Frank Veninga Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

DR VENINGA WAS VERY FRANK AND LET ME KNOW WE MAY HAVE SOME TROUBLE GETTING APPROVED SINCE I HAD ALREADY TRIED SEVERAL TIMES AND BEEN TURNED DOWN THRU 1ST APPEAL AND SECOND APPEAL AND A REVIEW PANEL MADE UP OF A PHYSICIAN AND SEVERAL NURSES AND A COORDINATOR. I WAS TURNED DOWN A TOTAL OF 5 TIMES. I WAS TRYING TO GET THE SURGERY APPROVED THOUGH AN OUT OF NETWORK PROVIDER. I FINALLY WENT TO DR VENINGA. HIS STAFF WAS VERY HELPFUL AND CALLED SEVERAL TIMES TO MAKE SURE THEY HAD ALL OF THE INFO. INITIALLY CIGNA DID NOT RECEIVE THE REQUEST SO I FAXED IT TO THEM AND I WAS APPROVED EXACTLY 14 DAYS AFTER THAT.

My name is Ethelyn. This is a question which comes under the category of; What should future patients know about your surgeon?

I have a question for any of Dr. Frances Veninga's patients who may be able to give me more information. I don't want to pester Pat (his nurse).

I have been trying to have this surgery for one year now. I think I saw Dr. Veninga the first time on 2/22/01. I was denied surgery by Texas Blue. I had three options. The first was to fight with the insurance company and appeal the denile. I did not take this option because I have a cervical injury that is work related. I have spent years being forced to duel with the worker's compensation insurance carrier. I'm ill enough without adding to my stress level especially if there were any other options open to me. My second choice was to contact obesitylaw.com and let the attorney handle the problem. I really can't afford that because I don't work (can't work) because of my injury. So, the third choice was for my husband to change insurance coverage. This is allowable under the rules between husbands employer and the several different insurance options available to him through his employer. The option we selected was Aetna QPOS. I already know that this insurance coverage does not specifically deny coverage.

Armed with my new coverage I went to my ppc doctor, and once more I got another reveral to Dr. Veninga approved. When I spoke with Pat I found out that Dr. Veninga isn't making any appointments until March. I understand the reason for this delay is partially due to so many people wanting an appointment and partially because Dr. Veninga will no longer belong to the Associates of Surgery group.

Can anyone tell me if they have experienced the same delay and if so how long it took before they were able to see Dr. Veninga? You can imagin my disappointment when I learned of yet another delay. I will be very grateful for any information.

I of course have met Dr. Veninga and prefer to wait for him. That should speak volumns about my current and future impression of him.

I attended Dr Horrillenos seminar on 10/27/01--My first impression of him was "Gee, this man really knows his stuff". He was very thorough in his presentation and all of my questions were answered--I have decided to go ahead and try to get approval for this surgery.

12/02-01 Today I received a call from Dr Horrillenos office--They advised me that He was dropping off of several insurance plans--and mine was one of them--PISSED ME OFF!! They wanted to know if I wanted to pay out of network fees--I advised NO!! Why would I want to do that when my insurance would pay 100% within network!! Luckily I am a pretty resourcefull person and I *always* have a plan B!! I had scheduled an appointment with another surgeon 3 months ago--just incase something like this happened--My intuition told me that this would not go as smoothly as I would like. So now I will be seeing Dr Francis Veninga--My appointment with him is on 01/29/02--It shouldnt be long now!!!

01/29/02--Today I had my consult with Dr Veninga. I really like him--he is extremely personal and was very easy to talk to. I am really looking forward to having the surgery--He gave me the option of doing lap or open--He hasn't done lap yet--but is scheduled to perform his 1st lap surgery in February...Needless to say--I chose open!! Not that I doubt his capability--but--you know!! His office personel is wonderful--especially Theresa!! She is soooooo sweet and wonderful!! Well--it looks like I am just waiting for my surgery date--Insurance has already been approved--Doc says surgery will probably be in Feb---I have my fingers crossed!!

I have a consult on July 18th.
10/1 - Dr. Veninga is a very likable guy and
seems to really care about his patents. I
believe I can recommend him 100%.
1/25/01 - I would like to say that after the
surgery that Dr. V and his nurse Barbara are
great and I would recommend them 200%.

I arrived at the office in plenty of time to fill out paperwork (good idea... about five pages) and then was taken straight back. Very impressive for a doctor. The nurse was very friendly and gave me a book to read about the various WLS' that are available. I already knew most of what was in it from talking to co-workers that have already had the surgery and investigation on the internet.

Dr. V came in with a cup of coffee and simply began chatting. He reminded me of an absent-minded professor at times but was always able to come right back to his point. I was already a bit leery of him because my PCP made an unsettling comment about him when I told her that I wanted a referral. Overall, after spending 1.5 hours with him, I felt very comfortable. He made sure that I knew that he had one previous mortality and some various problems that he's run into but I know that there are risks in anything you do. He also told me that he's going next week to become certified in laporoscopy and that he'd like to do it on me. I'm still thinking about that but I'm leaning toward "yes" since he can always open me up and do it the other way if he has to.

Now all I have to do is wait for the insurance to either approve or deny.

On a scale of 1 to 10 Dr. V is a 12, it don't get no better than this. What can I say, not only is he a great doctor but he is also a kind and caring human being. The best I have met and went to in my life. I don't know what else to say. He is a great man.

Dr Veninga knows what he is doing and truly wants the best for his patients. He and I did agruee on somethings but I did see his point but I wanted him to know that I know my body. Each person will have a different expiernce. Due to my size, and complications by some of his previous patients he kept me in the hospital for a week. Most people are discharged after four day.

I had my consultation appointment with Dr. Veninga on 11/14. Didn't know what to make of him at first (sense of humor) but now like his personality and feel positive that he'll do a great job with my surgery. Am very impressed that he is willing to give up some vacation time in order to do my surgery next week (helps me with my work schedule). Called him last night & he called me back within a few minutes. His staff is awesome -very friendly & professional and the pre-op tests went smoothly at my hospital of choice. His office did all the submissions for insurance.

DR. VENINGA WAS GREAT! HE WAS VERY IMFORMATIVE. I HAD A LIST OF QUESTIONS TO ASK HIM, BUT I NEVER HAD THE CHANCE TO BECAUSE HE WAS RIGHT ON POINT WITH HIS PRESENTATION. DR. V'S OFFICE STAFF WAS GREAT. DR. V HAS A SUPPORT GROUP AND ENCOURAGES HIS PATIENTS TO BE ENVOLVED. DR. V IS STRAIGHT FORWARD AND PUT EVERYTHING ON THE TABLES, HE DIDN'T SURGER COAT ANYTHING AND I CAN APPRECIATE THAT. DR. V WROTE MY PRE-D LETTER THE SAME DAY I WAS IN HIS OFFICE. I NEVER UNDERSTOOD WHY HE ORDERED A PHYC EVAL, BUT OH WELL I MUST HAVE PASSED BECAUSE MY SURGERY WAS APPROVED.

I meet Dr Veninga on 9-12-01. He was very open and honest about the "Open RNY" procedure and his track record. He explained what my insurance company will require, and what he recommended prior to surgery. He explain the after-care program, as well as giving me a folder full of useful information. His office was very clean and the staff was upbeat, caring, and knowledgeable. Dr. Veninga was upfront about the risk of surgery and willing to answer any questions I had. There is really nothing I have negetive to say about him or his staff(They were GREAT!!!). Overall I would definately recommend Dr. Veninga to anyone interested in having surgery for weight loss.