Hi all! I was wondering if anybody has interview different surgeons to see which one is the best pick for the surgery? I have three main picks in the Houston area.

One surgeon made me wait a hour and he was very cocky! Very bad manners and decided to NEVER go back to that surgeon. The second surgeon, was a complete 360 and love him and the hospital that he works at. The third surgeon was the same at the second one however I notice Cigna does not cover the hospital on where he is going to preform the surgery. So, I had one main decision and went with the middle one because he cover all the requirements that I had and there bariatric program at the hospital is 5 stars!

What did y'all look for in the surgeon that you went with?

I had saw a surgeon a few years back when I had Cigna as my insurance and he seemed nice enough but also made me seem like just another patient for him. He was the first one to suggest going with the DS which I appreciate. I went to a seminar for the program I ended up going with and the surgeon I went with was the one to run it. Just from that seminar alone I knew I wanted him to be my surgeon. He made everyone feel comfortable and went through each surgery in detail. I am very glad I went with him and the DS.

I got lucky and liked the first one I met with, both her personality and her ability and approach to the surgery.

I had some basic requirements for who would do my surgery.

1. The surgeon had to be VERY experienced- as in done literally hundreds of WLS. (Outcome is proven to be better as far as fewer complications the more experienced the surgeon is.)

2. A true bariatric center. By this I mean the hospital where you have surgery, the staff and facilities are actually completely geared to bariatrics. ( You are not just another surgery patient in a hospital put onto a floor with other types of patients after surgery. ) This matters as the staff is better trained in dealing with bariatric patient needs and the beds, gowns etc. are all bariatric friendly.

3. Had to provide education and support before AND after surgery. This is a key for long term maintence.

4. He or she had to show respect for me as a person. I didn't have to like him or her in a "friend" feeling kind of way, but I DID have to feel comfortable enough to be "real" and not guarded. If a person isn't comfortable enough with their Doctor to be genuine I don't think you are giving yourself the best shot at great care.

My program was weird and I didn’t meet the surgeon until the end of my 3 months. He was not warm and fuzzy but I honestly didn’t care, he was a good surgeon and that’s what I needed him for

my insurance only covered surgery if I went with one clinic, and luckily, that clinic has four surgeons. They take turns doing the evening orientation sessions (or at least did at the time - I'm guessing they still do), so I attended three or four orientation sessions so I'd be exposed to more than one of the surgeons. I picked the one I thought I'd be most likely to "click" with, as I knew from reviews that they're all really good surgeons.