Newbie :-) Anyone had Mr Li as their consultant?

[CYguy]

Hi folks
I'm new on here and I have finally taken the decision to have WLS. I have decided I'd like to have a sleeve gastectomy but won't know for sure until I've seen Mr Alan Li at Spire Manchester and hear his comments. I did want Professor Ammori to do my surgery but he is no longer taking on private patients and recommending new patients see Mr Li. Has anyone had Mr Li as their surgeon? I will be funding the WLS myself, I have my consultation with Mr Li in mid November and hopefully I will get to choose a date to have the op in early Dec (no chrimmy dinner for me lol) after I've done the pre op diet and had other tests. For those that went down the self funding/private route how long was your consultation with your surgeon? I have been told I'll get to spend 15mins with Mr Li, is this long enough to thoroughly discuss WLS? I'm a bit worried that I won't get all the info I need and my questions answered in 15mins.

 

[Hannah2]

Hi and welcome! I was private for my bypass but I had gone through the NHS process as well so I had already met my surgeon. Is the 15 minutes a free consultation? I had an introductory apt when I went private and that was charged as a consultation, we didn't feel rushed at all. If it is a free first consultation then I would use it for initial questions and have a paid apt later to make sure you have all the info you need. Compared to the cost of the op, £150 extra (or whatever he charges) is nothing in order to make sure you are comfortable with things.

Is this the first research you have done into the surgery? Are you being offered a package including psychology and dietician support? Is that available? This is a huge thing to go through and you will need support afterwards, lots of big adjustments to go through and a steep learning curve - I highly recommend making sure you have a package including support - also check on aftercare and what is included/ how many follow up apts over what period of time and what happens if there are problems 6 months down the line etc etc? All of this needs to be discussed in addition to your health, complication possibilities, which op might be best for you, what LRD is recommended, what tests you need after surgery (swallow test), will you have a drain, how many nights will you be in for, etc etc. You are not going to cover all that in 15 minutes!!!

 

[JOHNG79]

Some great advice there, and you need to be happy leaving the consult.

I have appointment myself on 7th November with Mr Li in Belfast about a bypass.

 

[CYguy]

Thanks for the great info Hannah2. I'm paying....well, my partner is paying £9300.00 for the op. that includes a 2 year care package. I had a 20 minute free telephone consultation back in August when I first made up my mind to go ahead with WLS, this was with one of the specialist weight loss surgery nurses on professor Ammori's team at Spire Manchester and was just basic info on the procedure and aftercare. The consultation with Mr Li in a couple of weeks is costing £150.00 and when I asked how long I'll get to spend with him I was told it will be 15mins......maybe the person I spoke with got this wrong? Seems an awfully short time to discuss surgery. Since making up my mind to have WLS a few months ago I have been researching it thoroughly but only found this site a couple of weeks ago and I've learned a lot from it. I spend most of the year at my holiday home in Cyprus so my main concern is how the 2 year care package will work for me.

JOHNG - hope all goes well with you consultation with Mr Li, maybe you could let me know how you get on and your thoughts on him, there isn't a huge amount of info online about Mr Li but I was told by someone on the WLS team at Spire Manchester that he's an excellent surgeon and has probably performed more WLS procedures than Professor Ammori, who was my first choice, but sadly is no longer taking on private work.

 

[JOHNG79]

CYguy,

Apparently you get the £150 consult fee reduced from overall bill if you go with them, Spire told me anyway. I am in the odd position of having free consult with him next week through healthier weight which is higher overall price than if I went with Spire. Both surgeries done by same doc in same hospital apparently too.

I had consult with Phoenix Health last week which slightly unnerved me. Although I would mainly be dealt with in Belfast which obviously is a positive, the consultation was strange. Dietician did most of talking, and sat behind the table, with consultant hanging off the side. I asked questions in which they give differing answers. The consultant just kind of appeared as if he was performing a routine eg. very scripted. Kept talking about belfast hospital, when I mentioned the dietician said I may have to go to aintree for op due to bmi, he agreed. Few minutes later talking about belfast hospital again. Then at very end with no fore warning, oh yeah we may want to do sleeve, then bypass in future. He needed to speak to his colleagues. Just gave me impression they were more interested in lower bmi's quick hits if you know what I mean. Wife was not impressed to say the least.

 

[JOHNG79]

As you say, the aftercare is massive issue. Especially as its private surgery, with both post op things and future issues eg. blood tests, supplements, B12 injections if necessary. NHS weight loss surgery doesnt happen over here sadly, so it means I would have to rely on kindness of my GP re. blood tests etc.