Miami Hope Center Bariatric Center

Dr. Rabaza has come off as a very well prepared surgeon who cares about his patients. His staff is very helpful and attentive.

He is a great person, he made me feel completely comfortable. I was very happy I went to him. Besides pushing me back a week to do the surgery, everyting has been great. The push back was due to OR time, and I totally understand. His office staff, Claudia and Jessica are the best, and Claudia returns all emails by the end of the day. All in all I would rate him a 10.

When I first meet Dr. Whittwell, I was extremely pleased about the the confident manner in which he spoke, He was not rushed in his examinations and takes the time to answer questions with extreme patience and compassion. I did not feel like just any patient. I felt like he dealt with me as an indivdual. Dr. Whitwell's staff are friendly and courteous. I did not like the fact that he did try several times to persuade me not to have the lap band suregery, but to have the gastric bypass because of my high BMI of 54. But when I told him my cousin had died of the RNY procedure, he listen and understood why I couldn't do it. He was very up front with the risks of the surgery. He has a great reputation in South Miami, and so far I feel like I made the right choice. His surgical competence and bedside manner, both are great. rn

Dr. Terieve Duperier, San Antonio, TexasrnrnI was impressed by his overall demeanor from our first meeting on. He is very knowledgeable and took all of my medical history into very specific account. He offered to schedule a meeting specifically with my husband or other family members to try to get them on board. His office staff is helpful and accomodating. They were changing office buildings/computer issues at the time, so there were a couple of things that were a little bit confusing, but were easily handled with a quick phone call. rnrnIn my opinion future patients should know that if they are looking for a doctor who truly cares about each of the patients that he services and is not just about getting the first willing buck in the door, then I would strongly suggest Dr. Duperier as someone they give strong consideration. He is kind and compassionate, and is not willing to just sign people upunless he fully believes there is medical reason for doing so and a responsible patient who can follow through on the other end of caring for themselves after the surgery. He realizes it to be their own decision and that it is a life changing decision, so he wants people to make the right one.rnrnHis sugical competence is unmatched. He has trained with the best of the best. He has gone to the best schools, graduated at the top of his class and is here to prove that you are in top notch hands. Any fear that you have will be gone in a second, because you know that you will have no better care around. His bedside manner is great. I would rank him a 10! And as an added bonus he is gorgeous, which bumps him up a slight notch to some :)

Dr. Whittwell is amazing. His staff is so SWEET and helpful, it's been such a joy being his patient. What a difference to find a doctor's office where the doctor and staff are so helpful and actually enjoy helping people.rnrnMy first impression of Dr. Whittwell was that he was very educated and prepared. He wanted to make sure that all of his patients were well informed about the different types of surgery and options they had. He spent at least an hour with me, personally, just answering all of my questions and helping me figure out which surgery option was best for me.rnrnMy surgery went very smooth and so did my recovery. I am VERY pleased with Dr. Whittwell, I think he has the best of both worlds, surgical competence and a wonderful bedside manner! I would rate him a 10 out of 10!! rnrnWhen I was in the hospital (pre and post op) it was so nice to hear all the wonderful things the nurses and other doctors had to say about Dr. Whittwell, it gave me confidence in my decision to have him as my surgeon. Everybody loves him!

My first impression of Dr. Rabaza was made during my first group meeting that he was an extremely competent and compassionate person. My initial impression has only been reinforced with time. I found all of his staff extremely dedicated and helpful. I would rate him as superior and would highly reccommend him personally or anyone affliated with his group. All the pro s and con s are clearly outlined by his staff both verbally and in a documented form that is provided to the patient prior to surgery. I would have to rack my brain to mention anything negative about my experience with this group but would caution anyone considering this surgery to be 100% positive that they are ready to commit themselves to the radical lifestyle changes that they personally will have to encounter. You failure to do so should not be blamed on the surgeon or his group. I would do it again in a heartbeat and have never regretted my decision or selection of Dr. Rabaza

Dr. Gonzalez was reccommended to me by a co-worker and he turned out to be a wonderful surgeon. His confindence, knowledge and experience made me feel more at ease. I knew I was in good hands. He was straight forward about the risks and his track record. I have had no complications, I healed so well and I feel wonderful! So far, I would do it all over again. I have started a new life, thanks to Dr. Gonzalez and his support team. He has a very busy pratice so it was not a touchy-feely experience-but I knew that I could contact the doctor or one of his two partners and get the information or help that I needed. It is also good to know that my progress and health will be monitored and that I have a support group that I can attend. Dr. Gonzalez's surgical competence far outweighs his bedside manner-but his bedside manner was not bad at all. He made me laugh. I give him two thumbs up!

Inital contact with his office was in august. Appt set up for 10/25. Waited almost 3 hours to see him for 10 min. He seems very nice and EXTREMELY BUSY. However, Cristina, is EXTREMELY PROFESSIONAL and helpful. A pleasure to deal with her.

My 1st impression of Rabaza was he is very confident and informative. I met him on 9/14/06 in his group meeting at his office for obese people who are interested in having weight loss surgery. He explained the difference between most/popular WLS's and also explained why his practice doesn't perform all of them. He is a kind and compitent man he carries himself this way. Up to this point, my impression of Rabaza has not changed. His office staff must have been replaced overtime because I can not say enough about them, especially Christina Prado. She has been GREAT!!! I know I can get a little nervous and antsy and she always knows what to do or say to get me back into my comfort zone. She has help me out alot especially with my goal of getting this done the week of my birthday for a \"REBIRTH\" of ME! rnrnOn 9/14 I was able to get me appointment with the psychologist for the same weekend for 9/16/06 I spent most of my saturday morning there taking a test. rnrnThen I was sick. Got an appointment with Manuel Gonzalez my PCP which know how to deal with WLS patients. He was great gave me some antibiotics for by congestion and cough...got rid of that. rnrnOn 9/26/06 had my one on one with Dr. Rabaza, read up to much on everything didn't have many questions for the doctor but he still created a conversation which caused me to ask certain questions. On this day, I spoke with Christy and asked if we would still be in time for my \"Rebirth\" close to my birthday. Everything had been going so smoothly I was sure to receive a let down soon. But--She was able to get me in for Oct 11th at 1:30pm in South Miami Hospital.rnrnThus far, they have been great...I will keep you posted!

I have had plenty of interaction with Dr Whitwell and his staff and they are ALL AWESOME and EXTREMELY HELPFUL!!!! rnMy first impression of Dr Whitwell was a very competent and personable doctor. My impression of Dr Whitwell did not change over time because he stayed constant in his care and attention. His staff also showed the same care and concern throughout the pre-op process all the way through to my surgery and hosiptal stay. Even after surgery their care and concern is unbelievable!!!