Why Did You Choose Dr. Berger For Your Tubal Reversal Surgery

A potential patient at Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center asks fellow message board members why they chose Dr. Berger as their tubal reversal doctor. Women who have come for surgery or plan to have reversal surgery in the near future, share the many reasons why they prefer to have Dr. Berger perform their surgery. One important reason mentioned is the time and expense Dr. Berger takes to analyze patient data so that potential patients have the information they should have to make an informed decision about tubal reversal surgery.

The following is Dr Berger in forum Preparing for Tubal Reversal at Tubal Reversal Message Board.

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Posted by tjtreacles (Member # 9962) on December 14, 2007 08:22 AM:

I just wanted to let you know Back in 2005 when I was looking for a Dr to do my reversal I went to my family Dr and he sent me on to you He had already sent another lady to you that had a baby. ( I also had one thank you) I was contacted from a friend who asked me about my reversal and who I went to and I sent her your web site info She also went to her family Dr (which is different from mine)to find out info on a reversal and he also told her to go to you. I just wanted to let you know that you are very liked in our town and it seems that the DR's here think the world of you as we all do too. I just wanted to share this info with you. I think it is neat that two different Dr's send their patience to you. Thank you again for making this happen for all of us. TJ

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Posted by Gary S Berger MD (Member # 3) on December 14, 2007 11:07 AM:

Dear TJ -

Thank you for your message. I am glad to know that I have a good reputation among the doctors in your town. Apparently, it has been spreading over the years. When you see your doctor next, please thank him for me for sending you to me!!

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Posted by Julia Smith, RN (Member # 10) on December 14, 2007 12:51 PM:

Thanks, DJ! Having worked with him for many years, all of us who work with him believe that Dr. Berger is the best tubal reversal doctor! But it is nice to hear that other doctors think well of him, too.

Thanks again.

Julia Smith RN

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Posted by SAVANNAH (Member # 11823) on December 17, 2007 11:12 AM:

Hello everyone. I have been watching this site for over 6 months while planning to have a tubal reversal but this is my first time writing in. My doctor here in Florida also highly recommended Dr. Berger, I've been in touch with the office but I started to do a little research on my own and looked at some other doctors. I requested some information from a doctor in Kentucky. Being a nurse myself I was surprised and impressed when my phone rang one day and it was [the doctor] himself. Something doctors don't do very often. I thought it was a good sign of caring and confidence. If anyone can help me make my final decision, whether its a past patient, nurse or Dr. Berger himself I would appreciate it. I mainly want to know what the difference between the two doctors methods are and how responsible they hold themselves and their work to results after the patient has paid for and gone through the procedure.

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Posted by momto10 (Member # 11808) on December 17, 2007 11:38 AM:

I can only tell you how I came to my decision. I
too was on [the other doctor's] site (for a short time), the reason I lurked, but didn't participate was 2 fold,
1. I really felt like everyone was worshipping him, it felt funny, like he was a deity or something, I would prefer a little more modesty. And the other reason was that I REALLY respect Dr. Berger because he POSTS EVERYTHING, the good, the bad, the ugly....I feel like he holds NOTHING back. I see EVERY statistic, he keeps records of every possible variation, as though he was constantly conducting research. [The other doctor] is all sunshine and roses and we as mothers know that if something seems to good be to be true, it probably is. I can't trust someone who doesn't disclose everything.

2.I also preferred the "staff" here. The nurses are friendly, helpful, and ACTUALLY wanting to help you have a baby.

OH I need to add a few more reasons (sorry, the more I think the more I realize).
3. I found Dr. Berger on the OneMoreSoul.com site, he WANTS to help bring about a new soul, it's not all about the money for him. He cares about he souls he helps to produce. Just the fact that he knows a soul is involved is amazing.
4. For number 4 I wanted to include all the little reasons that matter but not as much, the price, the helpfulness of the site, he is doctor recommended, he works WITH our current doctors before during and after, and his staff is SOOO Smart and they are willing to share all their knowledge.

Hope this helps... It doesn't mater to me who you pick, I just found myself in your shoes and I wanted to words to my decision.

Gwen

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Posted by Julia Smith, RN (Member # 10) on December 17, 2007 11:51 AM:

Dear TJ: I apologize for the lengthy response, but I think it addresses some of the questions you had.

Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center is the only medical facility specifically for tubal ligation reversal surgery. We provide the most detailed information about tubal reversal available from any doctor, hospital, or medical institution. This blog post describes how we are able to do this.

Keeping track of patients following surgery makes excellent sense from a clinical point of view. Continuing follow-up after surgery helps ensure the best care for each patient and allows us to evaluate the success of tubal reversal surgery and the care we provide. Setting up and maintaining a system to ensure ongoing follow-up is not usually found in a private medical practice since this is costly and time-consuming and requires staff knowledgeable in database management. Regardless of the cost and time requirement, Dr. Berger has made it a priority because of his commitment to giving patients all of the information they should have in order to make an informed decision about tubal reversal surgery.

At Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center, we have a computer system where every nurse enters patient information before, during, and after each surgery. In fact, all 11 of our nurses contact patients, record data and make daily entries into computerized records.

With this follow-up information, Dr. Berger can analyze and report accurate statistical data about the long-term outcomes of tubal reversal procedures he has performed. Other doctors often quote our statistics -- but they cannot provide information on their own since they are not able (or willing) to go to the time and expense of collecting their own data!

The patient follow-up system consists of information collected in many different ways and includes a minimum of 6 calls or e-mails to the patient in the first year following surgery.

1. Post-operative nurse visit the morning after surgery;
2. Telephone follow-up on the second postoperative day;
3. Telephone follow-up on the third postoperative day;
4. E-mail questionnaire at two weeks;
5. Telephone contact at 6 months;
6. Telephone contact at 12 months.

Other information is collected and recorded any time we communicate with patients post-operatively. These contacts are usually initiated by patients to report pregnancies and the outcomes of pregnancies. When patients report new pregnancies, we request that they complete a Pregnancy Report Form. Each week, we summarize the new pregnancy results in the Weekly Pregnancy Report Forum of the Tubal Reversal Message Board and also give more details in the Weekly Pregnancy Announcements.
After reading our information and statistics and comparing it to what might be available from other doctors, we believe patients will recognize that Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center is the only facility where accuracy of information is considered to be a priority and sharing it with prospective patients is considered to be a necessity. Providing facts rather than offering misleading or speculative statements about tubal reversal success is one mission of our practice. We believe this is the right thing to do.
I hope this helps!
Julia Smith RN

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Posted by Brandi (Member # 3653) on December 17, 2007 11:53 AM:

Hi Savannah and welcome to the board. I'm also from FL..Panama City area. I have not had my TR yet, but plan to schedule after New years. I began researching TR doctors about 7 or 8 years ago and my search ended when I found Dr Berger. It just feels right!! Not only will you find amazing support from Dr B and his staff, but the ladies on this board are all very supportive and informative. I just couldn't imagine going anywhere else.
I wish you lots of luck no matter where you decide to have TR!!
Brandy

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Posted by stephg124ny (Member # 7023) on December 17, 2007 03:40 PM:

I wanted to add a little something to this post that helped me make my decision. I also researched the Doctor in KY. He charges extra of you are overweight. Dr. Berger just plain old won't operate because it isn't safe regarding anethesia. I am not overweight, so that wasn't an issue, but it made HUGE warning bells go off in my head that a doctor would essentially perform elective surgery on someone where it wasn't necessarily the safest. he also wanted pictures of you in bra and panties to assess your weight. Ummm....how about HECK NO!!!

I felt that in the KY docs literature that he was bashing Dr.Berger's surgical technique. (and really it was a roundabout way to bash Dr.Berger himself.) I don't feel that anyone should have to bring someone else down to raise themselves up. It just isn't right.

The other doctor includes all pregnancies into his statistics, including those achieved by IVF. Umm...that isn't the same thing. If I wanted to achieve pregnancy by IVF, I would have gone that route to begin with. If I remember correctly, the other doctor offered IVF if the TR didn;t work. That's all well and good, but I live in NY, so I certainly wouldn't be traveling to KY to have that done.

Anyway, I had my TR is 2004 and I really felt that Dr. Berger cared about me. He also cared about my reasons for wanting the surgery. His staff was beyond excellent. My TR baby is 2, so I know for sure the surgery works! HTH!