Question:
Who here sees Dr Rosenthal & Dr Szomstein in Weston, FL's Cleveland Clinic?

I have my consultation appointment with Dr Szomstein (Dr Rosenthal's associate) at Cleveland Clinic in Weston, FL next Tuesday (8/6/02 woohoo!) Now my questions: 1. What's the next step after consultation? 2. What does this group do to send your paperwork off for insurance approval (mine is Florida medicaid)? 3. How much Pre-Op testing do these doctors require before scheduling a surgery date? 4. Any idea of timeframe for actual surgery from date of first consult? Any specifics on this group would be great, thank you so much! :-)    — thumpiez (posted on August 2, 2002)

August 2, 2002
Hi, I also saw Dr R. & Dr S., they are both great gentlemen to deal with. In terms of the preop requirements, it depends on the individualls, after you see them then you go for your blood work, ekg, phys consult, nutritionist consult, etc. etc. etc. It also depends on the indivdual as to how long this all takes and they will coordinate most of the paperwork, between the different agencies, doctors, labs, etc. One thing you may want to do is get all your labs and consultations done at their facility as this makes it easier for them to gather the information. I can not give you any information on the timeframe because mine is taking longer than I thought, but this is partially my fault.
   — sharon E.

August 3, 2002
Hi there, I am also seeing Dr. R. He is wonderful! This is how my ordeal went after my initial consult. First, they give you a bunch of prescriptions for tests then I made all of my appointments for testing right after my appt with the receptionist. She made mosst of them all in one day. Dr Uklia (sp) the gastro Dr. is always really booked so I had to wait a while for him. For me Dr. R required an upper gi, chest xray, ekg, and sonogram. Then a pulminary evaluation, and consults with anesthesiologist, cardiologist, pulminologist, gastro, nutritianist and then a sleep apnea test. The whole thing took about 8 weeks. My date is Oct 2. Good Luck to you, Debbie
   — Debbie F.