Hi all, I'm new

[jim1969]

I've seen a few people on OH that had Dr. Engstrand at Bariatric Institute for DS. I called them and they assured me that they did do DS and I saw it on Wheaton Franciscan website. They were very friendly and helpful when I called. I am going to their informational meeting next week.

I'm lucky that my insurance covers pretty much everyone I've looked at, so I have options. I have sent messages to people who had surgery with all the doctors I'm interested in so far, obviously some of those people probably don't still frequent some of the sites, so I may not hear back. I'm anticipating next year for surgery anyway, I'd love it sooner but I'm not holding my breath

I've heard good things about the surgeons at U of Chicago but the hospital and aftercare is not as highly reviewed. That is a problem with teaching hospitals unfortunately. I still plan on going to see them and am taking my wife along to all prospective surgeon meetings. #1 - Good to have two sets of ears and eyes, plus I trust my wife's judgement - we will both have to be comfortable with the doc. #2 - There will be a time when I'm under the knife that she may have to make decisions on my care, and I want her fully informed beforehand.

Thanks for the info Jim ( and everyone else), keep me informed on any new developments and I'll do the same.

I have a consult with DR Leslie at Abbott Northwestern Hospital on May 20th. I still haven't got a phone call back from the UOM. If they are that busy Im glad I went to the Abbott Northwestern Hospital.

 

[chevtow]

I went to the seminar at Bariatric Institute last night. Yes they do the DS, yes they are a Bariatric Center of Excellence. After the seminar I talked with Dr. Engstrand by myself for about 1/2 hr (everyone else left right after presentation). He was very forthright and open with his answers, and I quite like him. He said they do more VSG and RNY than DS. Most of their DS are for patients who request it AND prove that they know what they are getting into. He said they do 10-15 per year, and his 1st one was in 2003 or 2006 ( I forget). Over 99% of their surgeries are done robotic assisted laparoscopic.

They have support groups in two locations and they prefer to have you come there for post op testing, but will allow PCP to do it. He also said he wouldn't require me to take another sleep study ( I couldn't tolerate CPAP) and I could complete all the rest of my testing in my hometown, with the exception of seeing their Physical therapist and dietitian - I must see them at least once. After surgery I would stay in hospital for 2-3 days and could go home to Green Bay (2.5 hr drive) after that, he did say they would give me medication to help with clots because of the drive.

 

[Larra]

Sounds very promising! I hope you will be able to get approval and get your DS done. And while 2.5 hour drive post-op won't be fun, lots of people travel farther than that. You can do this!

 

[DianaCox]

"He said they do 10-15 per year" - this does not warm the cockles of my heart. The DS is a complicated surgery, and maintaining skill requires doing the surgery often. But I supposed I would rather go with a surgeon who has done 50+ over the last 5 years than someone who has done his first 10 in the last month, with no proctoring. Caveat emptor!

Why on earth do you need to see a physical therapist, and more particularly, why THEIR PT? You're not going to ever see the PT for actual therapy. That sounds like a ripoff.

 

[chevtow]

Maybe I was wrong about the PT, but I think it was for pre-op. To get some exercising in that will help your cardio and such to help with surgery recovery. I know I have seen other programs that also require it. I still have many appointments to go, so I will get clarification on that stuff. Thanks

The 2.5 hour drive doesn't bother me, I'm hoping this all works out because it is so close, I'll be much more likely to use their support groups and aftercare program. I am the type of person that likes having a set program to follow. I think I'll do good with following labs and such because I love charts and numbers and trends Believe it or not I take care of all the bills LOL.

 

[DianaCox]

Oh, and this? "Bariatric Center of Excellence" - it is essentially meaningless. The whole COE thing was a conspiracy of the insurance companies and big bariatric centers to cut out competition from the smaller practitioners (including most DS surgeons) and to extract discounts from the big bariatric centers. See this: http://www.cms.gov/medicare-coverag...d=266&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
"The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has determined that the evidence is sufficient to conclude that continuing the requirement for certification for bariatric surgery facilities would not improve health outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries. Therefore, CMS has decided to remove this certification requirement."

 

[Elizabeth N.]

"Center of Excellence" is meaningless. It's marketing hype.

Dr. Peters had some really funny snarky comments about "COE" designations. Those who were not his "fans" might not appreciate them, but I got a hell of a kick out of them. His point was: Surgery volume was one of the main components of that designation. How could a program that got most of its volume out of bands (during his time; now one could add sleeves) be an excellent choice for DS?

Last I checked, Dr. Greenbaum, to use my local option, was doing a couple of DS procedures per WEEK, maybe more, and he's one of at least five surgeons doing WLS out of the Virtua system. So when "we" are doing 10-12 DS procedures per YEAR, color me decidedly unimpressed.

Volume is by no means the only measure to use. Find out about Dr. Engstrand's outcomes, and not just the 30-day outcomes, but the LONG TERM outcomes. How well do his DS patients do with weight loss and maintenance and health issues?