Question:
Does anyone have a surgeon that hasn't been in WLS field long?

I would like to know your input because I have been told my surgeon is very skilled at what he does and has only performed 18 surgeries. My GYN highly recommended him and that's one main reason I am going to my surgeon. He even did major surgery on me so I look up to him. PLEASE EMAIL ME AND LET ME KNOW YOUR OPINION ON THIS....    — Nicole H. (posted on May 7, 2002)

May 7, 2002
Here's my opinion! Follow your heart!!! I say this because I did not have anyone to recommend a surgeon to me so I used the ASBS members list in Texas and compared it to the United HealthCare list. There is a Senior Member of ASBS in Houston, but that's a 3.5 hour drive, so I concentrated on the surgeons in San Antonio. I had just a couple to choose from. I then read here on AMOS all the profiles I could find for each of those surgeons and I made my choice based on what I read and how I felt about what I read. You however seem to have someone recommending a surgeon to you. When you meet the surgeon at your consultation appointment, see how you feel and go with it! Many surgeons start out doing general surgery and then find the area they want to specialize in. Your surgeon may have only done a few WLS surgeries, but I'm sure he's done hundreds of surgeries for your GYN to know him! But don't feel you have to go with him either! If after you meet him you don't feel comfortable, then you can find another surgeon and have all of your records sent to him! Good luck!
   — blank first name B.

May 7, 2002
Follow your heart is good advice. I will tell you my experience. I was RNY patient number 6 (on april 8, 2002) for my surgeon. He is a very skilled and competent laproscopic general surgeon and he is easing into the WLS field. He was wonderful. I truly felt like I got better care with him because he was new at these. He was extra cautious because this wasn't something he was that familiar with. I felt like he checked and double checked and listened very closely to my comments and complaints. He came to the hospital personally 2 times per day to check on me. And his assistant (also a surgeon- assisted during surgery) came one time per day, and then they also sent their personal office nurse to check on me EACH DAY. At one week post op he took out my drain and a few days later I got very feverish with chills, etc. He checked first for urinary infection, and then for pneumonia (through chest xray) and then my white blood cell count. Since none of neither of those seemed to be to blame, He hospitalized me to check for a leak. He came to the hospital in the middle of the night to meet the radiologist so they could look over my abdominal cat scan together. I felt VERY WELL cared for. (In the end, they could not find any reason why my white blood cell count was so high, and why I had a fever and chills,--he suspected possibly a wound infection where the drain was) I was kept for observation, and put on fluids and antibiotics. Anyway, I hope my experience helps you in your decision. It was kinda scary for me at first to use this surgeon. But he has such a good rep as a general surgeon and after my initial appointment, I got a good feeling about him and his practice. I hope things work out for you.
   — A. S.

May 7, 2002
I had a fairly new surgeon do my open RNY about 9 weeks ago. I did my homework and he was very highly recommended by my PCP and others. I was very satisfied with the surgery end of things, but he really didn't know what to do as far as follow-up care. Furtunately my wife had been through this before and I was able to use her info for follow-up instructions and her sergeon (I would have used him but he got called up to reserves right before I got approved) has agreed to give me follow-up blood work, etc., after he gets back later this year. Again I would agree with the other posters and go with what you think is right. My surgeon was very thorough with the surgery making sure that there wasn't any problems. I have heard some people complain about "assebly line bariatric surgeons" and worry that they may get careless. So follow your instincts on what you feel is right.
   — Dell H.

May 7, 2002
My surgeon was fairly new, had done 30 surgeries when I went to him. He had been a general surgeon for many years though, and I liked him so I went w/it. He was wonderful. I would also agree w/what a previous poster said about after care tho. He's still working on getting a support group together, and a nutritionist to work w/him. You do already have a wonderful support structure right here, so I'd say go for it if you feel confident in their abilities.
   — GGinMA

May 7, 2002
Her's my opinion... I went with the surgeon with a great deal of experiance. He was at ease and a great bedside manner. If there were any complications (there were none) I feel that he would take care of them. In the operating room the whole team seemed to me like a well oiled machine. ------Good Luck
   — Robert L.

May 8, 2002
My surgeon had only done 70 of these surgeries and most were done during residence school. Yes I was very nervous but after meeeting him and seeing how caring he was I knew this is who I wanted to go with. I also had consultations with BTC in Belvidere, IL but after not getting return phone calls from them I knew I had made the right decision. My surgeon came in to the room before they took me to surgery and met my family introduced himself and kindof explained again what was happening. He also was right their in the xray room during my leak test. The day I went home he personally came in and changed my bandages for me. He has an excellent support group each month. I would highly recommend a "newer" surgeon because they are going to be more caustious and I feel they are more up to date with the times being fresh out of school. Good luck on whatever decision you make. Rk LAP RNY 4-9-02
   — Robin B.

May 8, 2002
My surgeon had only done about 50 when I met him. I went in as a self-pay so I interviewed doctors/surgeons from across my state. Although he only had a small number under his belt, after meeting with him, I felt confident. I went into a lot of details on my meeting with him after I chose him - it's on my profile under the doctor section. I asked him, before choosing, if he was a surgeon of other things as well - I found out how much experience he had and I asked around to hospital personnel while I was there what they knew about him. He had an excellent reputation and that on top of my personal 'read' on him, I knew he was the right person for me. Good luck w/your question - I too had surgery on 04/09/02 - lap RNY. Lisa Jordan (L.J.)
   — Lisa J.