New Thread about Weight Loss Surgery Question: New Question!!

I am actually leaning towards a private facility. I guess I just would rather have my surgery done by a specialist...in a private hospital. Being obese is hard enough without having strangers who don't understand what I am going through on the same floor as me. Aside from that, I think that the infection rate is higher in the hospital because there are so many sick patients there. It was recommended on the main board that I go to Barix Clinics, do any of you have information on them? [aside what I have already learned from their website] Gretchen

Morning Gretchen, I will be honest, I went to the BTC now known as Barix last year. They called me and were ready to schedule my surgery until my Hematologist gave them the big NO answer he did. You see, I have a bleeding disorder and he wanted them to have a Hematologist on-site during my surgery just incase something did go wrong. BTC said No way! So he would not allow me to have my surgery there. While the Barix Clinic may be a private facility, you do have to remember they do not have the same equipment available as a hospital does if there is an emergency that needs to be addressed. At the time, it did not scare me, I felt like you did... they are specilist in the field.. now, I think OMG what was I thinking... What if something does go wrong? Now, I am not knocking on Barix, just, I would rather be safe than sorry. I know they have an amazing history with patience and they are held in high esteem so maybe they are the place you need to go to. In addition, there are a number of hospitals that have seperate floors that are dedicated to patients that have WLS. For example, I am currently working on having my surgery done with Dr. Curry out of Deaconess Hospital. They have a floor dedicated to Gastric Bypass patients, we will not mix with the "normal" hospital population at all. This will cut down on illness, people looking at us odd, things of that nature. Now the wrpa up with my decision for Deaconess Hospital...I have the comfort of knowing I will be with people experiencing the same things I will be. I also know if something goes wrong during the surgery I have a hospital full of equipment and people that are specialist in other fields there to be at my aide. Just a thought! Good luck with your decision and welcome to the board.

Hi Gretchen, I live in the area of the Barix Clinics hospital in MI. I actually have many friends who have gone there. They loved it. The surgeons are very qualified as far as the number of surgeries they have done (Dr. Curry doesn't have this listed!). The nurses and support staff are trained to cater to the needs of bariatric patients. At least go meet with the surgeon. Their facility in MI is the only one that I am looking at right now. Private facilities have so many other things that other's don't. For instance, I went to my friend's follow up visit with her last year. Their chairs are bigger than normal chairs so their patients feel comfortable. You have to love that!

Here's my $.02 worth. Many hospitals now have Baritic wings where everyone is trained to work with WLS people. Kettering has done this. There must others I sure. Just keep researching. As other's have stated I would rather be in a FULL hospital if anything goes wrong. You have all the equiptment and docs there if you need them. You might look into Dr Magiure, Dr.Hadley & Dr. Anderson. Here's their main web site just put the www. in front newlifesurgery.org/ Here's their site here http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/forums/index.phtml?ID=TR-k134 Keep those questions coming. Good Luck, Robin W 218/144.5/120-115

Personally, I chose Barix/BTC because they are specialized. Yes, if there is a dire emergency that they can not handle there, they will transport you to another facility. However, I took into consideration my overall good health and their extremely low complication rate and decided that it would be the best place for me. I like the 24 hr/365 day a year access to nurses/dieticians as well as the huge amount of information provided to me during the process. The staff was great - some of the nurses have had the surgery themselves and they are all the most caring bunch of people I've ever seen in my life. Whenever I've been in the hospital before, I felt like I was being a burden because of the way the nurses acted, at BTC, they acted like it was their pleasure to help you along your journey. Don't get me wrong - it wasn't easy - they enjoyed getting us up at 2:00am to walk....Anyway - I literally cried when I left there because I truly felt I was leaving friends. I'm sure BTC isn't the right decision for everybody for many different reasons, however, it was definitely the right decision for me.

I have had plenty of hospital stays to understand what you mean about the nurses being less than helpful/ friendly. It is nice to know that a specialty hospital would be more accomodating and the nurses would also know what you are going through. They would be more empathetic. Like I said, I am definitely leaning towards a private hospital rather than a public one. Gretchen

It's me again! I e-mailed you about the doctor in Kettering Dr. Fallang. In the beginning I was thinking about having it done at the BTC but they weren't helpful at all. I called to get some information from them and they asked what kind of insurance I had and as soon as I told them that I had Anthem they were done talking with me and said it wasn't worth it. It just shocked me how they didn't want to do anything to help. I have been to the information session that Dr. Fallang does and he is very detailed everything. Him and his staff are willing to do anything and everything they can to help you get approved insurance wise and if you can't get approved their cost is cheaper by almost $10,000 than BTC. Just some thoughts.

Well, I can see that it would be a waste of time to go through the process and find out that your insurance won't cover the procedure, or that the hospital couldn't take you anyway. I know that it will be difficult doctors. I am not too worried about cost at this point. Once I find the right place, I will be willing to pay whatever is necessary. It is my life after all...and I want to do this the right way, not the fast way. Gretchen

Hi Gretchen, I saw your post a couple days ago and I started to recommend BTC to you at that point... I decided to definitely write to you this time ..since you are interested in a private facility! I had my surgery done at Barix.. on 1/21/04.... i love this place... If I had it to do again I wouldn't change a thing! they made me feel so cared for and special. I would not be overly concerned about the lack of emergency services on site...for two reason: 1. they do and evaluation of you to ensure that you are not high risk and potentially won't have a need for extraordinary measures... 2. there are several emergency hospitals in close proximity should something unforseen occur. I was anemic when i went in for my Pre-admission testing... my surgery date was scratched and I had to see a hemotologist to be cleared before they would do my surgery too. when i got the all clear and that nothing was wrong... my surgery was scheduled... they take every measure to ensure that you will have a successful surgery. And as other posts have shared ... the entire staff is there to help you with your needs.... The patient nurse ratio is very small and they have the time to care for you and talk to you to answer any of the questions you might have as you recover in the facility. I learned a lot from them just by being there. The thing I like most is that i will be a patient there for life.. I appreciate their after care program...I feel I will always have a direct source of information about my WLS. I can pick up the phone and ask for assistance and advice from the doctors, nurses, and the nutrition staff. I belong to a support group in Mansfield (45 minutes away from you!) that meets and is sponsored by BTC (barix). Feel free to email me with any specific questions... I say go for it! and good luck with whatever facility you decide to choose! Venita

gretchen- i have to confess taht i did not read yesterday's thread - but- i had my surgery at barix-will always call it btc i'm sure- on march 26th this year- dr stelmack--i loved the place and it's an almost 2 hour drive for me! i would highly recommend their facility tho there are some issues with insurances- depending on who you have ( ins i mean) --i give the entire staff a big gold star and would go back in a minute-- good luck to you whatever /wherever you decide to go!