Doctor Recomendation In Western Mass

hello all, ive been reading alot of people testimonials and im so proud of alot of people and there sucess and wish the best to everyone, lately ive been looking into having gastric bypass surgery rny if possible, im looking for some doctors in western mass area ( springfield area) ive noticed some doctors require the 6 month process befor surgery ,are there any who have a shorter time requied maybe 3 months or so ? i fear its possible with the way im going is i could be dead in 6 months so im trying to shorten the time down ( i know all the risks, know people who have had it done in the 90's seen tons of post on here and on youtube so im well aware of the risks and benefits, any help would be great    so far i have seen  Dr. Coe  if any recomendations and phone numbers would be great id really apriciate it

Dr. Romanelli seems like he is a GREAT doctor and he is in Springfield.  Good Luck...I think he is tops in the state.  He has been a part of the Betsy Lehman team, has written articles on WLS etc.  Check him out!!  I am not sure about wait time but you know 6 months is nothing when you have been obese a life time!!  I dont know why the docs have a 6 month process...might be for insurers or it might just be prudent to give the patients time to really reflect upon how much of a committment this whole thing is and what it really means to have WLS Good Luck and I am sure you will do well.

There should be a FREE informational meeting in your area, that would be your best bet. When you attend the meeting they will let you know which Dr.s are in the area, what insurances will cover what, what the process is, blah blah blah... ya know :).  But MOST Dr. require that you lose a bit on your own before surgery. If you dont have a base weight, you will have to get one. I just got mine this week (it sucked!) I have a BMI of 72/73.... in english I am almost 450 lbs. I have lost an inch in height and need to take this off as fast as you do. But.... the Dr. want to do this the best way posible for your success. If you dont break your addiction with food the tool wont be as effective as it could be.  Have faith that they know what they are doing and that they set up this system for your success!! :), Go to an informational meeting, call right away to set up a consult, and they should also give you a number where you can go weigh in if you dont know your weight..... this is important because the base weight is what will count when they are looking for that 5% or 10% weight loss. So if you are say 3 months to your consult like I am, then you have 3 months to lose a little bit before you even meet with anyone. If you want a weight loss buddy, send me a line :). I have run a weight loss support group for 4 years now, now its my turn. If you want some help and support, I would love to team up with someone!! :) Best of luck!! YOU CAN DO IT!! Tracey

I am going through Mercy hospital's program and they are  great. I have Dr. Kasper.

I had surgery with Dr. John Kasper out of Springfield, last Friday, June 20th.  I had the Lap Band procedure I am not sure if he does the gastic bypass as well. However, he was awesome and I would highly recommend him to anyone. The procedure was done at Mercy and the doctor and nurses there were very friendly and compassionate.  From what my insurance company said is basically you have to go through a process before they will approve, however there were exceptions with risk factors etc...  What I did prior to doing anything was I phoned my Insurance Company and asked for their guidelines for approval (i believe theirs was 6 months working with a weight loss group etc..) .  I personally worked with a weight loss group for approximately 1 year, had to go to a Cardiologist, psychologist, dietition and attend at least 2 support groups. After the time frame I advised the weight loss group that I wanted to have the lap band and they forwarded all my paperwork to Dr. Kasper and in turn Dr. Kasper turned all into the insurance company. I had an approval within 2 days.  I do believe though that there are some exceptions to their protocol with high risk individuals.  I honesty have to say I read and read all the materials by the time I peaked interest in this procedure and although six months to a year seems long I found the time really gave me a clear perspective and made me truly ready for these life changes...   best of luck to you !!

Hi there.  I had surgery in May '05 and my surgeon was Jay Kuhn, with Baystate Surgical Group.  I believe Dr. Coe is with that same group though and I believe most doctors, as well as insurance companies require a six to nine month process whi*****ludes the psych eval as well. 

I had my RNY 6/07 with Dr. John Kasper. I can't say enough about him. I had absolutely no problems. I attribute that to his surgical skill.

I had my surgery RNY with Dr. Munzi.  He has since left the area to work in New York.  He worked in the group with Dr. Coe.  I am currently following up with Dr. Jay Kuhn.  He is great!

Did you get a response to this?  Anyway, Dr Coe has way to long of a wait period.  I had Dr Haag, and he was wonderfull.  His number is 413-781-8118 and the name is Pioneer Valley Surgical Associates at http://www.pvsurgical.com/.  he is with Dr Fiallo.  He was great, and at 100 lbs later I was glad I did it.  I have Health New England insurance and they had to have a phys evaluation and a few seminars to approve me.  But my approval was within 2 weeks of the request.  No problems with them at all.  Contact me if you need more.