choosing a surgeon (part 3)

Jourdan Gottlieb, M.D., // www.seattleface.com


The third surgeon I saw was Dr. Jourdan Gottlieb at Naficy Center. It was a bit of déjà vu for me as his office is in the same building where I used to work. But with that aside, the office was very nice and pleasant.

Dr. Gottlieb was great too, however he didn't seem to think I needed any lipo around my back hip area. I wasn't sure if I should feel flattered by that or not?! But since the other two surgeons I had seen both said they would do lipo in that region, I really wanted it done. Plus, if I DIDN'T do it then down the line I might have regretted it and I'd be back on the operating table. Uh, NOT. I am only doing this ONCE!


They did give me two quotes, with and without the lipo. His cost was significantly more than Dr. Stephens and Dr. Leff. The other deal breaker for me is that they did not offer any 12-month, interest-free financing. I'm not planning on putting my family into debt over this surgery, so I had already decided that I would not be paying any interest. Thus Dr. Gottlieb was quickly removed from the list.


Making the decision


There was about a 3-week gap between seeing Drs. Stephens and Leff before I saw Dr. Gottlieb. During that time, I was leaning toward Dr. Leff. I was really impressed by the consultation with him, and how thorough he was in the exam. He was also less expensive than Dr. Stephens. Not that I was wanting to go the cheapest route, but since I was 100% confident in him, why not go with the least expensive doctor?


However, about a week or so after I saw Dr. Stephens, I received an email from Stacy, the patient coordinator from his office. She asked if I had any questions, where I was at with my decision, etc. I replied back to her with a very honest answer—that I gotten a 2nd consultation, and still had a 3rd one to see. I told her why, at that point, I was leaning toward a different surgeon (Dr. Leff).


I didn't think much when I didn't hear back from her. But two days later I got a phone call from Dr. Stephens himself. He said he wanted to call me and talk to me about my email rather than just reply back. We spent about 20 minutes talking through things, and it was that conversation that made me change my mind. First, I thought it was really nice that he took the time to call me himself. And I still had that feeling that he cares first and foremost about his patients' comfort during and after surgery. So my mind was changed again, and now Dr. Stephens was the front-runner. Then after seeing Dr. Gottlieb, I decided that Dr. Stephens was the surgeon I was going to use. What a relief to have that decision made!


I also mentioned in a previous post that I contacted 2 other surgeons. One wanted a $75 consultation fee, which I was hesitant to pay. I requested a quote from his office and the cost was way more than Dr. Stephens and Dr. Leff, so I decided it was not worth it to pay $75 for a 4th consultation.


The other surgeon I contacted was Dr. Richard Rand. I REALLY wanted to see him. He had the highest ratings of any of the doctors on RealSelf.com. But when I called to schedule a consultation, the earliest appointment he had was in September. I wanted to have the SURGERY in September, not the consultation! Then the receptionist asked for my height and weight. I told her, and she tells me that Dr. Rand won't even consider seeing me for a consultation until I've lost at least 10 pounds. Apparently he is "very picky" about who he chooses to do surgeries on. Well okay then...I took him off my list.