Kim Bariatric Institute - Dr David Kim, Colleyville, TX

[JoAnn]

Dr Kim performed my gastric sleeve surgery in January 2012. Since then I've lost 75lbs and kept it off. I'm more active not than I ever was. I'm doing 5K's, a 10K and even training for my first 1/2 marathon later this year. Things, I never imagined doing before!! I can't say enough good things about Dr Kim and the entire staff at Kim Bariatric Institute. From my first visit to my last yearly checkup, they have been outstanding. Dr Kim is a very compassionate person with a passion for changing the lives of his patients. I love that you get to see him personally on your initial consultation. I saw him prior to my surgery and the day after. My other visits are with the PA's in his office (also amazing people) and I know I can see him anytime I want, I just need to call the office and ask to see him on a day when he is not in surgery and is in the office seeing patients. He will be open and honest with you about your health and the best procedure for you. His staff at KBI will work with you and for you to help you through the process, whether you have insurance or are a cash pay, they will help you find a way and ensure your success. Even 2 years later, I can call the office with a question and they are more than willing to listen and help. I love that he has a very active support group to help you post-surgery, I've made some amazing lifelong friends from people I've met along this journey. Thanks Dr Kim and everyone at KBI for helping me change my life!!

 

[Spiky Bugger]

JoAnn, I hope you are an actual new member and not just an ad for Kim. And, I'm glad that you are happy with him...but...(you knew that was coming, right?)...but THIS:

" I love that you get to see him personally on your initial consultation. "
gives me pause.


Did you, for some reason, expect to go to the office of a person in whose hands you are going to place your very LIFE and NOT meet with that person?

I really don't mean this to be insulting, but if being seen by the doctor whom you are paying for a visit is an unexpected treat, I fear that your standards for how doctors perform/behave may be a tad low.

You deserve, at the very minimum, a face-to-face with ANY doctor you are paying to see.

I'm old and fussy, but I've found that when we allow people to treat us as "less than," we will be treated as "less than."

Glad you are doing so well, though.

 

[JackieOnLine]

Hi JoAnn
it's true this reads like an ad - did you want to talk to us about anything else? for example - at 2 years post op, I was still in my honeymoon period - do you think you are?

 

[JoAnn]

Wow, thanks for the "great" welcome to the group, NOT. I've been here 5 hot minutes and already feel attacked. I just found and joined this group as a way to share my experience and hope to help others. I posted this under Surgeon Reviews, was that not the right place to do that?

Not sure why my post "gave you pause", I was simply sharing my experience about the people who helped me change my life. And yes, I would definitely expect to see the surgeon before making such a life-altering decision. My point was simply that you get to meet him on your initially consultation and he will spend as much time with you as you need to answer your questions, discuss your health and help you make the choice that is right for you. I know from hearing many others' stories that they didn't get that same experience with other doctors who only do open cattle-call type seminars or who you must see their staff and be "qualified" for surgery before you speak to a surgeon. Or the people who go to Mexico and don't meet the surgeon until you spend the time, effort and money to get there, only to find out that you aren't comfortable with the doctor or their staff. You are the patient and you should shop around to find the right fit for you before you make such an important decision. That was my only point, you should expect excellent in your healthcare and if you don't, then you are cheating yourself.

Sorry you feel this "reads like an ad", I was simply expressing my feelings about the great experience and care I received from my doctor of choice. Not sure what you mean by being in the "honeymoon period" as if to say I my feelings about my experience might change the further out from surgery I get? I am fully aware of my choice and decision and my eyes were wide open going into this. At 2 1/2 years out, I have lost 75 pounds of the 100 I hoped to lose. I am a work in progress and I continue to work everyday to maintain my lose and maybe lose a little more along the way but I am very comfortable with where I am at. I recognize my surgery for what it was, a tool to help me for the rest of my life to maintain the progress I have made. It is up to me to choose to use that tool correctly and it is a daily choice for all of us. I love that I have a great support structure through his office - from him, his staff and his patients(many who have become like family to me. Not everyone has that.

My point in joining this group was to find like-minded people to continue to surround myself with positive influences to stay on track with my goals and to provide a positive influence for others in reaching theirs. Maybe I need to look elsewhere.

 

[JackieOnLine]

JoAnn, I did not mean to offend you and I'm really glad you had such a good experience. we do get posts that are from ...robots, I guess, that are advertising something and it looked like it might be some form of that possibly.

sorry we were wrong!

it's the big bad internet, you know? sometimes misunderstandings happen. please accept this apology, cute but sincere:

 

[Elizabeth N.]

Hi JoAnn and welcome. It's the Internet, misunderstandings happen. Unfortunately, so, too, do ads masked as real first-person stories. Hang around in forums long enough and you see everything.

I was once accused of being a shill for my surgeon . My response was that he was so good and my experience with him so profoundly outstanding that I was pleased to "advertise" for him.

 

[JackieOnLine]

and here is your official welcome from me @JoAnn

 

[Spiky Bugger]

You know...if it weren't a cut and paste from your yelp review of him, it would seem a bit more like YOU are here looking for support. Because, usually, people introduce themselves and THEN offer opinions and advice. Maybe you just got that backwards. (And, no, it isn't a rule, but people who offer surgeon opinion advice as their first post are usually shills for that surgeon...many haven't even had wls...some get paid to act as "coordinators.") We have reason to watch such posts carefully...and YEARS of experience dealing with them.

It gave me pause, because to be so pleased about someone providing the absolute bare minimum was somewhat stunning. Almost like being thrilled they let you in the door. I agree that seminars suck...I went to one to observe the sales pitch...once...and chose a surgeon not affiliated with that group.

 

[Terri]

Welcome @JoAnn!

 

[Elizabeth N.]

It gave me pause, because to be so pleased about someone providing the absolute bare minimum was somewhat stunning. Almost like being thrilled they let you in the door. I agree that seminars suck...I went to one to observe the sales pitch...once...and chose a surgeon not affiliated with that group.

Yes, I have heartache as well with practices that make it difficult to see the doc. I fire docs based on this behavior. If I were surgeon hunting, the inability to have a straightforward surgeon meeting without first jumping through any hoops that didn't have to do with giving payment info, signing HIPAA forms and getting a set of vital signs (or in other words, exactly the way I see ANY doctor), then I would not dream of using that practice.

Unfortunately, it's common with WLS practices that you have to do the cattle calls before you even see the surgeon....IF you see him/her at ALL during that process. I consider this a completely unacceptable way of doing business. The asshole who still owes me $300 for a consultation obtained under false pretenses ran his practice this way.

Equally unfortunate is the fact that so many people have either no knowledge OR no ability to assert themselves to get the customer service they deserve.

I'm not yet willing to call troll here.

 

[Elizabeth N.]

BTW @JoAnn, "honeymoon period" refers to the time after WLS when everything works. The length of that period varies for everyone, but two years seems to be a ballpark-ish time frame. For me it was closer to five years; for others it's less than a year.

At some point the effortless or smooth or functional process comes to an end. That's the end of the honeymoon.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

BTW @JoAnn, "honeymoon period" refers to the time after WLS when everything works. The length of that period varies for everyone, but two years seems to be a ballpark-ish time frame. For me it was closer to five years; for others it's less than a year.

At some point the effortless or smooth or functional process comes to an end. That's the end of the honeymoon.

You may well be right. It happens SOMETIMES, lol.

I hope so as we need more vsg people. But the surgeon advice prior to intro struck me as not the usual approach.

 

[JoAnn]

Thanks everyone for your replies. My apologies for not fitting your mold of how someone should interact with this group but I'm not gonna apologize for loving my surgeon and sharing that. Feeling a bit more welcome by most and I'll refrain from responding to others as I don't care for sustaining the negative.

 

[Tiffani]

Dr Kim does rock Joanne!! Welcome to the site! Dr Kim was my doctor as well! He was as great as you said he was!! I look forward to getting to know you more! Seems like weight loss would help people see positivity in life. Unfortunately, for some, getting their life back and their health back, is not enough to be positive about.

 

[Elizabeth N.]

Thanks everyone for your replies. My apologies for not fitting your mold of how someone should interact with this group but I'm not gonna apologize for loving my surgeon and sharing that. Feeling a bit more welcome by most and I'll refrain from responding to others as I don't care for sustaining the negative.

Listen, I totally empathize with how funky it might feel with this thread. My surgeon died a horrible, unfair death. Imagine how *I* feel when I think of him and his wife/widow/practice manager and his son who managed my files?

The Internet is weird. I've been on here, interacting, making friends and getting fucked over in ways you cannot begin to imagine since 1992. You got thirty seconds of questioning and pushback. I've had psychopaths in my church, absconding with my therapist and living in my house. And that just brushes the surface.

The fact that I'm still here, putting up with your whining, states what I believe about the power of the Internet. Pull up your underwear, fart hard and be a grownup.

Here's how it works here. You managed to find us. which means that you managed a google search and registration instructions. The FIRST things you saw upon registering (and if you claim you didn't, pardon us for calling you *deleted in deference to others' discomfort* and a troll and a shill, because we wrote it and designed it) were the TOS and the instruction to introduce yourself.

Instead of doing that, you jumped in with a copy/paste job extolling a surgeon whose reputation is checkered. Here, folks are going to question that, because it is far from our first rodeo.