Common Channel

[Guest guest]

Hi all:

Quite a few people seem to be very concerned about the length of

their common channels. I've had a hard time understanding why this

is, but now after thinking about it, I think maybe I have an inkling

of what's going on...

Let me start by saying that I have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA how long my

common channel is. Nor do I care. Don't get me wrong, I care about

my outcome at least as much as the next patient. It's just that I

don't have the expertise to tell my surgeon how to do his job. So I

don't.

So, I've been wondering why so many other people don't seem to trust

their surgeons to do the job correctly? And the only answer I can

come up with is that maybe some patients just don't trust their

doctors all that much in general.

In general terms, I can relate to this, I really can. I'm not

exactly a big fan of doctors in general. I remember one time when my

idiot doctor sent me to see a neurologist, without bothering to tell

the neurologist what to look for. This didn't bother the neurologist

at all. He spent at least an hour poking and prodding me, and having

me walk around his large office suite in nothing but my underwear.

At the end of the appointment, he diagnosed me as -- you guessed it --

OBESE! (What a shocker, huh?) For this he charged in excess of $500

(about 15 years ago).

So I understand mistrust of doctors.

But I really think that this surgery is so important that we

shouldn't let ourselves fall into our historical patterns.

But the question is how do we avoid it, given that we as a group

have very good reason to mistrust and/or just plain dislike doctors?

I think the answer lies in doing extensive research on your doctor

before you even meet him/her. I'm talking about your doctor's

training, capabilities, and experience AS A SURGEON. All too often I

see people who seem to choose their surgeon on the basis of how nice

the surgeon's office staff is, or whether earlier patients " liked "

the doctor.

I'm sure most of you have watched the tv show " ER. " On that show,

there are several surgeons. If I had to have surgery at that

(obviously fictional) hospital, I would want Dr. Romano. Yes, the

little fascist bastard would be my first choice. Why? Because his

patients LIVE. He is the BEST SURGEON, even though he is an absolute

shit as a human being.

So what does this have to do with anything? Everything.

I think we would do well to spend more time taking a long hard look

at the MEDICAL credentials of our surgeons. If personality is

important to you, then by all means, look at that too. BUT, first

and foremost, look for a surgeon who you can and will trust IN THE

OPERATING ROOM.

Think about what goes on in an OR. First, the anesthesiologist pumps

you full of chemicals so powerful that they stop most of your bodily

functions, including your BREATHING. Next, the surgeon takes a very

sharp blade and cuts a HUGE slit in your belly. Then he flips your

liver up out of the way, stretches out your intestines, and starts

lopping off 75% of your stomach and completely re-plumbing your small

intestine. (In my case he also lopped off my gallbladder and apendix

while he was in there.)

At this point your life is, literally, IN YOUR SURGEON'S HANDS!

Here's the point, (FINALLY!).

If you are not comfortable enough with your surgeon's abilities to

allow him/her to decide how long your common channel should be, then

how can you trust that person with your LIFE?

Please understand that I'm not criticising anyone. It's just that

I've had such a positive experience with this surgery it's nearly

unbelievable. I would sincerely like for all of you to have just as

positive an experience. And I honestly believe that one of the

reasons I am having such a positive experience is that by the time I

met my doctor I had complete faith in his ability to perform the

surgery correctly and even to save my life if something went wrong.

Please don't settle for anything less from your surgeons!

Happy switching to everybody,

Tom

Panniculectomy, Dr. Anthone, 11/10/2000

Open DS, Dr. Anthone, 03/30/2001

11/10/2000....384

03/30/2001....360

04/19/2001....338

04/22/2001....334.5

05/03/2001....328

05/14/2001....319

05/18/2001....316

68 Ugly Pounds, GONE FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!