Question:
Has anyone had the surgery performed at a military hospital. If so,

which hospital. Also, what types of support was available to you before and after the surgery?    — [Anonymous] (posted on January 14, 2002)

January 14, 2002
Hi, I had my surgery in November at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, VA. I can only say excellent things about them. They are very thorough in pre-testing, qualifying. They have a mandatory 4-hour orientation which is super informative. The also hold a support group meeting monthly which the surgeon and nutritionist ALWAYS attend. They encourage attending the meetings way before surgery (my wait was 8 months), and of course post-op also. I have monthly appts. with the surgeon and they check bloodwork at each appointment to make sure everything is up to par. I've had 2 strictures and they have gotten me in by the next morning to get dilated. They are really on top of things. And best of all, I pay no bill!!
   — Cheri M.

January 14, 2002
HI! I had my surgury in August at Martin Army Hospital, Fort Benning GA and have only wonderful things to report. They were very thorough with regards to pre-op testing and had a mandatory 5 week course with a nutritionist on emotional eating prior to surgury. They also offer monthly support meetings for pre-and-post ops. My hospital stay was met with good care (Especially in ICU) and my only complaint is that I wanted to go home earlier than I was released....I had a very easy time with ths surgury. The surgury performed was the resectional gastric bypass- like the RNY only they remove the transected stomach. Follow up care with my surgeon has been great and my PCP followed my progress and also came to visit while I was recovering. My progress has been good - Open 8/24 -97lbs was 291 now 194! Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have!
   — Jo Ann Y.

February 13, 2002
Had mine done at Walter Reed. The surgeon, Dr. Marley, is WONDERFUL and so is his staff. I wish the same could be said of the nursing staff on the ward. There were only 3 people (out of about 20) who seemed to care about how they performed their job, and 2 that seemed to care about about the patient. The other nurses, techs, didn't care if you were in pain and frequently ignored pleas for help, even putting the call button where it couldn't possibly be reached several times. It was just adding insult to injury. Here you are just having had major surgery, you're feeling miserable and the lack of care was awful! I can only hope that it isn't that bad anymore and no one will have to suffer in any way, either physically, emotionally or both.
   — [Anonymous]