The Surgical Weight Loss Institute of Kansas City Bariatric Center

He didn't look like I expected him to. He was a little younger than I thought he would be. I feel comfortable with having him as my surgeon. He seems knowledgeable. His nurse Nancy is great! She is just as nice as can be and is very helpful! They feel strongly about aftercare. He also wants his patients to do the leg exercises they show you at the consult. He went through the pros/cons of surgery and touched on the gallbladder. He does not remove it unless it is absolutly necessary during the GBS. I would reccommend him to everyone!

My first impression of Dr. De La Torre was that he was an extremely competent surgeon and a pioneer in laproscopic surgery. He and his staff have put together a program that leaves no stone unturned. The information I received before submitting my information was extremely helpful in my decision to proceed with surgery. The Pre-Op meeting covered both nutritional and medical information related to the surgery, as well as a tape recorded discussion of the risks involved. Some people have said this is odd. I believe it is a very intelligent thing to do in today's litigious society. We were also told that Dr. De La Torre may or may not be following up with us in the hospital. This was the case for me, I was seen by another surgeon from his office, who answered all my questions. It would have been better for me to have seen him personally, but I can't complain that my care was diminished because of it. My recommendation is to ask him any questions when he is in front of you because the next time you see him might be at your first follow-up visit.

His office staff was extremely hard to reach prior to my Pre-op meeting. Once I had a surgery date though, I have had no problems reaching them. They have been easier to reach than my personal physician's staff.

The aftercare program starts before surgery. The nutrition guide provided has been well thought out and has been extremely helpful in the weeks since surgery. They recommend attending the Bariatric Surgery Support Group and say the success rate is much better with regular attendence. I live a state away from his office and although it would be easier for me to follow up with a local physician, they require the follow-ups be with them. I appreciate that.

I did a lot of research before selecting a surgeon to perform my surgery. I am more secure with the work I did and the decision I made each and every day. There is nothing about my experience with Dr. De La Torre or his staff that would prevent me from recommending him for this or any other surgery. His surgical competence was great. The bed side manner was a little reserved.

Very conscientious - makes sure that you know all the facts - eager to answer all of your questions - wants you to be as informed about your procedure as possible.

I have a date for surgery, and I haven't talked with Dr Scott, on day of consult he was called to emergency surgery, consult with intern who works with him. This is a new program at UM, went very well, very informative and learned alot. After care is HIGHLY stressed, very important, asked to sign a contract to make and keep after care appointments, take supplements, etc. Very structured program care. Can not stress enough the importance of you and your part of your after care, YOU HAVE TO DO YOUR PART!!! During the class, about 12 of us, we talked to program coordinator, a wls patient of Dr Scott (RN of 13yrs.), nutritionist, excercise guru,LOL-talked about the proper kinds of excercise and the proper way to perform them, psych Dr.(she also wls patient of Dr Scott), informed us of mental changes, challenges, and preventive measures to ensure success. All asked ?, and answered in a very professional manner, not intimidating at all, professional but very open and explained in detail all answers. At end of session, Dr De la Torre (sp) came in and explained all possible complications, their patient stistics, after care, etc. Very competent surgeons, I KNOW I am in the VERY BEST OF HANDS going into this surgery, no fear!!! This is in my own opinion, and will update after surgery on 2/28.

I didn't meet Dr. Scott. I met Dr. De La Torre, his partner, at my pre-op appt. He was somewhat matter of fact, maybe even a little cold, but-IMO-his demeanor made sense for the appt and the kind of questions I was asking. I think he just didn't want to be warm-fuzzy and cheering on the surgery when the reality is there are risks to consider. I think things would have been better had there been more support up until this point. I think, in the future, others will have that. Right now, the program is new at this hospital so there are not support groups. I have not seen a nutritionist or physical therapist. And, naively, I have not been trying to lose weight since I decided to do this because I thought losing weight before surgery was not a good idea. And, I thought yo-yoing was bad (I had just had a big gain before deciding to go for the surgery) so, anyway, I found out in the pre-op that I -in fact- need to lose weight and should have been. So, I think this kind of information as well as emotional support would be better to have during the months before. I did go to a seminar with Dr. Scott several months ago. I didn't meet him but did watch him speak. He and De La Torre both seem extremely knowledgeable, have good reputations and a great deal of experience, so I think I am in good hands.




Feb. 5, 2005: Update to thoughts about surgeons and this program, University of Missouri Bariatric. First of all, let me say that I am extremely grateful for the skill and knowledge of my surgeons. However, I do want to caution others about this overall program. I hope that it improves with time, because it is seriouslly lacking at the present time. It is new so maybe this will improve. I educated myself before the surgery and have had to continue to as there is very little formal support and education offered. Here are some examples. 1.) They just, this month, started a once a month support group and it is at 4pm, an inconvenient time for most. 2.) I never met with a nutritionist until after my surgery in the hospital. She is a hospital nutritionist, not specific to this program. I have e-mailed her and she is very nice and has been helpful. But I think as many surgeries as they are doing, it would make sense for there to be a nurtitionist that is part of the program, specializes in this area and meets with patients regularly (maybe in groups) before and after the surgery. 3.) I would have had no idea what I was getting into if I had not educated myself. I think it would be highly possible for someone inappropriate or unprepared for this surgery to slip through, because there really is not enough focus on preparing and screening and presurgery education. There is a psych eval required, but I think there should be more. 4.) Information has been disorganized and frequently one handout they have offered has contradicted information on a different one of their handouts. 5.)They do have a nurse who is willing to answer questions and will seek out information if she does not have it on hand. I am not sure if she is fulltime, but I know she only commutes into the clinic twice a week as she lives a few hours away. I think it would be ideal to have a nurse, office/program coordinator, and nurtritionist who were fulltime and regularly in the clinic, on a daily basis. I cannot understand with the number of surgeries they are doing why this is not possible. It seems like that would be fundable. But the University Hospital works in mysterious ways, so who knows. Liability wise, I think the surgeons would be doing themselves a favor to have a better program which leads me to my last criticism...6.) The atmosphere of the program is chaotic and at times confusing. Some important bits of information that greatly effected whether I was successful or not, I have had to seek out myself. The coordinator, Kassie, always sounds like she is out of breath and she talks a mile a minute and seems frustrated when people try to slow her down and clarify what she is saying. I have noticed this both times I was in the waiting room for follow up appts as well as when I was there for pre-op. There has always been a patient upset and she has been talking fast, and I have always had the sense that if she would quit cutting them off for a two minutes and listen to their quetions, it would be resolved quicker. But she is so into trying to shut them down that she actually prolongs the conversation. I experienced this with her first hand as well. I was trying to ask her a question on the phone before my surgery, and she just kept cutting me off saying, "You just have to be patient." I guess she just assumed I was asking about getting the date set when in reality, that was not my question. I finally gave up. I think issues like this are a big deal liability wise, because misunderstandings and misinformation are obviouslly dangerous when dealing with this type of surgery and recovery. I would encourage anyone in this situation to be vigilant and be an advocate for yourself and seek clarity and answers. Having shared all these concerns, I would still recommend these surgeons and I would use them again if I had to do it all over again. They are world-reknowned and very experienced and have great reputations. But... I would definitely encourage anyone who is going to use them to 1.) Build your own support system 2.) Research carefully and educate yourself before surgery and continue afterwards, and 3.) Be assertive and persistent when you have questions for them or need clarification

He is very knowlegable. He teaches other surgeon on how to do the surgery.


no

very informative

I haven't found anything wrong yet.



very strong

yes

very much

10

both

I found my first meeting with Dr. de la Torre to be very informative. He let me ask questions and answered them in a way that was easy to understand and straight forward. He was very careful to discuss the risks involved and made sure I understood them. His nurse Nancy also went over the same material and requirements of his program. She was also very easy to talk to. She is the one I deal with most of the time.

I had a Lap RNY and am VERY pleased with the results. I have very minimal scaring and few complications, none serious and have lost over 120 lbs. I think this speaks volumes about Dr. de la Torre's skill and experitse. I can not address his bed side manner since he doesn't do follow up. He has co-workers do the follow up. I will see him for the first time since the surgery at my 18 month check up.

I don't think this clinic has as much emphasis on after care (support) as some clinics I researched but because I have such a strong support system that I wasn't worried about that. Some one who needs a lot of emotional support from outside their family might want to discuss that need with Nancy.

I have not doubted my decision to have Dr. de la Torre do my surgery at any time. I have been more than pleased with the way things have gone. My only regret is that I waited as long as I did to have it done!

Have not met with Dr. De LA Torre or Dr. Scott yet. Kassie and Lindsey are WONDERFUL!!! Very helpful in everyway. If they can do anything at all to get an approval you can bet they will.

I had my pre-op appt with Dr. Scott on Jan 12th, my first impression of him was great, very nice, patient and he was in no hurry to leave the room, he is very upfront about any and all risks involved but also very reassuring and confident. He is very proud of all of his patients and takes pride in being able to give them "a tool" to work with for their WL journey. He said "this isn't a cure but a tool for you to use." I wouldn't hesitate to recommend anyone to this facility and these Dr's, they have a wonderful staff and make you feel great about yourself just the way you are.

he was very nice and truthful

Dr. De La Torre is great, he appears very confident without being arrogant and his statistics speak for themself. He has an extremely busy practice, but took time to answer all of my questions during my pre-op visit. Nancy, the RN coordinator, is one of the most wonderful human beings I have ever had the pleasure to know. She truly cares about people, is efficient and sensitive to the emotions involved in being morbidly obese and choosing WLS. She is an absolute asset to the program.