers, etc.  I was the one *****quested infusions because I knew my levels were going down way too fast!  I had several medical professions that were barely worried as they saw my levels within "normal ranges".  I'm glad I was smart enough to NOT simply trust in their expertise.  There are many of us DSers who would tank hard and fast if we left our health up to the aftercare programs of many stellar DS surgeons and some PCP's.  It's just the facts of this new life of ours.  I'm so glad that some DS patients live close to their surgeons and see them regularly. Good for them!  However, I knew I wouldn't have the funds to be flying several thousand of miles to have quick check-ups with an "aftercare program".  I'm grateful that we have so many ways to communicate, fax, email, etc. However, I wouldn't want any of us to become complacent and count on of the expertise of someone else, period!  We need to always be on top of this game!  My surgeon actually interviewed ME!  He wanted to make sure that after he did the work and gave me this platinum WLS, that I'd be willing to keep him and my PCP on their toes and let THEM know if anything was amiss.  He said he wouldn't perform a DS on just anyone, he looks for certain people who do their own research and prove to him why they are willing to live with the strict nutritional needs of this surgery.  He said that in the end, patients who advocate for their own health make him look better and DS patients overall, with their successes and lower side effect rates!

I forgot to mention, that even if I did live within a short distance of many DS surgeons, I'd still be living the same way.  That is just my nature.  If I found out I had some common or rare condition, I'd be reading every single thing I possibly could, to know what I was up against and have a battle plan.

In all fairness I understand the distance thing, however the same amount of effort it takes to stay on top of things yourself, it takes the same amount of effort to participate in an aftercare program.  My Doc does not wait on me hand and foot, but if I need to call him or anyone in the office I can... I can even email if I want.  While I would like to think I am well informed (after 7 months) of education, ultimately he is the medical professional.  I can only speak for my doc, and the program fee I had to pay when I joined the program covers all my co-pays, labs, and any other work I have done.  I paid a good amount of money and I feel it was well worth it... Plus the swag bags are not bad at all... instead of getting a lolly pop at the Docs office I get a bag full of any and everything pertaining to bariatric surgery... But then again I guess I paid for that too.