Having problems, 6 yrs. postop
Any help will be greatly appreciated!
Cowboy54sgirlj
I know darn well they have them in GA & it shouldnt matter that you had the original procedure in FL. as long as your insu pays for it - its a life threatening issue - then the Drs should do it! Im so sorry this is happening to you.
Have you checked for additional resources/suggestions here (on OH.com)? There are 68 WLS surgeons listed here on the Find A Doctor link.
Whats the nearest five start/ top knotch facility? Go to their main person & see what they say.
Good luck!
The Will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you. 
The Will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.
Any help will be greatly appreciated!
Cowboy54sgirlj
I'm so sorry this is happening to you! I had the exact problem.
We moved from New Orleans to Houston (the medical mecca of the south) after Katrina. At that time, I was approximately 1 year out from RNY.
Soon after relocating (November), I began to have bouts of severe abdominal pain and started searching for a bariatric surgeon to handle any further care. Not a single doctor I contacted would accept me as a new patient.
There is an unspoken (in some cases spoken) rule among surgeons, “You cut them; you own them." They don’t accept another surgeon’s patient because of liability. It was shocking.
I was able to talk with my surgeon and he did not feel from my symptoms that I was in an emergency situation. As the pain worsened and finally reached a point where the quality of my life had been severely affected, I contacted him again. He had gone to medical school with a bariatric surgeon practicing in Houston. He personally called him and asked him to please see me and review my films. He agreed. I brought all of my test results and films to him which, of course showed nothing.
I had a consult with him a few weeks later in April. He concluded there was nothing wrong with me and it was in my head. Really? Um, no. I’m in pain and pain is a signal something is wrong. I asked him about how to manage this pain that had become debilitating. He suggested a pain management physician and said to me, “Mrs. X, there is nothing wrong with you. You need to get over yourself." *sigh*
By mid-May, I could tolerate it no longer and contacted my surgeon in New Orleans. He related the only option at that point was for me to travel back to New Orleans for exploratory surgery. The first week of June, I had exploratory surgery which revealed severe adhesions that undoubtedly were causing the pain as well as an internal hernia. Good thing I listened to my body and not the surgeon in Houston. I have wondered if the Houston surgeon knew that exploratory surgery was the next step but didn't’t suggest it or do it because even though he agreed to see me, he didn’t want the liability of me. He did collect a consult fee. $$$
Later, my surgeon contacted a friend from his internship who agreed to see me about a hernia repair. He saw me but refused to repair it because he is not trained in bariatrics and he was concerned he would find a problem with my altered anatomy and he would not be able to repair it. Couldn’t that have been established when I consulted with his nurse? Why did he agree to see me knowing my anatomy was altered. $$$?
Since, I have had several complications and have required seven (7) additional surgeries for partial bowel obstructions caused by adhesions, a full bowel kink, hernia repair, hernia repair with abdominal mesh installed, and the removal of that mesh replaced. All of my surgeries were done in Louisiana by my original surgeon. On one occasion, I had to endure significant pain for a time until I could travel in the summer to visit my family and also see my surgeon. He examined me around 1:00PM. I told him that if I could please drink some water while he grabbed his stethoscope, he would be able to literally be able to hear the obstruction. He listened and said, "OK, see you in the OR at 5:00PM." Huh? Later, he told me that my lower bowel had completely shut down and I was 24 hours from perforating. Would I still be alive if I had been in Houston and my bowel perforated because the surgeons would all refuse to treat me? I later had another situation where I was inpatient in a Houston hospital and they were literally going to transport me back to Louisiana so my doctor could treat me. I’m certain the same thing would have occurred if my bowel had perforated. Would I have survived the time it would have taken for all the staff surgeons to refuse to treat me and then transport me six (6) hours away? *shudder*
I tell you these things to affirm for you that you *do* need a local surgeon but it's not going to be easy to obtain one as you have discovered. So,
1) Perhaps your original surgeon knows a bariatric surgeon in Atlanta that he personally call and ask for a favor. If he doesn't know off hand, you might submit to him a comprehensive list of bariatric surgeons in your area that he can review. He may recognize a name from college, medical school, or his internship. It's worth a shot. Hopefully, if that works, you'll have a better experience than I did with the surgeon that pulled a favor for my surgeon. Any surgeon in private practice can refuse to treat you. I don't believe they are being faithful to the oath they took or to the profession where "above all, do no harm" but they do have a choice.
2) I was recently informed that bariatric surgeons that are not in private practice but, rather, are affiliated with a teaching hospital or medical training institute, canNOT refuse you as a patient. I'm not familiar with your geographical area or any of the facilities there but a google search revealed that some possibilities in GA *may* be:
Memorial University Medical Center
Medical Center of Central Georgia
Search for medical institutes and/or training facilities.
So, I did an experiment and I called a surgeon's office where the surgeon is affiliated with the largest medical teaching facility here. I spoke with an intake coordinator who took all of my information including complications and was still prepared to make an appointment for a consult. She told me that he would consult with me and that is surgical intervention was necessary, he would perform. I, however, was not able to keep the appointment because I ended up having another complication and had to go back to New Orleans because I had not yet established any patient to doctor relationship with him.
Unfortunately, you may have no choice but to travel to your original surgeon and/or to travel to a nearby large city where a bariatric surgeon affiliated with a teaching/learning facility will be willing to help you.
Your post relates that your original surgeon's wife/nurse said that either in their opinion or per his protocol, you should have been having yearly visits. Did she also inform you that you could not return to him? I can't conceive of any reason why he would not continue to treat you. It would be horribly inconvenient but you need medical attention. Continuing to postpone treatment (not because you wish to but because you are being forced to), could land you in a life or death situation.
You've had testing done. Send all the results and films to your original surgeon and to the other surgeon, if you find one, so he can be familiar with your history prior to your visit.
Feel free to PM me if I can help you further.
I hope that somehow this works out for you. I know what you're going through. It's frustrating and frightening.
I have two sides to my brain - a right side and a left side. The trouble is sometimes there is nothing left in the right side and nothing right in the left side.
Post-Op RNY 6.5 years
HW 252 GW 140 CW 140
