Surgeon advise

Hi all! Yesterday I left the Newton- Wellsley bariatric surgical practice in tears and cannot go back. I was to be a patient of Dr. Partridge. I live right outside of Boston and would love to hear where you had your surgeries done and who you would recommend. Things fell apart at Newton - Wellsey because the psychiatric nurse thinks she knows people after talking to them for 20 minutes. She was one of the most frustrating professionals I have ever met. Maybe professional is too loose a term. Thanks in advance for your help.

I haven't had my surgery yet but have been seeing my surgeon since July 2005 and love him. His extremely caring and his mission is to get us to being healthy. He has a support group meeting every month. We just had it last night. His next meeting is June 22nd. Also, he's featured in the July issue of Ladies Home Journal. His name is Sheldon Randall. I see him at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Medford, MA. Cannot hurt to check him out. Hugs, Lorraine

I absolutly love the program I have been going though at the New England Medical Center in Boston. All the docs and staff have been great! My surgury is next Wed. the 31st. Yippeee good luck to you! Trish

Hi Mindy, I had my surgery in January with Dr. Thayer at Newton- Wellesley. I'm really surprised you had that much trouble. Were you well prepared and knowledgable about the surgery and everything it entails? The only reason I ask this is I have an extensive psychiatric history, but had researched the surgery for 3 years before I found a surgeon who would take me, Dr. Thayer. All they required was a consult with my therapist and a few extra appointments with Dr. Thayer. All told it took me about 4 months to surgery. I'd been through several other programs, only to be denied. Newton- Wellesley was the only one that would accept me based on my own merits. I wouldn't give up. They have an excellent program and provide great care and followup. Whenever I have a problem, Dr. Thayer will personally get on the phone and talk to me. The practice is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I also had no complications and a short recovery even though my procedure was open. My personal opinion is I would reconsider, but that's based on my experience. Good luck. Karen

Hi Mindy, I'm sorry I accidentally deleted your e-mail so I couldn't reply to you personally. I was rejected from Fallon Health Care Plan's program because I could not lose 10% of my excess body weight. I was rejected from UMASS- Worcester's program after spending 1 year in it because I had a psychiatric relapse and was told I would have to remain stable for one year before I could begin the program again. Tufts in Boston required 2 years of stability before I could even begin their program. I am sure they have reasons for this, but I don't like being treated in a "cookie cutter protocol" type of way. I am a unique person and want to be treated as an individual. Newton- Wellesley was the only place I could find that would do that. I'm sure there are others. As far as how I'm doing, I caught a nasty bug 3 weeks ago that just won't go away. As far as the surgery, it is rock solid. I had an upper endoscopy to rule out ulcers when I had persistant nausea from the virus. Everything looked great. I saw it myself. As far as Dr. Partridge, she assisted Dr. Thayer with my surgery. When you get 1 surgeon there you get them all. My surgery was January 25th, 2006, and so far have lost 81 pounds, being a little over 4 months out. It seems I'm right on track. Hope this helps and I'm sure you'll find a great program. Just do your research and keep looking. Karen

I had my surgery on November 21, 2005. My surgeon's name is Dr. Sheldon Randal. I had my surgery at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Medford. He is a kind, caring and knowledgable surgeon. He has been doing this type of surgery for over 20 years. The only compliant I have is sometimes I have to wait over an hour past my appointment time. But he is well worth it. Good Luck! Jereyes

Hi Mindy, My name is Lauren and I Had my surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess. Dr. Schneider was my surgeon and I have to say I think they have the best bariatric program. They have a floor in the hospital for bariatric surgery and the nurses are very nice and have specific training for bariatrics. The whole experience has been wonderful. The support is always available. The registered dietian Kelly is great. I had my surgery January 9th and have lost 108 pounds so far. Good luck with your Journey. If you have any questions you can email me at [email protected].

MIndy, Im not sure if I understand you, Did the psychiatric nurse say you were not suitable for WLS and if so what reasons did she give? I don't want to pry. If people have mental health issues, they need to be controlled and stable before surgery because the stress of surgery and post -op life can easilly trigger relapses in people. Uncontrolled mental illness is dangerous in all members of the population(suicidal & homicidal risks, risky behaviors, etc). If the nurse has diagnosed you with a condition and recommend you seek professsional care, you will have to, other programs will ask you to have a pyschological evaluation before they will consider you a candidate for surgery. YOu will have to start from square 1 if you change programs, because if you have records transferred to a new program they will see this nurses note. From my experience/observations it's best to sort out your issues and problems before surgery, post op life is no walk in the park, some days its pretty f*** tough. After surgery alot of people have issues come to life and then have to deal with them, personality and addiction issues, changes in relationships, and losses of frienships/spouses are common in post ops. I wish you good luck Amy

Hi Mindy, I am sorry you had such bad experience. I had my surgery done at Boston Medical Center and my sergeon was Dr. Donald Hess Jr. He was excellent! He really cares about his patients and his nurse Tony is also wonderful. He is very thourough in his process before, durring and after the surgery. And he has a wonderful bed side manor. I had my surgery on May 17th, spend 4 days in the hospital with no complications, came home and have been up and going ever since. I found Dr. Hess on this site. He had the most feedback and it was all positive. You can check him out here http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/bariatric+surgeons+in+massachusetts.html Good luck, Bobbi