. . . has been a surgeon for more than 10 years and has recently been through lapband training but has only been doing the procedure for a few months? Let's say said doctor has done about 25 procedures with no slippage as of yet.

Hmmmmm, well I pissed someone off in another thread when I said I didnt think it was the actual surgery that was the difficult bit, it was the aftercare.

But like anything, you'd get better with practice! Someone has to be the guinea pig but I dont think I'd want to be. I think someone in that position could do the surgery competently, I mean every surgeon had to do his/her first lapband didnt they? I would be a bit hesitant at 25 though, but its more the years and years of experience in dealing with the everyday problems and major problems. Every time I read this forum I usually end up amazed at least once at a surgeon's lack of empathy and understanding of what living with a band is like. They need to KNOW the sorts of things that bandsters live with - they need to know when to unfill, when to lecture, when to investigate. After 25, just how much experience with the trials and tribulations of obesity and losing weight would this guy have.

I love that I go to my doctor and i say 'things have been great but ....." and he can nod his head and laugh with me over having calamari coming out of my nose in the main street of Byron Bay, I love that he will unfill me WITHOUT question becuase I request it even though my discomforts are barely there, but I'm concerned about them. I love that he realises that I can be trusted to manage my band in the way that I see fit becuase its MY body but that the next patient that comes in might need a lot of hand holding and the one after that might need a good stern lecture because that's what SHE responds best to.

That's what I'd be looking at - not only how qualifiied he is to operate on you but how much support he is going to be afterwards.

In a word...NO. and NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!

...and I totally agree with Jacqui...the experience with aftercare was just as important to me.

Let's face it, at # 26, you'd still be a guinea pig and possibility of problems will certainly be higher, just because of inexperience. I went to three different hospitals before I picked mine. Possibility of death is still just that and your risking a lot.

No. This is elective; choose one with all the experience you can get. More is better.

I agree with the others. Gastric band aftercare is not always black and white. You'll want someone who is very knowledgeable on the ins and outs of fills, the variances of how different people's bodies react to the band, etc. There's a lot more to being a good band surgeon than the actual surgery. The long term care can be very variable, and you'll want someone who has first hand experience in dealing with patients after the surgery is completed. He could be the most competent surgeon in the world, but if he's not in practice with an experienced gastric band surgeon, you may be his first patient to experience a complication that he's not seen first hand. I wouldn't want to be that patient.

How much of a discount do you get?

Just kidding. Sort of.

I had the choice of going to a new guy who had done 20 or so during a fellowship, or going an extra 45 minutes away from home and getting someone who had done hundreds. I spent the gas money, and got back peace of mind.

How much of a discount do you get?

Just kidding. Sort of.

I had the choice of going to a new guy who had done 20 or so during a fellowship, or going an extra 45 minutes away from home and getting someone who had done hundreds. I spent the gas money, and got back peace of mind.

Too funny - and there is some truth to it! Although I was not aware of it at first. The less experienced doctor is the first one I met at a seminar. I wasn't aware of experience level at the time - was just going for information.

There is a "program fee" involved for dieticians, gym membership, counseling, fills for a year, etc. Insurance should cover the rest. I am somewhat borderline, but the group thinks they will have no problem getting it covered. Didn't seem to be a wait time. The program fee is up front.

I recently discovered a very experienced group with the same sort of "program fee" - just a bit more expensive. The program fee for one is about $2500 and the less experienced group is about $800.

I liked the doctor I met. He took time with me and answered all of my questions, but I am really questioning the experience with the procedure.

I think I will make an appointment with the more expensive more experienced doctor and make a more informed decision. Not sure if he will agree that I will be covered.

Thanks for your feedback!

. . . has been a surgeon for more than 10 years and has recently been through lapband training but has only been doing the procedure for a few months? Let's say said doctor has done about 25 procedures with no slippage as of yet.

I just want to let you know that the doctor around here just started doing them less then a year ago. I was his 8th patient to have it done. You first of all gotta build a trust for the doctor. Talk to people who have gone to him or worked with him. I have had little problems with this doctor. The thing is, we are all learning including the doctor at the same time. Being one of his first ones, he was really slow with my fills and stuff like that, now that he has many surgeries under his belt he is getting more confident and being more aggressive in the aftercare.. The doctor has to start somewhere. They usually go through extensive training before preforming the first surgery. We have 2 more doctors looking into doing the surgeries and they have been training for over a year now. Going to other hospitals and assisting with surgeries and stuff like that. Just thought I would let you know.

Well I guess I'll be the odd one out, but my surgeon was fairly new at doing the Lapband as well, but she and the entire office staff have been nothing short of amazing. They really commit to the aftercare of the patients and expect the patients to commit to them for aftercare as well. Every question I have ever had was always answered, my surgeon too was also a very experienced surgeon just not in the Lapband at the time, but after meeting her I had complete confidence (also I could tell she was a bit of a perfectionist which I admired). I would just say you have to go with your gut instincts on this one, but the surgeons can't get more experienced unless they have patients to operate on. Good Luck in your journey :hurray:

It would depend on the surgeon's reputation with the surgeries he did in the 10+ years prior to being trained on the Lap Band and on who did his training and what his record has been thus far. I would not rule him out, as he is not new to surgery, but I would look at him with a great deal of scrutiny prior to making my choice.

In two words: No way!

HOW the hell do you think those EXPERIENCED doctors got the experience?!?!?!? PRACTICE? Ya think? I think the newer ones get the butt end of the stick. I would go...

. . . has been a surgeon for more than 10 years and has recently been through lapband training but has only been doing the procedure for a few months? Let's say said doctor has done about 25 procedures with no slippage as of yet.

Yes, and I did, but only with a seasoned doctor with them in the OR.

My doctor had did around 30 of the procedures prior to me. I had a choice of another doctor as well, but the other doctor was going to be in the surgery room with my doctor, so I said okay. Plus, there was a proctor form LapBand in the OR as well. Actually, there were several people in the OR observing and assisting.

Good luck with your decision.

Hmmmmm, well I pissed someone off in another thread when I said I didnt think it was the actual surgery that was the difficult bit, it was the aftercare.

.

I remember this thread well. I was a little bit shocked by some of the comments stated and felt bad for you Jachut. I always value your opinions. I might not agree all the time, but non-the-less I enjoy your perspective.

I believe we can all offer some valuable insight to those on this forum. Of course were not all going to agree with each other, but we can choose to respect the opinions of other without trying to behead them for a comment. Agree to disagree.

Anyway, marathonmom, take what you learn hear with a grain of salt. Do your own research on this doctor. Find out their stats for the banding procedure. Talk to other patients who have had this doctor perform this procedure. Check their licensing with the medical board. Any reported issues to the medical board???

Good luck!

Of course the doctors need the practice, that's how they get experienced. But sorry, they can practice on someone other than me.

I think the surgery itself is probably safe, but the potential for complications that they make worse by not recognising and not knowing how to treat is too high. Someone mentioned the other day that his doctor said it was strange that he found pork chops hard to eat becuase normally red meat was the problem. Talk about spewing out a textbook! ANY surgeon worth his salt will know that people can have problems with anything, there's no rhyme and reason to it. That's just one example, theres a gazillion of them in these threads showing just how little EXPERIENCED surgeons sometimes know about banded life, let alone those starting out.

Perhaps if they were in practice with more experienced surgeons who could provide support. Perhaps.

Edited February 24, 200917 yr by Jachut