Dr. Michael Choi is a wonderful doctor in all aspects, from the consultation, pre-surgery, surgery, and post-surgery, I couldn’t ask for a better doctor. He is very intelligent, personable, thoughtful, caring, and skilful. I would suggest him without hesitation, he is a great doctor and surgeon and now a friend.
I would have to say that Dr.Michael Choi is the best Surgeon I have seen in reference to the procedure I had done, he takes his time and really shows an interest in your health and well being. I am very impressed with his knowledge and his patience to explain those things I need to know about my health and with the new tool he has given me to change my life around. He never rushed during the pre or post op visits and seems to take a genuine interest in my health. I would highly recommend him your looking for an outstanding Surgeon to change your life the way he has changed mine. I started with my highest at 327 and now I am currently at 205.
Dr. Choi is amazing! Super professional, friendly and explains the procedure to detail. The surgery took no more than 45 mins; 1 week recovery and it completely changed my life. I have recommended all my friends and family, they have all had great experiences with him. He not only is a Master Surgeon but he also teaches his students, he is truly the best you’ll find in USA!
Looking to have wls soon in Mexico. I've struggled with my weight for years. I did a good job maintaining it with the help of diet pills, but after having my daughter who is now almost 3 I've struggled with losing. I've gained a lot of extra weight. I'm looking to pay cash which is one of my reasons for considering Mexico. I was approved for financing her in Florida ( Lauderhill), but the monthly payments were pretty high. I'd rather pay cash if possible. I've read good things about LongTerm Vsg, but it's hard to tell which are genuine reviews by non paid people. The people at a Long Term Vsg seem really nice and knowlegable but hey that's their job. Feel free to offer suggestions.
gastric sleeveHi my name is Erez Yekusiel I had the gastric sleeve surgery with Dr.choi on 12/19/2016. from the moment I met him I felt very comfortable with him, he gave me the feeling that he knows what he's doing. I even did't consult with anyone else. on the day after surgery I was at home already, he called me every day three times and asks about how I feel and what I need after five days he saw me in the clinic and I feel great. He is a genius surgery
Hello to all, my name is Mari and I just scheduled my procedure for March 4, 2020 with Dr. Michael Choi. Now I have a few for the recovering patients. Any advise? Special accommodations for sleeping? Are you able to move around on your own? I work in an office , is 4 days off enough to take off work? I’m a slow healer. And I do not want anyone at work to know that I had this procedure done. Updated on 17 Feb 2020: Today I went for my pre-op appointment. Seems that although I found Dr. Michael Choi on RealSelf, and he has affiliation with the hospital I was comfortable with. Turns out that NO!!!! The place I went to Strax only deals with another hospital which I’ve never heard of. Broward Health Imperial Point! A hospital much further than I originally thought. They did labs and an EKG. Now all I need is a stress test and clearance from my Primary Care Physician. Waiting for all of this alone made my blood pressure go up slightly. All I kept telling myself, calm down calm down before my blood pressure shoots up. Keeping my fingers crossed hoping that I am able to keep my orinal surgery date March 4th 2020. Can’t believe there is not many reviews of gastric sleeves. I’m trying to read as many journeys as possible so that I know what to expect. Because we all know doctors and nurses say, it’s fine . You’ll be ok, and it’s the complete opposite. I rather know what I am getting into, instead of receiving an awful unexpected experience. Updated on 29 Feb 2020: PTT levels are the clotting agents that help you heal. Apparently my blood is very thin. My PCP is telling me I can bleed out during surgery and if I get through surgery ok. I am at very high risk of having complications after surgery. Have anyone had this issue? If so, how was It resolved. Plastic surgeons are known to say YES,, you can have surgery. In other words you won’t die o the table. But can have serious complications after surgery. It has happened to me in the past. I am a slow healer. As with every surgery, it’s taken me twice as long to heal compared to a normal person. Updated on 4 Mar 2020: When I saw my doctor I was weighing 186 lbs height 5’-0”. These past 2 weeks I’ve been so nervous that I’ve lost 18 lbs. Now I am at a starting weight of 168 lbs. I’m not suppose to drink water. But my mouth is so dry :( I am sucking on ice cubes and spitting out the water. My way of refreshing my extremely dry mouth. I hope I am able to update my post as soon as I get home. My gastric sleeve is an out patient procedure. Should be home by 1pm. Keep me in your prayers. Updated on 7 Mar 2020: Good morning, I am 3 days post op and finally feeling alive again. I was so weak and dehydrated. I went to my primary doctor yesterday. After the exam, she says my lungs are not getting much air. She says blow in the little instrument they gave you. I told her, they didn’t give me one. Only the ventolin rescue inhaler. So she said to continue using and raise my arms and take deep breaths and exhale slowly. Lack of oxygen also contributed to my weakness. After my consult I went to medical spa which offers IV fusions. Did that and feeling much better not right away, but a few hours later. I walked as I took sips of Gatorade Zero. Managed to get 3/4 of the bottle down slowly. This morning my neighbor took me out for a walk,, lol like a dog. I was able to do that without running out of breath and sipping on a cup of tea . I find walking and taking small sips helps the liquid come down easier. I’m supposably menopausal, to my surprise I got my period really bad. I’m guessing from the blood thinners (to avoid any blood clots) given to you before surgery. Other than that. Huge improvement. Got to really try n get more strength, I’m suppose to go back to work Monday. One of my coworkers will be picking me up and taking me home. It’s true that everyday gets better. It’s a very hard recovery. Updated on 8 Mar 2020: Ohhh boy!!! Without a doubt the first 2 days are the worse. After I had the IV for hydration 2 days post op I feel alive again. By day 3 I was able to drink 6 ounces of tea for breakfast. That’s a big deal compared to nothing at all. The gas pains are no joke!!! Since the surgery I was burping up a storm, but no passing gas. And today I finally passed gas YAY!! lol , I apologize if TMI but I was worried something went wrong. Never thought passing gas would be so important, but the walking around is extremely important to get those painful annoying gas moving. I feel less pain and even strong enough to THINK of going to work tomorrow. Hope I don’t get tooo winded. Still haven’t done #2, although no solid food. Just don’t want that to happen at work. I’m not to happy that due to the blood thinner they gave me before surgery made my period come, nothing worse than trying to recover and get an uninvited monthly visit. I actually scheduled surgery before so that I didn’t have to deal with that. So grateful I bought a bidget, because I don’t have full mobility. I’m even having nose bleeds ( that never happens) . I’m just worried that due to the lack of coagulation, my healing will take longer than most. Keeping a positive attitude. Will let you know how work went. And I can’t wait until I can sleep on my side. The lack of sleep is killing me. I knock out for about 2 hours and up again. Updated on 11 Mar 2020: 6 days post op. Only 1 phone call. I was told I was going to have daily calls for the first week. When I said I was very sick and I was vomiting blood the first day, and my stomach couldn't handle pain meds. I was told to crush 3 Advil's with applesauce!! What the heck? What happened to stay away from Ibuprofen. Due to the blood thinner before surgery, me premenopausal, got my period awfully heavy and actually having nose bleeds ( never in my life) . Now I understand why my primary didn't want to give me clearance for surgery. I truly hope I don't have any complications. So far so good. Still on liquids. The incisions that hurt the most is belly button and the one near the middle of breasts. My PO appointment is next Saturday . Hoping my experience is better. At the moment I have nothing nice to say about my surgeon. Updated on 15 Mar 2020: Without a doubt I was feeling absolutely awful in the beginning. Gatorade , Pedialyte and Vitamin Water has gotten me through this. I was given a list of the things I can eat, but no particular measurements. I do not want to over eat. So far I am able to drink 6 ounces of broth within a 30 minutes span time. This morning I ate a protein pudding that I bought from Amazon. It’s Gluten , sugar and Lactose free . 4 ounce pack. Taste kinda chalky. So far I feel okay, did not get gas and no strong knot in my stomach. Does anyone have any information as to how to begin introducing purée to your new stomach. How much and when to eat? Any suggestions will greatly be appreciated. Updated on 21 Mar 2020: Today I went to my first Post Op appt, got there early. Offices weren’t open yet. But as soon as they opened the door, Dr. Choi called me in. I told him that I had pain in my belly button. I was wearing a waist garment ( faja) to hold me in. He looked and said it looked fine. I told him I was constipated,haven’t gone #2 in seven days. I asked about drinking Fiber or something to help me go. And he suggested eating prunes. Weighed me, lost only 7 lbs in 2 weeks. I was 172 lbs before surgery and after 17 days I’ve only lost 7 lbs. He walked out and said see you in a month and disappeared. Didn’t even give me the chance to ask him any questions. If I could stand in front of Strax and warn future victims of this awful facility without getting arrested I would!!! But all this Corona Virus outbreak I just went home and quarantined myself. My job is shut down due to this pandemic. At least staying home will help me get rest and heal. Since I can’t ask my doctor questions, I’ve been looking up online and even other journeys here. But can’t seem to find anything. Updated on 28 Mar 2020: I’m 24 days post op and have only lost 12 lbs. And that was lost on the first week. I did have Gatorade zero, because I was severely dehydrated. But it’s not like it was allot. I’m still struggling to drink 1 water bottle in a day. On my second week post op , I did not go #2 for 8 days. I’ve been eating 2 pieces of prunes everyday. It does contain sugar. But man!!! This is depressing. I’ve always suffered of constipation. I used to take fiber mix every morning just to be able to go every 2 days. Now that I can’t take fiber. I am suffering. Prunes are not working . I will try to drink more water, but it’s difficult. Oh and I’m still drinking broth and eating sugar free jello. Although my tummy is swollen. And my belly button hurts. Scab finally fell off , but it seems that another one is forming. Has anyone else had their incision through the belly button? I’ve seen other people pics. It doesn’t seem so. Updated on 4 Apr 2020: I’ve heard that you experience hair loss, but WOW!!! I think I’m going to go bald. I’m only 31 days post op and The picture I’m about to post is the amount of hair that fell out at once!! This is horrible :( Updated on 4 Apr 2020: I’ve always had low self esteem. This is why I do not have pictures. The ongoing losing and gaining weight yo-yo diet. Due to health reasons and physical ability, I gained nearly 55 lbs. Various cosmetic surgeries. On New Years Eve 2019 when I was looking for a dress to wear, it was very disappointing that absolutely nothing fit. Couldn’t believe it! I weighed myself and discovered that I gained way much much more than I thought. Wearing yoga pants and Lycra all the time. I didn’t realize how quickly I gained weight. 12-31-19 186 lbs 47% body fat. Decided to do the gastric sleeve surgery. Had my consultation in February 2020 and didn’t want to think about it too much. I scheduled surgery for March 4, 2020. As nerve wrecking and trying to lose some weight because I read that reducing the fat around the liver will help the surgery be more successful and less evasive. Brought my weight down 14 lbs. New pre op weight 172 lbs. So let me type these numbers down all over again. I am 46 yrs old 5’-0” short lol 12-31-19 186 lbs 3-4-20 172 lbs Pre Op weight Surgery date 3-11-20 160 lbs 7 days Post Op Lost 12 lbs 3-18-20 160 lbs 14 days Post op “ no weight loss” haven’t pooped for 8 days. 3-25-20 155 lbs 21 days Post Op lost 5 lbs 4-1-20 152 28 days post op lost another 3 lbs So far 20 lbs lost after 1 month of gastric sleeve surgery. It’s been a bit of a struggle because I’ve been extremely constipated. Prune juice helps me poop every 2 to 3 days. But it’s loaded with sugar. I haven’t started exercising yet, because I’m still not consuming enough protein yet. I do not want to break down my muscles. My body is starting to jiggle. I will take pictures soon. As previously mentioned, self esteem issues hated how I looked in front of mirror. Do not have any pictures of myself. But I will keep a journal of my progress. I’ve just been pre occupied trying to find essentials and things to eat. This pandemic Covid-19 going on. Has everything and everyone going crazy. I’m glad I had the surgery before the panic. At least I will be eating less and save money . I paid out of pocket. No insurance. Updated on 11 Apr 2020: Found some pictures, I really don’t have many. I always hide when I see someone with camera. At the moment stuck on same weight since last week. But I’m no working out yet. I’m still not consuming enough protein. So far I’ve managed to 48 grams of protein a day. Updated on 28 Apr 2020: About a week in a half ago, my doctor called me since are unable to go out for my post op. He gave me the all clear to begin working out. That’s when I realized my energy level is medium. I’m still not % recovered. I have an elliptical machine at home, oh boy was I sore!!! I’ve managed to lose another 2 lbs since the 11th of April. I’m weighing 151 lbs now, 8 weeks post op. I think I haven’t lost more weight due to my constipation. But I’ve managed with Miralax. Morning I have my vitamin shake with unsweetened coconut milk, mid morning boiled egg. Lunch purée ( chicken breast soup with vegetables) no fiberous veggies. I purée it because I do not like veggies. . I work out and have a protein shake with unsweetened almond milk. And dinner I eat 1 cup of either Greek yogurt or cottage cheese. Throughout the day bottle of Vitamin water. And of course 1 1/2 bottle of water throughout the day. It’s hard to consume enough water. My skin is very dry. I even alternate and drink Gatorade Zero. I won’t deny that my mind plays tricks on me. It is so hard to keep my mind off of food. I’ve even over eaten and I’ve felt sick but I have not vomited. It’s just a really bad feeling. I keep forgetting to drink or chew slowly. But my stomach turns into knots quickly to remind me to sip sip and eat slowly ( I don’t have the patience!) But eventually I will get the hang of it. I just really need to work on that. The stomach part ( surgery) is quickly resolved. But the mind thing!!! That’s a horse of a different color. Should be posting new pictures on May 11th. Trying to keep a monthly journal . Hope everyone is well. Xoxo Updated on 11 Jun 2020: At 10 weeks post op I Fell off wagon for a while, by May 15th I was weighing 161 lbs. I had gained 8 lbs. Now 14 weeks post op I am weighing 145lbs. I am not working out like I should, my job is overwhelming now. Happy that I was able to zip and button jeans that I haven’t worn in 5 years. Now I am going to focus on maintaining and shaping my body. My Brazilian butt lift is disappearing , not happy about that. But unfortunately my arms are not losing inches a the same rate as the rest of my body!!! Ugh it’s frustrating. Updated on 11 Jul 2020: Today it’s been a month since my last updated post. Now at 18 weeks post op , I am weighing 143 lbs. I lost only 2 pounds since last month. I haven’t been working out, going about my day is not a problem. It’s the motivation to work out. I am just so tired. And I feel sore. I started eating more salad Chef, Cobb , Southern Style. And 1 protein shake a day. Guess wasn’t having enough vitamins, empty calories. My hair has begun to fall out again. I am taking vitamins. I am attempting to go back to my shakes and protein pudding and vitamin water. I’ve been taking probiotics, so hopefully I don’t suffer from constipation again. That is another problem that doesn’t help with weight loss. I have to push myself to work out, this PANDEMIC just has me bummed. I miss my work-out buddies ( they were my inspiration and motivation.) But my body is drooping, I had a 43 lbs weighloss in TOTAL. Time to tone and slow down with weight loss. Can’t have any more plastic surgeries. Updated on 10 Sep 2020: Without a doubt this surgery is no joke. It’s been a real struggle. Not pain or discomfort. It’s the psychological toll it takes on you. I went as slow as 137 lbs but then over Labor Day weekend ( 4 days of bad eating habits) I drank few shots of Vodka, snacked lightly on all the bad stuff that I’m not suppose to! Guess what? I gained 8 lbs! I haven’t been Exercising no gym due to Corona pandemic. And yes, I am one that needs company. it’s boring to exercise alone. That is why I stopped losing weight. Plus just because my stomach is smaller if you eat junk food, you can still gain weight So weigh in for 9-10-20 145 lbs.
