Okay, I've stated before that I think my doctor is the bomb! So, here's a bit of information about him for those who are contemplating weight loss surgery and are in South Florida.
Dr. Patrick Domkowski did my surgery on August 30, 2011, at Sebastian River Medical Center. His website is http://www.riversidesurgicalweightloss.com/. I had never heard of him prior to talking to my friend, who is a nurse at the hospital. Her glowing reviews on how he treats his patients and his amazing bedside manner led me to attend his seminar in March or April of 2011.
Dr. D, as I call him to myself, gave an excellent description of the weight loss surgeries he does. I was leaning towards having the Lap Band, but Dr D said that the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG) was a better choice for people who have an addiction to sweets. He was looking right at me when he said it, and he was right!
I made an appointment that night for a consultation appointment with him, but had to cancel that appointment because I was in the hospital with pneumonia on June 2, 2011. I rescheduled it for early July and nearly missed that appointment because I had been in the hospital for Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVTs or blood clots) and two pulmonary emboli until the day before!
Before I could have an appt with Dr D, I had to fill out several pages of information, including a written statement about why I wanted WLS and which WLS I wanted. At the seminar, Dr D told us that he would give us his recommendation, but he would perform the surgery we requested. The pre-consult forms required me to do some heavy thinking about why am I fat and how did I get this way. It took me several hours to complete them.
When I finally got in to see Dr D, I was a nervous wreck and he calmed me down immediately with his demeanor. He asked questions from my forms and listened carefully to my answers. When he actually asked me which surgery I wanted, he agreed that VSG would be the better solution for me. Because of my recent hospitalizations, he wanted to contact my other doctors and consult with them before scheduling me for surgery. I went for a second visit with Dr D to discuss those consultations and he advised me that I would have to have a filter installed because of the blood clots.
That caused another round of doctor visits to vein and blood specialists before I could be approved for surgery. Once those were accomplished, Dr D's office moved into lightening speed with getting me scheduled for the filter installation and VSG surgery. Because of medications for the blood clots, I asked that they be scheduled as close together as possible, so I had the filter installed on a Friday and had WLS on the next Tuesday. I did have one additional appointment with Dr D just before surgery. I felt like Dr D wanted to make certain I understood the risks of the surgery and wanted to reassure both of us that I trusted him to make sure I made it through the surgery. I did trust him, literally with my life.
My hospital stay was great. The hospital staff was very concerned about keeping me out of pain and about getting me up to walk as soon as possible. I've been told that I insisted on walking from the recovery bed, which was wheeled into my hospital room, to the hospital room bed, and then I decided that bed was too darn soft and I'd rather sit in the chair, which is where I was when I became really aware of my surroundings.
Dr D came in both that afternoon and the next morning to see me. I was discharged to go home by early afternoon and that's what I did. I've been back for three follow up appointments and Dr D has been amazing about answering all my questions at each visit. He doesn't even roll his eyes when I ask him if I should "genuflect, bow down, or kiss (his) feet" at the beginning of each visit.
I think Dr D hung the moon, and I know that he gave me back my life. I was dying very quickly from the complications after my pneumonia. This surgery has made it possible for me to contemplate living long enough to possibly see grandchildren.
I did talk to and research other doctors ahead of time, but I'm glad that I decided to go with Dr. Domkowski.
Six Months Out - Full Body Picture
Showing posts with label Surgery Date. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Surgery Date. Show all posts
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Introducing Me.
Hello! If you've found my blog, you probably know me IRL and don't need this introduction. But, I'm gonna do it anyway.
I'm Lissa and I live in South Florida. My family moved here when I was 12, so I'm almost a native by now, right?
I was a normal weight until I had my first child, then couldn't figure out how to take the weight off. I did get back down to within 10 pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight before I got pregnant with number two. While pregnant with him, I did some major damage to my knee and I couldn't walk well for nearly two years after his birth. I never resorted to a wheelchair, but I probably should have used a cane. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20.
Over the years since number two was born, I gained weight, slowly, but it was still a gain. I tried Atkins, weight watchers, counting calories, etc. But, I just couldn't take off much. In early 2011, I had pneumonia that put me in the hospital for six days. Then I developed deep vein thrombosis and that threw two pulmonary emboli into my lungs. A doctor had the "come to Jesus" conversation with me and told me that it was either lose weight or die.
That's when I started researching WLS. Originally, I thought I wanted the Lap Band. I did tons of research on it and went to a doctor at Strax Rejuvenation in Fort Lauderdale who told me that they would do the lap band on me, no problem. Something about the place didn't fit with my personality, though, so I kept researching.
I finally asked a friend who is a nurse what she thought about WLS. She first asked me "For whom?" and when I told her that I was considering the idea, she just about jumped through the phone with joy. Then she told me about a wonderful WLS surgeon at her hospital and suggested I check him out. I WILL post more about him later, but I went to his seminar and was highly impressed.
He talked about the Lap Band and about VSG (Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy) and said a few things that made me really think that VSG was probably the right way to go for me. I made an appointment for a consultation immediately.
On August 30, 2011, I underwent surgery to have 85% of my stomach removed (VSG). I think it's the best thing I've ever done for myself.
I'll post later about what the last 3 months have been like, including details about the pre and post-op diets and about what it is like to be ME today versus me 3 months ago. I also plan to detail my journey from here on out in pictures and in words for those who know and love me (all three of you!) and for those who may be thinking about following in my footsteps.
The picture above will change as I continue on my journey, but I will keep past pictures in my gallery for reference.
I'm Lissa and I live in South Florida. My family moved here when I was 12, so I'm almost a native by now, right?
I was a normal weight until I had my first child, then couldn't figure out how to take the weight off. I did get back down to within 10 pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight before I got pregnant with number two. While pregnant with him, I did some major damage to my knee and I couldn't walk well for nearly two years after his birth. I never resorted to a wheelchair, but I probably should have used a cane. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20.
Over the years since number two was born, I gained weight, slowly, but it was still a gain. I tried Atkins, weight watchers, counting calories, etc. But, I just couldn't take off much. In early 2011, I had pneumonia that put me in the hospital for six days. Then I developed deep vein thrombosis and that threw two pulmonary emboli into my lungs. A doctor had the "come to Jesus" conversation with me and told me that it was either lose weight or die.
That's when I started researching WLS. Originally, I thought I wanted the Lap Band. I did tons of research on it and went to a doctor at Strax Rejuvenation in Fort Lauderdale who told me that they would do the lap band on me, no problem. Something about the place didn't fit with my personality, though, so I kept researching.
I finally asked a friend who is a nurse what she thought about WLS. She first asked me "For whom?" and when I told her that I was considering the idea, she just about jumped through the phone with joy. Then she told me about a wonderful WLS surgeon at her hospital and suggested I check him out. I WILL post more about him later, but I went to his seminar and was highly impressed.
He talked about the Lap Band and about VSG (Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy) and said a few things that made me really think that VSG was probably the right way to go for me. I made an appointment for a consultation immediately.
On August 30, 2011, I underwent surgery to have 85% of my stomach removed (VSG). I think it's the best thing I've ever done for myself.
I'll post later about what the last 3 months have been like, including details about the pre and post-op diets and about what it is like to be ME today versus me 3 months ago. I also plan to detail my journey from here on out in pictures and in words for those who know and love me (all three of you!) and for those who may be thinking about following in my footsteps.
The picture above will change as I continue on my journey, but I will keep past pictures in my gallery for reference.
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