Deciding to choose the path of any bariatric surgery is a big decision, and the process can be overwhelming, emotional and challenging. It is so important to do your research and educate yourself. Dr. Baranov came HIGHLY recommended by SEVERAL people and I started to realize there was a common theme to everything I had heard about him and the practice at Saratoga Hospital--professionalism, caring, experience. I think it's important to trust any provider you choose. It is a big decision and one you should feel as though people are working for and with you. After Dr. Baranov's informational seminar I felt so confident and empowered in the choices I wanted to make. I had every question answered, everything explained with honest and real information from someone who made everything make sense. Dr. Baranov may or may not have had the goal to improve, change and impact so many people's lives and health but go to one support group meeting (yes, they are open to anyone interested, pre or post-op) and there will be a ballroom full of people who all have stories about how amazing this man is. His professionalism and his knowledge are just a few of many reasons why I am so glad I chose him for my surgery. There is a personal level of care you will receive from him that you just don't get from other providers. From the phone call post-surgery to see how you are doing to providing resources and following up personally that it had been taken care of. I know you will have a great experience with Saratoga Hospital Bariatric Surgery, best of luck on your journey!
Dr. Baranov is an exceptional surgeon! His experience, coupled with his meticulous nature provided a great deal of confidence for me going into the surgery. My surgery was on July 29, 2019 and I am 1 week post-op. I feel wonderful! I can not thank Dr. Baranov and his staff enough for the personal care I received. I went into this process having had a previous pulmonary embolism and they, in consultation with my other physicians, have taken every precaution to eliminate the risks of another. Thank you!
Starting weight 212.4 Surgery weight: 209.4 Goal after orbera removal: 150 So about the surgery it went very smooth Dr.Baranov was my doctor he’s very intelligent, knowledgeable and very firm with helping his patients be successful. I haven’t had any dry heaving, vomiting, however I have a little cramping off and on. 1st Day of surgery, I was very groggy and slept most of the day. 2nd day felt miserablely too full attempting to get fluids down today I’m going for ( 2.5 ) 16.oz water as well was 8oz of protein and jello & apple sauce are my best friend. Feeling Great 10/18/17.Updated on 22 Oct 2017: 10/22/17 Today is a good day, not that any have been really bad, I've been successful at getting down all my fluids (64oz or more) since 10/20/17, no nausea, no vomiting since placement on 10/16/17, I will update my weight loss tomorrow 10/23/17 for the 1 week mark. I'm excited about this journey and I've signed up for the gym as I feel pretty good and according to my doctor I can start working out within a week so my plan is to start this week with maybe 3-4 days. Updated on 13 Nov 2017: Today I weighed -in as tomorrow is my official weigh-in day but, I did it today because I looked smaller to myself this morning. I will recheck tomorrow in the AM to. I usually only weigh 1 time a week with the exception of today/tomorrow. I’m officially on my 4th week tomorrow 11/13/17 and I’m down 19lbs from initial weight of 212lbs. No nausea, no vomiting since placement, a little acid reflux but, I’ve learned a bit about what my body don’t take to with the balloon so no more reflux either. I fell great and I pray I lose 20-25 this next 3-4 weeks. Placement October 16, 2017.????
55 year old, weight 215, BMI 35.5, on blood pressure, cholesterol, thyroid medication with A1C of 7.0 going for sleeve on 12/28/15. I have high expectations and plan on following diet and exercise recommendations to a tee. Tired of being on medicine and do not want to add Metaformin or other diabetic med to daily pills. I hope to be off some of these pills within a few months. Nervous but excited at the same time. I know people who have had this surgery with great success but must continue to monitor what they put in their mouths. Hopefully seeing weight loss will make me follow through in the long haul Updated on 5 Dec 2015: Updated on 9 Dec 2015: Went for the endoscopic today and all went well. All pre surgical testing is done, just waiting for sleep study and I am sure it will tell me I have apnea because my snoring can wake the dead. Vitamin d and b12 low so started vitamins. I believe everyone in upstate NY has low D as we don't get that beautiful warm sunny all year. Still excited for surgery but anxious at the same time. I feel that people think I am crazy because I am having the surgery with a lower BMI and find myself explaining my medical conditions to justify surgery. Cannot wait for it to be December 30 Updated on 24 Dec 2015: Just finished my Christmas Eve meal and it will be my last solid meal in a while. I have been having a food farewell the past 2 weeks. Believe it or not I wanted a Big Mac, not that I eat them often but knew this will most likely the the last one I ever eat. Tomorrow starts my 3 day pre op clear liquid diet. A little stressed but I guess I won't be normal if I wasn't. Saw Dr. on Wednesday and was concerned about the 2 blood pressure pills I take because I am hoping as I lose weight that my pressure will come down and I don't want it to go so low that I get dizzy. I was told that I will have to take my pressure (have machine at home) every night and see if it lowers itself as weight comes off. If it does I am not to take the pills. Surgeon also told me the expect pain when I awake from surgery. I asked him if it was worse than a C-section and he said no, so hopefully it should not be a factor. I sometimes think that I am crazy for doing this, one minute I am having pre surgery jitters and doubts, next looking forward to Monday. Obviously on paper I have many obesity related health risks as my insurance did not question the request and approved it (which is the reason for the surgery). So this is my last pre op post. I wish you all a Happy Holiday and Healthy New Year. Will post next week and let you know how surgery went.. Updated on 30 Dec 2015: So I had the surgery on Monday and let me tell you..It's not so so bad but it's not as easy as some said it was, at least for me. Maybe having the cold exaggerated things. Monday night was difficult. Pain, bloating and gas. The pain was really from the bloating. Being bloated so bad make drinking difficult. Must walk. Tuesday was better but drinking is still difficult but must get done. They had a hard time controlling my blood pressure and I was taking so many pills. Heparin shots to stomach to prevent blood clots, gas medicines, antibiotics to prevent infection. I ended up with thrush in my mouth for all the med, no fun. Tuesday night I put on CPAP and slept undisturbed for 8 hours, woke up for 2 hours, drank and then went back to sleep and woke up a new person. Passed gas, had bowel movement, IV removed, sent home. I do have terrible dry mouth and sent hubby out the get biotene spray for mouth. So here I am...drinking water, Crystal light tasted disgusting, I can see my taste buds are going to change. I am thrilled I had, at this moment, no, but I know I will be once I start getting off Hypertension, Diabetes and Triglycerides medicine. Just have to take day by day. Updated on 1 Jan 2016: So today is day 4 days post surgery. Feeling much better.Dry mouth is getting better. Have a problem with the smell of things cooking, makes me feel ill (rest of family has to eat). Gas is a slight problem but I learned not to take Gas X strips in the evening because it wakes me up with gas pains in the middle of the night. Feeling less bloated which makes drinking water and fluids much easier. Not hungry but looking forward to food next week. I had lost 6 pounds on the 3 day pre surgery diet only to gain it at hospital from swelling and fluids. Hope to start losing that now. My one issues is diarrhea but I guess I rather have that than constipation. I assume that will go away once I start eating some food. Anyway started going out, walking malls, running small errands. Feels much better to be outside. Also tires me a bit and I love taking naps :) Updated on 4 Jan 2016: 1 week post op today..What a difference a week makes. To think I almost wished the surgery to get cancelled last weekend because of cold and doubts. I feel great. Lost about 8 pounds, drinking fine, looking forward to starting a new week food wise and finally getting something besides liquids. I am off my Antara for high cholesterol but still having HBP issues and we have upped the meds..hoping that regulates soon. Of course will always be on Synthroid. So glad this is behind me and I am moving forward Updated on 11 Jan 2016: Finally getting to eat some food. My surgeon has a very strict food protocol. I was able to add yogurt, cottage cheese, mashed potato, farina after 1 week post op of liquids. This Thursday I can add a scramble egg and canned tuna (I hate fish) and some crackers. That egg is going to taste like heaven. I am not hungry but mentally I think I get hungry. I have been very lucky so far. Eating has not been an issue for me. I started with 1 tsp and worked up to 2 tbs and can eat that over 20 minutes no problem. My head is feeling better with some food as I was on liquids for almost 2 weeks and I think it was starting to make me feel dazed a bit, like I was on cold medicine. Week 4, I can add cooked veggies, beans and more stuff but he wants me to wait till week 7 for meat and chicken. Fish, eggs and beans till then. I HATE fish!! Good news is my blood pressure is starting to level off. They had to increase my dosage several times as I was 180/110 after surgery. Maybe from water bloat from surgery. Last night it was at 150/95..I have to take it every night to see where I am before taking meds. Good news, down at 16-18lbs. My scale read 197.5..started at 214.5. Still living in sweatpants but down a size. Going back to work on Thursday and I am looking forward to it..Bored sitting home. It will be good for my head to get back. Have my first rounds of blood getting drawn on Wednesday for my 3 week post op next week.. Hope all is good. Updated on 24 Jan 2016: Went for my 3 week post op Dr.'s appt on Thursday. Good news all around. My A1C went from 7 to 6.2 in four weeks!! Blood sugar (fasting) 84!! Looking forward to my blood work in a few months and hope to see an even lower A1C. Made the surgery all worth while. Still having problems with blood pressure but I will have to follow up with my primary as that is something they would treat better (long term) than my surgeon. I lost 23 lb with is 27% of the excess weight they expect me to lose. Eating is much more enjoyable now that I can have veggies, fruits, beans and they even said I could have some pasta (but I am staying away from). I did find in Shop Rite a brand called Banza and they make pasta made from chick peas, it's straight protein so I bought a few boxes and will try it in a few weeks. People are starting to ask me if I lost weight and I must admit it does feel good. I took this picture last week after putting on leggings for the first time in a long time. It's nice to see progress. Going to get myself into the gym and start using some light weights. Hope everyone is doing well also!! Updated on 21 Feb 2016: Sorry..Haven't been posting lately. Just came back from visiting family in Florida and it was great hearing everyone tell me how great I looked and was doing. Ate out 2X while in Florida, it was the first time eating out, and it went well. Ate legally, ate slowly and didn't overeat and all was good. I basically shared a plate with my mother and then brought the rest home for lunch the next day. I have been very good following Doctor's orders and have not gotten sick once. I have eaten to the point of being very full but learned not to do that again as I do not like the feeling of food stuck in my chest. I do have to learn to eat more slowly as that seems to be my biggest problem. I am down 36 lbs in 2 months. Dropped down from a tight 16 pants to a comfortable 12. Weight loss is slowing down now so I guess that means I have to up the exercise and weight train.. I am hoping that since the weight is coming off more slowly now that my skin will have time to rebound and I will not have too much loose skin. I am looking forward to my next round of blood work and hoping my A1C is under 6 and well into the low 5's. I haven't had chocolate or refined sugars since 12/24/15. I must say surgery, recovery and food choices have been much easier than I ever anticipated. I am so glad I did this.
There are many different variations of each insurance plans. You need to call your insurance company for the particular coverage plan to receive the correct answer.
Candidates for Bariatric Surgery need to have a BMI of 40 with no comorbidities or a BMI of 35 with comorbidities to be considered. Gastric Balloon Procedures are also an available for option for patients whose BMI is lower. A patient weighing 200 lbs and is 5' 3" has a BMI of 35.4 is eligible if other medical problems exist.
