Has anyone had any post operative care with Dr. Coburn not his staff??? When I went in for my consult he was seeing patients post-operatively, but I have yet to see him. I have not had any major issues or anything, but I question the quality of post-operative care I am receiving. Even at the least to see how I am doing with the hernia he repaired. Just wondering what others have experianced. Thanks for your input.

Lferland I was banded yesterday. Today Dr. C will be calling me - if I have any questons/concerns I can see him or the nurses at any time or certainly contact them by email/phone. I have done a lot of reading of the boards, both here an on the SWLC site - the aftercare appears to be better than the other clinics in Toronto (based on conversations I had at the lapbanders lunch last Sunday). I was told yesterday by Tammy that while I would have more contact with the nurses, if I wanted to see Dr. C that was fine and they would set up the appointment. The bottom line there is that they do want to hear from you on a regular basis.

Dr. C is occassionally on the site in the chat room - I spoke to him twice leading up to my surgery.

A few of the recent bandies did run into trouble and were seen as soon as possible - to have this resolved. I'd suggest you head over to the clinic site and have a look.

The fact that Dr. C has trained fill docs/nurses across the country to help ensure the out of province folks don't have to travel to the clinic speaks volumes.

You have done very well with your weight loss by the way.

Cindy

Hi I was banded by Dr. C in May and I am out-of-province. I did have an issue after surgery and Dr. C was wonderful with my after care. Of course it was all done by telephone and email but he was very caring and thorough. He ordered tests thru my GP and kept in constant contact with me until it was resolved. I'm sure he is extremely busy, as most surgeons are, but I was very pleased with how much time he spent with me.

In reading your post I am unsure as to whether you have a problem post-op and need to see him or if you think you should see him as part of your general post-op care. If you need to see him, then most definitely make an appt but if you just want to see him just to chat then I'm unsure about that. Afterall, he is a surgeon not a GP. Dr. C is a really nice guy and would probably see you to just chat if that's what you need.

By the way... didn't you see him right after the surgery in recovery? That's where I saw him and asked questions about my hernia repair. Granted I was pretty groggy so when he called me the next day I asked him more questions.

The nurses at the clinic love to hear from you but if you want to talk to Dr. C just ask them and I'm sure they will arrange it for you.

Good luck with everything and happy banding!

I was banded by Dr. Cobourn 16 months ago and for the first several fills I had Dr. Cobourn do most of my fills. Back then he only had one nurse and he was doing less band surgeries. Since then he now has at least 2 - 3 nurses, patient co-ordinator, dietician and another surgeon (Dr. Mumford) working with him and they will be adding an additional surgeon in the near future. As others have said if you specifically request an appointment with Dr. Cobourn you will get one but with the amount of expansion his clinic has had that is what the trained staff is there for. Let's face it a surgeon's time is very expensive and the nurses are skilled in doing the fills and most post-op aftercare. Dr. Cobourn like most band surgeons expertise is in the pre-op consult and most importantly the actual band surgery. Of course he is always available to deal with emergency situations or other complications that infrequently arise.

Best Wishes, :ranger:

Donna

Lapband/06 Revised From VBG/87

251/140/125 goal

Hi there,

I was banded by Dr. Cobourn May 30th and I have to say the after care I have gotten from Dr.C and his staff has been awesome!

He called me a few times while I was still in the hotel and when he came to Calgary he wrote to say he would be happy to give me a fill there if I wanted to drive down (I am in Edmonton) when I didn't make it on the saturday he phoned me to see if I was ok, and again offered to do my first fill, and there was no charge for it at all. I went to the clinic in June and had my third fill done there and they asked me if I wanted to say hello to Dr.Cobourn, I said of course and they went and got him! I was very surprised and happy to get to see him again so he could see how I was doing. All in all I feel that he is really one of those rare people who genuinely care about their patients. He has been sincere with me all the way along.

I agree with the others in saying that all you need to do is ask and you shall receive!

I agree with what everyone is saying. I feel that my aftercare from both Dr. Coburn and his staff have been top notch.

He has taken the time to call me to help me resolve issues. I also saw him in Calgary when he was here most recently for a fill & a check up.

I feel he is genuinely concerned for the well-being of his patients and I feel as though he has not forgotten me once he recieved my money, unlike so many other service providers I deal with.

I cannot say enough good things about him.

Andrew

Thank you all for your input. JLB, I do not recall Dr. Coburn speaking to me ater the surgery, but he may have while I was still out of it! Nor did I receive a call within the first few days after surgery... I would have remembered that!

I suppose my dissatisfaction toward Dr. Coburn is slightly misplaced... I am very pleased with his nurse (I am horrible with names), she is very nice but the staff that make the appointments have upset me every time I have made an appintoment and I have misdirected my anger... although I still would have liked some sort of after-care... like that call!! Every time I have made an appointment with the clinic they reschedule it. The last appointment ended up being delayed 6 weeks because they could not seem to make my 10 minute appointment for a time THEY could keep. I can understand having to reschedule once in a while but every time is a little much. I have to book the day off work in order to make any appointment so when they do this it is not only inconvenient but expensive!!

I am sorry for venting to you all, I must seem like a complete nag!! Take care and thank you all once agian for your input.

I think you need to contact the clinic (Karen or one of the coordinators) and have a frank, non-confrontational discussion of your issues. Generally the feeling seems to be positive for most of us, and I find when someone is displaying the level of dissastisfaction you seem to be feeling, there are communication issues that can be easily resolved with open dialogue. If not resolved, then at least you will both know where you stand.

Good luck and you have to take your concerns to the right people.

Cindy

I agree with Cindy. You need to call and talk with one of the coordinators.

I love the after care I have gotten from Dr.C..

If I need to I just e-mail him and he always answers. The nurses have been great to. I've yet to use the new coordinators though.

I did do the telephone consult with Dr. C. pre-op. But when he came to my city I got an e-mail from him asking if I wanted to meet and I did. After my operation he called the hotel twice to make sure all was well and as I don't remember seeing him ( I sleep for days after being put to sleep so that is no surprise to me) in recovery, he did talk with my husband right after the operation and told him how it all went and what he could expect for the next few days.

When I was having a few problems regarding my first fill he didn't just e-mail me he actually called me at home a few times to make sure all was well with me.

I don't think I could ask for a more caring Dr.. He is AAA++++ is my book.

I had my surgery on Oct. 3 and had a few minor problems...Dr. C and Tammy (nurse) both called the first day, Dr. C called twice the second day and said he would meet me at the clinic...even if it was the middle of the night...ON THANKSGIVING WEEKEND! I asked him, the next day when he called again, "do you ever take a day off"...he laughed and said sometimes! Very nice man!

Nancy:rolleyes:

I find that Dr. Cobourn and his staff are very caring, responsive and accomodating. I do feel frustrated with the lack of structure in the post operative care. I wish there was a schedule of follow up visits. This frustration is something I expected because their business is new and growing. With rapid growth comes growing pains.

Anytime I have asked for their time, they are more than accomodating. Dr. Cobourn's enthusiasm is one of the main reasons I had my surgery with him and not the other clinic.

I've been banded almost 2 years and all follow-up has been done with Dr. Cobourn. When I was banded, there was only him and his nurse, Marie, that did any follow up. I got a phone call the day after surgery from one of the OR nurses but I also saw Dr. Cobourn the next day as well since he insisted on seeing me before my 6 hour drive home.

As others have said, if you want to talk to Dr. Cobourn, all you have to do is ask. I correspond with him whenever I have a concern and he's very quick to reply either by email or by phone.

If you are having a problem with his booking staff then let him know. He WANTS to know these things and has told me many times that he would much rather hear it from us so he can deal with it. Don't hesitate to bring your concerns forward with him, you might be extremely pleased at how receptive he will be since he wants us all to be extremely happy with our journeys in weight loss.

Congratulations, it looks like you've done very well at losing weight and I'm sure you don't regret getting your band. A surgeon is there for people who either need the surgery or have health concerns or emergencies resulting from the band. Quite often after most surgical procedures, nurses are the ones who are there for the patients. If you do have problems there is no doubt that he would be there for you. I'm sure Dr. C wants all his patients to be given the best care so he has staff and nurses to help him keep in touch with his patients. He recently came all the way out west to train my doctor to do fills and gave me and a few others a fill free of charge. He also gave free consults to anyone who wanted information on the lap band surgery so I know how dedicated he is to helping people before and after. I suppose you may want to think about what it is that you need to do to feel better about this and most of all celebrate this new you. Losing this weight is not all from the band, so be proud of your success and focus on the here and now. Don't be too hard on the doc, he's probably just like all of us, just doing his best.

How are you doing irishmist?

I was banded just over 2 weeks ago and went for my follow up appt. I met with Tammy the nurse whom I find delightful and kind. I would love to see Dr. Mumford but I don't really have the need. She answers all my questions with ease so I am happy with that. I know how dedicated they are and that if at any point I do want to speak with him I can just call.

Loriely

I am doing okay, my last check up showed a slight improvement, if that keeps up maybe i wont need to have the chemo. I am keeping positive thoughts.

Thank you for asking, Loriely how are you doing everything going okay for you?.

Maria