Fairview Southdale Weight Loss Surgery Bariatric Center

I've always liked the Fairview health system. For my surgery from beginning to end, there wasn't a care person that I didn't like. I liked Dr. Laguna from the information session. I like people who make me laugh, he genuinely enjoys his job and helping people, and it shows. His lighthearted nature is calming. I was in the hospital for 2 days. Went in on Tuesday, got knocked out and woke up in my room. Everyone was attentive and helpful. Dr. Laguna checked up on me and made sure my incisions were healing fine. Beforehand I had asked him to take pics or my insides. I just wanted to see how everything looked. He gave me pics of my insides. My liver and gall bladder look nice. Anyway, sorry to ramble, but he is great and if you're in the Fairview system looking to get wls, go with Dr. Laguna

Dr Laguna is a very kind and compassionate surgeon. He performed RNY on both me and my partner. We first met him when we went to the information session. It's nice that he speaks to you, not above you! He really wanted to make sure we had no questions. Very personable!! Also, Kudo's to the entire staff at Fairview!!! They are all wonderful to deal with and they are always helpful and supportive!!

I had lapband surgery with a different surgeon in this group. I have always been extremely pleased with the staff of the clinic. But my surgeon was a terrible experience. He yelled at me right before surgery and had a temper loss. That was Dr Benn. After months of trying to work with Dr Benn, I was making a formal complaint and it was suggested that I try Dr Laguna. I have been with him since. That was over 3 years ago. I have a lapband and it has not been a success for me. I did lose my weight, but often unable to eat solids. I never could get enough saline in the band to make it work the way it was supposed to. Now, after working with Dr Laguna and Melissa, PA, I am having a revision surgery to an RNY bypass. Dr Laguna will do the revision. I have all the confidence in him as a surgeon. He has great social skills and is not at all defensive or insecure. He is very easy going and will answer questions. He actually enjoys humans I think. Some surgeons are great technicians, but they aren't good with awake humans. Dr Laguna is great. With lapband there is much more ongoing relationship than with typical surgeons. I highly recommend Dr Laguna! He is honest and direct in explaining all the pro's and con's of surgery.

Dr. Pierce is Awesome!

Dr Laguna is the best!! He is so warm and caring and really a joy to work with. He makes you feel instantly at ease and he never lets you leave with any unanswered questions. He had to cancel my surgery last month due to a family emergency, and I thought it was amazing that he called me personally to apologize for my inconvienence and to tell me how much he appreciated it. I thought that was great, cannot go wrong with this doctor, he is #1 !!!!

Dr. Laguna is very personable, kind and caring. I had surgery 5-19-11 and had a super experience with the hospital, the PA (Phil) and with Dr. Laguna. No complaints at all!

What can I say about Dr Laguna? He was absolutely amazing and there are not enough words to describe how wonderful of a surgeon he is! My WLS clinic has three surgeons, and the head surgeon is the reason I picked this program. I knew the least about Dr Laguna (not as much info online), so initially I was not considering him. He was the surgeon at my info session, and I immediately felt a connection with him. When it came time to pick a surgeon, I decided to meet with him. He was running late, but I later found out why. At no time did he rush me in my appointment, and it was over an hour long. He turned his chair so he was sitting by me, and read through a booklet with me. At the end, he would joke and say "C'mon, ask me questions!" But he was so thorough, nearly all of my two pages worth of questions were already answered by him. He has a great educational background (a year long fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, and schooling Northwestern University), and on top of being extremely smart, he has a WONDERFUL bedside manor and very personable. I felt like I was in good hands, and on top of that, I felt like he cared. On the day of surgery, he was just as warm, joked around a bit, and helped to make my mom feel at ease as well. When I first checked in, the nurse said "Ohhh, you have Dr Laguna. All the nurses around here love him." And during my first walk after surgery, another nurse raved about what an excellent surgeon he is, and how he's not only great with his patients, but with rest of the staff as well. Even the x-ray tech went on about how I couldn't have had a better surgeon. I couldn't be more pleased with my decision to have Dr Laguna operate on me, and I would recommend him to anyone going through this process. He is also very current in his methods. He does not use drains, and prescribes Actigall to prevent gall stones post op for patients who don't need theirs removed. My only complaint is that I don't get to see him for all of my follow up care unless there is a problem! But he told me to make appointments on the day he's in the office if I want to at least say hi. I really believe I could not have picked a better surgeon! Thank you Dr Laguna for my second chance!

When I first met Dr. Benn I wasn't positive he was the surgeon for me. However, he came highly recommended by an acquaintance who has been in the field. There was nothing bad, just seemed he was very rushed, etc.
However, when I had my surgery Dr. Benn was wonderful. He came out and talked to my husband and explained everything well, answered any questions my husband had. I was in the hospital just overnight, and he was in three times during that time to check on me. I was very glad I had chosen him.
If you are looking for a doctor who is very touchy feely, you won't find that with Dr. Benn. What was more important to me was someone who I knew was a good surgeon and I could trust with the operation.

I first thought he was very professional and experienced. The clinic is very professional and aftercare was wonderful. They have been kind and available. The aftercare program is very detailed and all questions were answered by the clinic staff.I felt very prepared throughout my surgery and aftercare.rn Since I have had some difficulties with my lapband, my experience with the doctor has changed. I feel disrespected, not heard with regard to symptoms, my questions have been answered curtly, as if I am too much trouble. rn I am a strong believer in the teamwork approach to physician/patient relationship, with questions answered by the doctor and where the patient is respected as a valid member of the team. With lapband, surgical competence is important, of course, but it is important to feel you can communicate well with your surgeon because it is a long term relationship. You need fills and sometimes unfills over the years. You need someone you can communicate clearly with and you feel listens with an open mind. rn I didn't think about the long term nature of the relationship when I had my surgery and chose a surgeon.

I just met with my surgeon last week for the first time. Dr. Pierce seems very nice and is straight forward. I like that. He answered all of my questions and was very willing to sit and talk to me. I didn't feel rushed. The office staff has been so nice and patient with all of my calls and all of the hastles that have come up so far with my insurance company. Aftercare seems to be a really strong focus at FVSD WLS Clinic and that makes me feel at ease, as I'm sure I will need support through the process. I am planning on having the lapband which is not as common as RNY in this area, but he explained everything to me and I feel confident in him as a surgeon.