Anyone from Jacksonville???

[Scooterbug 13]

I'm a nurse & have been banded nearly a year now. I did alot of research regarding local surgeons & chose Dr. Baptista. They told me on a thursday they were submitting my paperwork to BC/BS & was called the next morning with my approval from them. I was totally amazed.

Awesome!!!!

That's how it should be, sent in the next day after it's gathered, unlike in my case 2 weeks later and still hasn't been sent in

[Yoly778 0]

I was so frustrated the other day when it took 2hrs to be seen and then to find out Dr Pinnar is no longer in the practice..I wonder what happened to him.

Sent from my iPad using LapBandTalk

[Scooterbug 13]

I was so frustrated the other day when it took 2hrs to be seen and then to find out Dr Pinnar is no longer in the practice..I wonder what happened to him.

Sent from my iPad using LapBandTalk

WOW..REALLY!! I know he was there about 2 weeks ago...that's odd. I did hear Dr. Cywes say they were doing "restructuring". I also noticed Patti Hessman , who we dealt with when we began our process, seems to be gone too.

[Sharon1222 19]

Jacksonville, here Southside Drs Cywes and Babtista 13,700 Aug 11 2012

[valdostaGA 149]

Jacksonville weightloss will not submitt your paperwork when they say so. I just left there practice because they lied about submitting my paperwork and didn't even. Call to tell me dr.pinnar left. I called the insurance company to find nothing was ever submitted and they had all my info a week on a desk.they will not answer their phones or voicemail unless u threaten to leave. I will post how bad they are on every forum!! Not to mention I had to pay another program fee for another surgeon.

[Yoly778 0]

Jacksonville weightloss will not submitt your paperwork when they say so. I just left there practice because they lied about submitting my paperwork and didn't even. Call to tell me dr.pinnar left. I called the insurance company to find nothing was ever submitted and they had all my info a week on a desk.they will not answer their phones or voicemail unless u threaten to leave. I will post how bad they are on every forum!! Not to mention I had to pay another program fee for another surgeon.

Wow...I had my SX with Pinnar and didn't have any prbs. What he heck happened? They were also nice...

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[Scooterbug 13]

Something crazy is defiantly going on at the office...not sure what it is. Dr. Pinnar is gone and Patti Hessman (the only person I have dealt with that actually returned calls) is gone I believe as well. I talked to another patient of the practice recently and she had been trying to get a hold of the dietitian and nutritionists, and even they are not calling or emailing back.

My paperwork was FINALLY sent in to UMR, only after so many calls, unanswered voice messages, and eventually a visit to the office. Currently my paperwork is in the review stage (should have been being reviewed and possibly approved weeks ago).

If anyone finds out exactly what's going on, be sure to fill us in.

[valdostaGA 149]

I was told by a staff member that Dr.Pinnar came inone Friday morning and quit with no notice at all,but that still doesn't justify the office not returning calls and lying about paperwork.

[Scooterbug 13]

I was told by a staff member that Dr.Pinnar came inone Friday morning and quit with no notice at all,but that still doesn't justify the office not returning calls and lying about paperwork.

WOW..that's crazy!! I agree..no excuse at all why the staff can't return calls. I know I had read Dr. Pinnar had some controversy as far as his old practice was concerned (supposedly he sold his practice and left town without any warning..not sure on all the details).

[JaxBandster 11]

According to information I've read on various boards and in speaking with Dr. Pinnar in person regarding his old practice in Virginia, it appears that after he sold his practice, the physician who purchased it went back through old records and was rebilling insurance companies in Dr. Pinnar's name or something to that effect. The reason I waited 45 minutes on him at one appointment was because he was speaking to his attorney. When he came in, he apologized and we spoke a little about the subject before turning our attention to the reason I was there.

During my office visits with him, it was very apparent that he was not happy with the way the office was being run and often encouraged me to contact the Practice Administrator and voice my dissatisfaction which I did prior to finding another group to do my revision surgery.

There is definitely something odd going on with that practice. When I first started going there, the waiting room was ALWAYS packed and you had to wait hours before being seen. Not so much anymore.

A curious thing happened when I was in the process of getting my band removed. At one point I was scheduled to have my surgery performed by Dr. Cywes at Shands. About a week prior to my surgery, the office called saying they were going to have to reschedule my surgery for a much later date due to a mixup between Dr. Cywes and Shands about operating room times. They were not going to be able to schedule me for a month or more later. I asked about Memorial and they said that Pinnar could do it there (why not Dr. Cywes?). That was when I decided to go with Dr. Pinnar. In addition, for a little while I was speaking with another group that operates out of Memorial. In speaking with the bariatric coordinators there, they alluded to something going on with Cywes, but they would never come right out and say what the issue was.

I really don't know what's going on there, but as messed up as things appear I would not recommend them to anyone that I cared about. I had my band removed due to 40% erosion in late March. Cywes told me he could revise me to the sleeve in six weeks. The surgeon I am seeing now won't touch me for six months! I hate waiting. I hate the fact that I'm packing on the pounds and I'm miserable in my body. But I'm thankful they are being cautious and allowing my body ample time to heal and allow the scar tissue to settle down and do a variety of tests to make sure I'm a good candidate so I'm not miserable for the rest of my life. I can wait a few more months to be safe. Pinnar once referred to Cywes as a "cowboy". I think reckless and cocky may be a more accurate description.

[Scooterbug 13]

According to information I've read on various boards and in speaking with Dr. Pinnar in person regarding his old practice in Virginia, it appears that after he sold his practice, the physician who purchased it went back through old records and was rebilling insurance companies in Dr. Pinnar's name or something to that effect. The reason I waited 45 minutes on him at one appointment was because he was speaking to his attorney. When he came in, he apologized and we spoke a little about the subject before turning our attention to the reason I was there.

During my office visits with him, it was very apparent that he was not happy with the way the office was being run and often encouraged me to contact the Practice Administrator and voice my dissatisfaction which I did prior to finding another group to do my revision surgery.

There is definitely something odd going on with that practice. When I first started going there, the waiting room was ALWAYS packed and you had to wait hours before being seen. Not so much anymore.

A curious thing happened when I was in the process of getting my band removed. At one point I was scheduled to have my surgery performed by Dr. Cywes at Shands. About a week prior to my surgery, the office called saying they were going to have to reschedule my surgery for a much later date due to a mixup between Dr. Cywes and Shands about operating room times. They were not going to be able to schedule me for a month or more later. I asked about Memorial and they said that Pinnar could do it there (why not Dr. Cywes?). That was when I decided to go with Dr. Pinnar. In addition, for a little while I was speaking with another group that operates out of Memorial. In speaking with the bariatric coordinators there, they alluded to something going on with Cywes, but they would never come right out and say what the issue was.

I really don't know what's going on there, but as messed up as things appear I would not recommend them to anyone that I cared about. I had my band removed due to 40% erosion in late March. Cywes told me he could revise me to the sleeve in six weeks. The surgeon I am seeing now won't touch me for six months! I hate waiting. I hate the fact that I'm packing on the pounds and I'm miserable in my body. But I'm thankful they are being cautious and allowing my body ample time to heal and allow the scar tissue to settle down and do a variety of tests to make sure I'm a good candidate so I'm not miserable for the rest of my life. I can wait a few more months to be safe. Pinnar once referred to Cywes as a "cowboy". I think reckless and cocky may be a more accurate description.

Thanks for the reply JaxBandster. I am just hoping nothing is effected once my wife and I get approved and are ready for surgery (like having to wait several months before it's done due to there office being in apparent chaos).

As far as Dr Pinnar and Dr Cywes go....I first met Dr Pinnar when he did the seminar we went to. I had heard great things about Dr Cywes, but my wife liked Pinnar so much she almost decided right then that she wanted him to do the surgeries.

We also got to see Dr. Pinnar on our first visit to get things going. We inquired about getting the band and Plication, in which he said that would be great. On our 5th visit for our PSD I mentioned to Jody that sometimes I felt a bit queezy after eating....so right away she panicked and set our last PSD appointment, as an actual appointment to see Dr Pinnar (because she assumed something had to be wrong with me).

At the time of that visit I had already lost 20 pounds, and it seems my queasiness was due to indigestion (nothing a few tums didn't fix). My wife and I explained to Dr Pinnar how it was rough the first month or so doing the low carb diet, and how we both actually gained a small bit doing the diet before we actually started losing. Dr. Pinnar's comment to us was "you must have been eating cake and ice cream"..not in a joking way, but in a serious condescending way. My wife and I had changed our entire eating habits, gave away all the food in our house that had carbs in it, only to be accused of eating poorly..sheesh, I had lost 20 pounds and my wife had lost 18. Of course when we did our dietitian visit they give you a whole sheet of foods they say you can "eat as much of as you want", which we found is not the case.

Also....during that visit we again mentioned the Plication, it's at this time that Dr Pinnar tells me that I can in no way shape or form have the Plication, because my BMI is too high. After reading about the Plication my wife and I were pretty set on getting it....of course Dr Pinnar could have mentioned this at our FIRST appointment when we asked him about the Plication.

We finally saw Dr Cywes for our last visit before filing insurance. I was expecting this crazy tough person to come in and simply rip into everyone..but he seemed just the opposite. He actually explained a lot about the mental change required to make the band successful. My wife and I both left the appointment wishing someone had given us the "mental" talk sooner

Anyway...people have different experiences with doctors...mine with Pinnar were not bad, just left me feeling a bit leery of him, but my experience with Dr Cywes left me more reassured and more informed then I previously was.

[JaxBandster 11]

Oh trust me, there have been plenty of times when I've walked out of that office feeling like I made the right decision. There have been more times when I walked out thinking that I hadn't. With everything that I experienced and my continued frustration with communication, I decided that it was time for me to move on. My new practice is a breath of fresh air in comparison. I have been extremely impressed. I've only had one minor hiccup where I received a bill for my co-pay (which I paid at my office visit). I called about it and they promptly removed the outstanding charge. My pre-op tests and the appointment to review the results have been scheduled for over a month. It's been so much easier than having to constantly follow up and nag someone to do something. We are under enough stress as it is, we don't need to do someone's job on top of it.

I'm actually very surprised at Dr. Pinnar's comment. I've never known him to be snippy like that. I too liked him right off the bat when I met him. He seemed very thorough and was more conservative than Cywes.

I really and truly hope that you and your wife have a very successful surgery and get the outcome you both desire. I can tell you that when you are successful, there is no better feeling.

[Scooterbug 13]

Oh trust me, there have been plenty of times when I've walked out of that office feeling like I made the right decision. There have been more times when I walked out thinking that I hadn't. With everything that I experienced and my continued frustration with communication, I decided that it was time for me to move on. My new practice is a breath of fresh air in comparison. I have been extremely impressed. I've only had one minor hiccup where I received a bill for my co-pay (which I paid at my office visit). I called about it and they promptly removed the outstanding charge. My pre-op tests and the appointment to review the results have been scheduled for over a month. It's been so much easier than having to constantly follow up and nag someone to do something. We are under enough stress as it is, we don't need to do someone's job on top of it.

I'm actually very surprised at Dr. Pinnar's comment. I've never known him to be snippy like that. I too liked him right off the bat when I met him. He seemed very thorough and was more conservative than Cywes.

I really and truly hope that you and your wife have a very successful surgery and get the outcome you both desire. I can tell you that when you are successful, there is no better feeling.

Thank you. I think the only reason we have not went to a new surgeon is because my wife doesn't want to fork out program fees again to a new doctor.

[valdostaGA 149]

Seem like the program fee would be refunded to Dr.Pinnar's patients since he left.

[Scooterbug 13]

Seem like the program fee would be refunded to Dr.Pinnar's patients since he left.

You would think...but of course they do make you sign the paper about the "NON refundable program fee"