Dr Bertha ???
Hi
Just looking for anyone and everyone's experience with Dr Bertha and his office? Id love to hear the good, bad and ugly.... :-0
I went to his seminar a few months ago and Im in the middle of my 6 month supervised diet..Im extremely anxious..have 3 months left then the ball starts rolling....Due to work reasons and the fact that my husband and I are going on a cruise together ( our children will be with my mother in law) I can not have the surgery until January/February. Im wandering when should I call to make an appt with Dr Bertha..dont want to make it too soon but also do not want to wait. I know he covered it in th eseminar but can anyone tell me what kind of eating schedule you are on after the surgery...liquids..pureed etc....How was your experience with his staff..insurance approval and hospital.
Stacey
If you are talking about Dr. Nicholas Bertha at Advanced laparascopic Sugeons in Florham Park, he is my surgeon and he is fantastic. The staff is very helpful too.
For diet information, i suggest that you go to a support group. On June 12 we get together on St Peters hospital in New Brunswick.
If you have any question, let me know.
Much Love,
Miriam
I love Dr. Bertha and his staff is very experienced and helpful. Dr. Bertha is an excellent surgeon and I am glad my PCP insisted I use him. I have friends who are in the medical field in Morris County and every one of them had heard of Dr. Bertha and confirmed my doctor's confidence in him. The program with their office is very informative. If you use the nutritionist associated with his office, she will give you a booklet at your first meeting that covers all your dietary restrictions. I believe it was liquids for 7-10 days followed by soft foods. By one month I was cleared for all foods. The insurance people there are experts. They are very familiar with what has to be done to get your insurance approval. When I called to check on my insurance submission the woman I spoke to pulled my file and said it was one of the next ones but there were others before me. Of course I understood and she took my numbers and promised to call me back. I was shocked when at 7 PM she called me back to go check to see if she had everything required to submit my paperwork and hopefully get approval (which I did within 10 days). She submitted my package the next day. If you are not having the surgery unt January/February then you could wait until you are done with your six months. He may require additional tests (depending on your health condition, age (I had to have a colonoscopy because I was nearing 50), sex (recent gyn/mammo required), etc. If you really want to shoot for having it at a specific time you would want to get any required testing behind you and finished (you never know what will show up and require further testing - which happened to me). I waited until the end of my six months and then I had to get various tests, some of which lead to more tests and I ended up having surgery about a year later than I originally planned.
Thank you so much for your replies.....
How was the hospital for the both of you?
Hockeymom: Do you suggest I wait to the end of my 6 months? (August-September) How long did the whole process take you begin ( appt..tests..insurance) to end (or beginning :-) surgery)??
Miriam: I was actually thinking of going to another seminar and on their website had seen the one on June 12th...I went to the one at a hotel in Mt Olive and got soooo lost I think St Peters will b emuch easier for me to find...Is the support group meeting the actual seminar or does it take place 1 hr prior?
Stacey
I went to St. Clare's Dover for my RNY. I was not excited about going there but had an excellent experience. I originally wanted Morristown however found the staff at Morristown less than attentive than St. Clare's. I think waiting until you are in your 5th or 6th month would be sufficient since you have a lot of time. I also kept going to my PCP for a few extra months just in case. I had a few "hiccups" which delayed my surgery. When I had the CT to confirm a suspected hernia they discovered something on my kidneys that required me to see an urologist. My original surgery date was July 30 of last year but it ended up being a hernia repair. My next date was October (I planned the dates for when my daughter was coming home from college so she would not be coming home for nothing if surgery did not happen). I ended up having an emergency hernia rerepair about a week before my scheduled surgery. I had to wait at least six weeks before having the RNY but waited until December when my daughter was coming home for break. Between the time of my pre-op and my first original surgery date was about 6 months but I did procrastinate on some of my appointments. I also changed my plan to one with out of network benefits so I could use them and put off the appointments with the Nut and Psych until the switch was made. Know what I know now, I probably would have had my first appointment with him in my 5th month.
Dr. Bertha did my surgery last Monday June 2. I loved everybody at his office and he is terrific. I go back on Wednesday for my post op check and I can't wait. I ended up having mine done at St.Clares although I originally wanted to go to Morristown. However, everybody at St. Clares was wonderful I had such a great experience. Good luck to you.
Hi Stacey
Dr Bertha was my surgeon about 4.5 years ago...I really liked him and his office staff. I had my Lapband put in, in Sept 2002. And lapband removed (erosion) in Jan 2007. Dr Bertha did both. I would have used him for my DS surgery but he doesnt do that procedure so I had to find another surgeron.
Your in good hands with Dr Bertha
Paula
Dr Bertha was my surgeon about 4.5 years ago...I really liked him and his office staff. I had my Lapband put in, in Sept 2002. And lapband removed (erosion) in Jan 2007. Dr Bertha did both. I would have used him for my DS surgery but he doesnt do that procedure so I had to find another surgeron.
Your in good hands with Dr Bertha
Paula
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