Christiana Institute of Advanced Surgery Bariatric Center
Dr. Peters is the utmost best doc I've ever dealt with. My surgery ran late on Monday Jan 26, 2015. Dr. Peters personally apologized for it. Checked on me both days after surgery and was shocked that I was up, moving around, getting in fluids as I was told to do. He called me a "rockstar"..... He's the rockstar. Dr. Peters has giving me my life back. It's up to me what I do with the tool he gave me.
Once I went to the info session, I pretty much had my mind made up. Dr. Irgau did a good job of making everyone feel comfortable and answered as many questions as we had, despite the level of question.
Once I had my consultation visit I was able to ask him questions more specific to my case.
Disclaimer: I don't need to feel warm and fuzzy with my doctor. I do most of the research on my own and then ask the doctor for clarification on certain issues.
With that being said, after you've met with the Doctor for your initial consult, things move very quickly. Chrias gives you a bunch of appointments that are just about impossible to navigate since you won't have firm dates. The appointments are with different doctors and need to occur in certain time frames. Chrias could have done a much better job with that part. Perhaps a road map with everything you need to do for your insurance would have been much better. Once you get with PMRI, you have a much better idea of what's going on. So, expect to feel like what in the world just happened once you leave your initial consult. Also, you may not see Dr. Irgau again until your endoscopy.
To be honest the whole thing reminds me of the term "fat farm". There are so many people in the sessions that you realize just how many patients he has at any given time. In order to handle the case load you have to be efficient.
Half the time did I feel like he was giving me that weird look you get when someone knows you, but doesn't know where they know you from? Yes. Did I feel like my pockets were getting fleeced by PMRI and chrias? Yes. Did I feel like Dr. Irgau has learned that the secret to earning top pay as a doctor these days is efficiency and volume? Yes. Did I believe that Optifast was a ripoff or at least able to be done at a much more reasonable price? Yes.
My point is that some of these may be accurate or not, but the end result was I wanted to save my life. I realized that was more important. Since Dr. Irgau is definitely one of the most experienced bariatric surgeons in Delaware, perhaps the entire country, I assumed he probably was not going to kill me in the OR. You know how some surgeons see their patients each day after the surgery while they're still in the hospital? Well, I was actually quite surprised when I saw him the morning of my discharge. He's very confident in what he's doing and, more importantly, knows what he's doing. That's what's important to me. He is a vehicle to help me get to where I want to be in my life and I am a vehicle to his beach home or his retirement or whatever. This is America and I would expect nothing less. Dr. Irgau did his job. I woke up in less pain than I've ever experienced after a surgery. When you consider the complexity and the location of the surgery, this is amazing. I feel great, and I'm starting to realize this is probably the best decision I've ever made for my life.
To be honest, I cheated every step of the way. I didn't exclusively eat/drink optifast, I didn't totally follow the dietitian's orders, I slacked off my exercise program. I reasoned that they know we (fat people) got here for a reason, so they don't expect us to be perfect, but I did try. And, I would have tried harder if I had to do it over again, but I'm extremely happy about where I am right now and that's very largely(no pun intended) due to Dr. Irgau, along with everyone else who helped me through this journey. Hopefully this helps you start yours. I would recommend Dr. Irgau to anyone that is a candidate for gastric bypass weight loss surgery.
Dr. iragau was very pleasant to meet and talk to the first time I met him. He explained everything out in detail. I would recommend him to everyone who is considering WLS. My mother and my boss have both had the Gastric Bypass surgery and are doing great! My surgery date is January 14th. It is approaching fast! I'm anxious and nervous but I have a fantastic support team to help me all the way!
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I was very nervous when I went to see Dr. Peters for the first time to discuss WLS. MY partner was completely against it. Dr Peters came in and we talked for what seemed like hours. He was very caring,and listened to all her concerns. He is a great surgeon and after the meeting she was fine. She feels very comfortable with him. I know I am going to have a great outcome with this great tool that I have been given a chance at. I am looking forward to him performing my surgery in September. Thank you Dr Peters for everything.
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Dr. Irgau is the worst surgeon I ever came across. He idd my surgery in 2011. In fact the entire experience with CHRIAS was awful. They have no consideration as to a patients time, I normally wait over a hour every visit to see the doctor and the last time I demanded my co-pay back because I had to return to work, they told me I would have to pay a cancellation fee. Plus every-time I spoke to him he told me to go on the optifast diet that I would have to purchase at CHRIAS. I switched to a better practice and since have had such a better experience.
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He did my band surgery and I stayed with him for a few years. However once I voiced my concerns with my dissatisfaction of his practice he yelled at me and dropped me as a patient. My story can be read further on my profile page. This practice has turned into a bariatric Mill that is all about the money. Which doesn't care about patient satisfaction, customer service or professionalism, Just book as many patients as possible because there time is not as valuable as a doctors time, sell patients as much marked up products as possible, and who cares regarding the patients experience because the patients don't matter only the doctors opinions matter.
The program with PMRI also is ridiculous, its run like a Nazi concentration camp. They take patient feedback and uses it against them. Don't dare tell anyone how you feel at Chrias or PMRI, they will either drop you or not allow you to complete there course. They don't want feedback they want positive feedback. They don't run or offer there own support groups because they have failed at there attempts to get them going and don't take feedback very well. There are plenty of better options out there like Barix clinic, get this the doctor gives you his cell phone number so you can contact him anytime, wow imagine that a doctor who wants to have satisfied customers.
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My first impression of Dr. Irgau was positive. Dr. Irgau made me comfortable. He wanted to know my reasons for consideringthe surgery and seemed to be truly listening to my responses. I felt as though he truly understand the dilemna of being overweight. He was informative and answered all of questions honestly and completely. Office staff is also very helpful and organized and make sure that all clearances are being completed in a timely manner. I am extremely pleased with my surgeon, my surgery and my recovery so far. I would highly recommend dr.Irgau and his surgical group (CHRIAS) for anyone considering weight loss surgery. Surgical manner as well as bedside manner are both fantastic!
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My first meeting with Dr. Peters went very well. He was very informative, caring, and a great listener. I had started the process with another surgeons clinic, but I never met the surgeon and felt uncomfortable with my decision. Dr. Peters office staff was very pleasant. After my original surgery I have had several complications that have lasted over several months. Dr. peters made a point to come visit EVERY DAY while I was at Christiana for an infection. It seems like he is always on call. I must say he is very responsive to any problems and always takes time to explain everything. He is also very knowledgeable about complications and other health issues that are not necessarily related to the bypass, but that do play a part in the whole person. (For example, my blood pressure can get REALLY low...Dr. Peters took time to look at all of the meds and to discuss what I should make sure not to take and things, more than the cardiologist explained!)
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