Question:
I have a date for orientation. What can I expect to find out from this?

I expect everyone has gone thru orientations. What specifically did you find out. Does that mean they will accept you as a patient eventually or is it just to let you know the pitfalls. I have to be there for two and a half hours and bring a pencil and my insurance papers.    — Carol H. (posted on January 7, 2003)

January 7, 2003
I have been to several of these. You basically are told all about the surgery and given an opportunity to ask and have any questions answered, you might have a one on one with the surgeon and it sound like they will get the approval ball rolling as well.Good Luck!!!
   — dkinson

January 7, 2003
my orientation was a group meeting with the dr. he did all the talking. he told us EVERYTHING! he explained step by step what he does to u, showed us the stapler & how it works & he had a model of the stomach & intestines before surgery & after surgery. in fact when he was done 2 1/2 hours later, there were only 2 questions asked. he then met with each of us one on one. he didnt rush thru the one on one for 2 reasons. he wanted to make sure i understood EXACTLY what i was getting into & also because the patients in the waiting room tend to fall into a support group atmosphere & talk among themselves about him & the surgery. even after u r done, u tend to hang around the waiting room talking some more to the others. i was weighed, had a physical & we talked in depth about MY surgery. he also wanted to know if i understood everything he talked about, did i have any questions, did my dh have any questions, we covered what my health insurance policy would cover & what would be my out of pocket expenses. he told me what i could expect as far as weight loss, time frame for weight loss, hospital procedure after the surgery, food, liquids & of course, whether he felt if i was a wls candidate, which he did. he then asked me if i still wanted to have the surgery after hearing everything that day. of course i did!! the visit ended & his office manager then took 'before'pictures of me, discussed my health insurance procedure with me & told me she will have my surgery date at the end of the week. i found it to be a very informative & educational morning & was glad to also have the opportunity to get to know the man a little bit. good luck!!
   — sheryl titone