Shot down

My appointment is at 8:45.    Good luck to you!   Hope you're not too nervous!  You are in talented hands.    

I'm with Julie on this one. I would choose nobody else to have done my surgery. Dr. Kemmeter treats the patient, not the BMI. If he thinks you are well informed and ready, I do not believe he has arbitrary guidelines. Every time I see him now, he asks how I am doing... not how much weight I have lost (270+ and still going at 5 years out) but how my life is. His office will help you get your insurance and other things straightened out. It will be worth it.

Sonya,

 

I had my DS done by Dr. K.  last September and I would recommend he and the folks at GHP to anyone considering.  I lived 2.5 hours away and while it was a bit of a haul to go for pre-op meetings, etc., I wouldn't have done it any other way.  I was a revision from a really old weight loss procedure done in the 80's, had 3 hernia's (2 of which I didn't even know I had), and I've had zero complications.  And he also did my surgery as a lap procedure instead of open. 

He always looked me square in the eye and shot straight with me.  I never once felt like there was any other surgeon I should have considered.  And we haven't even gotten to the part where we talk about St. Mary's hospital.  The service and care there were beyond exemplary.  There were absolutely zero complaints of anything during my stay there.  Think about how rare that really is in today's health systems.  ZERO!! 

Here's another tip, the night before my surgery, we stayed right across the street at Sophia's House, which is comparable to a Ronald McDonald House.  It cost only $35.00 per night and the facility was brand new.  Again, zero complaints. 

I don't remember if Dr. K. has a BMI rule or not, but I am inclined to say that he doesn't.  Do check to see when their next seminar is that he will be speaking at and go.  I did and I was sure he was "the one" that very night. 

Good Luck!

 

 

 

 

Let me add that Sophias House is fantastic. My office over looks the building so I got to watch it transform from the older building that was there to the amazing home away from home it is now. The $35.00 per night is a steal for all of the amazing things you get inside.

 

http://www.mercyhealthsaintmarys.com/sophiashouse

 

Oh and Saint Marys is now Mercy Health Saint Mary's Campus.

I had my DS at Blodgett, and just had my stomach work done at St. Mary's a week ago.  I was BEYOND impressed with that hospital and their care, and so was my husband.    The level of care from the nursing staff was exceptional (and I've been an inpatient at several hospitals).    

That's always great to hear :)

Hi Sonya,
This is off subject and I'm sorry but what type of insurance do you have? I saw you only had to do a 3 month diet and wondered who the insurance was and if you did your diet through your surgeon's office? Thanks in advance
Jen

Hi! I have Paramount Insurance which is a local company. They do not have a physician supervised diet requirement. In the past they required 6 months but dropped that requirement recently. The surgeons office required 3 months though, which I did do through their office. It was just basically meeting with the nutritionist monthly. I did have a psych eval (also the surgeon's requirement). I had labs, a chest xray, an upper GI, and gall bladder ultrasound, and an EKG. I think thats it. 

I think my insurance just requires clearance from my PCP, a BMI over 40 or 35 with a comorbid. 

I am extremely happy with Kemmeter!  I think their office is run a bit more "buisness-like" that I would like.  But he is great.  I live in Ohio and traveled to him.  When I got home from the hospital, he actually called me himself to check on me.  I was quite impressed.  I also ended up in dehydrated a few weeks after surgery.  I'm a nurse so I called the office looking to try to get an order for fluids instead of going to the ER.  However because I lived so far away, I ended up having to go to the ER anyways but Kemmeter's office was aware I was going and told me to give the ER physician their info and call them when I get there.   The ER physician obliged and he spoke to the PA and Kemmeter's office and coordinated my care (including a CT for some nagging abdominal pain).

I also didn't have an over 50 BMI when I started.  There is a program fee, but they apply it back to your bill once you're done. So it's not costing you any extra.  The only thing I really do not like is that they force you to buy their pre-packaged food for 2weeks pre-op and 2 weeks post-op.  I spent about $250 on food and ate a couple granola bars from it.  The rest of the "food" was just inedible.

I did not find the pre-op food to be bad at all. Maybe they have changed their options since you used it? There is a great variety and some of it was really good.