Northside Hospital of Atlanta Bariatric Center

I was very impressed with Dr. Richard from the very first, and I am glad to say that impression hasn't changed. He is extremely professional and very knowledgeable.
The office staff is helpful. I did have some dissatisfaction with the staff returning calls and were slow following up with my other doctors. This was over a year ago, and I understand that alot of the office staff has changed and hopefully improved.
The aftercare is very important to this program and this is constantly stressed. There is a structured aftercare program. One thing that really impresses me is they are constantly working to improve their program and are constantly working to upgrade it.
Dr. Richard did review all the risks that were involved and was very upfront about possible complications.
Overall, I would rate him as an eight or nine out of a possible ten.
He was very good, both surgically competent and a good bedside manner.

During my initial visit with Dr. Hart I felt a great deal of confidence. His staff is very friendly an efficient. I am looking forward to my surgery date,

Dr. Hart seems to know his stuff. He was little-boyish shy, very friendly, and warm. He does not put on airs. I feel realy good about my choice. He was very thorough with his initial presentation in our group of 5 people. After which, we went went into individual rooms and he did a general exam. He ask many health questions and ordered all kinds of test to be made.

After his exam the nurse came in and drew blood (extremely experienced, zero pain). She advise that Amanda would be in next to review insurance/financial information.

Amanda didn't come in but another staff person did saying that Amanda was tied up with another patient. She handed me all the orders for the testing and gave me a folder with some general information sheets in it and said I was free to go.

All the staff that I spoke with were very friendly and extremely busy. I got the feeling that everyone there was very competent of handling their area of expertise.

The only negative of my visit is that I still do not know about the financial end of the surgery. On my next visit I will make sure and meet with Amanda.
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UPDATE:
04/26/04 Amanda submitted my paperwork to BCBS of GA/PPO for approval.
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05/10/04 APPROVAL!!!!! And it only took a couple of weeks. Incredible!!!! Surgery date of July 6, 2004.

Dr. Richard is one of the most caring, factual, surgeons, that I have ever been in contact with. He listens to everything, no matter how silly, or whatever. I am glad he was my surgeon.
Dr Richard is a caring person, not just a great physican. After surgery, he calls just to check up on you.

At first I was so nervous, and didn't know what to think. Dr. Hart seemed a bit shy to me, but then after attending his support groups,I became more comfortable with him. He is very intelligent, and up front. He didn't make me feel that he was superior to me just because he was the doctor. In otherwards not one bit of arrogance did I see. He is very polite and knows his stuff. There is no doubt in my mind that he IS the best qualified doctor in the area, if not the country. I am so glad that I took the time to research, and change doctors two times before I made my final and best decision that I could have possibly made. Amanda, the bariatric cordinater is very calm and positive. She was very professional,and confident. I would highly reccomend John's Creek Surgery. Dr. Christopher Hart,PC

I first met Dr. Richard and Dr. Proctor at the Seminar I attended in July 2003. I was very impressed with their attitudes about obesity and how they could help us. I went to my pre-op appointment and I thought the office staff was very nice. The nurse went out of her way to make me feel comfortable. Dr. Richard explained everything to me and was willing to answer any questions I had.

The thing I would have to say I like best about Dr. Richard and Dr. Proctor is that they seem to be down to earth kind of people. I have worked with other doctors and some of them can be rather arrogant but I did not find this to be true with them.

They realy emphasize aftercare and have a wonderful aftercare program. There are support group meetings and a dietician we can meet with whenever we need too.

I would give Dr. Richard a 10 and I WAS in very good hands with him and the hospital staff. My surgery took a hour longer than it sould have due to a lot of adhesions that had to be removed but He did not give up on doing it LAP and I am glad because I know I will heal faster. His bedside manner was wonderful and I would recommend him to everyone.

If you don't let his office staff run you off, you will find a wonderful surgeon! Dr Hart is a very professional and thourough surgeon. I am very satisfied with my decision to use Dr. Hart as my surgeon for my WLS.

I feel very confident using him.

Dr Hart is very professional, easy going, but has a bit of reserve. Once you get past that, he is wonderfully easy to talk with and seems very concerned with his patients well being. He is very knowledgable about the latest advances and research in the area of bariatrics. He is also very upfront with the fact that once he does the surgery, the final sucess is dependent on your compliance, follow up care, and adherence to the dietary guidelines you are given. All risks and benefits were discussed in a 'class' type setting and then again one on one with him at both the initial visit and just pre-op, and another 'any last questions or concerns?' in the OR just before surgery.

I would have to say that in a lot of ways, I was a 'poster child' for this surgery in that I had no problems at all during my hospital stay. No problems with anesthesia, swallow study, no nausea, pain not that bad, no need for the drain he left in, healed well, everything has gone amazingly well. My brother and sister in law (both MD's) have been amazed at how well I did and continue to do. So I think Dr Hart's surgical competence is superior, and I find him very easy to approach and discuss things with. It is hard to find both bedside manner and surgical competence in one package!

His bariatric coordinator is wonderful and very efficient with paperwork and getting everything together for submission. She reported back to me regularly on progress of reports and the insurance approval process. The office always has a calm atmosphere, even when you are told 'it is a crazy day today!' and paperwork always seems to be readily at hand and not misplaced for days on end, like in some offices. I personally find his nurse the hardest person to talk with, I find that I am defensive and frustrated when I talk with her and feel I am being talked down to. I find her personality somewhat abrasive, but this is a very small thorn in a beautiful bouquet of roses!

Due to the fact that I traveled from out of state to Dr Hart, any structured aftercare outside of his f/up visits, I do locally and have no knowledge of any programs he has available in the Atlanta area.

I thought and prayed long and hard about whether I should have the surgery sooner and have Dr. Williams do it, or wait and have Dr. Champion do it. Then, it just happened that a friend of mine (I didn't know she was working toward having gastric bypass) had a laparoscopic RNY, and Dr. Williams did hers. She was so impressed and pleased with him, that I made up my mind to have my surgery sooner and let Dr. Williams do it. I am SO glad I did. I really can't say enough good things about him. My surgery was scheduled for Jan. 9, 2004. In early December I got a call from my case manager at my insurance company telling me that beginning Jan. 1, 2004, anyone having WLS will be responsible for an additional $5000.00 co-pay. I was very upset and disappointed. I called Dr. Williams' office, and the helpful woman on the phone calmed me down, and said she'd see what she could do. She said she'd speak with Dr. Williams and see if he had any suggestions. She told me that it would be Monday before she'd get back with me because Dr. Williams had already left for the day. (this was on a Friday afternoon). I got off the phone with her thinking I would be really upset the whole weekend, and then proceeded to call a couple of my friends just to vent. About 10 minutes went by, and the woman from Dr. Williams' office called me back and told me that I needed to be there Dec. 18 at 8am for my pre-op, and that I would have surgery on Dec. 19! She'd spoken to Dr. Williams and told him of my situation, and he said he would work me in. Needless to say, I absolutely ADORE him. He actually cared enough to do an extra surgery that day just so I (who he didn't know from Adam - I'd never met him before) wouldn't have to pay this ridiculous insurance company an extra five grand.
Dr. Williams was very thorough in explaining the surgery, and explained the risks, as well as what to expect post op. After care is emphasized by the whole Videoscopic Institute staff, and about 1 hour of my pre op appointment was dedicated to after care teaching.
Dr. Williams has a great bedside manner, and did a good job of reassuring my mother who was very scared and worried. His manner at our first encounter put me very much at ease.
My surgery was very uneventful. I had little pain, and my scars are very small.
My overall rating of Dr. Williams: on a scale of 1-10, he is a 15.