Hello everyone,

I am trying to do my research on my doctor - Dr. Shahram Salimitari, MD.

Thanks

Sherry

Edited January 4, 201016 yr by alex

I'm glad to see that you are researching your Surgeon. A lot of people don't. make sure that he has done HUNDREDS of lap bands before he lays his hands on you. My threshold of comfort would be 800 or 900, or higher. Check him/her out thoroughly, and don't be afraid to ask the hard questions, like how many patients he/she has "lost", and any thing else that you might be concerned about. It any Doctor hesitates to give you any information about themselves, then don't walk away....RUN away!

It's your only body, and you want to have somebody working on you that knows what they are doing.

HH

Thank you for your response. I do know that he is not board certified. Is that bad if they've done hundreds of surgeries?

check out www.healthgrades.com you can check out your dr. Can order a detailes check for like 13$. I did it on my dr.

Thanks! I actually did that and there was no reports TG

Hello, I am meeting with Dr. Jackson from 1800GetSLim on the 14th and I am trying to do some research on him. Let me know if you find anything out about the office. I'm alittle reluctant. My experience wasn't so great at first with the office staff, but they have made up for it.

sherryaperez, I know exactly what you are talking about. I also went to them at their Beverly Hills site and did the same research. I spoke with different women who have had their surgery done with them and all are happy so far. I was just there for an endoscopy two weeks ago. The doctor you are talking about Dr. Omiri does not do any surgeries and I hear nothing but good thing about Dr Salimitari. As a matter of fact I freaked out and contacted someone who had origonally posted about Omiri and this is what she sent me back.

I freaked out too. But, Dr. Salimatari called me personally and told me a few things which helped me make the decision to go through them.

1. Dr. Omidi (the one who's license was revoked does not do surgeries, he handles paperwork). The one doing the surgeries is Dr. Salimatari and I researched him and he has no history of malpractice.

2. Dr. Salimatari has done over 200 lap band surgeries as of December of 2008. I have also spoken to some of his patients and they have all positive experiences with him.

3. Top Surgeons is the least expensive place for me, after I researched other surgery centers in my area.

4. This is not brain surgery. The risks of complications are very low. I am more likely to have more health problems if I don't do the surgery.

I researched and really considered all this before surgery.

I chose to have the surgery and I am so glad I did. Dr. Salamitari has been great, the surgery went better than I expected and I have lost 50 lbs since.

If you have any other questions just Google his name and even this site will come up with different people posting about him.:drool: Hope this was helpfull.

:laugh:

Divis

sherryaperez, I know exactly what you are talking about. I also went to them at their Beverly Hills site and did the same research. I spoke with different women who have had their surgery done with them and all are happy so far. I was just there for an endoscopy two weeks ago. The doctor you are talking about Dr. Omiri does not do any surgeries and I hear nothing but good thing about Dr Salimitari. As a matter of fact I freaked out and contacted someone who had origonally posted about Omiri and this is what she sent me back.

I freaked out too. But, Dr. Salimatari called me personally and told me a few things which helped me make the decision to go through them.

1. Dr. Omidi (the one who's license was revoked does not do surgeries, he handles paperwork). The one doing the surgeries is Dr. Salimatari and I researched him and he has no history of malpractice.

2. Dr. Salimatari has done over 200 LAP-BAND® surgeries as of December of 2008. I have also spoken to some of his patients and they have all positive experiences with him.

3. Top Surgeons is the least expensive place for me, after I researched other surgery centers in my area.

4. This is not brain surgery. The risks of complications are very low. I am more likely to have more health problems if I don't do the surgery.

I researched and really considered all this before surgery.

I chose to have the surgery and I am so glad I did. Dr. Salamitari has been great, the surgery went better than I expected and I have lost 50 lbs since.

If you have any other questions just Google his name and even this site will come up with different people posting about him. Hope this was helpfull.

:thumbup:

Divis

sorry but I disagree - this isn't brain surgery but it is surgery which requires general anesthesia, intubating etc. Don't minimize it - I know of someone personally who ended up in a coma for two months from this surgery (not where I went but somewhere else). Which was why I picked a place that has done nearly 10,000 surgeries between all the doctors in the practice and has excellent aftercare. The aftercare is critical to the success.

I have nothing good or bad to say about this outfit as I have had absolutely no dealings with them.

My question is about the "free insurance verification." Why would a surgeon (regardless of whether they are from a premiere surgery center or not) charge you to verify if you have insurance coverage or not? If the surgeon is part of the insurance network, there should be no charge whatsoever to verify coverage, and even if they aren't part of the network, you'd think they'd not charge you to verify coverage, since they will most likely be getting paid by the insurance company.

This just smells like a scam to me.

Hi Michelle! I'm in the High Desert, north of Victorville. After I read all this stuff about 1800getslim, I did some research and found a doctor in San Bernardino whose clinic is designated as a "Center of Excellence". He has a seminar BEFORE the one at getslim, so I'll probably go to it instead. If I don't like this doctor, I'll sure check out the one you mentioned! I'm hoping to find someone a little closer to home, though.

Hi Amaris, Great. I agree the closer to home, the better. And don't forget, any ethical doctor's office will do "free insurance verification". I think you will feel a lot better about this whole thing after the seminar. Keep us updated! Michelle

I would start with the local hospitals in your area most major hospitals have a weight loss surgery program and they will set all your appointments and get your insurance approval for no extra money only the cost of the surgery itself good luck to all and sorry about your nightmare stories.

I dont know anything about these places, thankfully cause they sound horrible but as a nurse myself, with ANY kind of sugery or even for a primary dr, make sure they are BOARD CERTIFIED! Always. That means they actually took their boards and passed!!

For lap band I am going to a Bariatric Center for Excellence and wouldnt do any less. They have strict rules or protocols to go by.

Thats just my 2 cents :-)

Good luck to everyone

Had to know there was something up with that bunch....I've never seen an ad campaign for any product or service. The sea of billboards actually made me more skeptical of the whole procedure...I mean, if something is medically necessary why do I need to see an ad for it every 100 yrds down the highway? Shouldn't a doctor be telling you that its a viable option? Anyway, I certainly hope that no one gets hurt by those guys....

but as a nurse myself, with ANY kind of sugery or even for a primary dr, make sure they are BOARD CERTIFIED! Always. That means they actually took their boards and passed!!

I (also an RN) agree. In certain circumstances, board-eligible is also acceptable.

I would not choose ANY facility that was not a Bariatric Center of Excellence. I would not choose any doctor who had, as his phone number, some sort of gimmicky, reel-in-the-desperate-and-vulnerable message, either.

I really don't know this group, but with an unlicensed doctor on staff (how do YOU know who does surgeries if you're anesthetized?!) and a surgeon with only 200 surgeries under his belt, I see red flags all over the place.

It's not minor surgery. Yes, it is laparoscopic. It does not involve large, open incisions. But it DOES require great skill. My surgeon is very experienced, as is his partner. Know what? EACH AND EVERY SURGERY THEY DO is performed with BOTH in the room. Why? Because having two very skilled, very experienced surgeons present creates OUTSTANDING outcomes. Complications are not frequent, but they can and do arise--and you want to have the very best people caring for you. Not the ones with the catchy phone number on the side of a bus or the lowest fee.

Do more research.

You know, sometimes advertising scares me witless. Even the television commercials I see sometimes give the impression that this is a no-big-deal surgery.

It just isn't true. ANY time your abdomen is compromised with surgical instruments, it's a serious matter. My surgeon told me that people like me who had never had surgery before are the easiest to operate on. After you've had surgery, there is always the risk that you'll develop complications. I agree with an earlier posting that I would NEVER allow a non-Board Certified Surgeon perform an operation on me or anyone I cared about, no matter how seductive the cost. In addition, you'll want to see his or her credentials for specific training in laparoscopic bariatric surgery, which is a special technique.

You owe it to yourself to do everything possible to enable a good result. You can't prevent every risk, but don't compromise.

Best wishes to you!

Christine