I guess I'm confused about the whole fill thing in general. Is the actual surgeon the one doing the fills? If not who the heck is? I think I may have found a potential doctor who's 3 hours away. Is this who I'd most likely be going to for fills and whatever else I may need?

In our office we have 2 nurse practitioners in addition to myself who do fills. Experience matters more than credentials!

Dr. Trace Curry Cincinnati, Ohio

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DISCLAIMER: If am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

I've only had one fill but it was done by a nurse practitioner. The same guy assisted in my surgery. The fill was done at the same hospital where I had my surgery.

I am guessing, in your case, that you'd go to the same place for a fill.

Yes, same with me.

Dr. Curry does my fills and he has to do them because my port is hard to hit. He is so accurate and very good. If he's not to far for you you ought to look him up. I drive 10 hours round trip.

Usually it is someone from your doctor's practice if not the actual surgeon himself. My surgeon doesn't do my fills, but another doctor at his office does. You may want to research in your area or ask your doctor if there is someone closer to you for follow-up care. I know many people who drive very far for fills because they live far away from their surgeon, but if you are able to find someone closer, it helps. My doctor is in Tijuana and even though I only live less than 30 minutes away in San Diego, sometimes it takes forever waiting to cross the border back into the US. 3 hours may seem close, but if you have an emergency or a tight schedule, it will seem VERY far!

Thanks for the info guys. I just wasn't sure if it was best to get the fills done at the office with the staff that originally worked with you. I would assume it is. Plus I live in a pretty rural area, even what's considered the bigger towns around here aren't so big. I hate to be negative but I haven't found the medical care here to be as good as when I lived in a larger city. Of course that's not true for everyone hear because I have found some great doctors, just overall I guess.

I can't wait to talk to my regular physician about this and see what she thinks!

I live in a university town with a giant medical school and a million doctors! LOL! Ok so I am exaggerating a bit. Anyway, I went 60 miles out into the country to have my surgery, at a rural / regional hospital. They have done gastric bypass as a niche for years (people came from all around to have it done there) and now they are doing lap bands too, so that's what attracted me. Sometimes rural vs. urban isn't a factor, though sometimes it is.

At the university hospital here (where they do almost everything, and where people are transferred when they are in serious trouble), they don't even do the lap band -- just the gastric bypass.