Question:
Has anyone heard anything good or bad about Dr. Lawrence S Barzune In Dallas, Texas?

   — Terri B. (posted on December 3, 1999)

December 3, 1999
Dr Barzune is going to be my surgeon. I heard about him from several people on this website. His seminar, which you must attend, is very informative. You don't have any contact with him until you insurance is approved. You have to fill out a couple of forms and submit them to his staff. It takes about 2 weeks after you have filled and returned you forms for his staff to form the letter to you insurance. So fill it out completely. You will get you surgery date in the insurance letter. My insurance received the letter on 11/11 and we are still waiting for approval. Dr Barzune has been doing this surgery for 10+ years and is rated in the top ten surgeons doing this surgery. He is very approachable and does not like for his people to be in pain, which is appealing to me since I am a chicken.
   — Jen L.

May 4, 2000
Dr. Barzune is a jerk as far as I'm concerned. My sister phoned him from Canada and his office told her there would be no problem with her getting the surgery. She is on Medicare. She brought a letter from a doctor in Canada but when she arrived, Dr. Barzune told her is was not sufficient and she needed to go to another physician to get the letter. He recommended Dr. Farkus. When she went to Dr. Farkus's office he told her she had right-sided heart failure. It's been three weeks since she visited his office and he still has not written this letter, nor has he done a follow-up on her heart problem, or sent her to a heart specialist. Dr. Barzune refuses to do anything for her until he receives this letter even though Dr. Farkus has said he's spoken to Dr. Barzune at length and told him he would fax the letter soon, so that they can go ahead and schedule the beginning tests. As of today, Dr. Barzune is going on vacation until the 11th of the month and has not set up any appointments for testing. The person who usually sets up the tests (Lorraine)has done nothing and every time my sister calls to see what is going on, she is rude and complains that she has too much work to do and doesn't have time to do everything and complains that Dr. Barzune gives her too much work. I am appalled at the way she has been treated by both doctors and this Lorraine person. He will NOT help you with your insurance company either. I went to him and he did send a letter to my insurance company. The letter looked like a FORM letter and I was not surprised when my insurance company denied me. When I asked Dr. Barzune's office what I should do next, I was sent information on an attorney in California to contact. Maybe other people have money to pay an attorney, but I don't. I am extremely annoyed with the way my sister and I have been treated by Dr. Barzune and his staff. (Cindy has been very nice though) I would NOT recommend going to him at all!
   — Louise P.

May 5, 2000
An update on Dr. Barzune. I was finally able to speak to Dr. Barzune by going through Cindy instead of Lorraine. He returned my phone call and was VERY nice and helpful. He's told us that he will schedule the testing and surgery date today. He will also speak to Lorraine concerning her complaining to patients about how over-worked she is. It seems we were not the first to let him know about her complaints. If you can get past Lorriane and her BAD attitude, I think you will be much better off. Will update again as things proceed.
   — Louise P.

May 5, 2000
I have had no dealings with Dr. Barzune, but Dr. Stephen Hamn is my surgeon and he's here in Dallas (Plano) as well. He AND his staff are awesome and I would recommend him to anyone. He does the before the appt seminar, but then, everyone goes back and visits with him privately and he answers all questions. I cant imagine a doctor not even meeting with you till surgery is approved. I find that offensive, actually. It's like he's not treating you as a person, simply a check. (which i'm sure is more common than not) Anyway, if your sister isnt happy with Barzune, try another, we have several here in Dallas who are good. Simply because he's on the top 10 list in some publication, doesn't necessarily mean he is. know what i mean?
   — Kim B.

May 15, 2000
Update: Another delaying tactic (because Dr. Farkas still has not written the letter for my sister). Dr. Barzune actually gave her the stress test last week but now nothing is scheduled until June 6th (more tests). At this point, I'm praying that Dr. Farkas gets Hemorrhoids for the rest of his life. Needless to say, I am very annoyed with the way my sister has been treated. I went to Dr. Alexander today (for myself)and he's great. I entered my opinions in that area as well. (smile) I made my sister an appointment with him for the end of this week as well.
   — Louise P.

April 9, 2001
I have met Dr. Barzune. All I can say is WOW!! He is an unbelievable man, so compassionate, so intelligent, and very very nice. He is the top bariatric surgeon in Dallas and one of the top 10 in the nation. I have medicare and Scott and White Healthplan, and chose to go out of network, and pay, so he could do my surgery. I would fly, drive, or whatever it took to have him do the surgery. The office staff is awsome also, willing to help in any way they can. On a scale of 1-10 he is far above any scale requirements.
   — dodoheead

May 13, 2001
Dr. Barzune? uh, yeah...i've heard that he's the BEST WLS surgeon around! You're in good hands when your with Dr. B!
   — Joanie P.