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Doctors in Western Washington?



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I am trying to pick a doctor as well as a hospital to have my surgery. I have had a couple of consults with surgeons and have not felt all that comfortable and am curious if anyone on here has a sugestion for a GREAT doctor in this area.

Any help is much appriciated!

Also - is there a way to check a doctors track record at all?? i feel like it is sort of a crap shoot - which scares me.

Sara in WA

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Sara, I live in Ferndale and did lots of research on banding with Seattle area doctors. I decided on Dr. Kirshenbaum of Denver, CO for a few reasons. I found a topic on this forum about him and the patients were raving about him. I did some research and talked to his office and band coordinator and was impressed by his record. He has been doing laproscopic surgeries for decades and has been doing lap bands for a couple of years now. He is a very gentle, kind, patient and caring doctor. Another huge issue for me was his fee - I was self pay and he beat the doctors up here by far. He charges $9950 for everything and that includes 3 months of follow up and fills. He then charges $15 per fill for his patients. Yes it means traveling to Denver.

I had my surgery on 12/5/07 and have been back for 1 fill. I am going again in 10 days for another fill but don't really need it terribly. Just a little tweaking. My experience with him and his staff has been awesome.

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by Kelly Clinch. He is a friend of mine (his kids go to my kids' schools) and he did a terrific job. I am a self pay, too. All follow ups and fills are free for first year.

All the nurses in his office have had it done too and they are so happy!

:thumbup:

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I had my surgery with Dr. Oh of St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way, he doesn't have the greatest bedside manor, but they are a Bariatric Center of Excellence. I have had great results, and the rest of his staff is very good to work with !

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Sara -

My surgery was done by Dr William Neal. He performs surgery in Olympia and Bremerton (where I went), and perhaps Shelton as well. Fills right now are done in Olympia, but they're trying to add a fill site in Bremerton, too.

At least half the staff are banded so you can always talk to someone who has direct experience - besides that, they're very nice.

Dr Neal's office has been certified as a Bariatric Center of Excellence and he's done quite a few surgeries so I was comfortable trusting his expertise. He's very straightforward and kind.

Here's the website: Pacific Surgical There are weekly information sessions, and Dr Neal is one of the docs who will be at the Splash this weekend.

Hope that helps - good luck with your decision!

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Hi,

I used Dr. Rob Landerholm in Edmonds and the Pacific sugerical service center. Had the best experience with everyone in the office. Dr. L is very caring and has a great sense of humor to make sure you are at ease. He always answered my questions and didnt feel rushed.

Kathy

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Sara,

I will be going with the NW Weight loss surgery center in Everett. Check them out, I think they are great. Yes there is a web side where you can check out doctors and if they have complaints.

Bir

PS Maybe I will see you at NW:thumbup:

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Dr. Neal did my surgery in September. I have had a great experience. All fills free for the life of his practice!

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Could you please let me know where doc Neal is located at? Thanks
He's in Olympia, but also does surgery in Bremerton and Shelton. I linked his website a couple posts down.

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
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    • KimBaxleyWilson

      Three months and four days ago... I was in Costa Rica having a life changing surgery! Yesterday we had a followup visit with Dr. Esmeral via video chat and this morning my middle number changed.  I'm down 47lbs and two pants sizes. I can wear a Large tshirt for the first time in like... 14 years! Woot!! Everything is going great. I have zero regrets. I went down to the riverwalk with a friend and walked 2 miles on Monday without even getting fatigued. And no more snoring or chugging pickle juice for crazy leg cramps! I need to go to the gym more... I'm making new shirts next week so that will motivate me. LOL But I'm also just not as TIRED all the time! I have a LONG way to go...but seeing the progress on the scales and in the mirror is a huge motivator!! Thank you all for cheering me on and supporting me!!
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      https://alluniqueguide.com/java-burn-coffee-reviews/
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