Dr. Applebaum, El Paso, TX

Angelica · March 25, 2008

I just wanted to write a review of my surgeon, Dr Bruce Applebaum, and post it, should another person like myself from El Paso come here for advice.

Initially, I came to the Sierra Providence Obesity Clinic. They gathered my paperwork, I had a visit with their in house nutritionist, and with their in house shrink. There was like a 400 question test that I had to take and bubble in, it felt like the sats, I was nervous :thumbup:

There are several surgeons associated with the Sierra Providence Obesity Clinic. Dr. Applebaums name jumped out at me because he had previously performed a hernia surgery on my stepfather.

After all those requirements were met, I worked with the insurance coordinator, I was pushy, I wanted my surgery ASAP, I wanted to move quickly. So, I bugged, and pushed, and called the insurance company and the clinic 3 or 4 times a day. The staff was VERY patient with me, and I knew I was being a pain. Finally, (I say finally, like it was a long time, but it was only 3 weeks) I got my approval. The same day I was scheduled to see Dr. Applebaum. Throughout those 3 weeks, I carefully researched my surgeon, I checked online references, I reached out to other patients I had found online. I looked for complaints.

I also was required to attend his information seminar. I was impressed with the way that he took his time to carefully understand and answer questions of the other patients at the seminar. He LISTENED, and that has not been my common experience with Doctors in El Paso. I asked my questions, he answered, I felt that he leaned toward preferring the Gastric Bypass, but I knew I wanted the band, and he didnt PUSH me, he explained complication rates, and how the band differed from the Bypass.

When I initially met Dr. Applebaum, I got a sense that he was a perfectionist, that he didnt like failure, and that he was incredibly percise. In addition to that, he was very personable, he made me feel comfortable, all of these were good things. My surgery was scheduled QUICKLY. I saw Dr. Applebaum on Thursday, and was scheduled for surgery on Tuesday of the next week. It was sort of a shock, but he expressed having faith in ME. He was impressed with my knowledge of the band, and he appreciated that I had researched, and knew what I wanted.

Surgery day came along, my mother came with me. It didnt help that she was more nervous than I was :eek:. She told Dr Applebaum that he had better keep me safe (I'm 26, but still very much my mothers baby) We went through all the hoops (am I the only one who hated the hospital socks with the treads?) Surgery went well, when I woke up, my port HURT. There were painkillers, and I got a few good snoring naps in afterwards, I was provided a private room with a shower and everything. It was nice, it was comfortable.

Dr. Applebaum came to check on me, sat with me, explained the importance of following the eating guidelines one more time. Looked at all my medications to determine if I could continue taking them, or if they needed to be split up, gave me a perscription for liquid Lortab, and told me that I could go home that night IF I FELT COMFORTABLE. That was a big deal to me, he didnt try to rush me, it was about me feeling up to it and okay, and I did, so I went home.

Subsequent visits to his office are always plesant. Sometimes, there is a wait, however, again, to me, he is worth the wait. My first fill was under floro, subsequent fills were done in office. His staff, his nurses, all of them are more than kind and put up with my cheesy jokes. There is no judgement in his office, its just the Doctor and his staff trying to help you.

So, should anyone have any questions, please feel free to forward them to me, I would be more than happy to help =)

-A

jeweldiva1 · April 24, 2011

Hello. May I ask who your insurance was with and also did you have to pay out of pocket expenses. My BMI is 37 but I have really bad swelling in my joints and pain due to my weight gain. Please help!