Hurley in Flint

Teachlady · May 9, 2007

I had lapband surgery at Port Huron and I am quite satisfied. I do have a 4 hour drive there and 4 hour drive back. I live in Oscoda.
It's quite a way, but I am confident that Dr. Bhesania is the best.

I've lost over 50 pounds now since last June.

jillia

Hey Jillia!! You are pretty close to me. I'm in Alpena and drove down Monday for my appointment today. It's 4 hours for me and I had Dr. Bhesania! I don't suppose you're a nurse, are you? My DSIL is a PA at the old airbase in Oscoda..

Suz · May 9, 2007

I'm fairly close to both of you, I'm just south-west of Tawas. My parents used to live in one of the houses on the old airforce base in Oscoda. I just got banded May 1st, I go back to Hurley to have my staples removed thursday, 2 hours one way is long enough! Do you know of any support groups nearby? Suz

Teachlady · May 9, 2007

I'm fairly close to both of you, I'm just south-west of Tawas. My parents used to live in one of the houses on the old airforce base in Oscoda. I just got banded May 1st, I go back to Hurley to have my staples removed thursday, 2 hours one way is long enough! Do you know of any support groups nearby? Suz

I've been wondering the same thing. I looked online and there used to be a support group that met at the hospital here, but apparently it.. forgive the pun.. disbanded. Wish we could get one started in this area. I can't travel 4 hours for a support meeting... just don't have the time in my schedule these days. Nor the money at the price of gas these days!!!!!

Yooper · June 2, 2007

I'm fairly close to both of you, I'm just south-west of Tawas. My parents used to live in one of the houses on the old airforce base in Oscoda. I just got banded May 1st, I go back to Hurley to have my staples removed thursday, 2 hours one way is long enough! Do you know of any support groups nearby? Suz

Why did you have staples?? I just had steristrips.

faithmd · June 3, 2007

Why did you have staples?? I just had steristrips.

Yooper, Hurley chooses to use staples for closure. They've apparently only had one possible infection in all their years of bariatric surgery. So they have stuck with the staples. If you react to the staples and know it, they will close you with suture, but on the skin it will not be a dissolvable suture, and it will likely be a 0-0 and heavy.

I asked for steri-strips or preferably "glue" but they said nope (I really wanted less scarring). So I'll be having the sutures. Staples make me itch like the dickens.

saralyn · June 24, 2007

One of my Girlfriends had surgery at Hurley (not obesity but ortho) and received a horrible burn in the OR from the Bouve pad (spelling-sorry) it's the pad they lie underneath you that conducts heat to the cauterizer. She has since had to have 3 other surgeries and will have her fourth-skin grafts-on the same day I go for LapBand. Needless to say she isn't going back to Hurley.

That's the only first hand experience I know of them, also I recently had a pretty bad in-patient experience at Huron Valley Hospital in commerce twp, but I don't think they do too many LapBands there.

I'm going to Harper Hospital on 6/27 with Dr. Nunn, his staff is very kind & efficient and everything has gone so smoothly I expected to have the preparations take much longer but they had my approval before my consultation with Dr.Nunn. He is nice, softspoken and open I went for a RNY consult, he does both and he steered me away from RNY for various reasons relating to my health. I was impressed with his honesty. He also told me both his parents and a sister had the band and were doing very well.

-Good Luck! No matter which you choose I'm sure you will research and make the best decision for you.

-Sara

Yooper · June 24, 2007

I love Dr. Bhasania in Port Huron, I was something like his 350th band, since then he has done over 1000 and now he is an instructor who teaches other surgeons, so I feel pretty lucky, I just wish he wasn't so far away now that I've moved to the UP, but there is a new Dr. in Marquette I'm going to see next month for follow-up. My band was done in Feb. 03, no problems so far but I need someone near-by who is familiar with the proceedure just in case.

faithmd · June 25, 2007

My experience at Hurley was pretty great. ANYONE, ANY HOSPITAL can oops and a patient can get a burn from the Bovie pad.

I ended up getting closed with staples despite my desire for sutures. I pled my case and Dr. Wagner pled his, and in the end, his case made more sense to me, so I agreed to the staples. One incision has one staple, three have two and the port scar (above my belly button) has five.

I drew all over my belly with permanent marker (industrial strength) where my braline is, where I wear the waistbands of my pants (scrubs and jeans) and that I wanted the AP band ONLY. You know what? He avoided every single line, he went in between them for eveything he placed. I couldn't be more thrilled. I also asked for and received the box my AP came in (AP small). I was admitted overnight and i do remember being in a great deal of pain in the recovery room and moaning a lot. I remember being told that moaning wasn't doing me any good and me saying, but *I* feel better! I got a morphine PCA and was admitted to their burn/bariatric unit. I shared a room with another Bandster and we both loved on our PCA's all night. I had to pee every two hours and I think the nurses got sick of hearing my call light all the time to get me up. My lower belly, mostly around my port incision, is completely numb. I don't know if that was intentional (liks a dose of something placed in there) or an unintentional side effect of the surgery. But I'll take it for now.

The only real complaint I have is the huge rash I've got from the tape, but that's no one's fault. I never reacted before.

All in all it was a really good experience, DH said he had never been in a hospital where folks had been nicer (and we've seen the insides of loads of hospitals).

I was the first AP placement at Hurley, and I'm kind of geeked by that.

babygrl1234 · June 26, 2007

Faith, Out of curiosity what was his reasoning for the staples vs sutures?

faithmd · June 26, 2007

With staples if an incision develops an abcess or an infection or needs to be opened for any reason, you need only remove the staple over the area that needs to be drained. With sutures or steristrips or glue you have to open the entire incision and then you'd be looking at packing the wound. Also, with staples, bad stuff can work it's way out between the staples, but with a sutured or glued wound, nothing can escape. He does have a valid point. When I did burn we always stapled large wounds shut and grafts on for that very reason. Dr. Wagner also told me that in the couple thousand bariatric procedures Hurley has done, their infection rate is less than 1%. He would have gone ahead and put in a running silk suture if I would have truly insisted, but I gave up. Can't really argue with good logic that I've seen in practice before.