Newbie--Has anyone had Dr Dana Portnier???

This is my first post.I have my surgeon appt scheduled for 12/21/09 with Dr Dana Portnier at Duke.I am nervous and am seeking feedback. Feel free to post here and/or PM me if you need to. Thank you for any help!   Take care!

Hi Bob & Wecome Aboard!!!
I had my surgery at Duke, but not by Portnier... However alot of people in our "losers Bench" group that meets in Raleigh on the 3rd Sat of each month have had him and i've heard alot of good things about him.   I''m sure they'll all be responding to your request for info.  But i just wanted to say Welcome, and Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Try to come to our meeting... if you're interested i'll send you the info... our next meetup is 12/19@ 10AM

Thanks for the response. I actually met him this week and feel much better.
bob

Hi Bob!
I am also a new guy around here.  I have not yet had surgery (scheduled 12/1) but I have met Dr Portenier a few times now and have talked with others who did have their surgery performed by him.  My impression has been very very positive.  He has the reputation of being a very technically skilled surgeon, but he also has a wonderful bedside manner.  Barbara C's husband had Dr Portenier for surgery and they came away very impressed. 

I'll let you know how it goes.  Good luck to you!
Rick

Rick,
Great....thanks for the response!I Actually, I suppose all Duke drs are at the top oftheir field. I did read some impressive background notes on Dr Portenier.Wish you well.
take care,
Bob

Congrats on your surgery today!  I hope it all went well.

Kelly

Judy,
Thanks......I am going to try to make your meeting. I am going to one at Duke tomorrow evening also.
The Raleigh site willbe much more convenient for me......where do you folks meet?
Thanks for the invitation.
Bob

Hi Bob,

First of all, welcome to the forum. Secondly I wanted to give you some feedback on Dr. Portenier. My husband, Ben, had Dr. Portenier last December and I have to say that both my husband and I have been impressed with him. He has a great technical reputation, but to be honest all of the surgeons that are a part of the DukeWLS program do. I think that beyond his te*****al expertise which of course is significant and important, the other thing that Dr. Portenier brings to the table is empathy and the ability to communicate well with his patients. I also had my surgery at Duke, but had Dr. Eric DeMaria. I honestly would be comfortable having any of the surgeons practicing at Duke, but I have to admit to having a bit of prejudice regarding Dr. Portenier. I found him easy to talk with; and he will talk with you, not to you. 

Finally, there have been a couple of mentions of my support group, so let me extend a personal invitation to have you join us. I host a monthly general support group meeting on the 3rd Saturday of each month at 10 am in Raleigh' we often have 35 to 45 people in attendance. I also host some special interest groups which usually have 6 to 12 people. The special interest groups have topics that are directed to the special interest, such as Grads or Behavior Modification, but anyone is welcome to attend. I post the information for the meetings at www.meetup.com/nc-wls. 

I hope to meet you soon and please feel free to ask any questions. 

Barbara,
thanks for the response. I have had some other similiar responses....as you said,i am confident that all the Dukesurgeons are great....it was mostly nerves! I hab=ve signed up for the mmetip membership and look forward to joining the group pre and post surgery.
Take care,
Bob

Bob,

Dana Portenier performed my RNY on October 9, 2008.  He has been WONDERFUL.  I've worked for physicians most of my life and he still impresses me.  I was also blown away, come surgery day, when all the staff from the lady at the check in counter to the pre-op nursing staff to the post surgical floor nursing staff - - all of them sang the praises of Dr. Portenier.  THAT says a lot. 

Best of luck to you!