Anybody use Dr. S & Dr. J Barnes???

I am interested in hearing from past and present patients of Drs. Stephanie & James Barnes. I am considering using them, but have recently heard of a situation from a friend that made me not want to work with them. BUT, I am having a hard time finding other bariatric surgeons in the Shreveport/Bossier City area that work with Tricare insurance. So, if anyone has any good or bad experiences with the Drs. S & J Barnes, I would like to hear about it. Also, if you know of any bariatric surgeons in Shreveport/Bossier City that work with Tricare, please let me know. Thanks!

Have you tried Dr. Merriman in Shreveport? I used him and was real pleased. Not sure about the insurance issues with Tricare but the whole staff is great to work with. Jodi

I have heard of him, then I forgot about him, then I read something about him here on this site earlier today. I think I will ask about him, becuase so far I haven't heard anything negative about him. Thanks for reminding me!

Have you looked on the surgeon's page here? I know several that used them when I first joined OH and have had good success... the surgeon review is very helpful too.

Hi Amanda, I use Dr. Jim Barnes (they both do the surgeries together) and I LOVE him!!! They have taken such good care of me, both in the hospital and out. I've unfortunately have had 2 strictures (nothing to do with the care I received) and he has been great throughout it all. I would highly recommend them to anyone considering WLS. If you would like more information from me, please email me. Deidrah [email protected]

I think I'm the perfect person to answer this!! I'm nearly a year post-op! AMAZING... anyway... I had the surgery and the Barneses were wonderful!!!! They took great care of me. I had a stricture -- nothing to do with the care I received. Dr. Barnes met me at the hospital on July 4 to do the procedure I needed. I ended up getting a bleeding ulcer -- RARE that early on and again not Dr. Barnes' fault. Not only did he (Dr. Jim is my primary doctor) admit me immediately to the hospital, he reassured me when I had what I considered dumb fear. Then, his nurse Linda went above her duties and visited me in the hospital. In August of last year I had a bit of a nervous breakdown -- nothing to do w/the surgery. My husband was deploying again, lots going on with me. I called their office and was horrible (I admit it) HORRIBLE to their staff. I'm humiliated to admit it. Dr. Barnes had a heart-to-heart talk with me about respecting his staff. To me, this showed that he genuinely cared about his staff AND his patients. Now to me, that said a lot about the kind of people the Barneses are. When/if you ever call their office after hours, you will 99% of the time be patched through directly to one of them! When is the last time a doctor actually called you back or took a call direclty from you? So, I've had good and what I THOUGHT was bad... and a year later I'd reccommend themto anyone and would have the surgery again in a heartbeat. Ohhh one last thing... I was originally scheduled for sugery in April of last year. At the last minute, I chickened out. Dr. Barnes was sympathetic and agreed to do the surgery when I was ready. Most surgeons would not have done that.