Western Bariatric, AMC Bariatric Center

Originally, I was referred to Dr. Suh of Crown Bariatric. He was pleasant and confident. After my insurance company stopped working with his surgical group, I was referred to Dr. Douglas Krahn.

So far, I am very happy with the switch. From a personal standpoint, Dr. Krahn's office is much more practical for me. My OS's office was about 90 minutes from my house, while the support groups his office ran were about 45 minutes away. The new doctor's office is only 2 minutes away and the hospital were he performs the surgery and holds his seminars at is also 2 minutes from my home. This convienence is a huge blessing to me because it was such a struggle getting to see my OS.

His office staff are very supportive and friendly. After giving my information to one of the staff, I received the information package in the mail the next day. With my previous surgeon, it had taken months to get anything.

August 14th, 2004 Update***

I can not say enough about the staff of Western Bariatric. Sue, Beth, Sandy and all the others at WB are super supportive and have kept this experience from becoming a giant stress factory. Dr. Krahn's services are so much better than what I've experienced before with other offices. He has been professional, kind and honest. I would give him and his staff the highest rating I possibly could. A true 10 out of 10. A+
I'll add more after my surgery next week.

The Guy is great! I had visited with about 4 other surgeons over the last 3 years. And the very first meeting I went to I watched his slide show. I listened to him and I knew that he was the one I was going to go with. My 16 year old daughter told me after the meeting that he is the Dr for me! My impression of him has only gotten better over this whole process!! His office staff is just as nice if not better than he is! And that is saying a lot! If you have any questions about him please feel free to contact me!!
I believe that Dr Krahn truely has his heart in the right place about this surgery! He has an aftercare program he expects us to do our part for a healthy life. He explained all the risks that were involved. He listens...he jokes....he is honest....caring...and the list could go on!! He is by far the best to go with if your in this area. Glad he moved from Florida!! Sorry people in florida!!

I rate him at least 110!!

My first impression of him was how young he was. But his training, and better yet his experience made me feel much better. If you attend one of the first step seminars he is open to questions as well as a very informative presentation.I went twice, once with my mother and once with my husband.
He has a very structured pre care as well as after care and emphasizes right off, that if you aren't sure about permanantly changing your life style then maybe surgery is an option to consider for a later time. He does NOT push surgery for every body. He addresses the risks of surgery, the bad ones as well as the good:some are frightning.
How would I describe his staff? They treat me like I am the only patient the doctor has.
They go out of their way !!!!!!!
The only negative thing I can think of is that it took 11 months from my first information seminar till my surgery date, but I did have to get several medical clearances and I have IEHP.
Will add more after surgery........

at first i did not know if i would like him because he seemed very sure of himself. upon getting to know him better through the pre-op phase i found him to be the best doctor i have ever seen. his office staff is always very helpful and his assisstant is always there for me day or night. the hardest thing was that he wanted me to quit smoking before he would do the surgery. which i did and haven't smoked in over three months now thanks to dr. krahn. he is very sure of the way he wants to do things and the things you need to do to make it happen. he tries to keep everything going smooth, but he makes sure to let you know that you must do what is expected of you for everything to go well. he stresses the importance of support groups, future appointments for life!, and spiritual care. we have support groups once a month and i find those to be the most helpful. he also called me at home personally when i had a problem at home a couple of days after surgery. when we were discussing the risks for surgery, he was very up front about everything. there was no doubt in my mind about anything that could or would happen. as for how i would rate him, i have already stated that he is the best doctor i have ever seen, he is always there for his patients and he truly cares. and his surgical competence and bedside manner are both great.

My first impression was.. WOW and 6 months out and still feel the same way.
Staff has been there 100% and when it was time to do all the paper work. I just sat back and they did it all.
Dr. Krahn is a very caring Dr.
He does want all his patients to come to the monthly support meetings. I am in charge of the clothing exchange with Dr. Krahn's patients.

<font color="#9999FF"><b> He was impressive and I'm leary of doctors due to past history with them, so that is saying alot. His schooling residency and published writings are some of the best I've seen so far. (UC Davis, then 5 year surgical residency at LLUMC, Bariatric fellowship Florida, private practice bariatric group in florida, then on to becoming Medical director in Florida and now in CA)He was very friendly and personable as was his staff. They act like they truly care and are full of energy for this work. His program is different then others in that you have a group of ppl who are there to help and support you closely before and after for quite a while. Its not just a doctors office, its a comprehenvive lifestyle program and that is excellent. He is willing to take the time and effort to answer all questions and explain in detail what is to come. He is honest. He has only done around 20 surgeries since he started his practice in San Bernardino (as of this writing 4/08/04) but he comes from a Highly successful and renoun practice in Florida where he learned under one of the best in the field and had performed over 200 surgeries to date. His surgical competence, bedside manner and aftercare program are top notch and I have been searching for quite a while. He himself is well researched and studied in all bariatric surgery procedures and is honest about how he feels about them.
This is just my own opinion of him and others may not care for him or his way of doing things. The only things I feel are downfalls is that he has not been practing very long in California and that he is really tough about before and follow up program, but then that is also a good thing not to let you fall through the cracks and to make sure you are serious and willing to do whatever it takes to get healthy.</b>