Be careful and choose your surgeon wisely

When I initially explored WLS. I met a Dr. named Jean Baptiste. When my mom and I went in for a consultation I never felt good about him. I continued to move forward with my rny. My cousin, Mother and another cousin had surgery with him 2 out of three went well he had stellar reviews and came with referrals. But I felt this guy had secret issues. I left him and decided to get a DS because I felt uneasy about him he was arrogant, his staff would spy the oh boards and I felt he was a liar. Many people only went to him because a "friend" referred them. Ignoring facts, demeanor and other "clues" that came with this "great doctor" I later found out his fees were absurd and many mentioned signs of insurance fraud. He called it out of pocket fees which couldn't be claimed, nor mentioned to insurance companies and the check was to written out in his name, even though he worked for a hospital. smh...

Years later I find out this highly revered Dr had an alcoholic and drug problem. He broke into someone's home and threatened to kill them. 

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/09/surgeon_attacks_14- year-old_bo.html

Which caused him to lose his license

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/0****chung_surgeon_faces_charges.html

after losing his license he found another office and continued to practice medicine without a license. There are a bunch of OH NJ forum posts about patients who have been left in the dust. Fast forward and I just found out the dude is dead, 

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/NJ/4619132/Patients-of-Dr-John-Baptiste/

I believe he was 39  but geesh My nerves and feelings never lie to me. Sad that his life spiraled out of control but, I'm so thankful I didn't let him operate on me. I'm mad at myself for deleting a post I did about him because his secretary mentioned it to me at a visit. I didn't want to hurt anyones feelings. But Its sad and shady to think that a doctors office would spy on message boards. Thank goodness I didn't let him operate on me and got a DS. A surgery he initially lied and said he did in order to bait and switch me. smh

so Sad

This was me inquiring about him on Oh 6 years ago with which I received a lot of help and support

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/DS/3705372/distal-bypass-vs-ds-surgery-long/#3705372

Moral of the story Trust your instincts, trust your nerves and don't rush. Think twice cut once this is the only body and life you have.

Having surgery is a Life changing decision that takes a lot of care and thoughtful decision making. It is OUR  life but to some doctors were just another body, and another check. so be careful. I don't want to scare anyone but RESEARCH is the only thing that will save your life and for that I'm truly grateful. I haven't been on in a while But, Life is super busy I learned a lot from the DS message boards and everyone of you guys will forever be in my heart.

 

Love C

meant to write 5 years ago..sry...

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The absolute most important decision of your life!  I wish I had chosen a different one.

That is really frightening.  I hope his poor soul rests in peace.

I feel the same way..rest in peace.

Yes, always trust your instincts.  Back in 1999, I met with a surgeon and something about him didn't sit right.  Well, I wrote an OK review for him on OH, but mentioned that there were a bunch of errors in his pre-op packets.  He got all pissed about it and threatened to sue me and OH.  For the longest time, he had zero reviews on OH because of this.  

May he Rest in Peace.

Ended up with two other doctors who I liked and had great experiences with.

Physicians have a higher rate of drug addiction and suicide than many other professions.  I would think that after all that time and money in training, it would be very hard to live with losing your license.  Most states have programs in place to help addicted physicians, but still, it's a tough road.  Back when Michael Jackson died, there was a good article on physician addiction of propofol in the Atlantic or New Yorker or something.   It's very very common among anesthesiologists and others who have access to it.