My PCP "doesn't recommend" Dr. Fox at SWLC!

[TheCascadian 1]

I went to my Primary Care Physician Dr. Dagg at Swedish Physicians Clinic and told him about my history of obesity, diets, etc. I needed to go through him for some testing for insurance purposes and also I wanted a second opinion about this.

He knew that I was already seeing an obesity-surgery doctor and asked who it was. When I told him, he was very polite and political but said he "doesn't recommend" Dr. Fox.

He basically told me that Dr. Fox lost his medical license for a while (but he didn't know WHICH Dr. Fox, father or son...) and implied that there had been a recent death and that the Foxes weren't trained in bariatrics specifically (although he acknowledged they had performed a lot of surgeries in that area) and that hospitals in outlying areas (ie, Auburn where Dr. Fox does surgery) are more dangerous and so on...

:omg:

I was dumbfounded, to say the least. You can understand when a doctor has a friend in the biz he'd like to send people to, but this seemed more like he was really concerned that this would be a bad choice for me safety-wise.

He then recommended Dr. Ross McMahon. I guess this McMahon is an obesity specialist from Duke University who is apparently starting up a practice here and comes highly recommended...

At least he was supportive of both the lap-band and bypass for me. He didn't push any silly diets which I was grateful for.

At the end of the visit he sort of revised his earlier warning by saying that he would put Dr. Fox third on the list of who I should see for bariatric surgery. I think he realized he might have laid it on a little thick?

I don't know what to think. I've heard a rumour elsewhere about the father, Dr. Ross Fox, having some issues with his license and malpractice accusations due to his age and that he stopped doing surgery because of this. But I hadn't heard anything bad about his son, Dr. Earl Fox. Is it a "sins of the father" situation? Dr. Dagg didn't know they were a father/son team, so how good is his info?

:help:

[TheCascadian 1]

Thanks Jack. Yeah, I'm going to have to dig into this.

I still am just sort of shocked at how negative it all was. I mean, I went to SWLC because of the GOOD REP they seem to have online. Or am I just crazy?

We'll see. *sigh*

[GayleTX 1]

At ObestityHelp.com there are forums for each state and much information about the surgeons that practice in that state.....both the official stuff and the 'customer opinions'.

[Ariel 1]

Well i guess it come down to do you trust your pcp. Personally if my PCP told me that i would switch doctors because i think she has my best interest at heart. However if you feel unsure just check with the state board like jack said.

[nbjen 0]

Hi,

I'm new to this board and in the process of deciding.... I just went to a seminar by Dr Fox and I really liked him. The seminar was mostly him, Blanche and Dr Earl Fox spoke for a while too. I felt really comfortable and pretty much decided they were the clinic for me but now I've read your post and I wish if a Doctor was going to say something like that they would back it up with a reason. I'm going to be a self pay and I thought since they did so many surgeries they would have the experience that would help me be successful. Geesh!! Can you post if you find anything? I checked online at www.doh.wa.gov and I couldn't find a license for Dr Ross Fox but did see that Dr Earl Fox was in good standing and it didn't say that he has any discipline against him. At the seminar I went to last week Dr Ross Fox said he doesn't do surgery anymore but is still involved with his practice. He just said he retired from it. Thanks for sharing!!

[TheCascadian 1]

Can you post if you find anything? I checked online at www.doh.wa.gov and I couldn't find a license for Dr Ross Fox but did see that Dr Earl Fox was in good standing and it didn't say that he has any discipline against him.

Okay, here we go. The old man's name is Samuel Ross Fox. He is using his first initial for a reason, I guess. LOL!

https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/hpqa1/Application/Credential_Search/Legal_Document_Index.asp?PCN=MD00005293&VID=5756b4b13db7d758a090a8600537a6f6&SID=

https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/hpqa1/Application/Credential_Search/documents/rad2A695.pdf

https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/hpqa1/Application/Credential_Search/documents/rad1F205.pdf

https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/hpqa1/Application/Credential_Search/documents/radD2587.pdf

The short version is this:

In 1984, Dr. S. Ross Fox got caught in London's Heathrow Airport with Cocaine and Marijuana. He was charged, convicted, fined and released.

In 1998, the Medical Board here in WA finally found out about his drug conviction in London and suspended his license for 1 year with additional drug testing.

He started practicing again in 1999. In 2001, he finished his drug testing and had been clean for years, so they finally released him from all the monitoring.

Needless to say, his son was not involved with this at all.

Neither of them has been in trouble for harming a patient or even for being on drugs while treating one... This all occured "off-duty", if you will.

Turns out this *IS* a "sins of the father" sort of situation, the old man and his son can't even escape from the cloud of it TWENTY-THREE YEARS after the initial wrong-doing and SIX YEARS after the punishment for it is over!!!

I'm going back to the my PCP to have a little talk with him about this. I'm annoyed, to say the least. He's portraying this as a medical safety issue. I don't think my Doctors' father's drug abuse in the 70s and 80s is really going to affect my health... Geez.

[debra.solberg 0]

I have a 10 year relationship with Dr Fox and he is brilliant. He is not only trained in bariatric surgery but there are few surgeons that have performed as many surgerys and have 20 + years of documented case studies. Do people die? Occassionally. Do keep in mind we are high risk patients. When I made my surgeon choice I went for the Dr with the most knowledge and best track record.

I believe it was unethical of your PCP to suggest that Dr Ross Fox was not qualified due to rumors. If he wants to put business his buddy's way fine. I think it was equally wrong of you to put out negative information as well.

Kudos to Dr Fox for still carrying about his thousands of patients and forsaking retirement to still follow patients like me 12 years after the fact.

Sincerely,

D Solberg

[snowbird 2]

I am very glad that you have had a good relationship with this doctor and he has treated you successfully. However, the opening poster did nothing wrong in asking about him, nor in reporting the facts of his past difficulties.

[heartfire 4]

I am very glad that you have had a good relationship with this doctor and he has treated you successfully. However, the opening poster did nothing wrong in asking about him, nor in reporting the facts of his past difficulties.

I agree. What the OP did was state the facts that he had found online, just as anyone else could do. Explained what he'd found and how he felt about it. He also said that he thought it was ridiculous that his PCP was bad-mouthing said Dr. and the son on hearsay, that wasn't even correct to the facts he had found. He was DEFENDING the Dr.s. AND he's going to call his PCP on it!

I found NOTHING wrong with his posts.

I also thing it's WONDERFUL that you like said Dr. so well and are willing to defend him. Thank you!

It is only through these types of posts that we are able to learn about other doctors and their practices. Sometimes, if you don't know HOW to look for a doctor's history or information, you can find someone who has gone to the doctor and has some experience and maybe even a way for you to check his/her credentials.

[kgloverii 0]

I am not familiar with either of the docs, but did want to say that if your PCP is someone you trust, it can't hurt to go with the guy he recommends, as long as you feel comfortable with him.

Good luck in your decision!

[jenny36 0]

I am brand new to this blogging thing but I had surgery Aug 2 2007 and have had nothing but problems with Dr Fox who was my surgeon. They did not prepare with enough time to change my diet before the surgery at the pre opt appt. The appt was not even set not even a full week before surgury and there telling me things I should already have been doing that is only the start for me. After having the surgery with Earl Fox I had concerns and called there after care number with no reply a coworker finally got a hold of him and my concerns were nothing but Constipation my mind had been going wild with band infections or slipagge but no one was easing my mind. Then I find out my surgeon is moving to Centralia but his father will still take care of me. I was like okay but they were also changing offices and would be closed for two weeks to a month and the answering service whould take care of me. That turned out to be the biggest load of bull! They were closed more like two months. Before they closed Dr ross fox gave me my first fill. I thought everything would be fine he also put me on pentermine and told me that was the most important part to help me lose weight so I thought to myself why'd I have surgery then and I am private pay so you know it wasn't cheap. Well I had a negitive reaction to the drug I couldn't sleep it was horrible and being two weeks into my first fill I could eat way to much. I called my doctor several times with NO reply from him or anyone in his office. I finally called and told his answering service if I did not hear from him within a week I would find a new doctor. Well I got no reply but finding another doctor to take you on is not easy. I finally found DR OH although his bed side manner is atrocious he takes care of me and his nurses call me back to help when I have issues. So I saw your blogs and wanted to share with you my experience.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

I have a 10 year relationship with Dr Fox and he is brilliant. He is not only trained in bariatric surgery but there are few surgeons that have performed as many surgerys and have 20 + years of documented case studies. Do people die? Occassionally. Do keep in mind we are high risk patients. When I made my surgeon choice I went for the Dr with the most knowledge and best track record.

I believe it was unethical of your PCP to suggest that Dr Ross Fox was not qualified due to rumors. If he wants to put business his buddy's way fine. I think it was equally wrong of you to put out negative information as well.

Kudos to Dr Fox for still carrying about his thousands of patients and forsaking retirement to still follow patients like me 12 years after the fact.

Sincerely,

D Solberg

I don't care if information is negative or positive, that's what we do here.

We share information and exchange experiences. We tell what we know about doctors.

I don't give a rats back side about being PC or etiquette, I care that people have the information needed to make good choices in their health care.

The OP handled this situation perfectly. He told us what his PCP told him, he did his own research, and he came back to tell us the facts. He did a good job and I wish more would do the same.

[*susan* 1,709]

I have a 10 year relationship with Dr Fox and he is brilliant. He is not only trained in bariatric surgery but there are few surgeons that have performed as many surgerys and have 20 + years of documented case studies. Do people die? Occassionally. Do keep in mind we are high risk patients. When I made my surgeon choice I went for the Dr with the most knowledge and best track record.

I believe it was unethical of your PCP to suggest that Dr Ross Fox was not qualified due to rumors. If he wants to put business his buddy's way fine. I think it was equally wrong of you to put out negative information as well.

Kudos to Dr Fox for still carrying about his thousands of patients and forsaking retirement to still follow patients like me 12 years after the fact.

Sincerely,

D Solberg

I am just curious... This is your first post ever to LBT. You didn't introduce yourself in the introductions forum or anything. Instead, you had to have specifically searched for a thread on this doc, because this particular thread that you have responded to is over 1 1/2 years old and no one has responded to it in as long. Then you chastise the original poster. Why?

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

I am just curious... This is your first post ever to LBT. You didn't introduce yourself in the introductions forum or anything. Instead, you had to have specifically searched for a thread on this doc, because this particular thread that you have responded to is over 1 1/2 years old and no one has responded to it in as long. Then you chastise the original poster. Why?

I noticed the same. Thank you for pointing it out.

[georgebals 0]

If my memory is correct Dr. Fox hosted my 1st weight loss seminar. I flew Fairbanks, Alaska to Sea-Tac about 10 years ago. I talked with him at clinic in Tacoma and attended seminar at an Auburn Hospital. They had a tie in, for self pays in Monterrey, Mexico. Everything was positive. I can't remember if lap-band was allowed in U.S. then. I do remember Dr. Fox feeling my small finger bone & saying after surgery I would weigh 160 pounds & have a 32 inch waist. I lost my insurance & job. Didn't get back to Auburn. I quit smoking & lots of other fun stuff. Got rotator cuff & spine fusion operations out of the way. Banded 1/15/08. Dr Soong, Las Vegas, Nevada. 117 pounds lost. Thanks for info on forums & Thanks Dr. Fox for introducing me to weight loss. In 10 years the band become very popular. I'm glad I waited till I was ready. Like I said all my contacts were positive. At the time it was the best weight loss clinic & closest to Alaska. Good luck all. hasta Pronto, George P.S. Since band I have quit bread, Pasta, morphine,potatoes & a bunch of other fun stuff.:cool: