I have been told about Spivak and Spiegal many times. Those who have used them, could you tell me more about their practice, costs, insurance, skill, pre-testing, office, etc? Anything you can thinkof would be helpful (to me and to others I think).

P.S. Is one of them involved in something called a "cattle call" and what would that be?

Kacee,

I live in Webster and there is another lady in Friendswood, too.

It's hard for me to go now b/c of school, but in 2 weeks I will be FREE.

You can contact me at rho_zs@yahoo.com

Thanks,

Great. It'll be a while, but you're definitely in my neighborhood so I'll give you a holler...

I had to pay to go to the siminar and it had to be in cash.

I have just been reading along and it's very very clear as to who you should not use. Size 8 is just down right mean! Get that girl a cookie! I was planning my surgery with Dr Spiegal but I can tell you for a fact because of what I have read here and the post and comments made by Size 8...... I am changing my mind. If she works for him she just lost him a sale. Personal experiences of people who have had to deal with these doctors are well worth listening to when your making such a large life changing desison. I am very greatful that I found and read this information from all of you. It is a blessing that you can share your thoughts and experiences because those of us that are looking for help and need to know where we can really find it. I think it's pretty clear both doctor's are getting rich on doing this surgery. Isn't that why they went into the field? We have to be able to trust someone out there to help us and be there for us when we have problems. Word of mouth is the best way to really know the truth. Thanks to all of you that make a difference in helping us to choose the right doctors. I know I am really glad I read this before I made the choices that will change my life. You girls rock! I was right on the heals of making a very big mistake.

hi...i was a little bored this afternoon and happened upon this thread in "new posts"......WOW!

so i'll add my 2 cents...

i went to spivak and am very happy with the results. i had some issues after surgery which were of my own making (eating bites too big, too fast, etc) and ended up with aspiration pneumonia.

i cant tell you how happy i am with spivak and especially his staff's help in first helping me to identify the problem (ie. the fluro showed the band in perfect position...but i couldnt eat a thing for 4 weeks)

i agree with many of your posts that say you need to know what you think is important and choose a doctor accordingly.

when i was researching i solely focused on the surgery. (my surgery was in park plaza and they were super)

now....if i had to do it over...i would give equal focus to the aftercare which in my opinion is also super important.

i do not have an opinion on dr spiegel because i dont know him. there seem to be quite a number of successful patients on this site that used him....

i will say "supersize 8" (i forget her actual web name) does not represent Dr spiegel very well .....

Hello to all Dr Spivak patients. As I am one. I do not know if you know this yet or not but Dr Spivak is having a ball for all of his patients. And I just want to make sure everyone that is Dr Spivak patient knows about this. Wanda Chase the director of the group sent the people in the online group that are signed up off his website this email.// Those of you who are planning to attend the Ball, we need to have at least 70 patients attend. There is only 3 weeks until the dead line so get your applications printed and sent to the PO BOX and if you are not participating in the contest, which everyone should regardless,) please send me your RSVP at spivakbandmd@yahoo.com as soon as you are able, I need to add your names to the guest list. __________________

Banded on April 2ND 2007 By Dr. Spivak Stacey

i was banded 10/26 by spiegal. i chose him and spivak based on experience. i went into this knowing that dr spiegal bedside manner was non existent but i wanted the most experienced operating on me so my only two choices were spiegal and spivak. i had an appt with dr spivak but was told he was out of my network which is why i moved on to dr spiegal. im just blessed to have been approved by uhc fairly quickly and had the surgery 3 weeks following seminar. i will deal with post op care as it comes. im glad so many have posted on the topic cause i would have been blindsided by the cost of the fills. mh hubby kept asking did he charge for fills but i just assumed it was part of the cost billed to uhc. i will ask when i go back for 1st fill. it is a cattle call of sorts but i def recommend arriving 20 mins prior to appt time b/c it will save you an hr or so in the long run as you share your appt time with 30 others. anyway im pleased so far, dont care about the complaints b/c i knew about them upfront from reading these forums and everyones opinions. thanks for all the great info and keep posting!

All of my experiences with Dr. Spivak and his staff have been WONDERFUL. My surgery was done a week ago at Park Plaza, and their staff was amazing, too! In fact, several of the staff members who helped me on the day of the surgery had been banded by Dr. Spivak as well, and a year or two after their surgeries, they had nothing but glowing things to say, as well. Dr. Spivak came to visit with me before AND after the surgery, and he visited with my husband while i was in recovery, too.

I started running a fever about four days after the surgery, and I called his after hours number and left a message. Less than two minutes later, I was talking with Dr. Spivak himself, and he met with me the next day to examine me and make sure that everything was ok. He is having me come in next week, as well, just to triple check!

I have NO experience with surgicenter, but I can tell you that Park Plaza is A+ in my book! Even the hospital has called several times to check on me.

I have a very close friend who was banded by Spiegel in July, and his after-care has seemed less than stellar in comparison.

I think Dr. Spivak is the perfect combination of knowledge and experience with caring and compassion.

Wow, this is quite a heated thread... I can only share my experience I was banded by dr Spivak on Aug 13. In 3.5 months I am down 50 lbs, and feel confident to say that as an out of state patient he was the best choice. The on the phone advice and service I've been given is amazing, the office was organized, and had ALL my info ready to go, the staff expected me, and was excited to meet me! I have been nothing but supported by Dr. Spivak and his staff and patients, more so than some of my friends. They even set me up with some of his patients in my area for support. I say Spivak all the way!!!!!

I give that a big AMEN. I highly recommend Spivak to everyone I meet who is considering lapband surgery (two friends of mind right now are considering....one has her consult this week with him). I can say nothing but good about him and his staff.

Im not totally unsatisfied with my experience with Speigel. I think his surgery techinique might be fine but his personality is awful. I think he should have other follow up drs and just stick to surgery. But i have seen a few things in here said that I didnt find true.

1. his siminars are free??? if thats true then the port naches office owes

me $200 . Thats what I was charged

2. He said in his siminar that he had lost only 1 band out of 3000 or so

Back when i had my surgery, well I know 3 people personally who lost

theirs.

3. While their office staff has always been kind to me, kindness doesnt

repair an eroded band. I found an extreme incompetence , when I called after a year of having a fill unchanged I wasnt able to eat anything

And the office lady who calles me hon ( which I cant stand) said to come in for an unfill. Well after a year , Id doubt very seriously that what the problem is , is being overtight. I asked specifically to speak to the Dr.

she said he wasnt in until ###. I knew my body and that I needed medical attention so whoever it was that said if it were her that shed be in an emergency room or go to her dr. thats what i was trying to do.

when i finally did speak to the dr. he put me in the e.r. right away. He said the band needed to be removed just from the symptoms i was having ( which i had conveyed to the office person).

By the way not all E.R. s are equipped to manage the band. And Dr. Speigel takes patients from all over. So how are they supposed to go to the E.R. at the drop of a hat? Plus, When y ou are trying to pay for a band out of pocket theres not alwyas the funds to just pop in the hospital everytime you need a little drs help.

This might sound like im bashing Speigel. Im not , I think id go to him again . But I do think he needs to have follow up Drs.

where im from , The orthepedic surgeons do surgerys and a follow up visit but then The regular drs follow up with their care ,

I think Speigel should stick to surgery wheres hes very competent.