Stop bashing Dr Weber

Waving to Derek and Rachel... Ok, now for my .02 worth. I think Dr. Weber is a great Surgeon. I have a story to tell that I don't think I've mentioned before. At my pre-surgery hospital appt. where I met with the Nurse in charge of the Surgical Unit she told me and I quote "Dr. Weber is a terrific Dr. if I ever needed ANY type of surgery, I'd want him to perform it!" My MIL was with me at this appt. and she was a bit leary about my surgery but after what that Nurse said, she told me she felt more at ease about the whole thing. He's been doing this surgery for a lot more years than ones that are more recently performing it so that was a major factor in me deciding to go w/him. Having said that, I do believe calls need to be returned when a patient is having difficulties, so far I've had none so I can't speak from experience. Everyone has their own experiences and usually, as in almost all forms of customer service, usually the ones w/bad experiences to share are the ones who usually do share...it's just a fact of life IMHO.

Derek, Good to see your face on the boards again! I hope soon we get an update on your progress! It's been a while. Welcome back! I think you hit on a HOT topic here, hhm?! Lots of people have something to say. Me included. I am a Weber patient. I have noticed that here on OH, in local support groups and on the yahoo boards Weber is usually spoken in very high regard. Most OH profiles of his patients sport rave reviews of him. One doesn't have to dig deep to find a good word or two about DrW. The man is not lacking in fans! I agree with Hat and others *****mind us that this is an open forum where we express our opinions and experiences. They are what they are. ***I don't think that we should hold back because our experience/opinion is not POPULAR!*** That just seems terribly wrong. There is a difference between bashing and telling it like it is. I don't think anyone is guilty of bashing. DrW is an excellent surgeon! If the stats that he presents at his orientation are true then he's truly cream of the crop. I'm still sometimes surprised at people's reviews of him. DrW performs the surgery, but WE live the postop life. WE eat less food. WE throw up. WE get scoped. WE learn and embrace a new relationship with eating. WE change our minds and emotions about food. WE overcome. Contrary to other reviews, I am not *in love* with the man. He's not my hero and he's certainly no god, he's a surgeon who provided me with a great service for which he was well paid. He performed a lifesaving surgery on me for which I am exceedingly grateful and extremely pleased. YET... my experience is (also) that DrW's bedside manner lacks - hugely. Frequently, his ego enters the room before he does and lingers long after like stale perfume. I believe he really does care about his patients, but has too many to provide each the same level of care. I also think that his staff is overworked. I wish I had known those things before selecting him as my doc. I would still have selected him - gladly! But I also would have been braced for some of my encounters with him that were more difficult. It seems to me that some patients get the best of him ("he walked the halls with me in the hospital saying 'let's do one more lap' ") while others get overlooked entirely (no return calls or emails on medical concerns). I don't think it's intentional on his part, I think it comes down to his availability at each moment. Too busy -- no call back. If he has a min - he'll make you feel like you are his only patient. You are right, there is only ONE of him... so he should take on the patient load of ONE doctor. A waiting list is completely acceptable. I'd rather be on a waiting list for exceptional care, than be crammed in and possibily neglected. I was extremely disappointed to only see DrW for a brief 3 min visit in the hospital. Based on all those rave reviews, one can see why I might be. Had a read about the woman who was dressed and ready to be released at (as DrW indicated) 12noon but had to wait 5 hours because he never showed (he eventually released her by phone - not standard) -- I might have had more realistic idea of what to expect of him during my hospital stay. I am glad that I am well connected in this site, because DrW's aftercare and post-surgery instruction/information (what's with the doggy cartoons?) did little to nothing to get me through. This might be true for half the doctors out there, but isn't it helpful to know beforehand? Most people take what they read here with a grain of salt. Everybody is unique and everyone's experience is different. People's perspectives have a huge impact on their experiences. Opinions are just that. Patient reviews are helpful to those trying to choose a doc. I have not posted my review of DrW yet. The jury is still out on a few factors. As a surgeon, tho, he gets an A+! I love my little 3" scar and everything seems to be just as it should be on my insides. I DO consider myself lucky. DrW is a fine surgeon and I'll happily repeat the oft-touted things that make him an excellent choice: His requirements (exercise) for patient candidacy sets patients on a course for success long before they ever get on the table; his staff, while overworked, are professional and work hard to get an approval for each patient; DrW is a well respected surgeon who has performed this surgery on thousands with an apparent excellent track record, he has selected what he believes are the best of the WLSurgical options (RNY vs other WLS, transect or not, open or lap, removal of the gall bladder) for his standard surgery - selection of each option is based on his experience with it's long term success, not patient preference. Now as for DrW being a "pioneer"... perhaps, back in the day. The fact that laparoscopic is not an option for his patients is a big con, if you ask me. Seeing friends recoup from lap is an eye opener! They heal sooo much better/faster. DrW has specific reasons he does not perform lap. I question his reasons tho - I wonder if it isn't because he lacks practice in this method. Is it possible that the latest trend in compaints is an indication of decline of DrW's care? How else would we know if people don't talk about their experiences? QOTD: Now, can anyone guess which postop patient is attending Monday's seminar?? Happy, snowy Sunday! Nancy 276/188/150?

I think that is important for people who are considering this surgery to hear all of the stories and not just the wonderful, everyone is losing weight and had life changing experience stories. That is why these boards are here, for the unvarnished truth. Many people see on paper how many surgeries Dr. Weber has performed and how many patients he has lost. Granted it is lower than a lot of surgeons but what you aren't seeing is the patients that spend months in the hospital, in ICU, on respirators, oxygen, feeding tubes, and various other machines due to a certain amount of incompetence. Yes there are risks with this surgery, yes it should be considered very carefully, but post-op care is extremely important and patients should be able to get ahold of their surgeons with their concerns as soon as possible, not have to wait days and sometimetimes even weeks before their concerns are addressed. Another thing you won't see on paper is the number of incidences of post-op leaks, bowel reconstructions, intestinal reconstructions, lesions,and other incidences that happen to his patients due to lack of care. If there is only 1 of him to go around, maybe he shouldn't over book himself and limit the number of people he treats. Perhaps because people have started to think of him as a god, he himself has also staring to think this way. His mortality rate may appear to be nonexistent, but you won't see the ones listed that are litigated and settled out of court! I really can't believe in this day and age that people rely solely on what they see on a printed piece of paper instead of looking at the human side of things and seeing all of the patients that have been hurt, physically and mentally damaged by this surgeon and those who will never have the life they were promised, due to his possible negligence. We are all entitled to tell our side of things without the worry of being flamed. If there is something that bothers us on the board, we may choose to simply not respond to it. I am glad that your wife had a great experience with him, but there are many, many more, that had quite the opposite!

Hi Derek, I don't think we have meet on here before. Hi, I'm Arlene. I guess you are talking about me and my complaints? I'm not bashing Dr Weber. Just telling it like it is. Yes, I did have my surgery on Nov 19th. By Dr Weber. Everything seemed to go ok. But then when I started eating pureed foods, guess what. They all come back up. This has been going on since about a week after surgery. Doesn't matter what I eat it all comes back up. Ok, as of today I am 7 1/2 weeks postop. Would you wait that long and longer if you couldn't eat to get help. Well, I asked for it at three weeks out. The only one who would talk to me about it was Edie. The only thing she wanted me to do is drink mineral oil for 3 days which I did. That did not solve the problem. So do you know what she wanted me to do? Stay in the hospital for the rest of the eight weeks. Would you want to do that? I don't even think she mentioned to Dr Weber I was having problems. He never called to reasure me things were ok. I never heard from him at all. When I went to my appointment that should have been my eight week postop, (it ended up being 7 weeks postop), his reply to me about not being able to eat was "Well your loosing weight right?" Nothing about getting any help with the matter. So how long do you think he would have let me go on like that? My next appointment was another 2 months away. Do you think I should have waited that long to seek help? Ask any other barriatric surgeon if that is normal. Would they wait that long to seek help. Well I can tell you NO. I was told by another barriatric surgeon to seek help ASAP. It's not normal. Consider your self lucky you didn't have any problems. I wish I could be one of those. I'm very tired of talking to the porcellan god. I just want to be able to eat something someday. After 2 months of not eating, wouldn't you be that way? I guess it's time I read your profile. Arlene

Arlene, No, I was not singling you out. I do understand what you are going through my wife Rachael throws up everyday and has had many of the same problems you have had. As far as what any other bariatric surgeon would do I have some input. My Doc NEVER contacted me post op and I have had zero post op support. So you are not alone there. at least you know who your surgeon is. On my surgery day I was introduced to my "new doctor" gotta love the military. Well I need to cut it short because I need to defend myself to all the other women whom I have offended. Derek

WOW! You and your wife sound like very angry people. But I only have three words, FREEDOM OF SPEECH! So you lay off and quit trying to take away someone's constitutional right. People have their opinions, just because you don't like it, doesn't mean their's isn't a valid point.