UMC Center for Weight Loss and Bariatric Surgery Bariatric Center

I haven't had a chance to meet Dr. Baker just yet, but his staff has been great!

After meeting with Dr. Baker on the 19th of Feb., 2003, I felt very confident that I had made the correct decision to go with him. I instantly liked him. He is very matter of fact and tells you the truth, and does not make it pretty. I think that is very important with this type of surgery.I know that many haven't liked his abrutness, but like stated earlier, this is the type of surgery where you really need a Dr. that is going to tell you the way it is, and not just sugar coat everything. It is a life time of change. I would suggest him to anyone considering surgery.

Please email me if you really want to know about my experience with Dr. Baker.

Very soft spoken caring individual



Office Staff great!

I didn't like Dr. Baker's hospital visits... I felt he didn't have time to listen to my questions.. he wanted to say what he had to say and he would at times leave in the middle of a conversation.

He is a great surgeon...I had family and friends to give me "bed side support"!

Dr. Baker is very informative about risks and that this is a "life style change" not a "quick fix".

Surgical competence is awesome however... I would have liked a little better bedside manner... I think both are important.

My first impression of Dr. Baker was good. He is very professional, but really cares! He makes sure you know what you are getting yourself into by trying to talk you out of having the surgery. If he can't do that then he knows you are serious & treats you in a VERY caring way. He sets you down with a dietician who helps you know what to do after your surgery & he sees you in a month after surgery then evey three months until your first year is up. He also has a chat room for his patients. He made it clear that this was a complicated surgery & that he had only lost one patient after nine years of performing this surgery because she refused to get up & walk. Needless to say, I WALKED!!
Dr. Baker is in my opinion, the best. I have NOTHING negative to say about him & refer him to anyone who asks me. He works at Baptist Hospital in Little Rock & it is a very good hospital. All the nurses were kind & professional!

This is the BEST doctor to perform your surgery!! I work with several people that I have referred to Dr Baker after having my surgery almost 3 years ago. I had my surgery in Little Rock on December 28, 1999. NO COMPLICATIONS!! Lost 75lbs within 5 months and 100lbs all together. I weighed 241 before surgery and have been at 139 for 2 years now. THANK YOU!!

I met Dr. Baker finally at my wife's consultation. He struck me as someone who cares deeply about what he is doing. I was impressed by his record and willingness to tell people about the problems he's had as well as the successes. He VERY strongly emphasizes all aspects of aftercare. I am much more interested in surgery skills than bedside manner but felt that his bedside manner was good too. I am very pleased with my choice of surgeons so far I will update after my wife's surgery.

Actually, I will see Dr. Baker for the first time with regards to my WLS on 10/10/02. What really surprised me (and my husband) is that Dr. Baker did this surgery. You see, 5 years ago, I needed my gall bladder taken out on an emergent basis. I was lucky enough to have Dr. Baker be the surgeon on call at Baptist Hospital. I met him just before and a little after my surgery. This was totally my own luck that brought me to him the first time. Well, last year, my dad's gall bladder went south on him, and, because I was so impressed with Dr. Baker's competency as a surgeon, I requested him by name. The hospital called him and he did my dad's surgery as well. We were so grateful to have my dad in such skilled hands. Since then, my husband and I have been thoroughly researching WLS and have done this in stages. First we learned about the surgery itself, including but not limited to, side effects, results, types of procedures, etc. We have talked to people who have had WLS anywhere from 2 to 30 years out. Even those who have had serious post-op complications (30 years ago, the surgery was not very common), all said they would do it again in a heartbeat. Then the time came to research surgeons. We came across many and were pretty turned off by some whose presence on the web felt more like selling snake-oil or pipe dreams. We more appreciated seeing sites that had a balance of information about the pros and cons of the surgery. Because the web is so far reaching, we compared sites from MDs in different states as well. We truly wanted to feel as though we were getting the best surgeon, not just the best in Arkansas. In the course of our search, my husband found Dr. John W. Baker. He was telling me he saw a site of a doctor here in Little Rock who had a really good site and I needed to visit it. Well, when I realized that I knew this surgeon, felt very comfortable with his clinical skills as well as appreciated his bedside manner (Dr. Baker does not come off as the warmest, nicest, most touchy feely person you will ever meet, but he does come off as someone who truly cares about his patients and wants them to be educated whether the surgery is cholesystectomy or WLS). I have to say, a large part of my fears were put to the wayside. I don't know that many people have the opportunity to have themselves and a family member to go under the knife by their WLS surgeon for separate procedures prior to knowing or deciding WLS was the surgery for them. Additionally, Dr. Baker extends, on his website, for anyone with questions, to visit Becky in his office. She is 4 years post-op. I took him up on it. I visited with Becky for over an hour. She was so wonderful to talk to. My husband and I had already gotten so much information together, it wasn't so much the procedure and complications we talked about. We talked more about the emotion and reality of having the surgery. This really tied a lot of things in for us. Becky did answer the few technical questions for me and didn't hold back anything. I was so impressed at her caution, as well. Dr. Baker and his staff are not trying to sell the surgery. They truly want to make sure you are prepared for what you are going to do because this is a life change. To date, I have never felt as though Dr. Baker is doing this with the motivation of making money. His entire approach is aimed at helping people help themselves. I will post more as things happen.

I HAVEN'T SEEN HIM YET, BUT HAVE SPOKE WITH CHRISTY SEVERAL TIMES ON THE PHONE AND CORRESPONDED WITH BECKY BY E-MAIL A FEW TIMES! THEY ARE BOTH VERY NICE AND HELPFUL. I CALLED 8/14/02 AFTER RECEIVING MY APPROVAL LETTER TO SCHED AN APPTW/ DR, BAKER AND CHRISTY SAID I HAD TO HAVE RESULTS OF LAB WORK AS WELL AS RESULTS OF SLEEP STUDY BACK BEFORE SHE COULD MAKE ME AN APPT. GOT MY LAB BACK TODAY (8/15/02) FAXED THE RESULTS TO DR. BAKER. CHRISTY CALLED ME AND SAID THEY HAD AN OPENING FOR SURGERY ON OCT 7th. She also told me that my insurance was only gonna pay 60% since they were out of network and that I would have to pay $825.00 up front. My appt to see him is Sept 19th. I'll update after I see him and attend his seminar. I'm so excited and ready to be on the losing side!!!

9/20/02-UPDATE-
I had my appt/seminar yesterday with Dr. Baker, I was most impressed. He is very knowledgable and I feel confident that I will be in very good hands! He has done over 1600 RNY surgeries. He advises of all the possible risks and complications that can occur. He says WLS is only a tool and you have to be the one who works with this tool to achieve the best results. He actually tries to talk you out of the surgery for those who are having doubts. I have read some messages about him not having a good bed side manner, but I disagree fully. I thought he was very personable and was very eager to answer any questions that I had. He was a very genuine person. He gets straight to point and is very honest about the lifetime change that you are about to make. I liked all the office staff as well, they were all very nice and helpful. I would reccommend him to anyone interested in finding one of the best gastric bypass surgeons around!

Dr. Baker is a very very nice man, although he can be somewhat intimidating. He gives a 2-3 hour presentation to all of his prospective patients that is nothing except how hard one has to work after the surgery to be successful. He doesn't try to talk people into the surgery -- in fact, he tries to talk people out of it. He doesn't tolerate non-compliance, and he firmly beieves in the follow-up and after care visits. The dietician in his office also gives a 2 hour presentation that is incredibly informative and helpful.

I truly, 100%, positively feel that I'm in the best hands in the country with Dr. John W. Baker. Let me tell you this -- this man knows his stuff, is conducting research on every single case he has, and even presents on his results at the National Conference for Bariatric Surgeons. He even developed part of the procedure that he uses that serves to reinforce the stoma. He believes in the importance of vitamin levels and continually checking those levels to minimize the complications following the surgery such as hair loss, dehydration, etc.

He has performed the surgery over 1500 times and has only 2 deaths and 7 leaks. All of his statistics include his high risk patients.

I realize now that my success is up to me -- not up to him because he certainly knows what he is doing :-)