The Surgical Weight Loss Center Bariatric Center

I have my 1st consult scheduled with Dr. Gonzales on May 7th 2003 DR. Gonzales was a very nice warm person. He made me feel very comfortable. His whole staff is great.

I have only had my consultation with Dr. Gonzales so far, but after that first meeting I would have to say that he is a very honest and up front person. He told me of the benefits, but he also totally explained the risks.
I also like the fact that he has a complete and structured plan for before and after surgery.
The office staff was very personable and helpful. The are very good at answering or finding answers to your questions and always willing to spend time with you.
I know nothing yet concerning bedside manner but will quickly inform you as I learn!!!

It's now the 12th of July and I have had my surgery and my wonderful opinion of Dr. Gonzales has only strengthed. He was very polite and personable. He came in everyday after surgery and sat right down and spent time with me. Incredible. I think he's the greatest. His staff has been very supportive and I would highly recommend him to anyone looking into this surgery.

I was very impressed when I first met him. He was very well mannered and funny at the same time.His office staff was just as nice as he was. They greeted you with a smile, and a warm hello.I have no complaints with anyone from this office. Dr.G is very involved in your after care,he lets you know up front that this is a lifetime relationship between you. He also offers a support group that you a required to go to once before surgery and then after as much as possible. He lets you know what the risks are what you are likely to do after the surgery,and what his states are. He has a 1%death rate and 2%complication rate. All in all on a scale from 1 to 10 I would rate him a 20. I was very impessed. I think that both surgical competence and bedside manner are important. I seriously didn't have one bad thing to say about Dr.G.

He is a very kind man. Does not mince words, tells you everything upfront.

No change yet in my impression.

Dr. G has the MOST wonderful office staff. They are kind and understanding, not judgemental.

He's smart, funny and he REALLY wants to help people.

He has a VERY structured before and aftercare!

He addressed the risks with me straightforward.

On a scale of 1-10...I'd give him a 100!

Both are great. So what if they are a great doctor surgically, if they can not talk to you and show humanity, they have nothing.

My only negativity is that I didn't find Dr. G sooner. I wish I had not wasted my time with Dr. Robert Rutledge and his staff.

****Some recent developments must be considered by any patient considering using Doctor Gonzales as a surgeon*****..Doc G had stopped doing any surgeries for a 3-4 month period (Early months of 2003) with very little explaination to his patients...his office staff will only say that it is due to "medical reasons"...with little information from his office...rampant rumor and conjecture has led to quite a bit of speculation and even some investigations into why he stopped seeing patients so suddenly. Reports of loss of insurance and loss of surgical privileges at Forsyth hospital have surfaced, perhaps with little validity, but they do exist! Until Doc G. clears this up there will be a lot of uncertainty about what really happened. He has started back with surgeries the first week of May******(the following are my original comments).... I have finally chosen Dr. Eduardo Gonzales from Winston Salem, NC as my surgeon. Dr. G. was the second Doctor I researched/contacted. I initially was interested in Dr. Rutledge in Durham but was put off by his brusque manner and willingness to only operate on "easy" patients. On my first visit to Dr. Gonzales he immediately burst my bubble about having R-NY done laproscopically after initially saying over the phone that he felt he COULD do one on me! I left his office feeling a little lied to and definetly disappointed. I then considered and researched Dr. Champion in Atlanta. He still maintains that he CAN and HAS done lap surgery on men weighing as much as 500 lbs ! His office seems VERY professional and would have been my choice, however, he wanted $4000 "upfront" money to cover HIS costs that he was afraid my insurance wouldn't cover (usual,customary etc). Sorry Doc, I just work for the State of NC, I don't OWN it !!
I then sat down and did a very concise list of what the pro's and con's were of each surgeon were. Dr. Gonzales came out on top for the following reasons.
1) I live near Winston Salem, making all follow up visits easier and making the actual hospital stay easier for my family!
2) He didn't BS or sugar coat anything. He explained everything to me and never rushed me.
3) Although he his reletively inexperienced in WLS compared to some of the "studs" on this board...THAT actually allows me to get the surgery done sooner. He has only about a 2 week wait as opposed to some of these guys that you have to wait a year for!
4) I researched his professional and legal status and came up with nothing even smelling like a problem. He has no legal judgements against him and has a solid reputation. (You might be shocked if you check out the lawsuits against some of these guys..public records folks!).
5) Heck, I just liked him!! He's a young guy (40's) with a good attitude. Gotta have that rapport with your Doctor. he said that after the surgery we would be "bound together" for life. He takes follow up seriously.
That's about it folks....hoped it helps someone !
Tim

I realy liked Dr.G he was very straght foured with all my ? the staff has been great I have been buggen them to death I got my aprovel on 2/14/03 I ceep on calling them thay are haveing to redo all of his app.because he won't be back until May sometime Thay are very adved about after care thay have a greet program and a greet soport meating every second Tuesday of the mounth everyone is invited He told me all the pro.and cons.about it all I think he is a great surgon and I am willing to wate a little longer for him I realy don't wont anyone else to do my surgery.

Most impressive MD. Concerned - friendly- didn't talk in laymans terms - explained everything from start to finish. Spent time with me on my return visits - answered my questions. Sweet and very pleasant to look at.

I have not personally met Dr. Gonzales yet.
The support group meeting that I attended was wonderful. The post patients and current patients could not say enough about him as a generous person and doctor. His staff and Dr. Smith (Psychologist) were awesome.I believe a true man is not what he is taught in medical school( anyone can go to school)or what he may want people to think of him, but the honest respect of his patients (even some with side effects)(they all said they would have the surgeries again), daily co-workers and peers of other doctors. I will be a honored to met Dr. Gonzales.

Dr. Gonzales is a very caring surgeon. Very professional & willing to answer questions. Must ask questions! Office staff is great. Dr. G. did emphasize all risks vocally & on paper. Surgical competence super. Bedside manner good. Could give more information, but probably doesn't want to overwhelm the patient after surgery. Cared a great deal about healing properly.

my first impression was that he care for all his patients.It has'nt change.They are very helpfull and nice.I have not found anything that I dislike about him.He is a good dr. and has a very good bed side manner.He stesses that alot for life.yes hae has a structure after care program.He adress the risks very strongly but by that point I felt very comfortable with him.form 1 to 10 I would give Dr. gonzales a 20.the surgical competence and his bedside manner are both GREAT!!!!