I will be attending an informational seminar in Savannah, GA and I know there are surgeons in Augusta. Has anyone in this area used a surgeon in the South Georgia area?

Hi,

I'm new to this site but I am "jumping through the hoops" for the insurance company and will be using Dr. Whipple. I went to the information session in September and had my first appointment with him in October. I have two more months of physician supervised diet to complete then I get to turn in all the paperwork. (My insurance does cover VSG). I attended a Support Group meeting at Memorial on the 13th and plan on going on the 1st for the next one. The Support Group meeting was very good.

I went to the seminar with Dr Whipple and I liked him OK, but he was in a rush on his presentation, and started answering questions from the audience after, but after just a few questions got a call and abruptly left. The handouts also outlined out of pocket costs of around $850. Since my insurance would be paying at 100%, I called the next day to ask if that would apply to me, and was curtly told that yes, it applied to everyone. Not that I couldn't come up with the money, but the literature seemed to be all about the money.

So I went to a seminar in Augusta, which I liked much better. Dr Chasen spoke for an hour and answered questions throughout. Then he was available afterward for private questions. And there will not be any additional fees, other than the dietician, which most insurances do not cover.