Surgeon in my area?
I did post this in my CA board with no luck. Maybe there are people in other areas who have dealt with a great surgeon in CA? Please let me know if you have :) here is my previous CA post! thank you and sorry if you've already read it before ;) heh heh.
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First off, I want to thank everyone who has been sending me such wonderful e-mails/posts...it's very heart-warming to know other people are going through the same thing I am. You are all an inspiration.
Well, I am continually reading up on EVERYTHING that I can (yes..I feel addicted to WLS knowledge! hahah). I have made up my mind on the surgery and I just need to figure out where to begin. I did start with calling my insurance today, however. Bariatric RNY IS covered in my plan, based on medical necessity of course! I heard of a great surgeon RIGHT next to me (practically!) and unfortunately he is NOT a part of my Greatwest PPO network. My insurance said he was in network, but I guess the surgeon office said they often make mistakes and don't understand coverage. She was very knowledgeable at the surgeon office and said she knows of all the contracted insurances. So, they said I would have to pay 3,200$ to the center alone. That is, of course, along with the fact my insurance will only cover a portion for a out-of-network provider. So, I am trying to not get attached to the great surgeon's I hear so many positive things about and do the research on them. haha. That doctor was dr. Milton Owens, by the way. So, I am just looking for a GREAT/REPUTABLE surgeon near me (San Pedro) that is in my network. Anybody have any good luck?? Also, I am searching for a new PCP near my area (as you might remember..my current one is NOT supportive of the surgery *sigh*). i know, one thing at a time! haha. I was told (by insurance) to see a in-network surgeon first, then they will determine the authorization steps with my insurance. I then go to my PCP to do all the tests needed. Sound about right?? heh heh. I also hope to find great support groups EVERYWHERE and visit as many as possible. I'm so excited to meet people who are going through this process and who have already been through it.
I just want to find out more info (day by day) and just get a start on the whole process. I am sure it will be VERY time consuming and a life change journey. I welcome it with open arms and am happy there are others that are helping me and taking that journey with me :) I hope you all had a great week and have a safe/happy weekend.
C'mon down here to Orange County. My surgeon is in Fountain Valley, goes by the name Dr. Peter LePort.
I don't know that he'll be in your network, but you couldn't find a better surgeon if you had to.
Here I am, about a month shy of being a year out of my surgery, started out at 652, and I'm down 350 lbs.
Send me a PM if you want the contact info.
Good luck!
I started my search by going to my insurance's website. You could do a search of doctors that accepted my insurance by surgery performed, and it would list a number of facts, including distance from my home, number of covered surgeries performed, and average hospital stay. Number performed avoids the hassle of finding a great doc who won't/doesn't know how to file with your insurance. It's also a strong indicator of experience (especially if your insurance is one of the big providers like BCBS). I eliminated docs who had done less than 150 with my insurance, and also eliminated docs whose hospital stays exceeded 2.4 days on average (plus a couple whose average stays were under 1.7).
That left me six docs in the state (small state), and I then looked closer at their educations (eliminated one foreign med school guy, kept another because he had done his residency at Duke), length of time practicing (not to young, not too old), and home hospital (didn't want a small-town facility). I also did a search for medical malpractice lawsuits and any licensing disciplinary actions.
Down to three, I called and scheduled the free pre-surgery information session with all three, but also looked at their reviews on OH and googled them (I don't give much value to "he was really caring" type-reviews, since I don't care if my doctor "knows I'm a person" as long as he has talent and a God complex that makes him want to be perfect). I also asked a couple doctor friends to ask around for names. In the end, one name came up the most often, and he also happened to be the doc that had done successful surgeries on my aunt and uncle (most people would have started and ended with that information, but I'm picky about being cut open). But the nice thing about my research process was I had two other docs ready to go in the event I wanted to make a switch for some reason.
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