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After much debate, I have decided on Dr. Ramos-Kelly. The other surgeons I considered seriously: Dr. Alvarez, Dr. Aceves, and Dr. Ariel Ortiz. I'm so excited! I am going to plan it for later this summer, probably early August (I am planning on having it done while I am on FMLA from work for a carpal tunnel surgery that I am having done, to kill 2 birds with one stone). The VSG will be performed at Oasis Hospital (2 day stay) and recovery at the Lucerna hotel (2 day stay). I will be taking a loan against my 401b to pay for the procedure: money well spent! I only wish I had done this years ago! I am looking forward to better health, more energy, and naturally, improved self-esteem. If you have used Dr. Ramos-Kelly, I would love to hear your story. Thank you for letting me share my excitement! :)

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Yay, me too! I go on June 10th. I can't wait. Lets stay in contact so we can help each other through this process!

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Congrats on making a big decision! I hope you'll love Dr. RK as much as I did! I know someone else seeing him in early August. Oasis is going to be a busy place!

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I had surgery with Dr. Kelly last August.

Everything went smoothly. The hospital was clean, staff was helpful and friendly. The hotel is beautiful and if i ever go back, i will spend all of my time there!

I am 9 months, 10 days post op and down more than 150 pounds!

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I went with Dr. Kelly at Florence Hospital. I only saw him 3 times and he never came to the hotel like the assistant told me he would. Alhough, he was a very nice, sincere man. Hospital florence is nice (the hospitals there are nothing like ours here in the state). The nursing staff was nice and friendly, they just don't speak much English. Overall my experience was good. I went by myself and wished I would have taken someone with me. I just like that comfort when I'm in pain. I think you will like Dr. Kelly!!

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Thanks for your responses, every one! :) I am pretty excited. The only negative thing that I am encountering right now is a lack of timeliness in responses from the coordinator who works for Dr. Kelly (Lora). I emailed her on Wed and she has still not responded. I emailed her again, and hope to hear from her soon. If not, I may drop her and work with the coordinating company that he also works with to get this taken care of. I have to say, to me, it's rather poor customer service to not respond in 3 days. My email prior to that one, it took her 2 days to respond. Not cool. Anyway - I am still excited. There are several good surgeons to choose from, and I could always select someone else if this continues. :) I have time on my side, I can't do it until July or August anyway.

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I am using Dr Kelly this Thursday May 30th. I haven't had a problem with Lora at all. I usually hear back from her within a few hours. I will post after surgery.

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I had a problem with Lora receiving my itinerary. Call her. I can give you her cell if you don't have it. She's also on Facebook.< /p>

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Thanks for your responses' date=' every one! :) I am pretty excited. The only negative thing that I am encountering right now is a lack of timeliness in responses from the coordinator who works for Dr. Kelly (Lora). I emailed her on Wed and she has still not responded. I emailed her again, and hope to hear from her soon. If not, I may drop her and work with the coordinating company that he also works with to get this taken care of. I have to say, to me, it's rather poor customer service to not respond in 3 days. My email prior to that one, it took her 2 days to respond. Not cool. Anyway - I am still excited. There are several good surgeons to choose from, and I could always select someone else if this continues. :) I have time on my side, I can't do it until July or August anyway. [/quote']

I've noticed the same thing. I have been trying to coordinate and confirm my surgery, but it's like pulling teeth to get answers to my questions :( I haven't been dealing with the folks you mentioned, but I just wanted you to know that it's been happening to me too :) But I'm not deterred bc everything works out the way it should :)

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Hi everyone. What does Dr. Kelly charge? How long did it take everyone to get back to work? Thanks

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Hi everyone. What does Dr. Kelly charge? How long did it take everyone to get back to work? Thanks

The company I went through charged 5200. I am 10 days post op and could have gone to work last week but I took two weeks off. I have found everyone is different through.

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$5200 for Dr Kelly. Lora got my itinerary and replied right away. I have had no problems with communication.

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Are you all on myfitnesspal? Is really like to stay in contact with other Dr. Kelly patients. My big day is coming up! I could use support on the meal planning. My handle is getnsleeved2013.

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I saw Dr. Kelly March 28. Great experience. I would definitely make the same choice again. I saw him in the hospital multiple times, and he came by the hotel several times as well. No complaints. Good luck.

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    • KeeWee

      It's been 10 long years! Here is my VSG weight loss surgiversary update..
      https://www.ae1bmerchme.com/post/10-year-surgiversary-update-for-2024 
      · 0 replies
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    • Aunty Mamo

      Iʻm roughly 6 weeks post-op this morning and have begun to feel like a normal human, with a normal human body again. I started introducing solid foods and pill forms of medications/supplements a couple of weeks ago and it's really amazing to eat meals with my family again, despite the fact that my portions are so much smaller than theirs. 
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    • BeanitoDiego

      Oh yeah, something I wanted to rant about, a billing dispute that cropped up 3 months ago.
      Surgery was in August of 2023. A bill shows up for over $7,000 in January. WTF? I asks myself. I know that I jumped through all of the insurance hoops and verified this and triple checked that, as did the surgeon's office. All was set, and I paid all of the known costs before surgery.
      A looong story short, is that an assistant surgeon that was in the process of accepting money from my insurance company touched me while I was under anesthesia. That is what the bill was for. But hey, guess what? Some federal legislation was enacted last year to help patients out when they cannot consent to being touched by someone out of their insurance network. These types of bills fall under something called, "surprise billing," and you don't have to put up with it.
      https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises
      I had to make a lot of phone calls to both the surgeon's office and the insurance company and explain my rights and what the maximum out of pocket costs were that I could be liable for. Also had to remind them that it isn't my place to be taking care of all of this and that I was going to escalate things if they could not play nice with one another.
      Quick ending is that I don't have to pay that $7,000+. Advocate, advocate, advocate for yourself no matter how long it takes and learn more about this law if you are ever hit with a surprise bill.
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    • BeanitoDiego

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    • ChunkCat

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      I haven't been able to advance my diet past purees. Everything I eat other than tofu makes me choke and feels like trying to swallow rocks. They warned me it would get worse before it gets better, so lets hope this is all normal. I have my follow up on Monday so we'll see. Living on shakes and soup again is not fun. I had enough of them the first time!! LOL 
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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