Hi Dunk...
I haven't heard of Dr. Chamberlain, but that really doesn't mean anything. You can go to Dr. Podany's website to read up about him at:
http://podanysurgical.com
His nurse, Lori, has been extremely helpful and patient with me while trying to get insurance approval.
Plus, I just like Podany himself. He is a very down-to-earth no nonsense kind of guy. When I first met him, he was doing the GBS with open procedure, and that was some 10 years ago. Since then, he's been doing them lap when possible and he was very good to explain the whole difference to me. They will also send you a DVD of the whole procedure and showing recovery and explaining life style changes. It was nice to get this to watch at my own leisure so I could make a comprehensive list of questions for when I visited him.
I'm sorry to hear that you are going to miss the Bahamas cruise. Rats!!! But think of it this way...the next cruise you schedule can show of the new svelte you!
Feel free to ask me anything, including directions to Podany's office!