Doctors

[Suzannesh 376]

Good morning,

I have been thinking about some of the things that many of us have talked about on this board. We have talked about price shopping and I have said “this is not the time to price shop” This is about your health and what is best for you. I had a lovely lady write and tell me that $5,000 was about all she could scrap together to have the surgery and she was going to take her “chances” and go to one of the doctors who charges less. She was single, had children, and was sick and tired of her back hurting and just didn’t want to spend another day being fat.

Believe me I heard everything she said and honestly knew right where she was. I had a time in my life where I was a single parent and was trying to make it on my own, I do know how hard money was to come by. I have been there working 3 jobs at one time and had very little time for me and had to do what I could only afford.

This is what I can say about my choice to go to Dr. Aceves. When I made my choice, I was 63 years old; I didn’t have any serious medical problems –only high blood pressure. I wanted to become healthy so that I could enjoy the rest of my life. My back hurt most of the time, and I had an awful pain in my leg. I had already experienced one bad experience in the USA hospital and that was when I went in for one procedure and came home and a 3 days later had to return to the hospital because I had a serve infection that I got at the hospital—they told me that when you go to the hospital you run the risk of an infection. Well, I was one who got the infection from the hospital. So when I was doing my research I learned that many people do get infections while having surgery in a US hospital. Infections were one of the things I was looking at when I was making my choice. Almater Hospital utilizes state-of-the-art equipment and facilities. They have less of an infection rate than any US hospital. Well, that caught my attention. I can tell you while I was there they were cleaning everything in this hospital including the sidewalk out in front of the hospital 24-7.

They cleaned my bathroom 3 times a day. My rooms 3 times a day, the halls and anything people were touching in the hospital.

Almater Hospital has state of the art equipment and technology -Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Complete X ray Unit capable of performing CAT Scans, Ultrasound, Fluoroscopy, and other X-ray tests. Almater Hospital strives to keep updated with equipment of latest generation available. They have Hemodynamic surgical room -where they perform open heart surgery and catheterizations surgical suites (with recovery room). So many of the doctors who charge less just do not have all these things. They are using a clinic to do the surgery, they are not fully staffed and I am worried about where they send you to recover. This is how they can afford to charge less for their surgery.

I also wanted a HIGHLY qualified doctor who had an enormous amount of knowledge when it came to “sleeve surgery.” I checked on the number of surgeries that Dr. Aceves had done, and he was rated as a highly qualified doctor who had only one patient who had developed a leak. I also understand that the “one” patient who did develop the leak was because she did NOT follow the directions given to her about what she should be eating the first month.

There are many qualified doctors who do “sleeve surgery.” And I can’t speak about any experience other than what I had. I wanted more than just a qualified doctor. I wanted a HIGHLY qualified doctor who had a team of highly qualified doctors and nurses on his staff who would be taking care of me. That is just what I found in Dr. Aceves and Almater Hospital. I also know that I had the highest quality of staples and surgical materials used in my surgery along with have a staff of nurses 24-7 there during my recovery.

I know that many doctors are charging less for “sleeve surgery” and if you only have a certain amount of money to work with that is why you are looking at these other doctors. Give this some thought; you can get loans for the balance of the money. You know we never stop and think twice about making a car payment when we need a new car. Well, how about making a new “body payment?” You are worth it. This is ALL about you and no one else. I have sat here on these boards for 3 ½ years watching and listening to all of this. I can only say what was best for me. I know that there are other doctors who do this surgery and they are OK. I wanted more than just OK.

I want you to be very successful at your WLS and your journey to a new and better life along with great health. I wish you all the success in the world. If you have any questions for me, please feel free to ask away.

Suzanne

Sleeved 10/21/2008

Lost 105 pounds

[Lissa 2,631]

I don't know what prompted this post, but the message is timely! I was self-pay all the way, since my hubby's employers has an absolute exclusion for weight loss surgery. I paid more to the doctor I used than the first surgeon I consulted was charging. To me, it was about quality and references.

My friend works in the ER of the hospital where I had surgery, so she knows the doctor who did my surgery and all of the staff who took care of me. She gave them rave reviews and I do as well.

Sometimes it IS more important to feel safe and have a good surgeon than it is to save money. I was still scared, but I felt like I'd done everything possible to research my doc...and I'm still here 2 months post-op.