Dr. Bours' Patient????

Hello All. . .I was wondering if anyone is/has used Dr. Eric Bours, can you contact me? I have just recently switched to him from another surgeon and was wanting to hear from others. I go to my first support group meeting next week and if anyone else is, I would like to meet up with you. Please let me know! Thanks all. Leigh Ann

Although Dr Bour is on the right track in setting up his practice in bariatric surgeries. I do not feel he has nearly enough experience to warrant my recommendation of using him. Do more research. I think you will find that MUSC in Charleston is in the top 10% for hospitals in treatment of gastrology needs...such as gastric bypass, etc. Also Dr. Karl Byrne is the one who does them there. He is also rated one of the top physician's in the nation. I have heard of many deaths and complications in the upstate area. I would not recommend any doctor or hospital I would trust enough, nor has the reputation good enough to do any gastric bypass surgery on me or my family/friends. Either go to MUSC in Charleston or Atlanta to Emory. Remember it is your life they have in their hands. Do more research. LisaH Simpsonville SC

Lisa, There may have been "MANY" deaths is the upstate, but they're NOT attributed to Dr. Bour. He's done over 300 LAP and open RNY's. He has lost two patients. One was pre-op, weeks before their surgery was scheduled, a patient with many comorbidities. The other was post-op. She died the day after she went home from the hospital. You have a right to your opinion but surely we need not write off the entire Upstate as a place to have surgery, especially by an excellent surgeon as Bour. Thanks for letting me get in my two cents. Roxane

Lisa, I appreciate you honesty and concern. I would like to know where you got your information? I have done reserach and from what I found, Dr. Bour is an excellent surgeon. If you know something, I would like you to let me know. You are correct, this IS my life and want to know everything I can. Thanks for replying. Leigh Ann

Hi Leigh Ann, Dr. Bour has done over ~300~ Lap. RNY, Open RNY and Lap-Band. He is also a Fellow and is teaching other doctors how to do these procedures. (his info on this site needs to be updated.) His patients weight loss numbers are higher than the national averages at 6 months, 9 months, 1 year and 3 years. That was an important factor for me in choosing him as my surgeon. He is the consummate professional yet is very friendly and approachable. I'm pre-surgical and go to the support meetings every week. I go on Tuesday mornings at 10:00AM. They offer classes at different times and days during the week. They prefer you choose a particular day and time and continue to come weekly at that time-so you can kind of get to know the people in your group. If there's any questions you have feel free to ask. Roxane

Roxane, THANK YOU for responding, nice to hear from a follow patient who has information. I too will be going to the Tuesday meetings. I go to my first one tomorrow. If you will be there tomorrow, maybe we can meet up? Email me and we can talk -- it would be great to have a buddy in this. And if you have any more information, that would be great! I await your reply Leigh Ann

I haven't heard anything about Dr. Bour, but 2 of the top doctors are in Columbia...Dr. Glen Strickland and Dr. Givens they are partners and they are board certified and highly recommended. Together they have performed thousands of these surgeries and their sucess rate is higher than the national average. They work out of Lexington Medical Center which is also a highly rated hospital. Their practice is called Riverside Surgical if you are interested. Whoever you use be sure they are Board certified! My surgery is tomorrow and I have been researching for months and have come back to Dr. Strickland. Good Luck! Sandy

From what I know of his office staff, they're great to deal with. My only problem with him was the $2750 he wanted up front to cover the health/psychological end of the deal. I don't have that kind of money. Otherwise, though, I would go through him as well.

Ok, I made a new post before I saw that you'd asked about Dr. Bour, too. I live in the Columbia area, much closer to Dr. Strickland and Dr. Givens, but opted to drive and hour and a half to go to Dr. Bour. I had personal reasons for doing this as I work on the floor at Lexington Medical Center where Dr's Strickland and Givens's post-op patients are. I have personally worked with many of their post-op patients and, well, I just felt better about going to Dr. Bour. Not to say that I feel that the Dr's from Riverside Surgical are negligent, but it would have been an awkward situation for me to be a patient on the floor that I work on. Dr. Bour actually performed the first Lap-Band in South Carolina, I personally know the lady who had the honor She is doing Great... In a year and a half, she went from a size 24 to a 10 (after plastic surgery), which for a lap band is fantastic. I do feel that the prior statement ruling out Dr. Bour is inaccurate. He has performed over 300 bariatric procedures and experienced only one post-op mortality (he regretfully informed us of this himself). This is FAR below national statistics, and if I may add, below Dr. Strickland's as well. I have been going to Bariatric Solutions' support meetings for several months and have one left (Topic #1) to go... I usually go on Monday nights at 7:00, since I have to drive to Greenville from here after school and work. My surgery date is June 1st. I wish you luck and maybe I'll see you around! E.

E., Thanks for the feedback! It is always nice to hear from follow patients. And congrats on the surgery date. I usually go on Tuesday mornings but will probably be going Monday nights when I need to bring a support person. Maybe we could meet up sometime then. Since I posted this, I have learned quite a lot about Dr. Bours program and feel very confident in it. They staff around him is also great! I have not gotten my date yet but hope to in the near future!!! Good luck with you in your journey! I know that you have a great surgeon and program to start you off. Leigh Ann