Southern Surgical Associates Bariatric Center

Dr. Chapman is a no nonsense person. He explained everything about the surgery. He explained all the benefits, and risks of laproscopic gastric bypass surgery. Dr. Chapman address the risks of surgery head-on. He and his staff greatly emphasized aftercare. Aftercare is well structured in their program. Dr. Chapman's staff are very caring and informative. I will have more to post as I make this journey. The morning after my surgery, Dr. Chapman was there to check on how I was feeling. He asked if I needed anything, had any questions and spoke with my parents who were there by my side the entire time. I have returned to Dr. Chapmans office three times since my surgery on March 19, 2003. Dr. Chapmans' surgical competence, bedside manner are Grrrrreatt! I love him and his staff! Sorry if there is nothing negative here but what can I say, I am 100% satisfied!

Dr. Chapman has been wonderful so far. Even though I have only had one visit with him so far. He made me feel very comfortable the mintute that he stepped into the room. He was very concerned that I understood every thing and made sure that I didnt have any questions. I will come back again after I see him again.

I really liked Dr. Chapman. He was very direct and to the point. He didn't pull any punches, and you know exactly where he stood. He was very professional and considerate. He answered every one of my questions and made me so at ease. I have no qualms at all about having him as my surgeon. His staff was very professional and seemed very well informed. His nurse Bobby Lou was a doll! She was so helpful and considerate. I feel I am in the very best of hands. My visit was very informative, they completely went over every detail about the surgery. Dr. Chapman even went so far as to show where the incisions would be on my stomach as he is doing laproscopic surgery. He went on the stress that he would be the one doing the surgery as it is a teaching hospital he wanted to assure me that it would not be a resident doing the operation but himself. His whole staff was absolutely wonderful. They are not there to play around, they are there to help us achieve the very best results we can, if you don't want to follow their advice then this is not the place for you to go. If you are serious and have every intention of following directions in the persuit of achieving your goals and weight loss dreams....then this is the place for you! The only thing that I would say was a negative thing would be his briskness. It's not meant to scare you needlessly, but he wants you to understand that this is major surgery. This is not a picnic in the park, it is serious and a lifetime change, its not a quick fix.

Since Dr. Cunningham is leaving in January, they have definately assigned me to William Chapman. I asked if I could "pick" a replacement for Dr. Cunningham, but it seems that I can't do that. I might be able to meet him in January when I get my first pre-op tests done. When I know more about him, I will let you know.

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I have been to see Dr Chapman now, as of January 28, 2002. I found him to be WONDERFUL. He shoots straight from the hip, informative, kind, warm, and most of all he does not make you belittled for being fat.
I will report more later when I have more dealings with him.

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I met with Dr. Chapman on May 7, for a pre-surgical discussion. I still find him straight forward, very informative, and still kind and respectiful. I will be having surgery on July 5th.

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July 2nd. I went for my pre-op tests today.
It was a very long day. I have continuous pain in my feet, knees, and back. Lots of walking around. Let me state again LOTS of walking around. Every place I went, they had no chairs big enough for my big butt. I am not talking about the waiting rooms, I am
speaking of places where you gave your insurance card. Large wheelchairs were very
scarce as well. I nearly fainted and had to
throw a fit to get somebody to help me. In as much pain as I was in, they left me standing there in the hospital while they looked around for a wheelchair big enough. I intend to complain to the director of the hospital to see if changes can be made.

There was some good news. All my tests were
very good. My EKG, Bloodwork, and chest x-ray. I am set and ready to go for surgery on Friday, July 5th.

I HAVE HAD A CHANGE IN SURGEON - PLEASE READ ENTIRE POST ********************
6/02
I met Dr. Olchowski on 4/24/02 for my initial consult. I found him to be very nice. I also thought his staff was nice and helpful until I started making phone calls to follow up. That is all I will say about that. I stayed on my insurance company and got approval 1 week after the information was sent out from Dr. O's office. Before I could get a surgery date something happened (I'm not sure what) and he lost his surgical priveleges at New Hanover Medical Center where he preforms his surgeries. I have since had a consult with 2 other surgeons. The first is Dr. Leo Davidson in Fayetteville, NC at Village Surgical Associates. His staff, especially Melinda, were WONDERFUL. She was sympathetic to my situation and personally asked Dr. Davidson to work me in and he agreed. The same week I was fortunate enough to get a consult with Dr. Chapman at Pitt Memorial Hospital in Greenville, NC. Bobbi Lu is WONDERFUL there as well. I like both doctor's and they were both most cooperative and sympathetic to my siutation (that I already had my approval) and they both agreed to work me in. Then I had to make the decision of which one I was going to continue with. My decission was made based completely on who had the most expereince with the Lap proceedure. Dr. Davidson in Fayetteville preforms other surgeries laproscopically (sp) but he is only now beginning to preform the WLS lap. On the other hand, Dr. Chapman has been preforming this operation lap for a few years. I have not had my surgery yet, but I hope to get a date in 7/02. I will keep all posted. In the mean time, anyone who is looking for a doctor, I would highly recommend either of these practices. Dr. Chapman in Greenville is normally about a 1 year wait for an appointment, and Dr. Davidson is normally about a 6 month wait. I was fortunate and they made an exception for me because I had my approval already (from insurance), and because I explained I was on COBRA continuation coverage and I am starting a new job in July. I didn't want to miss out if my new insurance would not cover the proceedure. Please feel free to email me if you are interested in more details of my journey.

I have spoke with his nurse Bobbie and she has been wonderful. I have my intial visit with him on 05/16/02

05/16/02
Well, I met Dr Chapman and his staff today and I was very impressed. He works along with Dr. MacDonald. He was very straight forward and to the point and answered all my questions. All I have to do now is wait for my insurance approval and then I can have my surgery. Please pray for me that it wont take long !!

06/06/02
I LOVE DR. CHAPMAN. As a nurse I can tell you that there aren't many doctors left out there like Dr. Chapman. He is wonderful and I am very excited !!

I haven't spent a lot of time with the actual doctor (who does). Even after surgery, I only saw him the morning I was leaving the hospital. None over the long weekend. However, I think he has done a wonderful job and he does answer any of my questions that I need answered. Don't ever go to a doctor's appt thinking you will be out of there quickly. They overbook. Unfortunately, they also see fit to hold their support group meetings at 4 in the afternoon which is convenient for them, but not for a working person.

Other than these complaints, the office staff is really nice and does return most phone calls.