Jump to content
×
Are you looking for the BariatricPal Store? Go now!

Chi Franciscan - Tacoma, WA thoughts?



Recommended Posts

I am starting the process and have now turned in my forms to get the initial consult.

However, i am curious what people have thought of Chi Franciscan in federal way, wa? How did you find the experience? How long from initial consult to surgery? Etc.

Thanks!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I am starting the process and have now turned in my forms to get the initial consult.
However, i am curious what people have thought of Chi Franciscan in federal way, wa? How did you find the experience? How long from initial consult to surgery? Etc.

Thanks!


My surgeon is Dr. Myur Srikanth from center for weightloss surgery at Chi Franciscan. His practice is separate from the hospital but affiliated with it. All my testing and my surgery was done as an outpatient at Chi Franciscan. Love him. Great bedside manner. Had wonderful experiences with all my nurses pre and post op.

My initial consult was March 2017, surgery initially scheduled for July but for personal reasons I had to push back to August 2017. Your consult to completion will be dependent upon your insurance requirements. Not necessarily the surgeon’s timeline.

Chi Franciscan is also awesome when it comes to appointments for all the required testing. I was able to do it all in one day. (X-rays, blood, scans etc)

Good luck to you.


Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Great to hear! That is great the appts were in one day, it's a bit of a drive to this place for me and the less visits the better.

Sent from my SM-G955U using BariatricPal mobile app

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Great to hear! That is great the appts were in one day, it's a bit of a drive to this place for me and the less visits the better.

Sent from my SM-G955U using BariatricPal mobile app




It was for me too, so having all that testing done in one day meant less time off from work.


Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I had the duodenal switch by Srikanth in 12/2019. By 7/2021 I was dying of malnutrition. I was taking all my Vitamins and drinking my Protein Shakes - not the pre made ones but the ones you make yourself. I was blacking out, collapsing in parking lots, I couldn’t drive because I was blacking out while I was driving, it got so bad my husband had to bath me. I couldn’t be left alone. I had called Srikanth’s office to schedule an appointment to talk about the symptoms when they first started but was told that I needed to call my PCP so I scheduled an appointment with her. I was put on various medications because my BP was typically around 67/52, I had ear problems in addition to blacking out, collapsing, throwing up any food I could get down IF I could get food down. I eventually ended up in the ER and was admitted for a little over 2 months for malnutrition. Sometimes when you have the duodenal switch your stomach doesn’t absorb enough nutrients and your body will start shutting down. It was awful. Now I’m on TPN and have my vitamins, Proteins, carbohydrates, and electrolytes pumped through my blood stream 12 hours a day. I’ve had sepsis 3 times in 2 months. I’m not saying it happens to everyone but the nurses in the hospital said they see this all the time. No one mentioned this before surgery. No one helped me after surgery. Srikanth’s office told me to go see my PCP who is not a specialist in weight loss surgery. I’m so dissatisfied with Srikanth’s office with the exception of Karli. She is wonderful but my issues came on before she started working there but now I have a resentment against there office and don’t ever want to go back. It MAY not happen to you BUT watch out for those symptoms.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh no. So sorry to hear that!! Is there any way to reverse the surgery?
Hope you get to feeling better. 🙏🏻

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Trending Products

  • Trending Topics

  • Recent Status Updates

    • 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. 
      I live on the island of Oʻahu and spend a lot of time in the water- for exercise, for play,  and for spiritual & mental health. The day I had my month out appointment with my surgeon, I packed all my gear in my truck, anticipating his permission to get back in the ocean. The minute I walked out of that hospital I drove straight to the shore and got in that water. Hallelujah! My appointment was at 10 am. I didn't get home until after 5 pm. 
      I'm down 31 pounds since the day of surgery and 47 since my pre-op diet began, with that typical week long stall occurring at three weeks. I'm really starting to see some changes lately- some of my clothing is too big, some fits again. The most drastic changes I notice however are in my face. I've also noticed my endurance and flexibility increasing. I was really starting to be held up physically, and I'm so grateful that I'm seeing that turn around in such short order. 
      My general disposition lately is hopeful and motivated. The only thing that bugs me on a daily basis still is the way those supplements make my house smell. So stink! But I just bought a smell proof bag online that other people use to put their pot in. My house doesn't stink anymore. 
       
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • 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.
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • BeanitoDiego

      Some days I feel like an infiltrator... I'm participating in society as a "thin" person. They have no idea that I haven't always been one of them! 🤣
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • ChunkCat

      Thank you everyone for your well wishes! I totally forgot I wrote an update here... I'm one week post op today. I gained 15 lbs in water weight overnight because they had to give me tons of fluids to bring my BP up after surgery! I stayed one night in the hospital. Everything has been fine except I seem to have picked up a bug while I was there and I've been running a low grade fever, coughing, and a sore throat. So I've been hydrating well and sleeping a ton. So far the Covid tests are negative.
      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.
    • BeanitoDiego

      Still purging all of the larger clothing. This morning, a shirt that I ADORED wearing ended up on top. Hard to let it go, but it was also hard to let go of those habits that also no longer serve my highest good. Onward and upward!
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
  • Recent Topics

  • Hot Products

  • Sign Up For
    Our Newsletter

    Follow us for the latest news
    and special product offers!
  • Together, we have lost...
      lbs

    PatchAid Vitamin Patches

    ×