UW Health Surgical Weight Management Program Bariatric Center

My first impression of Dr Garren is that is he a very approachable person with whom I felt completely comfortable with. He is very friendly and knowledgeable and although I have only met with him once, I know that when I have my surgery on the 13th of October, I will be in the best of hands. His office staff is absolutely amazing and I really, really liked each and every one of them. They make you feel as if you have known them for a long time and are there to answer any questions or concerns you have. Their goal is to make sure you are very well informed and not feel nervous about the procedure, but at the same time give the honest truth and they have totally succeeded in my opinion. 10 out of 10 !!!
Dr Garren requires you to see him or his partner Dr Gould, 2 weeks after surgery, 6 weeks, 6months and yearly after that to make sure everything is going as it soon and to answer any more questions that you might have. He also attends the support groups which I find amazing as he is a very busy man but still makes time to be there.
He informed me about all the positives AND negatives including the risks with having surgery but I know I feel 100% happy and safe being in his care.
I will write again after I have had the surgery to update this and give my opinions about the actual surgery and after care although I know it is already going to be good !!

Dr. Garren and his colleague Dr. Gould are very approachable and helpful with regard to helping you through the process. Office staff were a bit rushed.
These doctors work side by side so that you have not one but two surgeons doing the procedure. I don't think you could be in better hands.
Aftercare is treated as an integral part of the whole process of surgery/weightloss/adjustment. The monthly support group is very helpful in getting support from peers and meeting new people with something in common with you. And the doctors actually attend the support groups! It's pretty easy to get questions answered by this group or on the message board through Meriter Hospital which Dr. Garren helps Moderate.

Dr. Garren (and all of the staff that I've met at UW-Health) is simply astounding. He clearly is passionate about what he does and eager to make a difference in this world. I went to an information session that he offered, and found him to be extremely approachable, down-to-earth, informative and basically a very nice human being.

He also moderates the Meriter hospital online discussion board for Gastric Bypass surgery, which really blows me away. Here he is, an extremely busy surgeon, and yet he still takes times to reply to people's questions and concerns online.

In person, he is very understanding and very understandable. I feel completely comfortable with his care and know that when he and Dr. Garren perfom my surgery that I will be in the best possible hands.

I have had the surgery and Dr. Garren was my doctor, I was really scared, because I am a single parent of 2 small boys and if something happened to me what would happen to them. I expressed this concern with Dr. Garren and told him he had to take great care of me, AND HE DID. I am doing great. I have only wonderful things to say about him and his staff and the professionalism that I have been treated with, which as an obese person, we all know usually does not happen to us, but they have been great.

Thanks DOC.

Tammy Coughlan

Dr. Michael Garren and teamate Dr. Jon Gould are two of the most skilled surgeons I have had the pleasure of being with. My first office visit was very professional and to the point, with the positive effects of the lap RNY surgery. The Negative effects including death and vomiting also spelled out clearly. Day of Surgery, i saw Dr. Garren in the room just before pre-op, in pre-op and in the operating room. very much professional, but cracking a few jokes with me as well

His office staff is vaulable, especially Jane Wilm, RN and the bariatric coordinator. She makes sure that the doctors are kept in their place, and makes sure everything moves smoothly for everyone. She is great. Other office staff including Randy is great and friendly as well.

The only negative is that I wanted everything to go faster, and it could not. When in reality, start to finish was two months.

I have a consult scheduled 12/08/03. I am looking forward to meeting Dr Garren as I have heard so many wonderful things about him.

Had my first consult three weeks ago and Dr. Garren and his partner Dr. Gould were warm and friendly and did not make me feel uncomfortable about my weight at all. Dr. Garren brought Dr. Gould in for the consult as Dr. Garren said that I would be a challenge to have the Rouen Y laprascopically done, due to my height. Dr. Gould believed it could be done with little risk of it becoming open. He gave me all of the benefits of the surgery plus the possible ill effects including death. I feel very comfortable with both doctors. Office staff is very supportive, but sometimes hard to get in contact with. Overall, I am very pleased with him, and his staff.

9/22/03 I had my first meeting with Dr. Garren today. He's very knowledgable & was very good about making sure that all of my questions & concerns were answered. He also made sure that I was aware of all of the risks involved with WLS even though he feels that I am an excellent candidate. His office staff & nurses were wonderful!

To start, Dr. Garren (and his partner Dr. Gould), is the first surgeon I have ever met that didn't make me feel uncomfortable. One of the beautiful things about his work, is that everything is done laporoscopically (when possible), thus making recovery very fast and painless (I stopped taking pain medication the day after surgery!). His bedside manner, and qualifications had me totally at ease. From the initial consultation with him, until my discharge from the hospital, he has done nothing but make me feel comfortable and secure with my decisions (include cracking jokes in the pre-op area of the surgical suite immediately before surgery). I would recommend him to anyone. His staff has been excellent with everything from getting pre-approval from the insurance company, to helping with post-op questions. The aftercare and followup from his offfice is superb; I have 2 week, 6 week, 6 month, and 1 year REGULAR scheduled follow-up appts. I would reccomend him and his staff to anyone interested in having the RNYGB.

He was open and honest about possible surgical complications due to other health problems. He and his staff laid everything out- both the good and the bad. Everything was explained in terms that I could easily understand.