My surgeon retired

I had surgery 5 plus years ago.

My surgeon retired last May. I know that I need a follow up but have put it off.

Yes, part of it was that we have had incredibly bad weather but some of it is developing a new relationship with a new person.

Must get over that and make an appointment.

Just venting.

Linda

I hate when that happens.  When my husband gave up his practice he recommended some other doctors.  Have you asked your's who you should see?  Personally I have been very lucky with medical schools or  doctors who are connected with a medical school.  

I had surgery nearly 9 years ago and haven't seen my surgeon since I was 5 months out (I left the country).   Your PCP is perfectly able to order your labs and help you monitor them if you haven't learned how to do that yet (I hope you have at YOUR stage!).

If you need specialists - GI, Endocrine, Haematologist etc your PCP can refer you if your insurance won't let you self refer.

Unless you require bariatric surgery, I'd be very surprised if you could find a surgeon to take you on - because there really is no reason!

my surgeon left the office soon after my surgery, i think he switched his focus more to the robotic surgery than the bariatrics for now, but at my office i only saw him at my initial consultation and my first pre-op appointment. he definitely was just a "cutter." it's still the same nurse practitioners and dieticians at the office that i've dealt with the entire process. though i haven't gone back to the office since my 1 year post op appointment 

My RNY surgeon is also no longer practicing.  (I had mine in 2007.) Why do you feel that you need a follow up with an actual bariatric surgeon?  Is there something you feel your PCP could not handle?  Many of us no longer see our bariatric surgeons (for a variety of reasons) and just have our PCPs handle our yearly lab work.

Lora

While I trust my PCP, I am going to go to a bariatric surgeon as follow up.

thanks for your input,

Linda

My surgeon says we are patients for life. I plan to follow up with him each year. I am aware many dont.

Ouch!   What a terrible thing to tell someone.   You are no more a patient once you have had RNY than you are if you have your thyroid or ovaries removed.   

I wonder what these doctors are thinking sometimes.   You are perfectly capable of living an adapted normal life after this surgery and chances are will never need the services of your surgeon again!

Yeah... Good way for a surgeon to guarantee himself/herself the income from an office visit (at probably twice the cost of a PCP office visit) every single year from every single patient (s)he has ever done surgery on, even of they have no issues whatsoever... to do nothing more than order lab work that any PCP can order.  And how many of those people won't even see the surgeon, but will see a Physiscian Assistant or even just a nurse?!?  

Can you imagine the uproar if people were being told they needed yearly follow ups for life after having their gallbladder removed?

Lora

Calling someone a patient for life too?   It perpetuates the whole "we are now so precious" thing, when really with a few adaptations, we are pretty normal after at most a year ...

To my mind, for someone to see themselves as a patient for life takes away a large part of control of their life.   It's the whole abdicaton of responsibility for one's own health thing as well - "my surgeon say to take Flinstones and D2 so that's what I'm going to do" - ugh!