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Post by smitty on Apr 5, 2016 16:59:17 GMT -5
Hello everyone. I recently got a referral for wls from my PCP. I have found out that a lot of my friends are having the vertical sleeve done. So i have done a lot of reseach and (pardon me) a lot of lurking on this forum and on others. So thru my reseach i have dicovered that there are many who have had previous wls are having to come back and have revision surgery to the ds. Most of my friends having surgery do not have the bealth issues that I have. I am diabetic on oral meds, have high bp, sleep apnea, and have a bmi of over 60 also. So I'm the type of person that if I'm goi g to put myself under the knife I may as well do it right the first time. I have researched surgeons in my area, and the closest surgeon is about 140 miles away at Johns Hopkins Bayview with a Dr. Michael Schweitzer. Is there anyone out there who has had him for a surgeon? If so could you tell me of your experience with him. Things like hospital stay, surgery, post op pain, recoop time, and anything else that might seem helpful. I have a cardiologist appt. tomorrow and I have printed out patient forms for JH Bayview. If all goes well tomorrow I will send out my forms for an appt. with Dr.Schweitzer.
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Post by caprice on Apr 5, 2016 21:19:20 GMT -5
First of all, welcome! I did a quick search for your surgeon and this is the only thing that came up: weightlosssurgery.proboards.com/thread/4103/ds-poor-outcomes-dangerous-coordinatorMy searching skills aren't top notch, so please try variations on the theme... The search button is the second one from the left up at the top of the page -- it may look blank, but give it a try. I am sorry I can't be of more help with your specific questions regarding this surgeon. I do have a DS, and am so glad every day for it. Started at over 310 pounds, lost down to 140, which was too darned much, and was able to get up to 180, where I have been for the last 6 years, give or take 5 pounds either way. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I could stay at one weight that wasn't in the obese range without extreme dieting. I hope you get more thorough answers from a few others soon, but I thought I would at least point you to the search thingy --- keep you busy Best wishes!
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Post by Melinda on Apr 6, 2016 10:42:39 GMT -5
Hi Smitty,
Back in 2002 he was my closest too. Because I hadn't heard much about him, I drove further and went to Hazem Elariny in Fairfax, VA instead. It took me about an extra 50 minutes at most. Wonderful, skilled surgeon. The other thing (back then) that I didn't like about Schweitzer was I would leave messages and no one would ever return my phone calls! Anyway, I wish I could tell you more but I actually never met the guy where at least when I called Elariny's office, I got appointments and a live voice lol.
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Post by aa on Apr 6, 2016 12:19:01 GMT -5
Welcome.
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Post by smitty on Apr 6, 2016 17:47:35 GMT -5
Thank you all for your replies. I did get online and pulled up some reviews for Dr.Schweitzer. Sounds like he can be a bit of a stickler. I understand his ofgice is better with answering emails than phones. I don't have a car so I will be traveling by bus. Anyhow I had my cardiologist appt. today and the doctor gave me the go ahead. So now I will send in my patieny forms and wait for an appt. ☺
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