University of Chicago Center for the Surgical Treatment of Obesity Bariatric Center
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I like the team approach Dr. Alverdy takes in evaluating new patients and answering questions. The combination of the medical exam, nutritionist, and psychologist makes sense. Dr. Alverdy possesses the confidence you want to see in a surgeon and has the skill to back it up. I am also having gall bladder surgery and the first surgeon I talked to (about just the gall bladder surgery) said that he would not perform a lap gall bladder procedure on someone my size because the instruments were not long enough. Dr. Alverdy is going to do both lap and has successfully done so on patients hundreds of pounds heavier than me.
4/23/02
My surgery on 1/15/02 lasted 9.5 hours due to complications with scarring from a previous surgery. Dr. Alverdy was able to complete the surgery and remove my gall bladder via lap. Many other doctors may have fully opened me up, but Dr. Alverdy stuck with it and helped enable a speedy recovery for me. I cannot say enough good things about him.
In fall of 2001 I went to see Dr. Beamer Breiling in Cedar Rapids. He did seem like a nice man and was educational but his office was not very clean. Dr. Breiling only does VBG and at first this surgery is what I though I wanted. I did return to Dr. Breiling for a second visit but as I researched on this site and others I knew I wanted and RYN. It seems like there are a lot of failures and complications with the VBG and I want to succed. I next decided to go the the Bariatric Treatment Center in Belvidere, Il.
My husband & I met with Dr. Eric Vaughn and he was very nice and seemed informed. This was in November 2001 and he had just been hired to work at the BTC and had not done many surgeries at that time. Although everyone seemed professional ,{except the billing staff who after I was denied refused to fight for me, they just said it was no use} but I had a problem with the small hospital where they preform the surgeries.
I asked what would happen if there was a major complication and Dr. Vaughn said that they call an ambulance and transfer you to Rockford Hospital, about 20 minutes away. I also understand that this hospital does not very much in the way of recussation equipment. I then heard that Dr. Vaughn was unable to schedule surgery for a couple of months due to a "paperwork problem with the state". Being a Doctor's wife I can only think of 2 things that would cause you to lose you surgical prividges 1) if you lose you mal-practice insurance, or was having trouble getting a carrier to carry you. 2) If you did not pass a board that you were required to pass in order to get prividges to operate. SO BUYER BEWARE.
I did more research and came upon Dr. John Alverdy in Chicago, a six hour drive from home. He has a 9 month waiting list but I was able to move up a few months on the cancellation list. I saw him on April 3 and was very impressed with him. He has a very good follow-up program and does most of his surgery Laproscoptically, although this does make a difference to me. I was accepted into his program and a letter went out to my insurance and 4 days latter I was approved. So it took me over a year to find a Doctor my husband & I are comfortable with and get approved. DON'T GIVE UP!
There is a 9 month waiting list to see Dr. Alverdy. I was told to call as often as possible, to see if there had been any cancellations. I did, and had finally been moved from my original consultation date of January 16, to November 14. Its a start!
My first impression of dr alverdy was that he was quiet spoken and easy to talk to.He appeared very relaxed and comfortable talking to me.He could tell I was a little nervous and he went out of his way to tell a silly joke that made me smile.I have met his coordinator pat and she appears to be sort of withdrawn from you and straight to the point.His nurse Kim seemed to be a little more compassionate and caring than Pat.Dr.Alverdy assured me that before I had the surgery I would be well informed every step of the way.Right now I would rate him as a 8 on a scale of 1-10 and that is because I have a way to go before completion.
Dr. Alverdy may not be aware of his coordinator pat negative attitude.She has not been helpful to me in the least and most of the time she appears to me to be uncaring and uninformative about patient needs.I did not know that I have to take my info and hand feed it to her in order to move my claim along .I was under the impression that she was there to help you...WRONG...This is my personal experience and impressions. Kim his personal nurse conts to be understanding and exhibits compassion toward you..It's like a good cop- bad cop situation.Is it by design I don't know!!
Had to wait 10 months to get an appointment with him. At my appointment, a Medical student (was was so kind, by the way) did my history and physical, the Dr. Alverdy came in with his nurse. He seemed to be in quite a hurry, but he is a busy man. He has told me, that despite having quite some belly, as well as having had 3 previous c-sections, he believes he can do me laproscopically, which thrills me to tears... I was so afraid I would have to have it done open.
He made me see a psychologist and a nutritionist, who were wonderful folks (psychologist was a student, it is a teaching hospital though, so what the heck should I have expected??)
The initial appointment, there were a group of 5 of us. We met with Pat who is the program coordinator. She was very compassionate and gave us a brief explaination of what to expect. We will have more time for questions later.
I had my last appointment wtih Dr. Alverdy on 2/1/02before my RNy on 2/14/01.
I will let you know more when I know more.
12/24/01
I found out about a week ago that I have been approved for the surgery. I never heard a peep from the surgeon, so I called them. Pat, the program coordinator informed me that Dr. Alverdy is so backed up, they are not even scheduling more surgery until after the first of the year. She said my date should be sometime in March or April, but I am not holding my breath on that one.. they did tell me in my initial consult that it goes quickly after you get your approval, so they are not completely honest... And get this... the are making me complete a smoking cessastion program, despite the fact I have not smoked in six months, something my insurance will not pay for. I will keep updating...
I waited 11 months to see him... he is one of the best around... I met with him and the psychologist, dietician and then they call you back in 1 week to let you know if you are approved or not for their program and I was.... His program coordinator Pat is very busy so bear with her. They offer a very strutured program. He addressed all risks and has a wonderful bedside manner. I would give him a 10!
12/26/2001: 9 days post op -- I cannot say enough great things about Dr. Alverdy. He is absolutely 100% TOP NOTCH. Since I have a minor complication, he has me page him every other day to discuss how I\'m feeling, etc. He told me not to take \"no\" from anyone - that he wants to talk to me every other day until our next follow up on 1/2/02. Now THAT\'S a class act!
8/22/2001: Well, you may notice that I switched surgeons. Dr. Alverdy was my first choice & had a cancellation. I met with him on August 1st (my 30th b-day, ugh) & was totally impressed with his program. Dr. Alverdy himself is a super guy & patiently went through my three pages of questions. There is no doubt in my mind that he will take good care of me. He has done 700+ RNYs in his 12 years at the University of Chicago & the last 300 or so have been done laparascopically. Yippe! I have had an incisional infection before and was not looking forward to having a big incision. Yeah!
6/13/2001: Dr. Oliphant was friendly & spent a LOT of time with me and my three pages of questions. This is a start-up program, but he assures me he has done this procedure a lot. The main thing that sticks out in my mind is that he said \"if we do this, you\'re mine forever.\" I like his long-term commitment to me and my long-term health goals. We\'re supposed to meet again in July to discuss the surgery in depth and to meet his team (counselor, internist, nutritionist). From there we will decide if I will for sure have surgery or not.
My first impression was that he's a nice guy. A busy man who wants to help as many people as he can who battle obesity. The staff at the University of Chicago seem to be okay. Some people I may not care for their way of dealing so coldly with you but I'm not here to have my hand held either. Just a little common courtesy would go a long way with me. What I least liked is that I only have talked to him once and I probably won't see him again until the day of my surgery. The most important thing to me is his surgical competence and being ready for whatever may go wrong. His bedside manner is important as long as he answers the questions I need to address the most.
I was referred to Dr. Alverdy by a friend of mine who had the surgery in Sep 2000. I called for an appt in Nov and was given an appt in May 2001. After completing a food log, giving a written medical and diet history, meeting with a nutritionist, a psychologist, Dr. Alverdy and a resident-this is a teaching hospital, my paperwork was submitted to BCBS PPO-Empire. My surgery was approved and scheduled for Nov 13, 2001.
Dr Alverdy was very professional as was his staff. They answered all questions. Aftercare is a big part of the program. There is a support group at the office once per month, as well as several followup visits to Dr. Alverdy and staff. Food logs are required to be sure adequate protein and vitamins are being consumed.
Insurance approval was easier than expected. One reason the insurance co. gave was because Dr. Alverdy's staff completely filled out the required paperwork.
Having attended 2 support group meetings, there seems to be quite a bit of printed material that is given after surgery to help you stay healthy. The support group at the office had at least 50 people in attendance. There is a new support group in the northwest suburbs of Chicago that has about 8 people attending. However, it is open to more than just Dr. Alverdy's patients and from my one visit, it seems that his follow-up was much more substantial than other doctors in the area.
I feel very confident about going to Dr. Alverdy at this time. I will post more after surgery.