"First impression was very bad. He is such a sticker for exercise and seemed to have no time to coddle me and make me feel okay about what was an incredibly life-changing decision for me. My initial informational was so distressing for me that I waited another year before finally making up my mind.
In the end I went with Dr. Weber because at the time he was the best surgeon in the area that I had heard of. I decided I didn't care about hsi bed-side manner - what I cared about was how well he used the knife. That is also why I decided to have it done open - because I didn't want to worry about someone who might not have a lot of experience doing that newer kind of procedure and frankly I want to know my surgeon "got in there and looked around" just in case there was something wrong. In my case, he had a heckuva time getting my bypass to work but in the end he pulled it off and it has worked fine.
I also had my gallbladder removed at the same time. Doc also said that my liver was not looking good when he was looking around, but that he expected that would clear up after the surgery.
After surgery he had me 6 weeks pureed only, the move on to soft foods like cottage cheese then at my own pace after that I could transition into solid foods.
He insisted I not use my CPAP machine for fear of what it might do to my pouch. I had pretty bad sleep apnea so he was probably right to have me avoid it. The breathing problems were one of the first things to go as I guess the fatty tissue in my throat is one of the first areas of fat that we tend to lose.
His emphasis on aftercare is good, but I didn't follow through past six months. I know I should, espcially since we all complain about physicians having terrible long-term follow-up care. In this case, it is totally my fault, but what can I say I've got no good excuse.
I would rate Dr. Weber an excellent surgeon. He had a bad run a few months after me that was kind of scary, but he is an excellent surgeon and I highly recommend him. Just make sure you insist on being transected.
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