Question:
I have been referred to Dr. Steven Patching in Sacramento any one heard of him?

   — Jill E. (posted on June 17, 2000)

March 6, 2003
I was first referred to Dr. Patching. Although I have heard that he is a good surgeon, my experience with him was very very negative. He has this standard policy of requiring all of his weight loss surgery patients to lose an unspecified amount of weight before he will operate. So I tried, yet again, to lose weight. However, he would never tell me how much I needed to ose and it became very aversive. I felt that, once again, here was another person telling me if I tried hard enough I could do this. If I could this I wouldn't need the surgery!!!!!!! So I was referred to Dr. Waldrep and I am so thank-you. He is the most wonderful person and surgeon. I feel very blessed to have as my surgeon. I hope this helps.... Gina
   — Gina P.

July 2, 2004
Dr. Steven C. Patching recently performed my surgery. He is an excellent surgeon, and I would recommend him to anyone who wants a surgeon that is knowledgeable in his specialty, and has a genuine concern for the health and well being of his patients. Dr. Patching does not require his patients to lose an unspecified amount of weight! However, Dr. Patching does expect his patients to condition and prepare their bodies for this potentially deadly surgery by increasing one's fitness level, changing one's eating habits before surgery, and exhibiting a true desire to change one's lifestyle permanently, which ultimately will be visible to him when one steps on the scale. Some people expect to walk in and walk out with a surgery date. Don't expect that from Dr. Patching! Dr. Patching is serious about what he does, and if you are going to risk your life, wouldn't you want a surgeon who demands more from his patients, than just tipping the scales?? The above statements are based on my own personal experience with Dr. Patching. I am making no statement regarding what others may have or will experience, as each individual experience is unique.
   — M J.

May 8, 2008
I understand a lot of people would like to believe that the reason Dr. Patching is so harsh is for our own good but it just isn't true. I, too, had an excruciatingly horrible experience with him. Just like the first reviewer said, he kept giving me more and more weight to lose without any true end date. Then he would schedule surgery, and THE NIGHT BEFORE decided to read my charts (on 2 occasions) and call me to say I had a problem and needed it cleared up before surgery. One of the problems he saw was that I was anemic. HE KNEW THAT FOR MONTHS- WE HAD DISCUSSED IT. He canceled and sent me to a kidney specialist. She said there was nothing wrong with me and he should really get on with the surgery. Guess what? The day he was supposed to do my surgery- the one he canceled last minute? By the time I called his office THE NEXT MORNING they said he had left for VACATION. I truly believe he just wriggled out of my surgery to go on vacation a day early. In my opinion, he has some sort of attention deficit (yes, you can be a physician with ADD- I know at least one). When you talk to him its like he doesn't hear or doesn;t want to hear what you are saying. He ignored my concerns completely. As a result I went back and forth with him for TWO YEARS. During the first months of that time, I lost the 20 lbs he was finally satisfied with (then the vacation, er, cancellation occurred). After scheduling me and canceling and making me see specialists who said nothing was wrong with me, my insurance had changed its policy and now I had to wait a year. I gained the weight back plus 20. He told me that I must lose it all back and get to the weight I was before. I told him that I just can't see how, especially after all that has happened, how I could now go and lose 40 lbs (he doesn't offer ANY assistance or referrals or plans or anything to do this, BTW). I said that I know I could lose 20 and that would be hard. He said, "Well if you got to that weight before you could do it again", dismissively- not encouragingly. He said that he couldn't do anything until I lost all that weight- the end. IN MY OPINION he has a horrible bed side manner. IN MY OPINION, he should only work with men who are used to being so matter-of-fact with even sensitive issues like weight loss and failure. IN MY OPINION he either does not have the ability or the confidence to perform WLS on patients weighing over 300. I have read others who have gone to him, some even were told to lose 100 lbs or 60lbs. I noticed that the one who needed to lose 100 was 400lbs and the other 360. I am 340 and before I gained 20 lbs he wanted me to lose-20lbs. There's a pattern there. Bottom line, I do not recommend going to him. I'm sure some have had great experiences but I also once belonged to his patient support group (he had nothing to do with forming or running it) and all of them said that, at some point, you will come to hate him- HATE him?!! I also know that some people don't mind being mistreated because they believe the surgeon to be giving some gift. It's not a gift. It is a MEDICALLY NECESSARY SURGICAL PROCEDURE. I gave 2 years of my life to that man. I wouldn't advise anyone to do the same.
   — mezabella

May 8, 2008
I understand a lot of people would like to believe that the reason Dr. Patching is so harsh is for our own good but it just isn't true. I, too, had an excruciatingly horrible experience with him. Just like the first reviewer said, he kept giving me more and more weight to lose without any true end date. Then he would schedule surgery, and THE NIGHT BEFORE decided to read my charts (on 2 occasions) and call me to say I had a problem and needed it cleared up before surgery. One of the problems he saw was that I was anemic. HE KNEW THAT FOR MONTHS- WE HAD DISCUSSED IT. He canceled and sent me to a kidney specialist. She said there was nothing wrong with me and he should really get on with the surgery. Guess what? The day he was supposed to do my surgery- the one he canceled last minute? By the time I called his office THE NEXT MORNING they said he had left for VACATION. I truly believe he just wriggled out of my surgery to go on vacation a day early. In my opinion, he has some sort of attention deficit (yes, you can be a physician with ADD- I know at least one). When you talk to him its like he doesn't hear or doesn;t want to hear what you are saying. He ignored my concerns completely. As a result I went back and forth with him for TWO YEARS. During the first months of that time, I lost the 20 lbs he was finally satisfied with (then the vacation, er, cancellation occurred). After scheduling me and canceling and making me see specialists who said nothing was wrong with me, my insurance had changed its policy and now I had to wait a year. I gained the weight back plus 20. He told me that I must lose it all back and get to the weight I was before. I told him that I just can't see how, especially after all that has happened, how I could now go and lose 40 lbs (he doesn't offer ANY assistance or referrals or plans or anything to do this, BTW). I said that I know I could lose 20 and that would be hard. He said, "Well if you got to that weight before you could do it again", dismissively- not encouragingly. He said that he couldn't do anything until I lost all that weight- the end. IN MY OPINION he has a horrible bed side manner. IN MY OPINION, he should only work with men who are used to being so matter-of-fact with even sensitive issues like weight loss and failure. IN MY OPINION he either does not have the ability or the confidence to perform WLS on patients weighing over 300. I have read others who have gone to him, some even were told to lose 100 lbs or 60lbs. I noticed that the one who needed to lose 100 was 400lbs and the other 360. I am 340 and before I gained 20 lbs he wanted me to lose-20lbs. There's a pattern there. Bottom line, I do not recommend going to him. I'm sure some have had great experiences but I also once belonged to his patient support group (he had nothing to do with forming or running it) and all of them said that, at some point, you will come to hate him- HATE him?!! I also know that some people don't mind being mistreated because they believe the surgeon to be giving some gift. It's not a gift. It is a MEDICALLY NECESSARY SURGICAL PROCEDURE. I gave 2 years of my life to that man. I wouldn't advise anyone to do the same.
   — mezabella