daisy1971

Have had my band for about a year and a half. Dr. Milton Owens was the surgeon in Rancho Cucamonga. I had occasion to be up in Reno, NV over the Easter holiday and I ran into trouble. I could not keep food or fluids down for 2 days. I finally went to St. Mary's in Reno to get the band fluid removed as I was in much discomfort. I could not even swallow saliva and was spitting up coffee ground colored material. St. Mary's is associated with a bariatric group that does surgeries there. The doctor refused to come in and remove the fluid from the band. It was on Saturday and he was on call, but he did not want to come in. The ER doctor did not want to touch it as he was not familiar with them. The hospital let me remain in pain and would not call the bariatric surgeon back. To make a long story short I called Dr. Owens that Saturday from my ER bed and he was very helpful. He tried to find someone in Reno to help me to no avail. He agreed to see me as soon as I could fly down from Reno. He saw me that next day, Easter, and within 15 seconds made me feel normal again. He simply removed the fluid. I'm am so furious and disappointed in that Reno doctor. There should be more cooperation amongst these bariatric surgeons across the states. What, people don't travel? As these surgeries become more and more common I hope these guys come to their senses and realize there is a market here for fills and removals for other patients. I did report this surgeon to the AMA and to the local medical organization. To me this was malpractice at its finest. How can you be on call and then refuse to come in, especially when the patient is in excruciating pain.