Dr. Gerald Kirshenbaum - Logistics of surgery with Dr K.

[kraney 0]

Party!

I live 20 miles north of Lincoln in Wahoo! It's such a small world! Lincoln was the "big city" that I went to as a kid for shopping. We lived there for a few years out of college, and then moved to Wahoo when we started having kids. It's a lovely town!

Yes, I've talked to Dr Hung's office, and they were willing to do aftercare if I had the surgery with a different doc. They were pretty pricey - I think around $350-$400, depending on if you need flouro, but they were willing to do it. I think they are quite experienced. I know that the ER at St. Elizabeth's knows to call one of those doctors if you need emergency care.

If Dr K's office was anywhere farther than Denver, I'd probably go to Lincoln for after care. But I think I can fly to Denver for cheaper than that, plus I'd have the benefit of seeing my original surgeon.

Thanks for the invite over to the Considering Dr K thread. I'll post my questions there from now on!

Thanks so much!

Kim

[PrtyAntOvrYt 6]

Party!

I live 20 miles north of Lincoln in Wahoo! It's such a small world! Lincoln was the "big city" that I went to as a kid for shopping. We lived there for a few years out of college, and then moved to Wahoo when we started having kids. It's a lovely town!

Yes, I've talked to Dr Hung's office, and they were willing to do aftercare if I had the surgery with a different doc. They were pretty pricey - I think around $350-$400, depending on if you need flouro, but they were willing to do it. I think they are quite experienced. I know that the ER at St. Elizabeth's knows to call one of those doctors if you need emergency care.

If Dr K's office was anywhere farther than Denver, I'd probably go to Lincoln for after care. But I think I can fly to Denver for cheaper than that, plus I'd have the benefit of seeing my original surgeon.

Thanks for the invite over to the Considering Dr K thread. I'll post my questions there from now on!

Thanks so much!

Kim

So is 20 miles north of Lincoln, about 1/3 of the way to Omaha? I've highly considered moving back to Lincoln. I have so many friends there and I'd be able to go to Physician Assistant school. I absolutely love Lincoln. When I was in school there in the 80's it cost an arm and two legs to get a flight anywhere. I imagine Omaha is much cheaper now that Southwest flies out of there. Southwest has these three day sales. They are excellent. I fly all over the place for $49.00 one way. I've become a flying fool.

When I considered moving to Lincoln, I wondered if there would be a good band doctor there to do fills if I couldn't get out here to Denver. I, actually haven't needed a fill since last December. It's almost been a year. I still have restriction. Amazing! We are all so different. Each other of us has to deal with different restriction. Some it takes a long time to get restriction and others get it almost immediately post op. I got mine right away and really have needed few fills. I started at an extremely high BMI and I think that might have made the difference.

I'd love to work at St E's. I've interviewed with their NICU, but then decided not to move there.

You're going to love Dr. K and his office staffed. :thumbup:

[kraney 0]

Well, Omaha is northeast of Lincoln. I'm 20 miles north, so I still have about 20 miles east to get to Omaha, or at least the very west edge. The Omaha airport is downtown, though, so that's about another 40 minute drive from the west edge of town for me. My husband works in downtown Omaha, and his commute is about an hour and 15 minutes, and he's a short drive from the airport. However, the interstate is a direct route from Omaha to Lincoln, so from the airport to Lincoln would be a little over an hour that way.

St E's is beautiful. Not sure if you've seen it recently, but it's had tons of remodeling done. I had both of my kids there, and it's like a vacation going to the hospital. Also, if you haven't been here for a while, Lincoln General and Bryan hospitals combined. They still have the same buildings, but they're now BryanLGH East and BryanLGH West. Both of those buildings have had extensive remodeling, too.

Lincoln really is a lovely town, we just wanted our kids in a small school. My husband and I were in the same high school class, and we had 22 kids, so we didn't want our girls in a huge school.

I would obviously be pleased if I could get good restriction form the beginning. I'm not starting at a very high BMI (40, I guess it's all relative), but hopefully I won't have to travel too much.

Speaking of flying for cheap, my sis-in-law has been kidding about getting married in Vegas and saving all the money that she's spending on a huge wedding in downtown Lincoln. I was looking at flights yesterday, and for some strange reason, little ole' Grand Island, NE has direct flights to Vegas for $39 one way! Isn't that crazy? Hotels in Vegas are SO cheap, and I don't gamble, so my hubby and I could take a trip to Vegas for a week for about $350. Ridiculous!

Talk to you later!

Kim

[PrtyAntOvrYt 6]

Well, Omaha is northeast of Lincoln. I'm 20 miles north, so I still have about 20 miles east to get to Omaha, or at least the very west edge. The Omaha airport is downtown, though, so that's about another 40 minute drive from the west edge of town for me. My husband works in downtown Omaha, and his commute is about an hour and 15 minutes, and he's a short drive from the airport. However, the interstate is a direct route from Omaha to Lincoln, so from the airport to Lincoln would be a little over an hour that way.

St E's is beautiful. Not sure if you've seen it recently, but it's had tons of remodeling done. I had both of my kids there, and it's like a vacation going to the hospital. Also, if you haven't been here for a while, Lincoln General and Bryan hospitals combined. They still have the same buildings, but they're now BryanLGH East and BryanLGH West. Both of those buildings have had extensive remodeling, too.

Lincoln really is a lovely town, we just wanted our kids in a small school. My husband and I were in the same high school class, and we had 22 kids, so we didn't want our girls in a huge school.

I would obviously be pleased if I could get good restriction form the beginning. I'm not starting at a very high BMI (40, I guess it's all relative), but hopefully I won't have to travel too much.

Speaking of flying for cheap, my sis-in-law has been kidding about getting married in Vegas and saving all the money that she's spending on a huge wedding in downtown Lincoln. I was looking at flights yesterday, and for some strange reason, little ole' Grand Island, NE has direct flights to Vegas for $39 one way! Isn't that crazy? Hotels in Vegas are SO cheap, and I don't gamble, so my hubby and I could take a trip to Vegas for a week for about $350. Ridiculous!

Talk to you later!

Kim

I haven't seen St E's since the 80's. I went there as a student social worker and haven't been there since. My interview was done over the phone. The manager was so nice! I read somewhere that LGH and Bryan merged. Has that been a good thing? I remember living in Lincoln when they filmed "Terms of Endearment" -- they filmed some at LGH. Wow! I'm really dating myself here!

I love Vegas. I'm not a gambler at all. Maybe a slot machine or two, but not really into losing my money. I do love the peaple watching, shopping and resturants. My daughter is studying to be a chef, so she loves to go and eat at the various places. It's fun. I've been twice since being banded and have learned that buffets are a total waste of money. We love to share a meal and that works really well. We ate at Wolfgang Pucks' place a year ago and it was so good!

You'll find that most banders are on the lower BMI's. I was one of Dr. K's highest. I'm not proud of that at all. But I think that is why I had restriction almost immediately and haven't needed many adjustments. I think my stomach is so big that an unfilled band is enough! (that's just my theory!)

Well, talk to you later! I'll be in Lincoln next April for my 25 year reunion from college. Maybe we can meet!:thumbup:

[kraney 0]

Oh man, if you haven't seen St E's since the 80's, it'll be quite the change. Maybe you'll have time to see it when you're back for your reunion. Surely you'll be going by the stadium, won't you? It's had quite a few changes done, too. I think it now holds over 80K, which is probably quite a bit more since you were there.

Regarding the Bryan/LGH merger, I guess I'm not sure if it's better or not. My mom spent significant time at Bryan in the early 90's, so my family did too, but I really haven't seen either of the Bryan/LGH hospitals since then. I purposely avoided having my kids there because I spent so much time there with my mom as a kid. I wanted my kids' births to be at a happy place!

I would love to meet next year! I'm hoping to schedule my surgery in February or March (our income tax refund is our main source of funds for this), so we'll see what shape I'm in!

Thanks for all your help!!

[paracelsus51 0]

Wow, I am running into so many people from Lincoln on here. I never expected that. This will be the first year I've had something to deduct on the taxes. I had Dr. K do my surgery, but I go to UNMC in Omaha for aftercare.

[kraney 0]

Really? How is everything? Do you have any vital information for me? I just scheduled my surgery a few days ago. March 11th is my day!

[paracelsus51 0]

Wow, March weather will be a worry. I think the others gave great advice. I had my surgery in June. My mom came with me and we stayed at the Comfort Inn and Suites Denver South. Comfy and free Breakfast. Not that I got any of that. Got a good package price online with car. It's cheaper to get hotel with car than separate. Flew Southwest, so got a great flight price. Dr. K did a great job with my surgery and I've not had any problems with it. I wouldn't drive, even to save money. You will also need to stay a couple days after surgery. The day after is miserable and you will be really sore, mostly by your large incision where they stuff everything in. Getting up and down requires help. You will get your meds the day before after your appointment with Dr. K. He is very nice, but firm. Do yourself a favor and don't overeat before the surgery. Afterwords, every bump and movement will hurt, so a long car ride won't be fun. I found the liquid drugs to be effective and not make me sick.

Also, you should consider getting local aftercare. I can highly recommend Dr. McBride's clinic at UNMC. It's located in the medical building at 42nd and Emile. I think fills are $150 and are done under fluoroscope. They also have package you can buy, but I don't remember how much that is. They are very good and patient. They don't just put you in a room to be filled, like the Lincoln office does. You meet with the nurses to get checked out and answer questions and make sure you are on the right track. They are used to dealing with people who didn't have their surgery there. They also deal with GERD, which is my problem and the main reason I got the band. They coordinate my care with my other doctors.

When you get a fill, if you have problems, it may be half an hour or a day or two later. If you go to Denver, and if you have a problem, you've got to find help locally.

I am glad I went to Dr. K. I was treated very well and it was a very good surgical experience. I also had a good anesthesiologist. Sean O'Connor, I think. Didn't ding my lip, chip a tooth, or leave me with a sore throat. I also didn't have any gas problems. I was properly degassed.

That's all I can think of.

[kraney 0]

Hmm . . . see, some other folks have recommended driving over flying, as they said I can get up and move when ever I want, take my time, etc, and not be stuck in a plane with no options, even though it is only a short flight. Especially because I'd still have an hour + drive to get home. I guess to each his own. I've been planning on driving. But I guess there's nothing stopping me from changing my mind.

I had been planning on going back to Denver for aftercare, but I had never looked at anyone in Omaha for that. I visited Dr Taducci (sp?) at St E's in Lincoln, before I had found Dr K and had been planning on going to Mexico. To put it nicely, he didn't seem so fond of providing me aftercare when he didn't do the initial surgery. He basically told me he would do it, but he wasn't going to be happy about it. That obviously turned me off from aftercare there.

How many fills have you needed since the surgery? Is everything going well for you?

Hope you're doing well with this blizzard!

[paracelsus51 0]

I flew from Omaha to Denver and back and mom drove me home to Lincoln. I was in the airplane for less than two hours, with very few bumps. The car ride home was annoying, but I am so glad we didn't drive 8 hours. You may think you can move around all you want to in a car, but you are driving for hours and if you keep stopping, it just takes that much longer. Getting in and out is hard and tiring. When you don't feel good and hurt, it's not fun. You are also looking at doing this in winter too, so the drive could be even longer and slower. That is something to consider. I didn't want to get up in the plane. I slept. I was still doped up a bit.

Yep, I went to that same office for my aftercare in Lincoln. Another doctor (ok, you don't see the doctor for the fills). They charge $200 for your first fill, $100 after that. I think it's another $150 on top of that if you need fluoroscoped. The post op check up was something like $150 for two minutes with the doctor. The follow up is non-existent, you are just getting fills, that's it. And yes, they are not happy at all, really, to see you when they didn't do the surgery. They are also in a hurry and you are keeping them from the next patient. No one in that office has ever been overweight, so don't expect understanding. Needless to say, I wasn't happy with them. I don't encourage people to go there for aftercare.

I had one fill in Lincoln at four weeks, which was too much and too early, and set off my GERD (I should note, if I haven't, that I chose the band to control my GERD. Nothing else helped and the normal surgery wasn't an option because of my weight). They took half of it out, but made sure I knew it was my fault and they did nothing wrong. I am now empty and have been since I went up to Omaha and they took everything out so my stomach could recover. I will be for a while to come. I have lost 34lbs since surgery in June. I have had some other health problems unrelated to my band, so I haven't been able to exercise properly or it would probably be more. I have restriction for solids even with no fill. Fluids cannot be allowed to back up into my esophagus due to the GERD, so I will never be able to have a huge fill. I am seriously feeling better than I have in the last three years. One side effect of the band is that my triglycerides and cholesterol are down to the normal range and I was off those meds in less than three months of surgery.

Dr. K will tell you that most doctors are trained to fill you full enough that Fluid gets backed up into your esophagus when you drink. You have to sip and pause. He doesn't believe in this and won't fill you to that kind of restriction. I can't imagine why you wouldn't want fluids to go strait down. Drink a lot. It really helps.

I get off work tomorrow, so I say, let it blow. I am going to sleep in and make sure to shut off the alarm. It's blowing like crazy and I will be curious to see how much snow we really get. I love snow days, even as a grown up.

[kraney 0]

So Dr McBride in Omaha is who you see? Is she trained to fill you to the point of liquids coming back up? How much do you pay her?

Hmm . . .sounds like the Lincoln office isn't all it's cracked up to be - unless of course you've had your surgery there.

That's unfortunate about your first fill in Lincoln. How long was it before they took half back out? Lovely that they make you feel bad about it.

I've never had heartburn issues, even when I was pregnant. Honestly (I may be ignorant here, so help me if I am), I'm hoping to avoid too many major issues. I think I'm fairly young for this (29), don't have a HUGE BMI (39), and I have zero medical issues, other than being over weight. My BP, heart rate, cholesterol etc are all within a normal range. I take no meds. HOWEVER, I have diabetes, heart issues, and cancers related to weight all in my immediate family. So I'm trying to get on it before I really have to pay for being overweight.

[paracelsus51 0]

I go to the UNMC clinic. Unless something is really wrong, you won't see the surgeon after your post op check up. That is normal for pretty much every office.

You see the nurses and then you go down to the x-ray lab. They do all the fills under fluoroscope. I believe the cost is $150. They also have that package that covers everything for a year, but I don't remember the cost. I don't know what the office fee is. My insurance pays for my office visits as they are also treating my GERD, but wouldn't cover any fills. One thing you need to know is that, no matter what they suggest, you are in control of your fills. If you want to go slow, then go slow. You may have no issue with a big fill at all or you may need smaller fills. They can remove it if it's too much. They have an emergency number, so if there is a problem, you can come in most anytime.

My stomach is very sensitive and I have constant issues because of the constant reflux. I spent the last couple of years in absolute misery. GERD is not heartburn, it's a horrible experience that has many negative effects on your body. So, my reaction shouldn't scare you as you are unlikely to have the same problem. I had a reaction to my fill within half an hour. I was sick and felt horrible. I couldn't get back in until the next day. They took half out, but weren't happy about it.

I should also note that it doesn't help if they did your surgery, my best friend had her surgery there and got some very bad treatment. She is not aggressive and spent two years thinking she had failed, as they told her she was obviously not following the program. She's going to the same clinic I am now and is much happier and back to losing again. She also had other problems they helped her with, like her edema. Think the other office could've maybe caught that? Anyroad, I've said enough about them.

I had borderline high blood sugar too. That's gone. We have many of the same issues running in my family as you do. The odds are, you will do just fine. The first part is to get a properly installed lapband, which Dr. K will do.

The second is to follow the rules. You will be SO sick of liquids. I love Campbells Soup at hand. I ate at a lot of that. I didn't strain it. The bits are so small, it didn't cause any problems. They have several flavors. Creamy chicken and Creamy Tomato Parmesan Bisque are my favorites. You can add Protein powder if you like. I hate Protein Powder and Protein shakes. Slimfast makes me gag. I drink Instant Breakfast and still have it for breakfast most mornings. My stomach isn't happy in the am. You can premake some things to eat. Cook up some meat and puree it add a bit of Water to thin it, then freeze it in portions. You can do this with veggies too. I still haven't touched the popsicles I got and will probably throw them away. Drink yourself silly.

[kraney 0]

Thanks for all of your help, I really appreciate any knowledge that can be passed on.

My hubby and I were talking about traveling, and we thought about this. Tell me if you think it's ridiculous . . .

I'm thinking of us both driving out there, doing the surgery, and then me flying home, while he drives the car home.

I'm obviously trying to save money (this is all self pay), but I don't want an 8 hour car ride if you say it's going to be miserable. But can I be trusted for 3 or 4 hours by myself in an airport/plane? I don't know how out of it I'll be. Also, I have plenty of family that could pick me up from the airport, I don't need to worry about my hubby being several hours behind me.

Thoughts?

[paracelsus51 0]

Well, at this point, it's $134 to fly Southwest roundtrip or probably $67 one way. If I had to do it, I would fly. I wouldn't be in a car for any longer than I had to. Many people have done it, so you could. You can take your liquid meds through security, but they will check them to see if they are bombs or leave them with the hubby. Not a big deal. You can send your baggage home with the husband so you don't have much to carry. They will give you a ride to the gate if you need it, just let them know. It's really a long walk and a train ride to the gate. I had my mom with me and at that point I was still having trouble reaching my shoes. Yes, I could've done it by myself. You just sit and you can also request early boarding so you won't be bounced or bumped by the other folks getting on the plane.

Give the UNMC clinic a call and find out what their program is and what it will cost you. That will give you an idea what to prepare for, when to set stuff up and you may be able to attend some support stuff beforehand if you want to do that sort of thing. You can also call around if they don't work out for you. Omaha has some choices, in Lincoln, we don't.

[Lap_dancer 8]

Old post here but for anyone comparing driving to flying....uh, fly.

You call the airline after reservations through something like Cheapoair or Kayak or Priceline...

Then you tell them you need wheelchair assistance to the gate and if connecting...gate to gate for connecting. They will input that on your ticket and the folks should be waiting when you arrive. If not. Remind them.