I'm reaching out to other patients of Dr. Anthony Petrick

As I am incapable of going to a group meeting having no vehicle to get to Wilkes-Barre, I'd like to touch base with other patients of Dr. Petrick.  I have yet to meet him, but the Geisinger Staff I have worked with have been top notch so I expect nothing less of him.  if you are a current or former patient and would like to form a support group with me please send me a message.

I've never heard of this person as a DS surgeon in the decade I've been out here.

Is he saying he does DS, or the newest experimental hybrid (Loop DS, SIPS, SADI - all the same thing)?

This is his reviews listed here on OH, and if you check the left side it clearly says he dose the DS Dr. Anthony Petrick

There are some that do post it- but never actually do it, and instead try to talk the patient into a distal RNY, or the newest hybrid, the SADI.  We've dubbed them "Bait and Don't Switch".

I could be wrong about this doc, but I've seen it with others.  Consider how many other responses you've gotten so far from DS patients. 

I looked at Geisinger Bariatrics and they simply call it Biliopancreatic Diversion.  You'll want to be absolutely sure it includes the duodenal switch and is not he old Scarpinaro procedure or the new SADI or Loop DS that is coming out of the woodwork by surgeons who never did the DS before.  He may be brand new at doing the procedure too, for up until a few years ago, there was only one DS surgeon in the area who has passed away (Dr. Anthony Peters) a couple of years ago.  Ask exactly how many he's done.  This is a very complicated procedure to perform, so it take LOTS of practice to make perfect. 

Just do your due diligence on this.  In the meantime, I'm asking on another group if anyone's heard of him as a DS surgeon.  I know of one gal who lives in the area.

Just to clarify, I had the SADi performed by one of the top DS doctors in the US. It's not an experiment after 4 to 5 years of stellar results.

The DS was created to fix defects in the RNY procedure, and the SADi is a DS with a longer common channel. It's generally performed by highly experienced DS surgeons that will all agree it's a better option for most patients.

It's important that people realize it's a better more stable option in most cases, with less side effects. It should only be performed by experienced DS surgeons.

It is considered experimental for MANY years, especially with surgeons continuing to make modifications.  The DS was considered experimental for 20 years before it started becoming more mainstream and accepted by most insurance.  I'm not sue where it started, however I've only heard of it being performed here the last year or two. 

There are a disturbing amount of surgeons performing SADI that never did DS at all in the first place and some are being deceptive in what they are really doing, too, both with the insurance company and even the patient.  How many DSers have chimed in having had the DS with this doc being asked about ????(crickets).

It's going to be a while before it's widely accepted, and it may be the next greatest thing.  Only time will tell, though.  What's most important is to NOT pull the wool over people's eyes to thinking they either (a) are getting a real DS and (b) its' tried and true.  It's promising - but not quite there yet.

Just an update - I've posted this on two other DS forums, and nobody has stepped up to recognize this surgeon as a known DS surgeon, and that includes a local Wilkes Barre DSer who is pretty active.

ETA - a full day, three forums, and nobody has heard of this man ever doing the DS.