I wish I hadn't went to the Centennial Seminar!!!

The gentlmans name is Christian and he is a nurse practitioner.  He is very good at what he does.  The first meeting is one on one where he does a full assessment and then answers all your questions.  They have a process that seems to work.  I had Dr. Torquati but I know that he is leaving.  I have had nothing but quick response.  Everyone I have spoken with at the support groups and beyond have been pleased with their experience. If this initial process is already causing this much grief and heartache, maybe you should rethink having the surgery.  Believe it or not, this is the easy part.  After the surgery it gets tougher.  I wanted the surgery so bad, I would jump thru any and every hoop to do whatever they asked to get it.  My surgery was sheduled within 1 month of my insurance approval.  I felt really prepared after making all the nut and doc visits prior to.  Vandy is a center of excellence by the asbs and that is not taken lightly.  I researched my surgeon and was confident that he was very good. By all means, go to where you feel comfortable.  But you need to know that in most cases you will have to do the work, not the surgeon.  Paula

Hi Angie. I am sorry you had such a bad experience at Vandy. That is really strange. I went through Vandy and it was not like that. Actually, the before care -with insurance approval and testing could have been better but the surgeon (Dr Torquati) and the aftercare programs were wonderful. I know you mentioned the thing about seeing Christian to get "approved" for the surgery. You have to see a Dr at every hospital who will "approve" you for surgery. Pretty much everyone will get the go ahead from the Dr but if a Dr or hospital thinks you are not a good canditate for whatever reason, then that hospital will not do the surgery. They just like to meet you to find out what your medical probelms are, to make sure you have a large enough BMI and to make sure there isn't anything in your medial history that would hurt you from having this surgery. That is not just a Vandy thing. I am not sure why they would tell you 8 months to a year. I think they meant an average for their patients because of all of the tests you have to go through and the possible 6 month diet. But, you usually get in to see the Dr really quickly and the surgery is normally scheduled within 3-4 weeks from insurance approval. I did have to pay $250 for the nutritionist visits since that was not covered by my insurance. Also, you are only "required" to see the nutritionist 5 times but she is there for you as many times as you need her for free for the first year from surgery. After that, I believe you have to pay your co-payment or pay for it. During the seminar, the surgeon or Dr doing it will not talk to you about insurance and self payments. He is not really "allowed" to or informed enough for that. The insurance lady should have took over for that. I am not sure why she didn't give you more info. I did have to do call and make sure Vandy got all of my paperwork myself and to make sure it was submitted and going through. I did not like that part of it but truth be told, I would have done that with whatever hospital I went to. The truth is, you have to put a lot of work into paperwork and stuff in order to get this surgery done no matter what hosptial you use and I just took it upon myself to make sure it was getting done instead of leaving it up to them. So I do agree with you about Vandys insurance people and the way that works but after you get approved and get through that stuff, the surgeons and aftercare program are great. I would not have changed having Dr Torquati for anything.  But you have to find the surgeon and hospital that works for you. This is a life long program and you have to find the Dr and hospital that you can have a good relationship with and that will work for you. Not everyone looks for the same qualities. I can get over the "before-care" and insurance crap at vanderbilt to use Dr Torquait and the aftercare program. But that may not be for you. I hope you find the right hospital and Dr for you. Good luck!

My experience with Vanderbilt has been totally the opposite of what you are describing.  Christian is the NP and he is wonderful.  Dr. Torquati is my surgeon and I don't have a single complaint against him.  I had a couple of issues early on and had to call him after hours.  I got a call back both times in less than an hour. He himself called and met me at the hospital.  I really hate to see him go.