Question:
How do I find more information?

I am thinking of having Doctor Nickols in Redding, CA. do my surgery. But so far he has not registered much information here, and so far I have olny found one person who has had him for a surgeon. How can I find more information about him? I called the office and they told me a little, like he has only done 21 surgeries, and has only been doing this surgery since Nov. 2002. But I would like to find more. Thanks for any help anybody can give me.    — tig797 (posted on May 12, 2003)

May 12, 2003
I am having Dr. Nichols and Dr. Stone do my surgery. Did you go to the group meeting through Redding Medical (Diane Livingston)? She should be able to provide you with additional information about him. I have a co-worker who had the surgery done 3/03 by these two doctors and she is very satisfied with their work. You might also contact the state medical board to get more information about him in general. If you are nervous about the small number of surgeries they have done, you may want to consider another surgeon that is more experienced like several other of my co-workers that have had the surgery (they had theirs done before Dr. Nichols started doing wls in Redding).
   — tntwildlife77

May 12, 2003
i think you have enough info...i would look for a doctor with more experience!! 21 surgeries..that is not much of a track record....good luck
   — nan K.

May 12, 2003
I agree with the previous poster, 21 operation is NOT enough. I personally would prefer someone more experienced. Having said that, you can purchase reports about surgeons on-line...it will give you thier track record and educational/practice info. And it only costs about $6.00. Go to www.healthgrades.com for further information. I looked up 8 doctors (the more u search for, the cheaper each gets) AND IT WAS WELL WORTH THE MONEY !!!! Just imagine, the doctor who was top of my list, DR. JOSEPH AFRAM (he was supposedly the longest in practice), turned out to be NOT BOARD CERTIFIED !!!! I would have never known if i didn't buy the report. So i decided to go elsewhere. I even got a free comparison of all 8, and chose my fav. 3. Maybe you can get more info about Dr.Nickols at the site. I wish you the best of luck !! xoxo
   — Laura R.

May 12, 2003
I just wanted to say thank you to everybody that has answered my question. You have given me things to think about, and places to look. I found out I cant have the surgery until after Nov. 1st because I was a smoker up till May 1st and I have to be a nonsmoker for 6 months. So I am sure he will have done many more surgeries by then. Thank again.
   — tig797