Bariatric surgery has been on my mind for years - I went to two surgeons in Ireland and one surgeon in Italy, tempted to go through, and invariably chickening out of the big step
Not a joke, I started looking into it back in 2011. I first went to a clinic on the south side of Dublin but did not feel at ease with the surgeon. 400 euro well spent though, in the sense that he explained to me the various types of surgery that I could have gone through and advised the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. The costs were prohibitive and at that time my insurance did not cover it at all, plus there was something that I didn't like in that surgeon so I let it go.
I then went to Pisa, Italy, and talked with a very famous surgeon there - what a prick, really. On a human level he was the worst person you would imagine, and I could not think how unpleasant it would have been to be followed post-ops by somebody like him. Plus, and not to be disregarded as a problem, who would have followed me back home in Ireland if I would have had an issue after the surgery? Additionally, the cost would have had to be directly sustained yours truly - and again in the region of 20k. Interestingly he advised again on the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Good to know, two out of two advices on the same type of surgery.
Four years passed, then a third doctor, this time back in Dublin, in another private hospital on the North side. Great bloke, really a good feeling with this one. And this time my insurance covered it. Why did I not go with this surgeon? What put me off was that the hospital had just started (in 2017) the bariatric surgery program, and that surgeon seemed (per Internet search) to be an expert only in the sleeve gastrectomy. Of course he suggested the sleeve. That did not sit right with me: if the gastric bypass had been suggested to me twice, would that not be a reason? Why the sleeve now? Just because he was more familiar with the procedure?
Ten years along in my quest, and ten years older, this time I have decided where and which surgeon!
Ironically I went back to the original first clinic I visited, in the south of Dublin, but this time with another surgeon. His credentials fill me with confidence, reading about him, his credentials and patients' feedback (from a facebook support group), together with a clear cut recommendation from my GP, make me really think I found my pot of gold.
The first appointment will be on September 16th - while my referral letter dates back only August 20th. Things are happening fast.
2021 has to be the year in which I change my life: I quit smoking in January, I quit drinking in May, I will change my life before Christmas!
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