Jill: Do you know other people who have self paid for DS surgery?
I do not hear well and couldnt quite understand Dr E's receptionist. It does look like he is an amazing surgery, but it looks like his after care is non exsistant. That worries me.
I spoke with Dr Peters and he is not COE and has only done a little over 200 of the DS surgeries. How many has your surgeon done?
glad you're doing your homework, kimberly. that 200 DS surgeries actually sounds pretty good. it's NOT a common surgery, and there are VERY few surgeons who can do it at all. see what you can find out about his complication rate. i wouldn't rule Peter out just yet.
Jill: Do you know other people who have self paid for DS surgery?
I do not hear well and couldnt quite understand Dr E's receptionist. It does look like he is an amazing surgery, but it looks like his after care is non exsistant. That worries me.
I spoke with Dr Peters and he is not COE and has only done a little over 200 of the DS surgeries. How many has your surgeon done?
Thanks again!
Please go back and read my reasons why COE designation is often irrelevant - it's more for insurance companies than anything else, which is not a concern if you are self-pay.
I do know people who have self-paid for the DS, but I don't think any of Dr. Elariny's patients I know were self-pay. His aftercare is NOT nonexistent - I have met him personally at one of his support groups, and I'm not even a patient of his.
200 surgeries for the DS specifically is not bad. To be considered a "vetted" DS surgeon on the list of surgeons at dsfacts.com, a surgeon must have completed a minimum of 100 DS procedures. What is telling about some of the most highly skilled surgeons is if they perform revision surgeries, especially revisions to DS, as such procedures can be quite complex. Dr. Elariny does revisions, and I believe Dr. Peters does as well. There is also a DS surgeon in NC at Duke and two outside of Philly in PA, but they do their procedures with an assisting robotic arm, so I would think their self-pay rates would be much higher. Dr. Greenbaum in NJ does the DS, including revisions, but I have no idea what his self-pay rates are.
I'm not going to talk about my surgeon because, again, I do not recommend him.
Not sure if anyone is reading this thread still, but, had to say thanks to all who have posted. I am scheduled for gastric bypass on 11/30 with Dr. Michael Trahan. I came across this thread by searching for his name. Reading through, it caused me some alarm - my pcp had told me to go to Trahan's seminar and I didn't really realize there was another option at UVA. So reading about the author's responses from Dr. Trahan and your responses made me a bit concerned so I researched Dr. Bruce Schirmir at UVA too. He clearly is the more experienced surgeon. But, when I do pros and cons about everything I think I am staying with Dr. Trahan. I like him, he seems thorough and professional and I know he started the Bariatric Care Center here which runs like a well-oiled machine. UVA, unfortunately, is a teaching hospital and I would worry too much that my care would be pieced and parted out. Anyway - again, just wanted to say thanks for getting me thinking about it and also providing those questions to ask - will definitely use them at my pre-op appointment next week!
Jill - is Greenbaum that doc down in the Voorhees area? [or UP in Voorhees - from your perspective]?
Sorry I missed this...until the thread got moved up again! Dr. Greenbaum is located in Willingboro, NJ. According to Google Maps, that's within 20 miles of Voorhees
hi KC!! that's what it's all about - researching your choices so that you KNOW you're making the right one FOR YOU and for no one else. Now, when people ask you WHY you did this surgery and WHY you chose this surgeon, you have very good answers!!! you won't just say something like 'he was closest to my house.'
keep us posted - it's onlyh a couple of weeks away!!
