"I had bariatric surgery in November of 2005, and by September of 2007 had lost 100 pounds but realized that at my age I would never be able to work off the abundant fat and skin which remained on my belly, rear and thighs. I started interviewing plastic surgeons, and had met with several before I was referred to Dr. Katzen by a friend who had attended one of his seminars. By that time I was very discouraged – although the surgeons with whom I spoke seemed competent, the prices were higher than I had expected, none of them held out any hope for getting my health insurance to cover any portion of the procedure, and I was disconcerted by the fact that none of them seemed to know anything about possibly donating the skin that was removed to an organ bank – it seemed such a logical thing to me.
As I had time constraints due to my work schedule, the staff were kind enough to squeeze me in on a day when Dr. Katzen had a heavy load, with the understanding that I would have to wait to see him. I am very glad that it worked out that way, as I had an opportunity to listen to patients in all stages of the process discuss what they were going through, and to hear high praise for Dr. Katzen from every single one of them. When I went in and met Doctor Katzen, the first thing that struck me was his warmth, and then the fact that I seemed to have his entire attention. He looked at me as an individual with a unique situation, and came up with plans for various alternatives and ways of staging the work which would be best for me. Rather than discouraging me about getting health insurance participation, he indicated that he and his staff had experience in dealing with the providers and he felt that a portion of the procedure could be covered. When I asked about donating the skin, again, he had a contact in place to handle that. And when it came down to the discussion with his staff regarding costs, I was astonished to discover that he would be able to do a circumferential body lift for approximately the same price that other surgeons had quoted for a far less complete procedure. Dr. Katzen’s experience in this area, as far as I could ascertain, was far greater than the others to whom I had spoken.
It was a very easy decision to make, and one for which I will always be grateful. Through every stage of this process Dr. Katzen and his fabulous staff have been available to me for all of my questions and concerns. The surgery itself and my hospital stay were handled with complete professionalism, and the aftercare was everything anyone could hope for. While my recovery took longer than I might have hoped, I will always be grateful to my friend who made me aware of Dr. Katzen – I feel that this experience has been as close to my idealized concept of what would happen as possible. I would have no reservations whatsoever in recommending Dr. Katzen to any post-bariatric or weight-loss patient who needs the best possible care from someone who will always regard them as an individual, and give their case the special attention and exemplary care that we all need and so seldom get.
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