lexusgirl14

Hi Ann 10,
I am awaiting sleeve surgery by Dr. Cantor, an doctor who performs WLS at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Md. He is an excellent doctor, is friendly and straigth forward. He only performs Kaiser surgeries on Mondays and with Kaiser no longer using George Washington University Hospital, Dr. Cantor has a long waiting list.
You will need to attend bariatric informational sessions at Holy Cross. You will find them listed on the Holy Cross Hospital web site under special programs or somthing similar. The session that focuses on Kaiser is the fourth Wednesday of each month and he requires patients to attend 2 or 3 sessions. You must register for the meetings but there is no charge. Information regarding the online support group is on the web site. I highly recommend you join this group. I have learned so much from members who have had the surgery!
Dr. Cantor requires a sleep apnea test, so seek a referral from your PCP as soon as possible. Kaiser has several sleep study sections in the area. You will receive a machine to take home and hook-up the various wires to your body to record your sleep patterns and oxygen level. The machine must be returned the next day and a doctor reviews the data stored in the machine and determines if you have sleep apnea. Having sleep apnea will not cancel your surgery. A diagnosis of sleep apnea means that you will have to bring the CPAP machine to the hospital.
He also requires a test to determine if a certain bacteria is in your stomach (can't remember the name). However, he will tell you about the test at the informational session. After surgery his patients must inject themselves with a blood thinner to decrease the occurance of blood clots.
Hope this helps!