Question:
I made two appointments for surgeons, one in Nov and one in December

I wanted to see which surgeon could give me the soonest wls surgery date. They are both covered under my insurance, but how do I work it with my referral? Will I have to pay for one surgeons visit and not the other?    — debbie W. (posted on August 10, 2003)

August 10, 2003
No wonder that there are so many pre-ops complaining about the long wait for initial consults when we have people like you making two appointments with two different surgeons... <p> Frankly, I don't see what the hurry for everyone is. For some people who are changing insurance companies, yes, but simply to get the "soonest wls surgery date"???? You didn't put this weight on overnight, you shouldn't expect to get the surgery overnight either... <p> When I called the surgeon I wanted to do my WLS back in October 2001, I was given an appointment in April 2002 for my initial consult. I never gave a 2nd thought to calling around for another surgeon to get an earlier consult date. I used that time to research this surgery. It was another 3 months after the consult before I had the surgery. <p> Personally, I think that you should make up your mind now which surgeon that you want to perform your operation and then be courteous and cancel the other appointment so that another person desiring a consult may be able to get an earlier date...JR (open RNY 07/17/02 -185 pounds)
   — John Rushton

August 10, 2003
Hi. I think it would be better if you would just call and ask them how far ahead they are scheduling surgeries. My surgeon told me that they schedule one month ahead, so once all your testing is done you can expect to have surgery in a month. I think it would be easier to go with only one with insurance and testing and everything. You don't want to have to do everything twice. Also, I would research both and see which one you are more comfortable with. You don't want the surgery to be rushed. I completely understand what you are talking about trying to get a date asap. But I have been working on this since April and don't have a date yet. I just completed all my testing and hope to get a date sometime this week. :)
   — AmyWollet

August 10, 2003
Is this fair to all of us who have to wait and wait and wait for an opening
   — robinm

August 10, 2003
I don't have a problem with your having 2 appointments. However, I do have a problem with your REASON. Just wanting to get your surgery done ASAP, in my opinion is not a justifiable reason. If you were really doing research and wanting to know which surgeon you felt most comfortable with, which post op after care was better, which one would do the type of procedure you were looking for,etc..., I would call you wise to consult with both. However, to just get it done faster is pretty lame... Now to your question, I would go to the first appointment then ask for the referral to the second appointment. That way, it will appear to be for a second opinion. You are not required to accept the opinion or recommendation of the first surgeon. You do have choices. However, I would ask for the referral to #2 after appointment with #1. Shelley
   — Shelley.

August 10, 2003
Hi Debbie- If your only considering who can give you the soonest date, it probably would be simpler just to call the office, as one poster already said. I made appointments with 2 surgeons, because I wanted to see who I felt the most comfortable with, what type of surgery each recommended, who had the most on the ball staff, etc. I also did my homework as to checking out both surgeon's histories. I have to admit the soonest surgical date was on my mind too, but more on the back burner. I ended up chosing the surgeon who couldn't do it the soonest because I felt the most comfortable with him and he passed my tests with flying colors :o) Good Luck! Mea
   — Mea A.

August 10, 2003
I'm with most of the others. You need to be selecting your surgeon based on skill, experience, reputation etc. It is important to have a good repore (sp?) with him or her. I also wanted my surgery fast and was able to accomplish it but I did not compromise on the surgeon I wanted. I wanted LAP really bad but he would not do it on me with a 65 BMI, so I chose the surgeon over LAP. This was THE surgoen for me and THE post-op plan for me. That is something one needs to look into also, as some post-op plans I would not have been able to live with. <p>Check out both surgeons and find some post-ops through websites and learn all you can, then chose that appointment. I'm not at all opposed to a 2nd opinion and if you are not comfortable with the first one then it will be necessary to go elsewhere, but you should be able to 95% figure that out ahead of time.
   — zoedogcbr

August 10, 2003
Perhaps the surgeons offer wight loss surgery orientation seminars. Instead of wasting my time with two surgeon appointments, I went to two different seminars. That way I could hear two different surgeons speak, get extra info and handouts, hear the side effects, complications, etc., and also ask questions of the two surgeons--including the important when are you scheduling. I actually sumitted tow separate packages--and picked the surgeon based on their response to my aplication--and the fact that one had dropped my insurance--big blue--in the meantime. I am 4 months out and down 96 pounds since the first seminar. I used the wait time to go on a protein diet to get used to the shakes. Lost 32 ounds before surgery. Made it that much easier to get out of bed after open RNY.
   — Margaret S.