I don't think my surgeon has enough experience with lap band!

[chocolate diamond 0]

Hi

I am awaiting a lapband surgery date. I am told sometime in March,:thumbup:but I am very nervous .I don't think my surgeon has enough experience with doing lap band procedures. :scared2:I am getting my lap band done in Chesapeake, Virgina at Bon Sercure. My surgeons name is Dr.Glen Moore .He has only being doing lap band procedures for 2yrs and he has done less than 40 lapband procedures. Should I be worried ? Is there any one out there banded from the state of Virgina? Anyone banded by Dr. Glen Moore?:cursing:

Please help me !!

[luluc 6]

not from VA (use to live there), but 40 bands in 2yrs isn't enough experience for me. i went to a lapband only dr, who had done thousands before me - he probably does more than 40 a month...is there another dr you can go to?

i think practice makes perfect & 40 wouldn't cut it for me...good luck!

[chocolate diamond 0]

Thank you! Luluc

[Shinyhappymommy 2]

My surgeon had a lot less than 40 and in retrospect I can't believe I went with him. I would look for someone with more experience.

[TQUAD64 9]

I am not from VA, but my surgeon had done about 30 band procedures before me. She is new to the hospital that I go for my care.

She is young, hip, female, very knowledgeable, agressive with fills, and let me really take control of how I wanted things to go, which I love. I am very anal about being in control, so this relationship works great for me.

In return for all the benefits I was getting from her, she had the chief of the bariatric center in the surgery with her, plus a proctor from LapBand there too! So really, I felt very comfortable with her lack of experience.

It really is a personal decision you will have to ponder.

Good luck!

[RestlessMonkey 7]

While I am glad TQUAD64 had a good experience, I can tell you wholeheartedly to go with experience. Please.

Unless your surgeon will have with him/her another surgeon who has done many many more lap bands. Once they "get in" we are all so different. This is an "easy" surgery (if ANY surgery can be easy!!!) but there are very real risks associated with it (some can be life threatenening, others just life changing) and aside from the normal risks, you need a surgeon who's "been there done that" so that he knows how to handle you.

For example my surgeon had done over 1000 Band surgeries and I was the first one that he couldn't move the liver because it was too thick. OVER 1000 surgeries and he was still seeing "new" things.

That is a rule of thumb for any surgery....you want an old pro. Diagnostics etc...you might want a newby who's up on all the latest research etc. But anyone who's going to place something inside you, or remove something from inside you...you want someone who knows the territory and procedure and could almost do it in their sleep, so that if you are that rare person who has complications, they'll know what to do.

[MacMadame 81]

A good rule of thumb is that the surgeon has done 250 or more of your procedure. There have been some studies showing that it takes that long to get proficient in bariatrics.

Now, there are exceptions.... some surgeons are just brilliant and so you might want to take a chance on them. But in general you want experience.

[Headhunter 6]

Don't walk.....RUN away from this surgeon.

You want EXPERIENCE, and LOTS of it.

I know that all LB surgeons have to start somewhere, but you need to have them learn their trade on someone besides YOU.

My surgeon was a reknowned trauma surgeon at a world-class medical center in Los Angeles. But he was not all that experienced in LB surgery, I found out later. Even though he had several EXPERIENCED surgeons with him, he still botched MY surgery, and It has created a LOT pain and suffering in my life.

So, I don't care HOW MUCH you like the guy personally, how blue his eyes are, how nice his car is, etc....If he doesn't have several HUNDRED LB's under belt (pun intended), then steer clear of him. I also don't care if he is experienced in heart transplants, vasectomies, penis enlargements, Brain Surgery or ANYTHING ELSE.....if he's not an EXPERT in the Lap band, STAY AWAY.

[RayeP 0]

The surgeon might be hip, but the proctor and head surgeon won't be with her when she's managing your care. I see alot of people shopping for surgeons by price or personality or whatever, but managing your ongoing care is so important to your results too. Experience counts :cursing:

By the way, you say you like to control things, but you are now going to be a partner with your surgeon and shouldnt be controlling something that your surgeon should be the expert on! choose an expert and then listen to him (or her)

[Biglilmama75 0]

Ooooh, that's a tough call! I did a lot of research on docs, as I prefer someone with experience. I'm pretty sure that you have to have done many procedures in order to be "certified" by the makers of the product (I think I saw that on the actual Lap Band website). I was comfortable knowing that my doc has always been a bariatric surgeon and has done thousands of LB surgeries (Dr. Nick Gabriel of St. Cath's of Sienna in NY).

In my opinion, I would go with someone who had plenty of experience and equally as high a success rate. It doesn't matter if the doc has done hundreds or millions of LB procedures... If his success rate is low - C-ya! There are lots of surgeons out there who do procedures just to make good money. You know what I mean?

Good luck to you!

[chocolate diamond 0]

Thanks for the advice !! I have a lot to think about.

[TQUAD64 9]

Another good rule is selecting a Bariatric Center of Excellence. The doctors and the hospital receive this recognition after meeting several requirements.

The insurance I have only referred me to Bariatric doctors who were working at a Bariatric Center. If you would like to learn about this, below is a link.

Surgical Review Corporation

As one of the other posters mention, aftercare is critical. I really enjoy my aftercare with my doctor. But it goes further than that, how do the support staff treat you, such as the nurses, PA, clerical staff, psychiatrist, and nutritionist. The bariatric center I attend, has all these positions centrally located in one office area. And what are the support groups like?

I suppose most importantly, how many deaths occurred at the center during the surgery and/or during recovery? What is the centers complication rates, such as slip bands, infections, and port flips???

These were all questions I asked my doctor and the Chief Bariatric surgeon who assisted her.

It is a lot too consider, so good luck with your decision. :-)

[chocolate diamond 0]

Tquad64, thank you so much. Your web site help me to at least start looking for a bariatric surgeron that is more experince in lapband procedure.

You rock!!

[Jachut 487]

Its not the surgery itself that would worry me, its a simply and fairly uncomplicated procedure. Of course, practice and good technique will greatly reduce your risk of complications.

What I woudl be wanting though is a surgeon who is well and truly experienced with the everyday queries and problems that arise for a bandster. I dont want a doctor who is just going to prescribe some stupid Atkins style diet for me becuase he really has no idea about how the band (or my body) works. I want someone who really KNOWS, not someone who quotes a textbook.

I also want someone with a staff who is good at fills and wont do stupid things like rush them, make them too big, or have some set idea of what a fill schedule could be without the experience to know when to change it, what is OK to tweak a bit, what is not. I want to see someone highly qualified for my fills, not some idiot who's going to puncture my tubing or suck all the Fluid out to check and then miss the port.

The surgery is the easy bit, the aftercare is where so many seem to be inadequate.

Edited February 9, 2009 by Jachut

[Headhunter 6]

Its not the surgery itself that would worry me, its a simply and fairly uncomplicated procedure. Of course, practice and good technique will greatly reduce your risk of complications.

What I woudl be wanting though is a surgeon who is well and truly experienced with the everyday queries and problems that arise for a bandster. I dont want a doctor who is just going to prescribe some stupid Atkins style diet for me becuase he really has no idea about how the band (or my body) works. I want someone who really KNOWS, not someone who quotes a textbook.

I also want someone with a staff who is good at fills and wont do stupid things like rush them, make them too big, or have some set idea of what a fill schedule could be without the experience to know when to change it, what is OK to tweak a bit, what is not. I want to see someone highly qualified for my fills, not some idiot who's going to puncture my tubing or suck all the Fluid out to check and then miss the port.

The surgery is the easy bit, the aftercare is where so many seem to be inadequate.

I'm not all that sure I would characterize ANY surgery as "simple and fairly uncomplicated".

They are opening your skin (an organ) going through what is possibly a LARGE amount of fat and tissue, and wrapping a piece of plastic around ANOTHER organ (stomach) and then stitching yet another piece of plastic (the port).....get my drift?

This is what astounds me about the cavalier attitude so many people have about this procedure. It's SURGERY. And while it's relatively safe these days you really HAVE to have someone really, really competent to do it, or you may have some serious problems down the road. Aftercare is a BIG part of that. But please don't minimize complexity of this procedure.