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I had my surgery on March 15, 2011. I never saw the surgeon until I was prepped for surgery and never saw him again after I was released from the hospital. I saw the office PA who apparently thought he was smarter than most physicians and ruled the office like he was God. Since the surgeon was never ever there I guess that was true for that office. On my second visit after surgery the PA said I needed some tests. I asked why and he said my blood work was off and I asked which blood work and he loftily replied that my liver panel was “off”. I told him yes it was because I have 3rd stage PBC which was why I was trying to lose weight in case I needed a transplant in the future and I already had a liver specialist who handled my liver issues. At my next visit he again demanded I have tests and I said no, I have a hepatologist who handles my liver issues and further my insurance was not going to cover additional tests which I knew for a fact because I had called them. My liver Dr then wrote the PA a letter to explain my liver issues and that the tests were to be expected and he was following my case very carefully. At my 6 week visit the PA told me I didn't need a hepatologist but I did need some additional testing which again I refused and when I left that day they did not give me another appt because I was being “stubborn about following the DOCTOR'S orders”. I never had another appt and just followed the diet . As a humorous side note that office called me last fall and said they were closing out my case as it had been 5 years. I told the person who called that it should have been closed 5 years ago. I told her my experience and that I had not been seen since 6 weeks after my surgery and she was very apologetic. I asked if that PA was still there and she said yes he was. So basically I had to do my own post surgery monitoring practically from the get go.

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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 
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    • Aunty Mamo

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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
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