Weight loss

Hi All,
It's me, Rona, your fearless leader. I hope I am doing this correctly as I
have never been computer literate enough to participate in an e-group.
Anyway, I've been reading the posts about Dr. Miles, Dr. Clements, etc. You
know me, I have to put my two cents worth in. As you know, Dr. Clements did
my surgery and I will owe him a debt of gratitude for the rest of my life.
He is a skilled and competent surgeon. I have known and dealt with Dr. Miles
for several months. He is also a skilled and competent surgeon with over 17
years experience. I would not hesitate for a moment to let either of these
gifted surgeons operate on me. Birmingham is a very fortunate city in that
we have several good bariatric surgeons located throughout our city. There
is Dr. Stahl and Dr. Sherer in Alabaster, Dr. Glysteen and now Dr. Clements
in the downtown area, Dr. DeWitt in the Bessemer and North Birmingham area
and Dr. Miles in the eastern area of our city.
There seems to have been some debate about "who is better?" Dr. Clements or
Dr. Miles? Dr. Clements has recently moved from Norwood Clinic to UAB. This
move has been in the process for many months. In considering this huge move
for Dr. Clements it is reasonable to consider that it would take several
weeks for Dr. Clements and his staff to become acclimated to one another and
for things to fall into place. Scheduling difficulties and frustrations with
his staff do not seem out of the question considering all of the changes
going on. My suggestion would be to discuss this issue directly with Dr.
Clements if you have access to him. If not, consider writing him a letter.
You may also want to consider writing a firm yet professional letter to his
Office Manager. It's not out of the question to consider that Dr. Clements
and his Senior Staff are not even aware that problems exist. If you feel
that your waiting period is excessive or unreasonable don't hesitate to work
hard to change things. IT CAN BE DONE!!! Dr. Miles has been so generous
with his time with regards to attending our meetings and talking with WLS
patients and their families for as long as necessary. It seems that there
may be some question regarding why he is there, such as "Is he there simply
to generate business?" The answer is unequivocably NO. The bulk of Dr.
Miles patients who attend our support group meetings come because they are
his patients. They are not his patients because they come to the support
group. I'm certain that there have been occasions where people have chosen
him as a surgeon after meeting him at a meeting but I'm equally as certain
that the number is considerably fewer than you think. As far as his
expertise as a surgeon goes, after 17 years experience in the field, fine
tuning his skills as a "bariatric" surgeon is basically a technicality. He
didn't graduate from medical school yesterday. To make disparaging remarks
about Dr. Miles ability as a surgeon is to suggest that we don't appreciate
everything he's done for our group. I'm sure you'll all agree that nothing
could be further from the truth.
I'm delighted we have this e-group that enables us to stay in touch and
communicate easily with each other. However, I hope we won't allow
ourselves to get caught up in trivial debates such as "who has the best
doctor?" I think we all think "I HAD THE BEST DOCTOR!!" I am so fortunate
to have had the opportunity to interact with several of the local bariatric
surgeons and I can tell you that they're all GREAT! Please remember that one
negative remark about surgeons made here, even if done with only the best
intentions, can plant a seed of doubt in a pre op's mind. I know that none
of us want to do that. I would never, ever suggest that we don't openly
share our thoughts and feelings here. I would just ask that we think
carefully before we speak.
And as far as who's the best surgeon between Dr. Clements and Dr.
Miles.................................................

I'LL NEVER TELL!!!!!

Love to all,
Rona