"After meeting Dr. Smith on February 16, 2001 my confidence in him appears to be well-founded. He was obviously very tired but took the time to answer my questions. He didn't seem to have much of a sense of humor but that could have been due to his having been tired. He is very serious, precise and concerned when it comes to making sure that the patient have all their questions answered and that they are fully aware of the risks involved in weight loss surgeries. That you be aware of and willing to follow the post operative instructions is of great concern to him. He does a slide presentation for the patients outlining the different surgeries, their risks, post operative requirements, results of not following post-op regimen and answers any questions the patients have concerning anything about the surgeries. I get the impression that he would not hesitate to tell a patient that he doesn't think they would be a good candidate or that they are risking their lives by not following instructions. He's a straight shooter and I really like that in a man. ;-) LOL
As far as the negative side of things there isn't much to mention. His office staff is so swamped that they don't answer calls as quickly as you need them to at times and he is slow to respond to e-mails quite frequently. His schedule is such that getting a date for surgery with him is only possible if you're willing to wait for several months and they will not schedule the surgery until you have insurance approval.
Overall my rating for Dr. Smith is a 10+. His staff would have to get a 6 due to the apparent disorganization but they are working very hard to improve this. As for the competence of this surgeon...his record speaks for itself. To my knowledge he has had no complications to speak of in 200 cases. When you combine that with the obvious care and concern that this man has for the morbidly obese, he is well worth the travel and the waiting involved.
Update: 06/27/01
My first impressions of Dr. Smith seem to have been correct. On our meeting with him on the 20th of June, he was very nice and seemed concerned with helping our daughters. He was point blank about one of them being too large to have the surgery and her need to lose at least 25 pounds prior to the surgery date. He was very pleased at my changes and my weight loss. He informed us of some changes in the post op regimen. Studies have shown that most patients do not need the protein supplements after being 6 weeks post op. He and I even had a picture made and he requested that I send him a six months post op picture and that he keep a pre-op photo of me. We really like this guy! Also the group has added on to the staff. This addition is a wonderful lady named Donna who is now doing the scheduling. This has helped greatly."
