Alaska Bariatric Center Bariatric Center

So far Dr Todd and his staff are fantastic

Not sure where to start. I am sure Dr. Todd is incredibly nice and a wonderful man..... There were a few things I found frustrating about his office and practice. He is a RNY only type of surgeon. I have spent a lot of time researching the type of procedure I wanted and what my expectations and goals were for pursuing bariatric surgery. Since he is pretty much the only surgeon in Alaska that performs bariatric surgery I was referred to his office. From the beginning I said I wanted VSG and every time I mentioned it I was told "he doesn't really like performing that surgery, he recommends bypass...". Everything I wrote down I put VSG but the staff would always change it to RNY. At the new patient orientation Dr. Todd made it clear that he would only perform VSG if you twisted his arm . At my appointment with him I also stated I wanted VSG but was told that RNY is what I should have done. I did most of my pre-op exams which was all geared towards RNY and at every appointment I restated I wanted VSG. I felt that I was being forced to have a surgery that I did not want.

I was also frustrated with the info session for new patients. I was disappointed that there were not more medical staff who could give a better explanation about surgical weight loss, metabolic problems and such. The staff were all nice but things just seemed off. I felt the severity of the surgery was not adequately addressed nor were the real life consequences and expectations actually being addressed.

I finally decided that I actually did want VSG and not to be forced into a procedure that I did not want. I also, wanted a surgeon who supported my choice and was skilled at performing my surgery. I "interviewed" two other surgeons out of state and was amazed at the difference of their info sessions, support, and honesty regarding different procedures compared to Dr. Todd's. I found an amazing surgeon out of state and I could not be happier with my choice.

I would like to add that I do think Dr Todd is incredibly nice and his staff have been very helpful for the most part and wasted no time in helping get all my information transferred to the other surgeon. I am sure he is a great surgeon and others have wonderful experiences with him but it just was not what I was looking for.

I started the processes with Dr. Todd's office in October 2014. From day one, I found the staff, medical and office, unorganized and under trained. Dr. Todd believes he's on a mission from God to help the world through bariatric surgery. While some would find this noble, I found it unprofessional to share with your patients. He and his office want to meet the patients emotional needs while requiring them to go to their in-house support groups and finding a surgery buddy. The person facilitating the meetings I attended had no training as a therapist or nutritionist, it was their insurance admin. After 6+ months of misinformation regarding insurance needs and frustration with Dr. Todd and his staff, I had no faith in his ability. I decided to pay more for a Surgeon outside of my network in Seattle. My experience was night and day and well worth the extra expense.

Hello,

I am new to Alaska and new to Dr. Todd.
He is to the point, if you ask something be ready for the truth. "no sugar coding here".

I have met with Dr. Todd twice now....first appointment was amazing, people were very open and in all stages of the processing.

Second appointment I waited over 4 hours to see him, but the front desk people and nurse did keep me up to date and very busy completing other steps needed paperwork, getting appointments setup. Feeding me snacks and trying new things.

Once I got with Dr. Todd he was all about me and getting me healthy. His attention to detail is well known and I know when I go under that knife he will be watching me very closely.

I am only months away have from the new and heathier me.

Thank you for your time,
Angela S.

he denied my referred because I could not walk n missed one appointment due to hurt disks in my lower back. n cause I asked nice why do I have pay fee again when spossed get reimburse. somehow that being hostled to staff member who r rude to everyone stuck up.

I did not have a lot of personal time with Dr Todd, but the time I did have was all that was necessary. He has a very busy practice and has things set so that all the pre-op can proceed as expeditiously as possible. I heard him speak briefly at the general orientation for those considering bariatric surgery, then was assisted by his able staff in determining all the testing and other requirements to meet my insurance requirements, as well as what was required by the surgeon medically. While I initially wanted the Band, at my final pre-op decision meeting with him, he made a clear case for why RNY was best for me due to my GERD and the discovery during my testing that I have Barrett's syndrome -- making RNY the obvious choice in my particular case and I greatly appreciate his help in making that decision.
In early 2013, Dr Todd performed my RNY with robotic assistance and things went very well; my recovery was speedy and easy, and I'm on my way to being fit and healthy. I am grateful to him for his skill and compassion and to his staff for all their excellent help.

Wonderful, thorough doctor and amazing person. THE choice for bariatric surgery in AK with over 2100 WLS procedures to date. If you're on the fence you owe it to yourself to at least attend orientation and meet him. Every patient is important to him. Brillant, compassionate man.

Doctor Todd is the most unprofessional doctor that I have ever worked with. Four years ago I started seeing him. He strung me along for a year. Had me do every text in the book. Then two days before my surgery he called and said that he could no longer be my doctor. He gave no reason. Months later when he was asked again why, he still wouldn’t answer.
 
Three years later I had three referrals sent to him from three of my health care providers. He sent back a form letter with a box checked that said “case closed”. So I called Debbie one of the nurses at the Alaska Bariatric Center about three week ago to ask why he denied me again. Debbie had no answer. After a long conversation she said the she would pass my message along to Dr. Todd. Needless to say she never called back!
Today I called her back. 5-30-2012. I told her I was kind of expecting a call back. She tells me that Dr. Todd said no that he would not take me on as a patient. Again I asked why. She tells me that he just said no. You would think that a person has a reason for saying no. So she transfers me to Dr. Todd. I was thinking that finally I would get my chance to tell him how hard that I was working to prepare for a weight loss sugary. All he could say was no we are not a good fit. What in the hell does that mean? I’m not looking to be best friends with the man. How can anyone with a conscience say that to a 440lbs man in his mid 40’s that has as many health issues as I do. I have had Diabetes for 31 years. I was diagnosed when I was 13 years old. I have had a very hard time controlling my disease, and because of that I now have many, many complications. I didn’t start gaining weight until I was in my mid thirty's. In 2006 I was told that I had a heart attack. I also have had several eye surgery's and I am in need of more because I now have Cataracts do to the previous surgery’s. They can’t do my Cataract surgery because of my weight. Dr. Todd is aware of most all of my medical issues, and still refuses to help me or even tell me why he wont help. I have told him that without the weight loss surgery I wont live much longer. All he could say was “best of luck to you”.
 
Over the last three years my Doctors and I have found out some of the reasons why I put on so much weight so fast. We are addressing those problems, but that alone wont fix it all. Dr. Todd wouldn’t even take the time to listen to everything that I have been doing or what was discovered over the past three years. He just angrily said no and hung up the phone. Again he gave no reason why. He did say that I should try going to Seattle for my surgery.
Dr. Todd Is the only Center of Excellence in Alaska, and he knows it. I’m disabled and Medicare will only allow me to go to a Center of Excellence to get a weight loss surgery.
 
Myself and many others, including medical professionals that I have talked to think that Dr. Todd has a major God complex and is very hard to deal with. Why would anyone allow a single doctor to become a Center of Excellence all by himself? I have talked with other Center of Excellences and they all have multiple doctors. This is something that I am continuing to research. I see no reason why this man can not help me.
 
Below is a pasted copy of something that Dr. Todd has written about himself on his own website.
 
 
After training, Dr. Todd was in private practice in good standing, specializing in General and Hand Surgery, in Pittsburg, California. He decided, much to the surprise of his partners, to move to Anchorage, AK in the fall of 1998. While there, it became readily apparent that there was a population of morbidly obese patients in need of Bariatric Surgery. Dr. Todd pursued additional education in Bariatric Surgery, culminating with his completion of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery Preceptorship at the University of Tennessee in Memphis, July of 2000. (Please visit the ASBS website at http://www.asbs.org.) He is now seeing patients interested in Weight Loss Surgery (WLS) at his Anchorage office
 
Dr. Todd is absolutely right. There is a population of morbidly obese patients in need of bariatric surgery here in Alaska and I’m one of them. So why wont the man help me?!!! I’ve done everything that he has asked of me and more. Why does he get to decide who lives and dies? He’s not God! If he were compasionate enough to just tell me why he won’t help me then maybe I could work on what ever he thinks is wrong. The more time that goes by the more my health deteriorate. I’m 44 years old I’d really like to see at least see 64 or more.
 
There are other people out there that have bad experiences with this man. I would love to hear from them. Maybe we can make a positive out of such a negative. 
 
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Thank you
Dan Diamond

Great Doctor, know his job well. He is not a bubbly person ( talking to much) but He does care for his patients very much. I am lucky to have Him as my doctor.

Dr Todd is the best. He is very knowledgable, experienced and even more than that he is a very compassionate and caring doctor.