I am self-pay, and I have my first appt, self pay consultation, on Halloween. The appt is with the Weight Loss Center thru Meritus Medical Center, I see where they have 4 surgeons listed under providers. I haven't seen anyone on LBT list any of these doctors. I'm also keeping in mind that Meritus is fairly new and maybe that's why. The doctors are Dr. DiMarco, Dr. Small, Dr. Prashar, and Dr. Rosenberger. Has anyone had these doctors?

From the information I can find, if I was going to have the surgery, I'd chose Dr, Small.

The Meritus Medical Center is a Center of Excellence, which is usually a good recommendation,

Dr. Small has good credentials and would probably do a excellent job, but you need to

research that yourself. Lots of luck

Hey there. Just wanted to let you know that I was banded by Dr. Small on Nov. 2, 2011 (4 days ago). He was absolutely spectacular. I interviewed all of the surgeons there and felt that Dr. Small was the best qualified. My guess was correct because the surgery was great and so was Dr. Small. He was extremely informative and was very upfront about the srugery, the requirements that he had of me and what I needed to expect the whole way through. He came in prior to surgery and talked with me... He came in immediately after surgery when I got to my room to make sure everything was okay and he came in the day after when I was about to get discharged and checked on me. I've already had a followup call from his office as well. My wounds are healing wonderfully too.

I'm not sure if I am just lucky or something but I also haven't experienced alot of the gas pain everyone is talking about having and I'm not sure if that is due to something that he did or if I just got lucky and didn't have those issues. All in all I can say that there was no better choice for me to make. From Dr. Small to the staff at Meritus... Everyone was great. Meritus may be a new facility but they certainly perform like a facility that has been around for a long time. The nurses were all extremely nice and promptly came back when they said that they were going to come back.

As far as my surgery is concerned.... I got there on time and they were already prepared and waiting for me . From the time I arrived at Meritus and was ouit for surgery I would say about 45 minutes elapsed. I needed a 4th incision for my surgery but I was told that was a possibility. I weighed 352lbs when I went for surgery. I have not weighed myself yet but I can already feel some weight coming off. I don't really know what else to include here, however feel free to ask me any questions you have about The Weightloss Clinic, Dr. Small or Meritus and I'll certainly do my best to answer them. Best of luck to you with everything. Stick with it... I know it seems like it may be forever between your first consultation and your surgery date but the time FLIES by. It did for me and I'm only 4 days after surgery and still in pain but I already know this is the best decision I have ever made.

Thank you for ur response! My surgery is scheduled for December 14th and you're right it does seem like forever, but its worth the wait I go in for my second appt with him on the 15th, then meet the nutritionist on the 21st, then have an appt with my PCP on the 28th so with all these appts I'm sure the time will fly by lol. I did have a question for him but of course forgot to ask while I was there was, when they place your band, do they fill it at all? Or is it empty until your first fill? I've seen both answers on this forum so I was just wondering what he does.

I'm happy you found a surgeon you're happy with. Your band will probably be empty when you're discharged. Some surgeons

put enough saline in to check everything, but then remove it so you can heal normally. Best of luck.

sorry for the delayed response! Dr. SMall will not put any fill in your band to start because of the swelling in the beginning. Your first fill will come after the swelling has subsided and everything has healed. You will have your first followup appointment 7-10 days after surgery to make sure everything is going well and he should be able to give u a date for your first fill. Congrats on everything. Its WELL worth the wait and time starts to fly by after your consultation... I promise. Keep me updated!