Re: Surgeon Selection........Liane......Tom

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 6/17/01 2:33:38 PM, duodenalswitch writes:

<< ..but many RNY docs jump into weightloss

surgery quickly....my response comes from frustration

with comments...like " dont be someone's little

experiment " when it is a surgeon who has a long

residency with that procedure....and other negative

comments towards to newer surgeons......I am grateful

that there are ethical surgeons who chose to master

the difficult surgery of the duodenalswitch....and

perform surgery on such a high risk

population..... >>

janice: OH, I TOTALLY agree with you. I think there are some DS surgeons

who can be counted on that list, too... :) It is true that one really has

to research as well as get personal opinions about a surgeon. Just listening

to people's comments (especially many that will come from people who didn't

even HAVE that surgeon LOL) is by no means adequate or balanced, imHO>

all the best,

lap ds with gallbladder removal

January 25, 2001

four months post-op and still feelin' fab!

pre-op: 307 lbs/bmi 45

now: 259 lbs -- hey, going down again! LOL

[Guest guest]

Darlin Janice,

frustration I definitely understand.. I just wanted folk to feel more

comfy.. concerning the surgeons I know... Hess, Gagner, & Anthone..

shoot, if someone doesn't trust them, what are they thinking?? But my

docs, the " new guys " ...I just wanted folks to know they were/are well

trained. You know I loves you, girl... was just watching out for my

docs, lol..

Hugs,

Liane

> Sorry...guess I have now entered the misinformation

> category....the reference to other bariatric surgeons,

> really was not towards DS surgeons....we all know the

> wonderful teachers out there..Hess (father), Gagner,

> Rabkin, etc.....but many RNY docs jump into weightloss

> surgery quickly....my response comes from frustration

> with comments...like " dont be someone's little

> experiment " when it is a surgeon who has a long

> residency with that procedure....and other negative

> comments towards to newer surgeons......I am grateful

> that there are ethical surgeons who chose to master

> the difficult surgery of the duodenalswitch....and

> perform surgery on such a high risk

> population......they would have easier and more

> profitable careers as RNY surgeons ! yes .... and Ren

> and may have only been a fellowship....i may

> have overstepped by trusting the source of that

> information....and....just because you have the

> training and information...does not a good surgeon

> make in and of itself..... that is why talking to

> patients of the surgeon i feel is important...I want

> to know about the Deb Mullens of this world...I am

> interested in whether a doctor takes responsibility

> and provides good aftercare if there has been a

> complication...that is important information. I do

> not think that a patient has no Good information on a

> surgeon...guess I just have a lot of respect for the

> people undertaking this surgery and DO feel that they

> are intelligent enough to judge whether or not their

> doctor has provided them with the services they

> purchased....consumer satisfaction and knowledge about

> their own outcomes is critical. ..... but just my

> opinion.....I apologize for responding out of

> frustration to loose cannons....in doing so I become

> one myself.......... Peace......JJ

>

> __________________________________________________

>

[Guest guest]

> janice: OH, I TOTALLY agree with you. I think there are some DS

surgeons

> who can be counted on that list, too... :) It is true that one

really has

> to research as well as get personal opinions about a surgeon. Just

listening

> to people's comments (especially many that will come from people

who didn't

> even HAVE that surgeon LOL) is by no means adequate or balanced,

imHO>

I'll tell you a story that has forever colored my approach to finding

a doctor. As a young nurse I worked in a community hospital. There

was a doctor who used to do major abdominal surgeries that was so bad

the only doctor he could find to assist him was an Ear, Nose and

Throat doctor. He committed such gross malpractice that finally the

anesthesiologists started refusing to give his patients anesthesia.

You know what though, every single one of his patients LOVED him. One

man continued to go to him even though this doctor had performed over

30 surgeries on him, most of which fixed the problems he created the

surgery before.

Moral of the story is, personal experiences should only count for a

VERY small part of your overall process for choosing any doctor.

July 6th, Dr. Anthone

BMI 44

[Guest guest]

Hi Janice:

I think you've made some excellent points here.

> but many RNY docs jump into weightloss

> surgery quickly....

AMEN!

Some of these people, IMHO, are hacks!

> my response comes from frustration

> with comments...like " dont be someone's little

> experiment " when it is a surgeon who has a long

> residency with that procedure....

MEA CULPA, MEA MAXIMA CULPA!

I didn't know the guy had done a residency in the procedure, and I

was just trying to caution people against jumping into something

blind.

> and other negative

> comments towards to newer surgeons......

I don't really mean to be negative about newer surgeons, it's just

that the thing that really terrified me, pre-op, was the idea of the

really BIG messup in the Operating Room, like what happened to Deb,

(whatever it was, exactly).

My gut feeling, (and that's still a pretty BIG feeling at this

point), is that Dr. Gagner or Dr. Rabkin (just using them as examples

of the more seasoned lap surgeons out there) would have had a better

chance of fixing whatever went wrong than did Dr. Ren, simply because

Dr. Gagner and Dr. Rabkin have done SOOO many surgeries.

> I am grateful

> that there are ethical surgeons who chose to master

> the difficult surgery of the duodenalswitch....and

> perform surgery on such a high risk

> population......they would have easier and more

> profitable careers as RNY surgeons !

AMEN again, sister!

> I want

> to know about the Deb Mullens of this world...

Again, I agree completely. I also want to avoid BEING one of the Deb

Mullen's of this world, as well as trying to help others prevent

being one. That's why I tend to jump in so quickly with cautionary

comments about any lesser known surgeon.

> I am

> interested in whether a doctor takes responsibility

> and provides good aftercare if there has been a

> complication...that is important information.

I agree, completely, but I like to do a lot of digging into the

record before talking to patients -- I guess it's sort of a last-step

in the process for me, or close to it.

I think what I tend to react to is people (not you) who seem to

choose their surgeon based almost entirely on whether that surgeon's

patients *like* the surgeon and/or his OFFICE STAFF, for garsh

sakes! That's just SCARY!

> I apologize for responding out of

> frustration to loose cannons....

Hey! I'm not a loose cannon!

I'm just an extremely opinionated, pig-headed person who sometimes

rolls around the deck of the ship crushing things ... er ... I

mean ... Okay, let's just forget that last point.

(;

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

06/03/2001 . . . 301

06/15/2001 . . . 299

85 Ugly Pounds, GONE FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

USC DS Support Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ds_usc>