Dr. Livingston, M.D. Bariatrics Bariatric Center
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Very dry and to the point. His surgical competence is better than his bedside manner! Which, I prefer anyway.
My doctor was very nice and was impressed that I was so well informed about the procedure I was to have.I still have the same impression of Dr. Livingston.His assitant was very knowledgeable and helpful and nice.There was nothing I did not like about her.Very easy to talk to, listens to you.He will ask you questions and don't be afraid to ask him questions either.I already knew what to expect before I went to my appointment, so he was impressed and so was the nurse as there were only a couple of questions I had to ask.Yes , they do have a structured aftercare program. They didn't really address the risks of the surgery as I had already read all and printed all that I could find on the internet,and also personally know people who have had this surgery to ask questions and advice from.I would rate him overall very knowledgeable as he has done hundreds of these surgeries and also the plastic surgery to get rid of the excess skin.As of right now, I have not had the surgery and will let you know more later after the fact.But as far as surgical competence and bedside manner, personally I think they both go hand in hand with a great doctor.After all they are trained to take care of people and part of this is the bedside manner before and after the surgery.
I felt confident with him, he was the chief of Bariatric surgery at UCLA, when I had my surgery done. He is conservative. I was not happy when I found out that I was only 100 cm bypassed, but now I understand that I will, be healthier in the long run.
To me he seems to be a very stright forward kind of person ,this is his job and he is good at what he does . It may sound strange to others but I was glad when he told me he dosen't take every person that is sent to him. He wants you to understand that this is a life changing thing , not a quick fix , and that you will have to work at it.He did tell me about the risks or as I call it the Good , Bad , and Ugly .I'm a lot like one other lady who saw him , his bedside manner is not WHAT I need , being good at what he does is what counts.His bedside is manner is (#*##$# ) bad ( Smile).
Because of this web site I was very well informed when I saw him , and for me that meant a lot .I'm on the rode that others have gone on before me , a journey that only the Morbid obes know . From the little girl who was run home from school to the teen no one wanted to dance with to the adult who smiled but was crying inside . God help us all and the times we live in.
AS for Dr. Livingston , he is tops in my book , to start a program like this at the VA is nothing short of what it is but a God sent .This is my PERSONAL IMPRESSIONS AND IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS SITE OR THE VA.
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Dr. Livingston is a great surgeon. I had time to research him. I felt very lucky to have him do my surgery. He does the most difficult and largest patients. The staff at UCLA are overworked, but they do get back to you and answer your questions and take care of your needs.
I was in the hospital for four days. I did not see Dr. Livingston after surgery, other surgeons attended me. His wife, Dr. Guth, visited me. She is also my nutritionist.
My First impression of my surgeon was that he was confident but acted as if I was wasting his time.
I only met with the surgeon 1 or 2 times before my surgery, and I never saw him after surgery.
The staff were friendly and ready to help in any way.
The Surgeon was short with me, making me take tests up to the day before my scheduled surgery date, possibly even canceling the surgery.
I didn't even see Dr. Livingston on post-op visits. I always saw his associate.
UCLA has a support group that meets monthly and is also on line. You have to be careful though, there were a lot of "Cliques".
The Dr. just asked me if I had any questions. I think the total time he spent with me was about 15 min.
I would deffinatly leave the Dr. a book on manners, and compassion. I felt that his only motive for the surgery was money.
Competence is deffinatly important.
I have been scheduled for my appt. since March 2002. 6 months later in Aug.27,2002 I had the surgery done. I was called about 2 days prior to surgery that Dr. Livingston had a familiy emergency and will be out for some time and that there is another surgeon by the name of DR. Heffell. They asked if I wanted to go ahead with surgery or wait until Dr. Livingston was back. I proceded with Dr. Heffell. Never met the guy, but was nice and very informitive about what he was doing and felt very comfortable with him doing my surgery. Surgical competence is great I believe, I only saw him 2 times in my whole hospital stay after surgery. I would recemond him to anyone that is going to be having the surgery in So. Calif.
Dr. Livingston was not a big talker during the pre-op consult, but I thought he answered all my questions honestly. I rarely saw him after that. I did not see him during my immediate post-op stay in the hospital (other surgeons rounded on me) and he was out of town during my post-op check so I saw one of his partners.
His office staff was always wonderful and supportive. All the aftercare instruction came from the nutritionist (who is his wife), not from the surgeon.
I was basically counting on him to do an excellent job in the OR, and he did. I was not counting on him for anything other than that, so I was not disappointed.
For support, I am using the UCLA online support group, and that has been wonderful at answering my questions and concerns.
Overall, he is a wonderful surgeon with excellent surgical competence. His bedside manner isn't bad, he just doesn't seem like a "warm, fuzzy" kind of a guy.