I need help deciding which surgeon is best in the Boston- Newton, MA area!!

I have not yet had the surgery but have a consultation planned with Dr. Sheila Partridge at NWH in November. Dr. Partridge is in the same practice as Dr. Gazmuri and Thayers. When I was looking at surgeons, I used the reviews on this site to help me decide. While most people seemed to like their surgeons overall, when I read the reviews for the hospital stays, NWH was far superior to the Boston Hospitals. Read the hospital reviews and you'll see what I mean. Plus, I live in Watertown so NWH is close and my primary care doc is at NWH. I hope this helps in your decision.

Thank You Kathleen! It most certainly helps alot! I do hope all goes well with your ordeal! And I will definitely use the reviews! Thanks again~ Nacy

Nacy, I just had another thought. You want to consider the ease of getting to support meetings, both pre-op and definitely post-op. Do you want to drive into Boston and pay for parking once a month? Something else to consider. Kathleen

Kathleen, That is true! That would be hectic - i didn't think of that! I will plan to go to the meetings because it will be a requirement to get eveything started. I think I will go to NWH! You've helped out alot!~~Nacy

I really want to extend a absolute sincere thanks to everyone who helped in my decisions! I will take everything I have learned and talk it over with my husband to make the best decision for me. Wish me luck! And good luck to all!~~

I had Dr Sheilla Partridge at Newton Wellseley Hospital 2.5 years ago. Everything went perfectly. No visible scars either! She is great! Joryjavascript:setMainIcon('clown',15,15)

Nancy, I had a laposcopic (sp?) gastric bypass from Dr. Donald Hess at Boston Medical Center. I cannot say enough postive things about Dr. Hess however I would not have chosen Boston Medical Center Hospital unless I had to (that is where he does the surgeries). However I still recommend Dr. Hess because of his skills and the program itself. In the end you are only in the hospital for a few days and my issues had to do with the nursing care after you were on the floor. Nothing at all with the actually surgery. This is just my opinion. I too wanted a Boston Hospital. In my case I am larger then the norm for either types of surgery. I was 450 lbs when I started looking into surgery. There are lots of anesthesia issues with putting someone of my size through surgery and I wanted a hospital/surgeon who had dealt with them before. Dr. Hess has performed surgeries on people much larger then me and that made me feel a lot better. I live in Carlisle, Ma and my closest hospital is Emerson. Three years ago when I was pregnant Emerson Hospital referred me into Brighams and Womans because I was too high risk for them (it was definitely the right choice). I would not have felt comfortable having my surgery at a smaller local hospital even though it would have been more convenient. If I weighed 250 lbs I would have gone to Emerson but not at 450 lbs. Again the above is just my opinion. My folks don't have the choice that my health plan allowed. The most important thing at the end of the day is for you to feel comfortable with the surgeron. I switched to BMC from Beth Israel (a very well known Boston hospital) because I felt better with this particular surgeon. Very best of luck!! Terri Grant

I know you might have already made your decision, but I'll have to throw in my support for Dr Gazmuri at Newton-Wellesley. Not only is he fantastic, but the staff and the hospital were incredible too. I've been in the hospital a few times over the past few years for various reasons and I've never had better care than I did at Newton-Wellesley. And Dr Gazmuri is just so sweet. I swear he is as much a therapist as a surgeon. He spent 1/2 of my 3 month followup asking me about how I'm adjusting to my new body and how my husband is handling the attention I'm getting, etc. Their weekly support group meetings are really good too (though I make about 1 every month to two months because I live an hour away). My sister is a primary care doctor in MA who is associated with the Beth Isreal and she recommended Newton-Wellesley. Just my 2 cents... Carolyn Lap-RNY 06/20/2006 232/222/151/130 pre/surg/curr/goal