Arizona Bariatric Surgery Dup Account Use S.C. Simon to notate Bariatric Center

My first impression of Dr. Newhoff was very positive, and he treats patients with a great deal of respect. His staff seems to like him very much and seem very loyal. I chose Dr. Newhoff because of his excellent reputation. I am a nurse and I currently work with a nurse who took care of his bariatric patients at Good Samaritan Hospital. She said that he was tough, and will not allow his patients to not do all that he requires (like walking). I checked BOMEX for complaints and he has had a few, but all of them have been found to have any merit. This does not suprise me because I think that a lot of people choosing to undergo this surgery don't really understand what they are taking on. I have only had one interaction with him so far, so nothing has changed.
I think that Dr. Newhoff's staff is pleasant and respectful. One thing that I was not happy with was the man who presented the seminar I attended before I could get my appointment with the doctor. He was extremely knowledgeable, but he stressed how absolutely complication-free and easy this surgery is. And I know it is not, and it upset me that he made it all sound so great. He said that the surgery is virtually complication free, and I know that is not true. You perform major abdominal surgery on basically unhealthy people and there are bound to be complications. I thought it was unfair of him to present such a rosey picture. I mean that's great for the folks that have a perfect surgery, but everyone having surgery should be adequately prepared for the worst.
Future patients of Dr. Newhoff should know that the whole process is going to take a VERY long time. He is extremely busy, and I started this process in January and my paperwork was turned in on June 25th. I think it will be worth it though, he is such a perfectionist!
Dr. Newhoff is very, very concerned that his patients participate in aftercare. He requires a psych eval (even if the insurance company doesn't) and he also requires that you attend an aftercare seminar before he will perform surgery on you. His aftercare program meets every Monday night at Good Samaritan Hospital.
Despite his assistant's rosey picture of the surgery, I felt that during my meeting with the doctor, he was very realistic about the risks of surgery. That pleased me. He is pretty much unwilling to perform surgery on smokers and people who have never lost weight on diets. He is not desperate to perform surgery on everyone who qualifies, and I think that says a lot about him.
I think surgical competence is more important than good bedside manner, but if a surgeon is a complete jerk, I wouldn't have much confidence in him at all.
Dr. Newhoff, from what I have heard and experienced, has a nice balance of both. So far, and he has not performed surgery on me, I rate him pretty high. He spent three full hours with us during our first consult (with 6 people), talking about diet, exercise, recovery, complications, etc. Never seen a doctor do that before!! <please note that these statements are just my expresions of my own personal experience and I am not making any statements about what other people may experience.>
9/23/01 Post-op, good bedside manner, very sensitive and competent.

My first impression of Dr. Newhoff was that he was a "straight shooter" no bullshit kind of a guy. I met him at the seminar I attended for information and then I met him again for a new patient consultation. This man knows what is going on. He tells it like it is, he is a "thin" guy and he still eats and drinks the way he makes his patients. I have researched this man all the way to the moon and back. I have even talked personally with the surgical technicians (not employeed by him, but the hospital) he has assisting him for surgery, the words that were expressed were "there are doctors that are cut out to be surgeons and there are doctors that just do not have the natural ability" Dr. Newhoff is gifted, he has the natural ability plus some! He gets in there and gets done with ease and grace. THAT SAYS IT ALL FOR ME! The people who pass his instruments otta know! I have also researched his professional background, no complaints and no deaths as a result of this surgery that I can find. No criminal record. He did his residency specializing in organ transplants and is currently a trauma surgeon as well as a certified bariatric surgeon. He has been performing this surgery for about 25 years - that's alot of years! I could go on, but need I say more? When you are good, your good!

he is a tiny little man with a big heart

he knows what he is talking about and you had better listen to him ..

his office manager is very sweet and helpful.. she is the one who gave me my surgery date

do as your told.. wear a seat belt or he will not operate on you.. lol and NO SMOKING for at least a month before surgery

i have my physical and aftercare appointment the day before surgery to say me a drive to Phonenix.. my first consulation with him, he went over all the risks and diet I should follow.

I will update more after the surgery.

I have an appointment for my physical on August 2oth the day before surgery.

August 28, 2001
I have decided I really liked Dr. Newhoff. Yes, he is direct and to the point and doesnt take time much for bedside manner, but the man is very busy. My surgery went off without a hitch. He did a great job. My scar looks great under the tape and he took good care of my pain. He is a great surgeon.

Competent, talks alot (lectures)but very informative. My impression really did not change much. Office staff was very helpful and even helped me get an earlier surgery date since I was coming from out of state.
Dr. Newhoff is always very serious, and did not catch on when I joked around. I know he normally emphasized aftercare alot, but since I came from out of state, I am following up with my primary physician. He addressed risks very thoroughly. I would say his surgical competence is better, which is what I was looking for.

I first med Dr. Newhoff @ a seminar he holds @ Good Sam Hospt-1/01. It was a very lrg group but he covered alot of ground. The next meeting was 4/01 & my consultation & that was a group setting also-much smaller group too! He likes to make his presentation, then after about 2 or so hrs, we get to ask questions. By that time, he has made such a knowledgable presentation that no one really had to ask too many questions. He is very thorough. He is able to show the actual proceedure w/props. So I have only met him 2 times. Liked him very much both times. He is not going to coddle you. He expects you to do your part. Especially pre-op. He really wants you to do some sort of exercising before WLS. Not to lose weight but to increase stamina. He also suggests support groups prior to surgery. I don't know yet about his bedside manner, I will have to report back.##7/13/01##had pre-op testing done today only blood test & urinalysis. Dr. Newhoff was very nice, answered all ?'s my hubby & I had. He did an exam-small physical also. Said I am health for surgery. I really appreciate him being up-front. Seems like he really knows his stuff, he has been doing this a long time & is confident in what he does. I like that. He expects the patient to do their part also. After my hospital stay I will report back regarding his beside manner. I really dont think my opinion will change. I want somebody who knows his stuff, I dont need someone to baby me.##post-op## Dr. Newhoff was great! I have no complaints w/surgery, recovery or hospital stay or Dr. Newhoff. He came & let my husband know when surgery was over & told him to go get lunch. He told hubby I would be fine. I am so glad I chose Dr. Newhoff for WLS. He is so competent in what he does. I didn't think he lacked any bedside manner @ all. I would recommend him to anyone!

He is very knowledgeable about this procedure and very good. He pushes me to get up and walk and exercise and he explains the procedure and expectations very thoroughly. He also has someone that has had the surgery, to come in and give suggestions on the day of leaving the hospital, on what to eat and do. His office staff is wonderful. They are very helpful. He emphasizes aftercare very strongly. He has support groups set up for aftercare and they are great. I have met people that are thinking about having it and people post-op.

7/29/01 - I met Dr. Newhoff in one of those smaller group sessions he holds in his office and I liked him right away. He's got a dry sense of humor and the confidence you want to see in someone who's going to cut you with a scalpel. He wants you to do your part and is very big on this surgery being a tool to lose weight. I liked his calling it "forced behavior modification" and I appreciated his honesty and all the information he provided. I looked around for a surgeon and he not only met all my criteria, but surpassed it. I and my family have faith that he'll get through this surgery and then I'll be on my way to a whole new life.

being a nurse, i was aware of surgeons and their personalities. dr newhoff is the kind of man/surgeon you either really, really like, or you dont. i really like him. he is tough and expects you to comply with his orders. if you do that, you are successful. his office staff is friendly and quick to help you no matter how small your issue or how big. occasionally, it is difficult to see dr newhoff, since he is doing more and more of the surgeries. dr newhoff is connected with the weight for life program, and encourages all his patients to participate in the aftercare. i would say, dr newhoff is an excellent surgeon, who may occasionally offend some of his patients, unintentionally. i have not had this problem, but others in my group have mentioned this over our sessions.

At first I was not sure how I felt about Dr. Newhoff. He seemed a bit abrupt. Over time I realized that he is truly dedicated to helping and can be a bit abrupt when he is running behind. At no time did I doublt his skill as a surgeon. He is wonderful.
His office staff is always pleasant and very helpful.

First impression is that the office should have told us that the sooner we got the packet in, the sooner the letter would be sent off and we'd have approval. They didn't even tell us that that was what the packet was for.

I thought the info session was good, but it took a long time to get the appointment. Still I think that this office is a one-stop shop and will do nearly everything for you. But don't go in there expecting people to feel sorry for you. They won't and they do tell you like it is, which I REALLY appreciate.