Questions for my surgeon

[amey_idaho 0]

I have a 3 hours LB education class tomorrow, a 1 hour appt with the surgeon, Dr. Chamberlain in Idaho Falls, and a 2 hour psych appt (see my other thread Nervous about psych appt).

I have been doing my research and reading the posts and blogs here and I have made my list of questions. Here is what I have:

1. How many lap band surgeries have you done?

2. What do you see as the cause for erosion, slipping and port flipping? How often do you see these and what is your treatment for each?

3. Do you attach the port with stiches or staples? What about the part of the stomach pulled up over the band?

4. Do you prefer the Lap Band or Realize Band? Do I have a choice? (I have decided I want the Lap Band)

5. Do you do the fills yourself or do you have an assistant that does them? If so can I meet this person or staff?

6. What does a Huber needle look like?

7. Do you have a 'default' port placement site? Can I make a suggestion for where I would prefer it placed or not placed?

8. If I have a hernia will you repair it at the time of surgery? If so how much extra will that cost me?

9. Would you please remove the skin tag under my left arm at the same time?

10. What days do you do surgery? I have deadlines I have to meet so I would prefer a Thursday.

11. How long will I be off work? If surgery on Thursday will I be ok to go back to work by Wednesday?

12. I am nervous about going home the same day, would it be possible to request an overnight stay?

13. What are the protein/carb requirement for Protein shakes? Do you recommend drinking them for only the post-op diet or for continued use after the full diet resumes?

14. What would you recommend as a weight goal for me?

15. Do you feel I am a good candidate for Lap Band surgery? If not, why and what alternative would you suggest?

I don't want to make it feel like an interview but I feel these are important questions that I need/want answers to.

What do you think? Am I leaving something out? Do I sound like I am badgering him??

amey

[CarolWA 0]

I think your questions are great. You have every right to know what ever you want to know about your surgery. In fact I'm going to take some of your questions down to ask my surgeon. I haven't even seen him yet. My surgery is May 6th. I did see him at my very first seminar, when I was deciding on a surgeon. I had no idea I would'nt see him again until a week before surgery. I met with his nurse or assistant, or who ever she was. I'm not real sure how I feel about this. It's not what I expected. But I am taking some of your questions with me when I do see him.

Good Luck with your visit and your surgery.

[autumnrain4you 0]

Wow! Those are some great questions and I think I will modify them for myself! My first appointment is on the 19th of this month. I will have all of them in one day and then we wait for the insurance company.... thanks again for the great list of questions!

[adagray 1]

Great list! A few I would add...

* What kind of pre and post-op diet do you require?

* What criteria do you use to determine when I can get a fill? Does the criteria differ between the Lapband and Realize band? (it does for my surgeon)

* Walk me through the process of getting a fill. For example, do you have a set number of cc you fill at each fill appointment or will you have me drink Water during the fill to see if you need to add/remove additional fill? Or, are all fills done under fluoroscopy? (My doctor does the drinking Water thing and I think it works really well. I have never been too tight and now I'm at my sweet spot.)

* Is all the saline removed and reinjected w/each fill? (I've heard this can cause the tissue inside of the band to reconfigure which may cause unnecessary swelling)

These are all questions I didn't know to ask when I first met w/my surgeon. Luckily, there is nothing she does that I disagree with. But, if I knew then what I know now, I would've asked these questions. Best of luck to you!

[amey_idaho 0]

I'm glad my post could help others with their surgeon appts.

Adagray - great questions! I didn't see your post until after my appt was done but I plan on taking those questions to the seminar I have to attend on the 17th.

The pre and post-op diet was covered in the 3 hour LB class. The class was great! We first met the main RN that will be taking care of patients when they get out of surgery. She went over the surgery, pain management, when we could go home, what to expect and when we would get an appt to talk about a fill (4 wks post-op). She emphasized that a fill was not guaranteed at that visit, that it would depend on how we we healing and other factors.

Then we met the dietitian. That was my favorite part! We talked about Protein shakes and I told her I was having a really hard time finding any I could tolerate. I found one, the melon one from Bariatric Eating, that I could gag down and I didn't throw up. She said that nobody should have to gag down anything and that if I couldn't stomach the Protein Shakes they could tailor my diet to work for me. YEA!!!!! I was so relived I started to cry :smile2:. She went over the different stages of our diets, she is in the camp of eating your Protein not drinking it unless there is no other choice.

Then we met the physiologist. We talked about exercise expectations, motivation, fitting exercise into our schedules, and loose skin.

Oh, and the clinic at the hospital that coordinates the surgery and where we go for fills has a support group and once a month they do a clothes swap - what an AWESOME idea!!!

I am so excited to get started!! Just have to wait for the psych report to be done so it can all be submitted to Tricare.

Waiting is truly the hardest part!