How much experience should your surgeon have???

[OilSooner 23]

There are two facilites that offer Bariatric Surgery in my town (Tulsa, OK), and only one of them offers the sleeve. I went to the info session for that one last night, and came away with questions.

This was at one of the three major hospitals here (St. Johns), and they have just started a Bariatric Services and Weight Loss Center there. The program (staff, doctors, facilities, etc) are all brand new. In fact, this appeared to be the first info session they had put on (they were asking things that seemed to point to that, i.e. things that could better the session in the future).

Also, the surgeon (they only have one at this time) is just out of residency, and appears to have specialized in RNY surgery (he said this is what he had done the most of).

I really want to get the sleeve, and this is the only place that has it. The other place is not even officially affilliated with a hospital (though they use one of the other major hospitals in town).

Do you think its safe to go with a new program and a young surgeon? It has me a little nervous, but I want the sleeve so I cant decide whether to stick with it.

PS, the other place offers the band and RNY, but no sleeve.

Thanks in advance!

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,282]

There are two facilites that offer Bariatric Surgery in my town (Tulsa, OK), and only one of them offers the sleeve. I went to the info session for that one last night, and came away with questions.

This was at one of the three major hospitals here (St. Johns), and they have just started a Bariatric Services and Weight Loss Center there. The program (staff, doctors, facilities, etc) are all brand new. In fact, this appeared to be the first info session they had put on (they were asking things that seemed to point to that, i.e. things that could better the session in the future).

Also, the surgeon (they only have one at this time) is just out of residency, and appears to have specialized in RNY surgery (he said this is what he had done the most of).

I really want to get the sleeve, and this is the only place that has it. The other place is not even officially affilliated with a hospital (though they use one of the other major hospitals in town).

Do you think its safe to go with a new program and a young surgeon? It has me a little nervous, but I want the sleeve so I cant decide whether to stick with it.

PS, the other place offers the band and RNY, but no sleeve.

Thanks in advance!

Hi OilSooner,

My previous banding experience was with an inexperienced surgeon. He was young, and I believe I was his 22nd band placement. I don't think he did it right to be honest. My whole experience was miserable and it failed big time. So, when I decided to get revised I went out of my way to choose a Dr. who was very experienced, especially with my revision circumstances.

My personal opinion based on my experiences is that I preferred to have an experienced surgeon this time around. My sleeve is perfect and my choice turned out in my best interest. That being said, just because a Surgeon is new doesn't mean they are not worthy. Everyone starts somewhere, that including my Surgeon. Someone was his first patient... know what I mean?

Just have 110% confidence in your choice and decision.

Good luck!!

[OilSooner 23]

I def prefer a surgeon with more experience, and the other facility is much more well known, and the surgeon is very experienced and well reccommended. But (theres always a but!), he doesnt do the sleeve.

So, the choices are get an experienced dr., and get the band....

or

get an inexperienced dr., and get the sleeve.

And, I want the sleeve, not the band.

It's a very tough call.

Thanks for your repsonse, lilmissdiva!

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,282]

I def prefer a surgeon with more experience, and the other facility is much more well known, and the surgeon is very experienced and well reccommended. But (theres always a but!), he doesnt do the sleeve.

So, the choices are get an experienced dr., and get the band....

or

get an inexperienced dr., and get the sleeve.

And, I want the sleeve, not the band.

It's a very tough call.

Thanks for your repsonse, lilmissdiva!

No problem, I'm always happy to help!

Well if this helps you, I WAS banded - and the sleeve WAY ROCKS!!! The sleeve runs circles around the band... I just don't have any confidence in the band at all. There just is way too much negative with the band, and even with folks who were successful with it. Keep in mind that IMPO the band should never be thought of as a permanent solution. Many chances are you will have to have it removed someday. If it helps you at all, check out the Band to Sleeve Revisions Subforum here. Maybe it will help you with making a decision.

All the best to you and your journey. Hugs!!!

[KabinKitty 11]

A new bariatric program would make me very nervous. Our local hospital had one for a short time and there were problems, one of them was my coworker. She had a RNY, there was a leak and she had a second surgery the next day. The program didn't last long.

My surgeon is a general/bariatric surgeon and he has done tons of RNY's and the more complicated DS and also the sleeve. He is a perfectionist and his bedside manner is not the greatest, but he gave me a PERFECT sleeve with almost 0 pain and 0 issues. He is a no nonsense type of doctor, but when I engage him in conversation he will talk forever.

He had done around 100 sleeves when he did mine. I chose him and the hospital he practices at because the hospital has had a bariatric dept for over 30 years and is a Center of Excellence.

There's nothing like experience and a GREAT track record when you're having major surgery. Check with your insuance to see what other hospitals are in your network. The one I chose is about 25 miles from my home.

I pray that all goes well for you!

[feedyoureye 3,087]

I have been told that if a Doc has a lot experience with RNY, that the sleeve is a piece of cake. Ask him directly how many sleeves he had done in the past. My surgeon had not done thousands, maybe even not hundreds, but he had done some and many many RNYs. He was actually teaching others how to do the surgery on me, with a robot! I trusted him because he was so familiar with surgery in general and bariatric surgery in particular. Just ask. I also asked his assistants, and they told me they had assisted him on at least 5 sleeves. He was great, I had a great experience. You can also ask him how many problems with the surgery he has seen. Usually the Docs are very up front with this info.

[OilSooner 23]

I feel so much better after your post, feedyoureye.

If the sleeve is much easier to perform than RNY, then thats a HUGE plus!

[pumpkin07 32]

From what I heard, the sleeve is a skill that doctors get better with experience. It is a very very serious surgery in my opinion. If things go wrong, the sleeve often has to be repaired which means making it even smaller. After reading so much on thie site the last year about complications, I just would not use an inexperienced surgeon under any circumstances. But I also would not get the gastric bypass or the lap band. If your surgeon's inexperience causes a leak you will pay for that in risky health conditions and financially, not the surgeon. There is complication insurance, and I would get that with any surgery that my insurance would not cover. But if you have complications you will suffer not only in your health but loss of income, etc. I really would not risk that. Many people with complications are out of commission for months..

Consider making a wider circle to find other doctors. Do you have a relative that lives somewhere with better options?

[OilSooner 23]

Well, I just made a phone call, and apparently, while the other much more well known place doesnt have it listed on thier website, they do the sleeve as well. I told the lady that answered the phone and told me they did the sleeve that they should put that on the website, as not telling you that could drive business elsewhere.

So, I paid my $25 registration fee and will be attending an informational meeting at the better place Monday night.

Pretty satisfied with that!

:thumbsup:

[feedyoureye 3,087]

When I was researching the sleeve, I found out that "to preform RNY a surgeon needs to be a skilled expert in doing RNY." To do the sleeve, s/he need to be a very skilled surgeon. RNY has staple lines too... Not to say you should leave your surgery in the hands of a hack... just do some research and find out how much experience he has. Im sure he must have had experience as a fellow on a team before coming to your facility. You can look him/her up on line and poke around, maybe make some calls to find out where s/he stands in his /her community. I'm sure s/he wouldn't have been hired to perform this surgery as their stand alone Doc without a track record of some kind!

[OilSooner 23]

Good call. I am going to call the original place and talk to them about the experience of the surgeon there.

The good thing about the original place is that they are located at a hospital, thus they have a psychologist, nutritionist, exercise person, sleep study center, etc all on staff/in the same place. And, they said you could get the psych eval, nutritionist, EKG, and lab work all in the same day to be more convienent. So, that is a plus. Another downside of this facility is that they charge a $695 fee to get you into the program which insurance would most likely not cover. The second (better?) place only charges $25, which they call a paper processing fee.

[Roseib 13]

I'd only go with a board certified general surgeon if they don't have much experience with the sleeve. Other surgeons do gastrectomies after all but would have to board certified for me, preferably in bariatric surgery. Someone just out of residency not likely board certified. Glad you discovered other place does sleeves. They've only been done for about five years as you probably know so place may have just recently started doing them hence not on their website.

[**LaSaJaTa** 4]

A dr with much lap surgery experience is the key too...let's not forget that you don't want to find yourself in a situation where 'open' surgery has been preformed because an inexperienced dr ran into difficulties in the sleeve and did not have enough lap history, so reverted to open. Personally, i'd be looking for a dr who has done over 500 lap surgeries (any kind) and at least 100 VSG's. Just my 2 cents...

[Eureka-C 20]

I would wonder who he did his residency with and who his supervising surgeon was. Did he learn from someone or some great facility?

[NanaNanner 7]

Personally, and there is no eloquent way for me to say this, I would RUN! Straight for the border! The surgeon I was most interested in in my area had only done 300. That's why I opted for Dr. Aceves in Mexicali. Experience. I'm weird like that.