Should I get involved?

[Guest guest]

I have a question for input.

I lead a local support group in Houston. We have a pager number, and

I occasionally get phone calls from people who are interested in surgery, or

who have had surgery and want to find a support group.

Over the weekend, I got a call from a woman who had been to a

consultation with a local surgeon, who had given her our group number. I talked

with

this woman for a LONG time... it was obvious that she knew almost nothing

about WLS or what she was considering. But, there was one thing that concerned

me

terribly. The surgeon she consulted with only does the VBG. She mentioned

to me that other people had suggested to her that she consider the RNY, but

when she asked the surgeon about it he told her that he " thought " to get that

she

would have to go to a hospital in Pasadena (a suburb outside of Houston) and

that he didn't " know if the surgeon was even certified. " I about blew a

gasket when she told me this!! We have several excellent surgeons in the

greater

Houston area -- I'm sure all are board certified general surgeons, and most are

members of ASBS. It is my understanding that there is no such thing as

" board certification " in bariatric surgery -- and in fact, I have sent an email

to

the ASBS to inquire about it. The RNY surgery is extremely available in our

community and there are now at least three surgeons I know of who are doing the

LapBand. We have a smaller number who also offer VBG, and a few who only do

VBG. We also have a charlatan in town who does his " own thing " with a

nonadjustable band -- and I occasionally see the sad results of that come

through the

support group doors (this guy tells his patients that no one else does " his "

surgery because they don't want to pay the royalties on the process he

patented)!

Well, obviously, I had a long discussion with this patient and

educated her on her surgical options and it seems she will be looking into

things

some more.

But here's my dilemma -- do I SAY or DO anything about this with the

surgeon involved? I am afraid that if I say anything, none of his patients

will ever find our support group again ... and God knows, they need it (his

aftercare sucks)! -- I'm also afraid of exposing myself to legal liability

issues.

I have thought about preparing a list of the surgeons in the area including

what procedures they do and their certifications and mailing it to all of the

surgeons in town ... but I suspect that would be a lot of work and expense with

very little good coming from it.

The surgeon in question is an old fart. He really should retire, in

my opinion. His bedside manner is awful, he YELLS at his patients and calls

them " fatties. " Unfortunately, many people put up with this because they are so

desperate for surgery, any surgery, and they don't have any idea where else

to go.

So, do I just let this go...or do I do something?

Beth

Houston, TX

VBG - Dr. Srungaram

05/31/00 - 314 lbs.

11/01/02 - Abdominoplasty

11/29/02 - 160 lbs.

5'10 "

[Guest guest]

Beth,

You raise some very important ethical questions here: chiefly,

<<Should I risk the success of my support group's ministrations and

possible law suits for the good of one or a small subset of patients?>>

Might I suggest that you involve your entire support group in

producing a pamphlet that describes ALL the available surgeries

non-judgmentally: VG, VBG, Adjustable Banded Gastroplasty, Fobi

Pouch, RNY, BPD/DS (the " DS " ), plain BPD, (others?) as well as names

of local surgeons and places to look (e.g., ASBS web pages) for

surgeons nationally, and give them to anybody who approaches your

support group? Maybe also include as many URLs as

possible(informational web sites like http://www.duodenalswitch.com,

OSSG and other Yahoo groups, URLs for local surgeons' practices if

then have any) so that the prospective patients can do their own

research on the net. Nobody can sue you (successfully) for

dispensing factual information. Rather than mailing it to all the

surgeons in town, you might approach them all before you publish the

pamphlet and ask them for their URLs or any other promotional

material or informative materials (like supplementation guidelines

and periodic lab work requirements) that they might want to

contribute to such a pamphlet. That way, they ought not feel

threatened or resentful as they might if they receive something after

the fact.

Your cause is great, and I applaud you for your service to our

community of WLS post-ops.

--Steve

At 8:34 AM -0500 1/26/04, BethVBG@... wrote:

> But here's my dilemma -- do I SAY or DO anything about this with the

>surgeon involved? I am afraid that if I say anything, none of his patients

>will ever find our support group again ... and God knows, they need it (his

>aftercare sucks)! -- I'm also afraid of exposing myself to legal

>liability issues.

>I have thought about preparing a list of the surgeons in the area including

>what procedures they do and their certifications and mailing it to all of the

>surgeons in town ... but I suspect that would be a lot of work and

>expense with

>very little good coming from it.

> The surgeon in question is an old fart. He really should retire, in

>my opinion. His bedside manner is awful, he YELLS at his patients and calls

>them " fatties. " Unfortunately, many people put up with this because

>they are so

>desperate for surgery, any surgery, and they don't have any idea where else

>to go.

>So, do I just let this go...or do I do something?