Center for Obesity Surgery in Gainsville Bariatric Center

My first impression of Dr. Brient was a good one. He has a wonderful personality and was very informative about the surgery. He is very caring and is very passionate about what he does and why he does it. It is rare to find a surgeon that has a great bedside manner and surgical competence.

i love dr. brient. his staff is wonderful. my only problem is that your appointment will almost aways take longer than you think but it is because dr. brient listens to all of his patients and the wait is okay because the people in the waiting room are so nice. some pre-op and some post-op we are almost always laughing at some story or another.

Dr. Brient is great! He has a great bedside manner. He goes over the history of the surgery with you, let's you know how long he's been doing it and his mortality and leak rate up front (which is I believe 2 in 20+ years). His aftercare program is 18 months. I am very glad that I chose him.

I haven't met with Dr. Thoburn yet (have recently read on O.H. that he might leave the center in Gainesville! Hope that it's not true - or that he stays in the feild but not far away!!)

My uncle had gastric bypass with Dr. Thoburn several years ago, and is doing well, and has a good report for this doctor. I am hoping Dr. Thoburn will be around if my insurance ever decides to lift the exclusions from their policy.

I think he is the best person/ surgon in the world, he makes me feel safe and that he realy cares.

Dr. Thoburn is a nice guy, and good looking. He took the time to answer any questions i had about the surgery. I highly recommend him to anyone. Thankyou and God bless.

Dr. Thoburn comes across as very professional. He tells patients upfront about all possible risks associated with this surgery, and makes it very clear that it is a tool for weight loss, not an easy fix. He very much expects his patients to do their part. He has a 1 year after care program, that you have to pay for prior to surgery. I am assuming once most people have paid, they are more likely to follow through. He also requires that you attend at least 1 support group meeting prior to surgery. I guess I will know more about his bedside manner after surgery. He has the reputation as being one of the best in his field. Everyone at the hospital (when I was having pre-op testing done) raved about how good he is. One hospital employee even told me that he is one of the ones that other doctors call for help. I am very confident in him at this point.

At 9 weeks post-op, I am still as impressed with Dr. Thoburn as I was at the beginning. I found his bedside manner to be just as good as any other physician, and he seems truly concerned that his patients do well. I would recommend him to anyone, and if I (or a family member) ever needs any other type of surgery, I would hope that he is available.

My first impression of him was a very good one. Dr Brient just gives off a sense of comfort. You can tell just a few minutes into talking to him that not only is he VERY knowledgable but he is also genuinely concerned about his patients. Since then, my opinion has gotten better of him. The office staff has always been courteous & helpful. He and his staff are very concerned about aftercare. Infact you have to agree to thier aftercare in a 18 mo program. Im glad they give all the support they do. Dr Brient, during the orientation visit not only went over all the risks but spent like over an hr going over the history and evolution of this procedure. He encouraged me to interrupt him with any questions at any time & got right back on track when I was thru asking. I would rate him an 11 on a scale of 1-10. As far as whats better, surgical competence or bedside manner goes, I would have to say competence. However, I truly beleive that a good bedside manner makes all the difference in the world when it comes to making your decision to do the surgery, how you feel in the way of fears going into surgery as well as your recovery. Dr Brient fits both bills to a T! I would drive or fly across the country if I had to in order for him to have been my surgeon for such a risky procedure.

Dr.Brient seems to be very nice. He ask me questions about my health and such. He also told me about the surgery as well as drawing out each step.
The Office Staff were all very nice, and had things under control.
They offer after care I think it is 18 months.

First impression of Dr. Thoburn was that he was very knowledgable. Office staff is wonderful, supportive and informative. Liked least, sort of a flat personality. Stresses aftercare, 18 months support. Personal discussion and power point presentation of all risks. So far, I would rate him 8 out of 10. Both surgical competence and bedside manner are great, but if I have to choose one or the other it would have to be surgical competence!

12/4/04: Post Op Comments - I am very glad to have had Dr. Thoburn as my surgeon. The staff at the hospital couldn't say enough good about him. While I didn't see him for more than a few minutes each day, he was always pleasant, concerned about my well-being and always making sure all my questions or problems (if any) were resolved or being taken care. Unfortunately, Dr. Thoburn is getting out of the gastric bypass business in the next month or so. I'm fairly sure that Florida Blue Cross/Blue Shield has a lot to do with this. It will be a loss for the gastric bypass community. Thanks for all your help, Dr. Thoburn.