Has anyone had something like this happen to them?

Background: I was banded in TJ by Dr. Ortiz on 12/7/07.

I decided to see a doctor with SF at sflapsurgeons in Sacramento, CA to get my fills. However, they told me via e-mail that I had to get my first fill under fluoroscopy on San Francisco because they only have fluro in the S.F. office. I was told over e-mail, and confirmed over e-mail the cost of the visit was $375.00 and that included the fluro for the first visit only. All other visits after that would be $375.00 w/fluoro and if fluoro was needed there would be an additional cost. Wow, sounded good to me because I been calling around and it is not cheap to be a Mexico pt trying to find a fill where I live. However, when I got there YESTERDAY they tried to up the price form $375 to $450 but I complained and got the visit for $375.00.

So then the doctor who saw me could not help himself from making sarcastic comments about my doctor in TJ. He told me he was not going to do fluoroscopy even though I was told the reason I had to come to S.F. was because they needed to do fluoroscopy to locate my port otherwise I would have seen a doctor at their office in Sacramento where I live. Well, he told me that he would do fluoroscopy if he could not locate my port. I was like, "okay, I guess". So, like a dummy I let this fool push hard on my stomach. I can't tell you how bad this hurt. It doesn't sound like much but hurt really bad and still hurts. He then took the needle and poked it into me which hurt but I expected the poke so that was not so bad. What hurt really bad was how he kept pushing on my stomach and moving that needle around stabbing me on the inside. He told me to lean my head up so I was tightening my stomach muscles. He then says, you can’t do that? Wow. I said, "what do you expect? I was told no abdominal exercises for 3 months so my muscles are weak because I avoid using them" (by the way I could do them but it hurt and I couldn‘t hold it very long, he was so dramatic).

So he kept poking and pushing for about 10 min as tears spilled down my face and I bit my lower lip and tried to forget the pain as I looked at the tiny dots in the ceiling tiles. At one point I yelped and told him forget it, take the needle out. I cant handle this pain. He then made one of his remarks saying, "The band just isn't for some people. Didn't your doctor explain to you what goes into having a band?" He acted as if all this pain was normal so I let him keep on until finally he said he couldn't do it and I could either come back next month and he would try again or fluoroscopy which he did not recommend because he says it really would not be much help to find the port since after he finds it he has to move the machine away and may lose the location. What? He contradicted what he said before. He said if he could not find the port he would have to do a fluoroscopy. Thank God my SO was there to witness all this double talk and crappie remarks.

Well, I insisted on the fluoroscopy. He then told me "there is a lot to getting there". He described an elevator and crossing over to the next building. He then pointed to the top of the building right next door and said that I would have to go up there. Ya, big deal I thought. So the patient coordinator walks me and my SO half way there when he says that it will be $250.00 and what insurance would I like it billed to. Insurance? I told him, you people know I am self pay and you know that I was told $375.00 included the fluoroscopy and that is the reason I had to come all the way to S.F. because your office in Sacramento does not have Fluoro. He apologized and I turned around yelling down the hallway that I wanted a refund and to just get out of here. Can you believe that sneaky coordinator waited until we were half way there to tell me the cost? I bet the doctor did not want to leave the office to do the fluoro because he had other patients and was behind because he took so long on me. Then, they tried to be sneaky and charge me even more for the fluoroscopy to either get more money from me or discourage me from having it so he could save time. I told him I have an e-mail that shows I asked if the fluoro was included and I have a response that goes into detail explaining that it does with this visit only and following visits it does not.

The pt coordinator ignored me as he had me wait about 20 min so he could talk to the doctor to "work something out". I guess the doctor did not want to see me anymore because I got a full refund. The pt coordinator told me he would set me up with an appt with another doctor in their practice that "has more experience with bands". What? So this guy who was poking me didn't have much experience? I bet the other doctors were not in the office that day because they were in surgery and maybe they knew what they were doing but this quack didn’t. I can't believe how I was treated and now I have no fill. I have to find another doctor in Sacramento or the Bay Area because I not going back there. That place is a Center of Excellence and it is gross, dirty and the doc did not wash his hand in front of me before he put his gloves on. I can‘t stand that.

There is someone on this board that goes to Dr. Mckeen in San Jose. I might try him. If I can't find a fill doctor I am just going back to TJ to Dr. Ortiz where I know they have fluoro and it is inexpensive-the fill is free and the fluoro is $100.00.

Thanks for letting me vent. I am just so disappointed about not getting the fill after taking a whole day off work and to be talked to sarcastically and told the “band isn’t for some people” even though I have changed my eating habits and have lost 25lbs since surgery and kept it off on shear will power alone because I can eat a house if I wanted to. Hope none of you go through this.

HI Lynn--that experience sounds terrible and I'm so sorry you had to be subjected to lies and sarcasm. Completely unprofessional.

I've head good things about Dr. McKeen. You might want to look into my doctor as well, Dr. Husted, who actually left LapSF for his own private practice. He does still have his office hours at CPMC in SF but he has actually started his office hours in Fairfield at the Sutter Medical Clinic (nice, clean, really new clinic!). I'm actually going there this friday for my first fill and he is planning on doing it under fluoro there.

I don't know about Dr. Husted's policies on bands done in Mexico or about how much he'd charge for a fill, but it's worth a look at johnhustedmd.com. Or, 415-722-4182 for his main assistant, Lori. She has dealt with the lapsf staff herself too and can commiserate with you.

There is something not right about the patient contact people with lapsf. When i was contacted by lapsf while i researched doctors, I had actually chosen Dr. Husted already based on competitive pricing and experience. When i told them that I had already chosen Dr. Husted, I hung up with the pt. coordinator and thought that would be the end of it. However, about 5 min later she called me back and tried to tell me that Dr. Husted never did lapbands. She was actually very rude about it. It went something like "well I have worked with him many times and i can tell you that he absolutely does NOT do lapbands." Of course, that went against my research and what all of his helpful staff had told me, so I politely told the lapsf contact woman that I'd check on that and get back to her.

I did, and of course, he had been doing them for years. In fact, he had never worked with this person who had claimed to have because she was hired in by lapsf and not personally by him. The lapsf coordinator basically was guilty of slander. I notified Dr. Husted and his staff and they were both not surprised by this behavior, which suggests to me that deceptiveness is not new with at least one member of their staff and was part of the reason why Dr. Husted left lapsf. I've heard one other complaint type story involving the personality of the doctors with lapsf but that was on the obesityhelp.com patient profiles.

I hope you find someone that will do your fills professionally and with great care. Check out the California thread because I could have sworn that someone confirmed there that Dr. McKeen does do ppl with bands done by other drs.

Good Luck!

Wow, what a horrible experience. I recently had my first fill. The doctor easily found the port, inserted the needle on the correct spot, verified that my port was hit by extracting some Fluid with a slight blue color and added 2 cc of saline. It was over in less than 2 minutes. I mention this to you as a reference. There are doctors who can find a port by feeling for it. An accurate and quick relatively pain free fill is possible. You should search until finding a doctor who can provide you with that.

God bless you.

I am so sorry. That experience is far from normal. I've had 4 different fills with 2 doctors and they have been easy and almost painless (all in done in 10 seconds). This office is terrible and you definitely shouldn't go back. One of the doctors has patients lift their legs while he finds the port, the other could just do it instantly with no help. Good luck, you will find a good, reliable doctor, they are out there.

That is horrible on so many levels! I have had two excellent experiences with fills so far, neither with fluoroscopy. You clearly had an inexperienced doctor and those definitely sound like shady business practices. I hope you find someone who is competent and affordable! Good luck!

It sounds like you may have been his first patient! I hope you find a good doctor for your fills.

I'll add to the comments -- I was banded by Dr. Ortiz on 8/29 (wasn't it great!!) and found a practice in NYC that's very well known for its lap band doctors (Drs Fielding and Dr. Ren). Even though I commute monthly from Philly to NYC, I committed to myself that my first year, I'd go to the best for everything (includng Dr. Ortiz for the operation), and they've been great. Have had several fills to-date, by Dr. Ren, and then 2 different nurse practioners in their office, and they've all been fantastic. You had a quack -- and a greedy dishonest one at that. I hope that you find someone better -- it can only get better, really!

Best, Danielle

I was also banded by Dr. Ortiz. I live in Michigan and it is sort of expensive to go to TJ for my fills. I looked up bariatric surgeons on the internet and started calling all of them within a 75 mile radius. I asked them if they did fills on outside patients (most said no) but I found 5 who did them. I asked How Much. And made my choice that way. I found a great fill doctor. He doesn't use flouro, has me raise my legs and it is done in less than 5 minutes. Sounds like you had a quack. Don't hesitate to mention names so others won't have the same experience. Also, since you are already in Ca, wouldn't it be cheaper to fly to San Diego and go back to Dr. Ortiz? It has to be less than $350.00 to fly. Or hey, take a bus.

Wow !! So sorry that happened to you. Sounds awful. I have had four fills and I don`t feel a thing. It only takes a couple of seconds to get them. He does not use fluor. because he is really good and does not need it. I hope you find a good fill doctor. My fill doctor charged me1,100 for one years worth of fills. Dr. Allen in Lou. Ky. Had my surgery in Mexico. Donna

Girlfriend, girlfriend. This is bull shit. My doctor will treat you down in San Jose for $200 a fill. He does them blind with ease. He may have to do fluoro if that doesn't work but he is awesome. His name is Robert McKeen at South Bay Bariatrics. I would call him and make the drive down. Good luck.

P.S. There shouldn't be any pain at all. My doctor always uses a numbing agent. I am sorry you were put through this.

Thank you everyone for responding to my post. It is nice to be reassured that a fill does not have to be this way and that unfortunately I had a bad experience. My post was very long and you guys are great for reading even the first paragraph-I just had to let out my frustration- I was so mad. Anyway, I not responded to this thread sooner to thank you all because I not been on the board recently (busy at work making up for that day I took off to do the fill, j/k).

Thank you tommaney for suggesting Dr. Husted in Fairfield and yes, there is something strange with that sf lap band office-and thank you juliegeraci for the suggestion of Dr. Mckeen in San Jose (by the way you are who I was referring to in my post that sees Dr. Mckeen just couldn't think of your name =).

Kirajh-in my post I did mention going back to Dr. Ortiz-it is not that much to fly down to San Diego but I would have to do a lot of planning just for a fill in the fight, getting a passport, finding someone to go with me, hotel (Dr. Ortiz likes you to stay the night in case you cant keep liquids down and they need to unfill you before you go home). - I would rather just find a good doctor close to where I live because I think it would be easier w/my busy work schedule but if things don't work out-TJ here I come. I am sure one of the docs mentioned above will work for me though.

Everyone here is so wonderful and so supportive. Sometimes this is the only place I feel I can go even if just to read the post to feel I have something in common w/others at least with this band. Sometimes my friends just don’t get that this is a lifestyle change. My best friend the other day called me when I was on my way to her house and asked if I was hungry and what I wanted from Carl’s Jr. (fast food). I just don’t eat that stuff anymore but it is hard not having restriction and you all truly help motivate me to keep on going and keep on losing even without the restriction. :biggrin:

Actually my Dr. will only do your first fill under Flouroscopy. I read Dr. Oritz book and he says that if you get your fills done with Flo. you tend to have better fills, and better results. I would print out the emails and would take them to the clinic that is close to you and share your experience. There is absolutely no excuse for that behavior! You were quoted a price, and if they had done it as they were supposed to have then you would probably not have had such an awful experience!

Remember you are employing the Dr. You do have a choice. He manipulated the fact that you did not know anywhere else to go and used that against you. They were going to charge you for the service and then tried to rip you off by not giving you the correct service. That sounds very unethical and I am sure there is something that can and should be done about it.

Lynn,

Dr. Husted would be happy to see you and do a fill for you.

Since he didn't do your band he requires you to get a copy of your op report and then there is no problem.

He also has an office in Fairfield where he can do fills.

Call his office 415-722-4182.

I forgot to mention that Dr, Husted is doing a seminar in Fairfield on February 15th at the Sutter Fairfield Medical Campus at 6 pm. 2700 Low Court in Fairfield.

Anyone can attend. You don't need to be one of his patients.

Call his office for details or just show up 415-722-4182

Lynn0216, I know exactly what you are talking about. I was banded by Dr. Ortiz in Mexico in Oct 2007 but since I live in the bay area I wanted to find a local doctor for my fills. I went lapsf for my first fill and was treated like dirt by the doctor there (I'm sure it's the same one you had). I paid $375 for the fill and then I got charged $800 for the fluro because they didn't set it up for me before I got to my appointment. Eventually it got worked out and I had to pay $200 for the fluro on top of hte $375.00. I left there with a bad taste in my mouth and looking at other options. I called Dr. McKeen's office in San Jose and was told a fill was going to cost me $400. So like a fool I went back to LapSF for my second fill and had a really nice female doctor filling in for the a-hole but when I got there I was told I had to pay $450 for the fill. I didn't have the fluro this time because I can't afford it. I am overfilled right now and having a hard time keeping even liquids down but I can't spend another $450 to get a slight unfill. I totally know how you feel and the male doctor there was sacastic and rude and completely obnoxious. I thought about going back to Mexico but again it's difficult to schedule the time away. It's nice to hear that I haven't been the only one with problems.