I am making the steps towards having the surgery but my main concern is finding a qualified, and reputable doctor in my area. I live on Long Island (Suffolk county) so if anyone know of any doctors that they have used please let me know.

Thanks

ok i also just had my surgery in long island and i strongly suggest dr.alan geiss in lij syosset hospital...i went thru a few doctors and his office was the most helpful and i felt thorough than all ive seen...my experienve the day of surgery was amazing i have to say i was nervous but they made everything great and i am soo happy with the results...good luck

My dr. is also Dr. Geiss. You should go to his free support groups the first Tuesday of each month at the North Ritz catering hall. (It is held downstairs) It is very informative! Good Luck!

Another vote for Dr Geiss

Hi I had Dr. Spencer Holover who works with Dr Shawn Garber. I wanted Dr Garber but he was not on my plan. He is supposed to be the best one around and people come from all over the US to use him. Dr Holover was very good as well but the best part was Dr Garber was in there too! They work out of Mercy Hospital and have there own Bariatic center there! They meet the first tuesday every month for free seminars at the hospital.

Good Luck!

MY Dr. is Alan geiss, He is excellent. His staff is very helpful, and the hospital was great.

Dr. Edward Cussatti out of Good Samaritan in West Islip...FABULOUS!!!!!

I'm being banded 1/10 by Dr. Geiss. What I really liked about him, aside from his credentials, that he didn't try to hard sell me on the procedure.

I am debating between Dr. Garber and Dr. Geiss. I already saw Dr. Garber and thought he was great. I was all set to use him then someone mentioned Dr. Geiss. How did your surgery go and how are you doing now.-Elisa from Commack

Hi Elisa,

I had Dr Holover, Dr Garber did not take my ins. Truthfully I am not impressed with their office. Their nurtitionist is HORRIBLE a total waste of money and she does not take any ins. I think they WAY over charge for a fill 250.00 PLUS your office co-pay, which I think is ridiculous! Dr Holover is nice but if I had it to do again I would check out other Drs before I made a choice. They didn't take a before photo which I have heard some offices do, it took them THREE tries to find my port for my 1st fill, and it hurt like He**. After the fill they didn't have me drinkwater or anything. I really and just NOT impressed with how I am being taken care of. I chose that office because I read that Dr. Garber is supposed to be the best and I figured Dr Holover must be right up there. So I guess what I am saying is go check out Dr. Geiss, I sure would if I had it to do over again. As for Mercy Hospital where they work out of it was wonderful.

Good luck PLEASE keep in touch and let me know how you make out!

Ann how do you like the office? The Nutritionist is a 1X 250 and the pyscologist is a 1X 300. The Dr. takes my insurance out of network but he said he will take what they give him and won't make me pay out of pocket the trest. My fills would be 50.00. How many time a month do you need it filled? I just want to make sure this is the best decision. Dr geiss I cant even see him till the end of March . How do most people feel with Dr. Garber? Have you gone to any meetings?-Elisa P.S. You lost a lot since nov that would make me happy

I'm also from Long Island but took the trip into the city for NYU. I was just banded but I have two family members that had the band @ NYU and one that had the Bypass. All are doing fine and there office is very busy but the doctors know there stuff and the hospital was great with me. I would say that if you don't mind the trip to the city then check out NYU. You will be in good hands.

I really don't want to run into the city. I am in Commack and if there is a problem I don't want to go there trailing kids ect. Why did one have the bypass while the others did the Lap? How does the bypass person feel?-Elisa

The one that had the bypass had it in his head that he wanted that one before he ever went to see the doctor. They tried to talk to him about the band but he didn't want to hear it. He is doing well and is losing but he was in the hospital for 6 days and out of work for 30. Everyone is doing well and losing at a good clip. for me the band was the right choice. I have my sig ticker set to where i was when i started the pre op. To me that is the start of the whole processes. I lost 32 with the pre op and 8 since last friday so I'm more then happy with that as a start. I also am back to work today, I only needed to take a week off.

Elsa,

The Nutritionist was very nice when I was there but once she has your money good luck getting in touch with her. She will tell you to e-mail her and everytime I did it took over 10 days for her to get back to me and then it was with something like just keep doing what your doing instead of answering what I asked her. A TOTAL waste of money she was! I did not use there pyscologist because she was booked up and I found one that took my ins. Why are your fills only 50.00? Who told you that? Everyone else I know from there as well as myself get charged 250.00 per fill PLUS your co-pay. In fact before they gave me my surgery date they made me sign a paper that I understood the fill was 250.00 and ins does not cover a penny of it. If you don't mind not having a "personal" feel office then the office is fine and I don't blame you for not wanting to wait until March. They are very good Dr's and Mercy hospital was fantastic!!!!! I was losing weight great for the first 2-3 weeks. Then it stopped, so far I have had one fill which they do for everyone at 6 weeks post op. In 5 weeks since my fill I only lost 5 pounds! I have been very upset about it. I started writting down what I eat and I joined an indoor pool so I can exercise. Exercise is the key without it the band won't do any good. Since I joined the pool 2 weeks ago I finally got the scale to start moving down again. PLEASE feel free to e-mail me to chat more about this! wishes4444@aol.com

Oh and I went to one meeting but it was pre op have not been to either one of them since my surgery. They only hold them once a month on the 2nd tuesday of the month. Good Luck please e-mail me for any other questions!!

Ann how do you like the office? The Nutritionist is a 1X 250 and the pyscologist is a 1X 300. The Dr. takes my insurance out of network but he said he will take what they give him and won't make me pay out of pocket the trest. My fills would be 50.00. How many time a month do you need it filled? I just want to make sure this is the best decision. Dr geiss I cant even see him till the end of March . How do most people feel with Dr. Garber? Have you gone to any meetings?-Elisa P.S. You lost a lot since nov that would make me happy

I decided to use Dr. Geiss after all. I want to know since I cant see him till 3/5 I want to have things already done. I have an appt with their nutritionist and pulmonolgist regular Dr. for letter to ins I had already a cardiologist (stress test) What else do they require?-Thanks Elisa