Elmer Valin Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

After going to the obesityhelp.com site looking for CT doctor info, I e-mailed/phoned several Post-OP patients and decided on Dr. Valin. I phoned in Nov. for an appointment (they gave me 02/04/02).

I think the office gets so many calls & now has so many new patients, they are overwhelmed. They are so nice in there, I feel more sorry for them than angry, but patients really do suffer because of it. Some of my paperwork didn't get faxed in after an appointment and has delayed me in this process almost 3 weeks. I hope they can expand in the office to accommodate the flood of patients coming in.

Dr. Valin was very serious. Fit the profile. Professional all the way. Looked at me with question as I stepped on the scale..."you are light" he said as he checked my low BMI in his insurance booklet...he asked me to explain what I knew about the surgery (Lap RNY), discussed my other health problems, then accepted me as a "candidate" for the surgery. He gave me a folder full of info, including surgery descriptions, eating plans (pre and post-op) and a list of things like other consultations, and a special diet that was required before he would see me again or discuss a date for surgery.

Dr. Valin was pleasant and detailed...really knew his stuff. I expressed fears of surgery dangers, especially of seals leaking and he assured me he does 3 different things to prevent it. He answered my long list of questions as he examined my stomach. There I was, trying to have an intelligent conversation with my pants pulled down!

I feel very confident he is a good surgeon. I will put my life in his hands. Trusting your surgeon is so important.

Mar.15,2002... Had my 2nd appointment with Dr. Valin. Much more relaxed! We went over my medical records, procedures and post-OP stuff. He looked at vitamin and calcium suppliments I'd brought in and I signed the paperwork. He wants a few things faxed from my PCP before they submit my info to insurance. He gave me a surgery date. MAY 3, 2002 ...

Mar.28,2002...Debby faxed all my info to insurance today...now the waiting game begins...fingers crossed for approval.

Apr.9,2002..Final APPROVAL was given over this week and now just the pre-op tests left to do and I'm ready for the BIG DAY! :0) Yippeeeeeeeeeee!


Apr.24,2002...PRE-OPS Day! Started at 8:45am and ended around 3pm! Had Abdominal Ultrasound, 9 Viles of Blood Taken, EKG, Chest X-Ray, Chatted with the Anesthesia person, and Dr. Valin did a type of endoscopic exam...he took a tiny camera on a tube and went down my throat with it (after putting me to sleep first of course!lol) and checked out my esaphagus, stomach and small bowel. Wow is this guy thorough! So glad I chose him as my surgeon! Felt fine when I woke up in another room later on...wasn't sure what happened...didn't feel a thing! YESSS. :0) Hope the surgery goes this well!


May 3,2002...Surgery went well! Could not have asked for a better, more thorough doctor than Dr. Valin. He cares, he's on the ball and he is detailed. I felt so safe in his hands. Thanks Doc! :0) Now a postie!

May13,2002...Had staples removed today and have lost 20 lbs since the surgery! Wow I feel Great too! MY ONLY COMPLAINT ABOUT DR. VALIN is that it is easier to get a sitting with the Pope than to get to see him! I wanted to ask all about my surgery and what happened, how much intestine was bypassed and if he saw anything I should be aware of...but his wife is the one I saw for the staple-removal and she had NO info for me on the surgery AT ALL. He really needs to talk to his patients MORE. I realise he is a busy and important person, but patients deserve a little time for consultation post op. It is a scary phase being a newbie postie and my fears would have been better channeled if I could have spoken to the Dr. on my first post op visit. My post-op visit happened on my 3rd month anniversary and the doctor wanted to know my eating habits and attitudes. He answered some embarrassing questions and gave me a sheet to get complete bloodwork done so he could check all my mineral and vitamin levels. He seemed to think I was in good shape, but cautioned me about my not eating enough protein and drinking enough water. He was very thorough and it was great to speak with him. He will never know how grateful I am for the good job he did on my surgery. feel blessed and would recommend him to anyone interested in getting this surgery done. Thank you Dr. Valin! You gave me my life back again! xox :0)

Doctor valin was very porfessional and he made you feel comfortable talking to him. His staff was very helpful couldn't ask for a more friendly staff. If

dr valin is a young and knowledgable doc his nurse debbie is very good thy ansered my questions and got me approved.after all what ells can you aSK FOR

<B>THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU DR. VALIN,</b> for not only being a great bariatric surgeon, but for doing my tummy tuck and giving me this great flat belly---can bounch a quarter off this bad girl now!! Thank you again, Dr. Valin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would rate Dr. Valin a 10,000 on a scale of 1 to 10!!! And on a note to any of Dr. Valin's patients, actually, to anyone feeling jitters (pre-ops, post ops, whoever you might be) and anyone wanting to just talk, please feel free to email any time. I love to talk about my journey and I love to help calm you pre-ops -- it makes me feel like I am giving something back that Dr. Valin gave me back...A LIFE!!!

On our first meeting, Dr. Valin seems very professional and sympathetic to the plight of the morbidly obese. I had my initial consultation on February 13, 2002. The practice had just moved into a new nice office. The office is very organized at educating patients about the surgery and the process of insurance approval, etc.

Dr. Valin was matter-of-fact and explained the surgery well. He had me tell him what I knew about the surgery and where I had gaps in information he filled in.

The office seems like it has an extensive support group, with contact numbers of people who have had the surgery. A patient considering the surgery has to attend one of the weight loss surgery support group meetings held once a month at St. Raphael's hospital.

The only issue I had with his office is that they prefer to contact you for your second follow-up appointment. I wanted to call occassionally to find out if they had all the information and referrals they needed to schedule the follow-up. I was nicely told that they would contact me about all future appointments and that I had to be patient. The point was well taken, however I feel that the office should always be welcome to calls from patients inquiring about their status for referrals and insurance approval.

My 1st Impression! He was Young, VERY good looking, seems very professional and he answer all my question, specially we talk about all the risk involved. Office staff, they where very helpful and friendly, they do seem to have a lot of work in there hands. So far I will rate him a 9 of 10. I also went to see the Liz who was very nice and friendly also seems to know her stuff! Cris was also very nice and helpful.
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3/30/02...Well I have no complains about the office the do seem very busy feel sorry for Cel and Debby. But I just need to get a date.. Oh God I cant wait my Brother will be coming to be my special driver. And off course I need to give him the right date so he could take time off from work. Well till then Debby please callllll me. .lol give me my 2nd appointment.. :o)
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4/4/02...Still waiting for my appointment
:o(

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4/4/02...Thanks Debbie!, well a got a little set back, But is all under control!
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4/10/02...Got a Call from Debbie well my 2nd appointment will be May 3rd cant wait....Hey Kathy congratulation on your approval.. am really happy for you.
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5/9/02...Well I haven’t posted lately but my Computer at work was not working, but This is what happened, I received a call on
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5/1/02 And it was Debbie wanting to change my appointment from the 3rd to the 2nd I has happy "I still took Friday off from work" I was early as usually, I took a small test of like 12 questions very easy test. Then Debbie and I talk about surgery Dates the earliest was in July 19 I was Happy but at the same time I was sad, Because I have promised my baby that I was going to take her to Disney Animal Kingdom I told Debbie that I was going to Vacation, And she told me that I would have to change my surgery date to after we come from Vacation, But I don’t want to wait no more So I will have to Cancel my Vacation till next year ouch. Of course I broke my baby’s heart but I have to get my surgery done. Today I went to my PCP for my Diabetic follow up, well the increased my insulin from 15 to 25 wish is more depressing to me my dam sugar will not go down. Hopefully having this surgery done I will not have to take insulin no more. I cant wait I hate injecting my self. My Baby usually does it for me she is my doctor, as she says.. lol well Lets see if I get approved from the insurance soon, so Debbie can call me and tell me some good news. I WISH I COULD HAVE SURGERY BEFORE JULY, so I could still take my baby to Disney! But who knows My Hopes are very High right now. I Thanks God every day for having surgeons Like DR Valin. Who makes a great change on peoples life and soon he is going to make a great change in my life I just can't wait..
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5/10/02...OMG..I was reading a profile from
Lynette Devlin, it scare the Sh*t out of me specially the part where she says I might have sarcoldosis by then, DR Gupta said it is usually found in Hispanic people. Oh God am not reading no more profile that's it for me. Oh Debbie please let me know if someone cancel. Hook me Up girl... :o)
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5/21/02...Am a little Upset, I called the insurance around a week ago, someone from cigna advised me that the reason why am still pending is because they are missing paperwork, I called Debbie at Valin's office she was nice enough to call the insurance and she advised me that there is no paperwork missing, well guess what! I called today and I spoke to nathalie at the 1800 for cigna, and she just told me that I am still pending due to there is paperwork missing. Am going crazy even thought my surgery is in July 19 I just want everything to go right.
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6/4/02...Sniff...Sniff...Still waiting for insurance approval.
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6/12/02...GOT APROVEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD<center><IMG SRC="http://members.aol.com/Ivette62/rose3.gif"></center>
8/18/02...Surgery went fine, Dr Valin did a great Job, I am no longer in Insuline or pills, my sugar being very low, wish I am so happy for. I have Lost 31lb since surgery, Will see the Doc in Sep 9th. till then.

I had to switch doctor's. I am now a patient of Dr. Valin. I met with him for my consultation on March 13, 2002. He looks younger than I expected., but very professional and I feel confident that he is a great surgeon. It has been a while since I posted, I changed Doctor's because of personal issues regarding the hospital they are affiliated with and I do not want to have to ever be a patient at that hospital. Anyway, I am very happy with Dr. Valin, he seems to be a great guy, and very straight forward. The more I meet with him the more I am assured that I made the right choice. He is wonderful!

My 1st impression of Dr. V was just what I expected it to be. I had already done alot of research before 1st consult. He seemed sort of young, yet sophisticated. I had an initial feeling of confidence in him. He's definately straight to the point, which is something I appreciated. The office staff, as pleasant as they are, are swamped. It's hard because most of us are impatient..but we do realize their work load at the same time. I keep saying they need to have some volunteers to come in a couple of hours a week or something to help. I wouldn't mind. I can't say there's anything I did not like about the entire office staff..but you gotta be patient..they've not forgotten about you. I'm very grateful for all of them..including Elizabeth Baxley-the Nutritionist and Chris Lodi-the Social Worker. I'll let you know post op about the bedside manner and aftercare!
7/26 Well by the time I go back for my next monthly follow-up visit it will be 2 months since my last visit. In 3 1/2 months this will be only my 2nd visit. I thought we were suppose to go monthly. I guess for now I just have to hope I'm doing ok. They reschedule everyone it seems, I'm not sure why, but it is causing me some concern. I don't even know if I'm able to swallow whole pills yet or not, I've got questions but I guess I just have to wait till they decide it's my turn to come in. I know my next appointment better not be rescheduled again, after all they made me wait 2 weeks from the last date I had, and they never seem to give me good enough notice of a cancellation, I wonder how'd they feel if people kept rescheduling 1/2 hr before they were due to show up. But I must say this takes nothing away from Dr. Valin as a wonderfully skilled surgeon, and I would choose him all over again!

My first impression of Dr. Valin was that he is very young but knows his stuff. The first thing I heard him say, unfortunately, is that he wanted to go home. (to the secretary). I guess he had a long day that day but he should realize that patients can hear quite well through the "walls" in his office.
He seemed to be very thorough about aftercare and making sure that I know the procedure that I will be having. He did refuse to answer me about whether or not I should have my gallbladder removed. He said it was totally up to me and wouldn't give me his recommedation either way. How do I know if I should have it removed? I'm relying on his expertise and experience to help me decide. So I am doing research on it myself. (update: my gall bladder ultrasound pre-op showed that I had lots of stones that I never knew about so It was taken out.)
I have heard that he has not had many complications with the open RNY bypass and has not had any fatalities so I will continue on with the pre-op stuff and I plan to have the surgery.
My only thing that I have to kinda complain about is the secretary, Cecile. At first, she did not return my calls, I have to call her back every time. I can live with that except that I brought it to her attention and she didn't even apoligize. That's just plain rude and it's stalling my pre-op tests from being set up so I am getting annoyed. I guess no doctor's office is perfect so I'll have to overlook it and just try my hardest to get things moved along.
6/25/01 To update, I have gotten Cecile to return my calls when neccesary, so that is good. On my second visit with Dr. Valin, he answered all my questions and didn't rush me.
He seemed glad that I did so much research. My big complaint now is that Cecile didn't submit my insurance papers until less than 2 weeks before my date and now I am under a crunch. I kept calling and asking and she kept saying she would do it but another day would go by and she was still saying the same thing. I am upset with not knowing whether my date is going to work out until the last minute. I think the staff seems to forget that patients are human and they have children to arrange care for and also that surgery is STRESSFUL. All this delay is just making it worse. I will update after surgery. Update post-op: I had a pretty good surgery considering it was a revision. I was on the table for 7 hours which is very long. I spent one day in intensive care and my pain control meds were good. I didn't feel any pain that I can remember and I was on a ventilator but it didn't bother me at all and I was worried about that. :) I did very well until about 2 days after I returned home. I started getting nauseous and unable to hold anything down. Dr. Valin didn't seem worried at all and took a "wait and see" attitude that worried me, my family, and my family physician. It turned out that I had an abscess in my abdomen and I needed IV antibiotics and nutrition. I didn't get this until about 4 weeks later because of the doctor's casual attitude. I am just glad I had my family physician to rely on and that the infection didn't go into my whole system and kill me. Needless to say, I am not happy with Dr. Valin anymore. I didn't blame him for the infection, those things happen. I do blame him for my delay in getting treatment for my infection post-op. I was very sick and weak as a lamb, as I didn't eat for about 6 weeks. It was all very scary and in my opinion, unnnecessary. I have since gotten my aftercare and bloodwork done with my family physician and haven't been back to Dr. Valin's and they haven't called me either. (no surprise there.)
According to my insurance company, their inept office staff never even got all the required papers in for them to be reimbursed from my primary ins. co. So all he got paid from was my secondary medicaid ins. The primary would have paid alot more out as it was Anthem BC/BS I wonder if Dr. Valin even realizes that he lost thousands of dollars due to the incompetance of his office staff. Oh well, didn't cost me anything anyway. I do think Dr. Valin is a skillful surgeon and did a good job on my revision and I have done well in the past year after I was cured from the initial abscess. I have lost 90 pounds and have lots of energy and feel great.

I first met Dr. Valin on March 26th. He and his secretary Cecile were very kind and knowledgeable. They gave me an information packet that really answered all of my questions. Also, Dr. Valin was very detailed explaining the surgery... showing me the size of my old stomach and the size it will be after surgery. He was also let me know that I am not alone... which was so nice... because I think we all feel that way somtimes. He was very patient answering all my questions and not rushing me even though he had a waiting room filled with patients. Cecile has just been so sweet and SOOOO organized. She makes things happen QUICK!!!