Hello All

My surgery is scheduled for 2/6 @ Forest Park Medical Center. Has anyone had their procedure at Forest Park Medical Center-Dallas by Dr. D. Kim. I just want to know the overall experience at the medical facilty. Surgery, Stay, Staff, and so on....

Any and all experiences are welcomed.

Thanks All

Bluebonnet Magnolia

I have no advice for you- But we're sleeve twins! I'm 2/6 also!

I am a week before you with Dr. Kim at Forest Park. I will be sure to let you know about my experience as soon as I can. I went to Forest Park this week for my pre-op. The hospital seems nice and the staff that I dealt with were super sweet. I'm just anxious for the date to get here.

I was at Forest Park on 12/28 with Dr. Nicholson. I met lots of people who had Dr. Kim who were there at the same time. The facility pretty much focuses on weight loss surgery, so in a way it's good because all of the nurses know exactly what you need. On the other hand, my nurses were a bit of a mixed bag -- some good, some average, some really not good at all. Having said that, it was the week between Christmas and New Years, and I think they had a lot of traveling nurses filling in for the regular nurses, who were on vacation for the holidays. Some of the nurses had had weight loss surgery themselves. I had a bit of a rough go, because I dehydrate easily and they had a hard time with my IVs (in all fairness, basically, I'm rating the nurses based on their ability to place an IV and react to a blown out vein). I ended up having to spend two nights in the hospital because I was dehydrated.

Dr. Kim and Dr. Nick are definitely the doctors to go with, and I have no doubt you'll have a good experience. You'll have a private room (all of the rooms are private), good pain control, HUGE hospital gowns (so no flashing the other patients), comfortable beds, good TV, etc. Bring your own pillow, and you'll be as comfortable as a person can be in the hospital. Let me know if you have any specific questions, and I'll try to answer them.

OH jhwkgrl!! Thank you!! That's info I've been looking for as well!! It sounds wonderful! (Dr. Kim- 2/13/12) Did you get a drain? Does he give everyone a drain? Do they allow anyone to stay over with you in the room? Do they do the leak test fairly quickly after surgery? Do they charge for the t.v.? (i hear some do now) Is there wifi?

BlueBonnet- THanks for asking!

Thanks jhwkgrl...Great info..I actually have the same questions as Dooter.. When it comes to room, is there a place for my mom to sleep, she is not going to leave even if i tell her too....(luv her :biggrin2: ) Wifi...b/c I would like to surf the web and what not to help pass the time. How long was your stay?

I will have my surgery there this coming week....1-17-11 Dr Nick...I am soooooooo ready!!

Yes, there is a place for someone else to sleep. It's kind of a loveseat thing, that folds out. Your "company" will want to bring linens or a sleeping bag and a pillow. If you get lucky, they'll be full, and you might get upgraded to a VIP room (which has a little nicer guest sleeping arrangements). But the rooms were plenty big, and really very nice for a hospital.

There's no charge for the TV, and there were lots of channels and good volume control. I hate it when you're in a hospital and can see the TV, but can't actually hear it.

I don't actually know the answer about WiFi. I had my iPhone, but not my computer. You might just call the main line and ask. I'm sure they answer that question 20 times a day :-)

As far as the drain, I had Dr. Nick, and my understanding is that it's a doctor-by-doctor decision. I had a drain, which was removed before I left. It didn't hurt. I also had an On-Q pump, which is a littleexternal raquetball-sized pump that pumps numbing medicine directly into the bigger incision on your left size through a tiny tube. That was removed before I left too, and also didn't hurt.

The staff will get you up and walking as soon as you're awake enough to look like you won't fall over :-) You won't have any food or drink the day of surgery, but you won't be hungry. The morning after surgery, they'll bring you a tray with some decaf coffee, apple juice (or something similar), and icky broth made from bullion cubes. The nurse will also bring you some Isopure Water with Protein in it, and will tell you that you need to sip 1 oz every 15 minutes. It sounds ridiculous, but it really does take that long to sip an ounce. You have to track it on paper. They won't let you out unless you're drinking well and keeping track of it.

I ended up having to stay two nights, but only because I was dehydrated. Most people seemed to leave the day after surgery, later in the day.

I'm trying to think whether there was anything that surprised me. I think the only thing that really surprised me was that after the surgery, for the first week or so, everything that you drink has to be at room temperature. I had stocked up on Protein shakes that were disgusting at room temperature. In the end, I ended up drinking my "emergency" protein shots that I had bought for work, and that's all I've been drinking for protein since then. You might want to check them out. Here's a link, but you can buy them at Target: http://www.pureprotein.net/pages/category.aspx?cat=SPECIALTY#Protein_Shots (it's the 25g grape one). For me, getting my protein is all about getting the most protein in the minimum amount of liquid possible, and those are only 3 oz. Becuase they aren't a powder, they are gross at room temperature. I just ordered a few cases of them last week, because I can tell they're going to be a staple for me going forward. I hate protein shakes. I took one into my doctor's PA and she said they were really good, she just recommended spreading the two shots out over four servings throughout the day, for absorption purposes.

The other thing that surprised me was the pain. Not how bad it was, but where it was. I thought my stomach would hurt, but what really hurt was my left side, deep in my flank, almost as deep as my kidney. They actually put a deep stitch there, and that's why it hurts (plus that's where they move all the instruments from), but I hadn't ever heard that before, so I was unprepared. I've had several abdominal surgeries, and was surprised by the pain from this one. Having said that, the medicine controlled it well (you'll have a button on your IV for the first night - use it LIBERALLY to stay ahead of the pain). I had my surgery on a Wednesday, and was back at work the following Tuesday (I have a desk job).

Oh, one more thing. You'll probably get a prescription for liquid Lortab when you leave. There's a pharmacy downstairs, and if they're open, fill it there. Or go to the Dougherty's at Royal and Preston. CVS, etc. haven't been able to get it from their distributor for a long time, and you don't want the pain medicine to wear off while you're trying to hunt down a pharmacy.

Boy, that's WAY more info than you asked for. Sorry, I'm a rambler. Let me know if I missed anything! Good luck, your surgery is going to go great, and you'll be so happy you did it.

Oops, I meant the protein shots AREN'T gross at room temperature. Also the fruit punch flavor is apparently better, but I couldn't find it anywhere. I ordered it online.

I had my education class last week at Dr. Kim's office. I asked about the drain and catheter. The nurse said that he very rarely ever has to put a drain in and also typically you don't even get a catheter since the sleeve surgery is only about an hour. She said the left side is where you will be the most sore because that is the spot they actually pull out the stomach.

During that class she discussed pretty much everything from pre-op to several weeks post-op. She gave us the prescription for our pain meds so we could go ahead and get that filled beforehand. She also mentioned the Protein shots are a great way to get in your protein post-op.

When I was at the hospital last week for my pre-op, I read on a sign that you can ask the nurse for a form to sign and they will give you the wi-fi information. It didn't list if there was a charge for it. I would assume there would not be.

Thanks so much jhwkgrl for all the information! I hope you are doing well.

I'm 2-6 also, down in Beaumont. Go TEXAS banana babes lol

THANK YOU Jhwkgrl and VSGready! Good info, good info. Not too much at all. Love it. Thanks!

Hello All

My surgery is scheduled for 2/6 @ Forest Park Medical Center. Has anyone had their procedure at Forest Park Medical Center-Dallas by Dr. D. Kim. I just want to know the overall experience at the medical facilty. Surgery, Stay, Staff, and so on....

Any and all experiences are welcomed.

Thanks All

Bluebonnet Magnolia

I dont have any advice either but we're both having surgery on the same day! :biggrin2:

Thank you all for the great info... I am mentally getting ready for my journey ... I will start my pre-op diet on the 21st...I did drink 64 ozs of water today... Tomorrow I will try to incorporate the diet in a little each day, so my body won't go into shock next week...lol Operation New Me in 2012 in full effect!

When I lived in Dallas, this is where I was going to go - I did a lot of research there and met Dr. Kim - was my #1 choice in DFW.

I was an out of state patient at Forest Park with Dr. Stewart. Overall, it was ok, but personally I was not happy with Forest Park at all. I found many of the nurses to be either rude or just simply unaware of what people need who go through WLS.

Many of the nurses had very poor skills in drawing blood. On morning #2, they wake me at 4AM to draw blood. THey weren't wearing gloves which is an OSHA violation. I'm ok with not using gloves to find a vein, but not wearing gloves when drawing blood is a problem. Yes, I am probably more of a risk to them than them to me, but it still made me furious. It also took FIVE different nurses, before finally calling the Phlebotomist (sp?) to come up and he dres blood the first time. I have had blood drawn multiple times before and there has never been a problem drawing blood on me.

I was also upset that I was told prior to arriving there that this was a hospital. It is NOT. If anything goes seriously wrong, you have to hope they can stabilize you to get transported to a fully functioning hospital. The day before I went in to get my paperwork done and I realized this, it TOTALLY freaked me out. I asked one of the nurses about what would happen to me if something went wrong. She pointed to this mobile thing on wheels that had those paddles they use to recucitate people and it had some other things in that station I don't remember. Bottomline, better hope you don't have anything major go wrong and if you do that you can get transported in time to get taken care of.

Another issue with the nurses was on day #2, I had ALOT of pain in my lower left which I knew to expect. I asked for a trapeze bar because it was painful trying to pull myself up to get out of bed. Know what the nurse told me? She told me to raise my hands up and pull myself up higher in the bed and then swing my legs out. I was like WTF, do you not realize I just had major abdominal surgery? Finally, after complaining to the ON-CALL doctor, I got the trapeze bar several hours later.

The one that topped the cake for me was on day #2, the Forest Park staff Doctor who oversees the patients for the surgical docs who do our surgery walks into my room that afternoon WITH my chart held by her hip saying, "I see you had the DS surgery, you should be ok to go home today". My heart sunk when she said that thinking.... I BETTER NOT have had the DS surgery. I just looked at her and said, "I wasn't supposed to have the DS surgery". So, then she says, "what surgery did you have?" If I had been feeling better I probably would have lept up and strangled the lady. Ok, maybe not, but I sure felt like it. I told her I was supposed to have the Sleeve. She says, "Oh, ok and then after a few more exchanges, she walks out". A few minutes later, I beeped the nurses station and asked to speak to the head nurse. I was LIVID! I told her that this doctor was NOT going to make the decision of whether I would be released if she couldn't take 30 seconds to read my DAMN chart before she walks in my room. Her response was, "well, she is busy, we have lots of patients". I'm like, I don't care how many patients she has. It's her JOB to at least know what procedure people have had before making stupid statements like that.

I could go on. I guess my suggestion to you is to make sure you have someone there that can be your advocate. I was ther by myself and this just added to the stress.

Probably the only positive thing I can say about Forest Park is they do have Patient Advocates and that lady came to see me before surgery and then afterwards. I told her exactly what I thought of the facility. She was very kind and understanding, apologized for the ongoing issues I had been having and promised to make notes with her reports. Maybe my complaints have helped, but not sure. I would NEVER go back there- ever. I will also make sure that before I ever have another surgery that I find out if it is a hospital or surgical center. I would be ok w/a surgical center for something less invasive- but never something like this but that is me.