A. Joseph Cribbins III Bariatric Surgeon MD

Dr. Cribbins is great. Very handsome too!!! His office staff is wonderful.

I picked Dr. Cribbins based on feedback on this site. I read the info for all of the local drs and his patients all seemed to be very pleased. It was a long wait to get in to see him and then I had to wait 2 more months for my insurance to change from UHC from Cigna. Once I notified them of my change in insurance, they sent a letter to the company within days. I look forward to him being my surgeon. I have a lot of faith in him.

I havent dealt with DR Cribbens much yet.When I met him he seemed easy to speak to and had a sense of humor.I had a doctor friend check him out and he is highly respected by his coworkers and has an excellent reputation.

I have had more dealings with Melinda, his assistant.While I have read negative comments about her a I have to say I found her very friendly, patient and helpful.There was a mixup with me that caused her more work and she was very nice about it.

He is young and slender, very business like.
This was the first meeting, I have waited 4 months for this it was for 9:00AM, his staff took our paper work and money for the office visit about 9:40 Dr. Cribbins came out into the visitors waiting room and proceeded to explain the 3 different types of surgery he and his partener do. What were the disadvantages of each surgery, recovery time, weight loss averages, etc. We were then taken in the back for a one on one, he reintroduced himself, opened the chart and said my I shoukld lose about 60% of the overweight pounds I have. What type of surgery was I considering, and what my insurance was. When I told him Aetna POS, he said they are the worst, hands down. The insurance people would want my mwedical records for the last 5 years. and that they turn patients down more often than any other.
My heart has been broken ever since. I have been like this all my life and am beginning to feel like there will never be an end. I am very tired.

Aftercare is mentioned very briefly, did discuss thee risks of all 3 types.
I suspect having a bedside manner is nice but surgical skills are what we will have to live with afterwards...

9/14/02 I called for an appointment the first week of March and received an appointment for May 28 at 9:30 AM. I arrived at 9 AM and I was very glad I did as it was a group meeting and the first person to sign in was the first person to see the doctor. The presentation did not start until 10:15 as that gave the late comers plenty of time to fill out all their paperwork. Dr. Cribbins described the different surgeries he performs and the features and benefits of the different surgeries. He answered a few questions and then had us called in individually. I saw Dr. Cribbins for approximately 15 minutes. He asked which surgery I wanted to have and why I thought that was best for me. He described the surgery again with it pros and cons and answered my questions. He told me he should not have any problems getting approval from United Health Care and told me someone would contact me once they had heard from the insurance company.

I closely monitored the United Heath Care insurance website and I discovered when they approved my surgery. I waited three days and contacted Dr. Cribbins office on July 19. They had received my approval “but had not had time” to contact me yet. They gave the name and number for the psychologist, Dr. Whitehurst and told me I needed to make an appointment with him before they scheduled my surgery. I made my appointment with Dr. Whitehurst for the first date available, August 5th. The appointment consisted of about 20 minutes of discussion and an hour and one half of taking a 550 question psyhc test. Dr. Whitehurst called me with positive results the next day and told me next I would hear from Dr. Cribbins’ office.

By Friday, August 9, I had not heard from Dr. Cribbins’ office so I called and talked to Reuben. He told me there were four people to schedule before me, but my surgery should be the last week of September and someone would call me next week. No one called. I called again on 16th and 23rd and was told the same thing by Teri. I still heard nothing. I called on August 30 and talked to Reuben who told me the office manager had a serious illness and they had not scheduled any surgeries in a month. I told him I sympathized with their situation, however, I owed my own company and I needed to have a better idea as to when my surgery would be so I could start making arrangements. He told me he would call me next week, my surgery would be the first week of October, but he would call me with the actual date and pre-op test dates. Guess what? By Friday, September 6th no one had called. I called yet again and Jeri, the office manager answered. She did not have a date but told me it would be mid-October. She promised someone would call with a date.

On Monday, September 9th at 12:59 PM, Melinda called and left a message on my voice mail that they finally received approval from my insurance company (a big lie, they received it on July 12, 59 days ago!) and I needed to make an appointment with the physiologist, leaving his information. She called back at 1:42 PM realizing her mistake. She told me I finally have a date! October 22 at 7:30 AM. She told me she had not scheduled my pre-op testing and would call me back with that information.

It's now Saturday, September 14th and I got a letter today with my pretesting scheduled for October 15th at 7:30 AM. Dr. Cribbins an Abdominal Sonogram, Upper GI, Labs, EKG, and Chest X-rays. I have a pre-op appointment for October 21st at 1 PM and I am to report for surgery at 5:30 AM on the 22nd. Everything is in writing to post on my frig!

10/25/02 I'm home!!! Dr. Cribbins was fabulous. He came in and visited with me and my husband before surgery, explained what was going to happen and answered last minute questions. The surgery only took two hours and he talked to my husband afterwards. Dr. Cribbins visited me Wednesday and Thursday morning and removed my nose tube on Thursday afternoon. He remained in contact with my nurses and he was easy to reach when needed. He came by Friday and I had been off my narcotics for 24 hours, my stats were great, I had walked for 30 minutes straight and I had eaten four meals. He is so nice and has awesome bedside manner!

12/05/02 I had my six-week check up today. Dr. Cribbins was impressed with my 46lbs loss (on his scale with clothes). He was cheerful, positive and personable as always and reassured me everything was going great. He reminded me I need at least 500 calories a day and encouraged me to try to eat more chicken and fish. This is my last scheduled visit, but he told me he will always be there if I need him and I am more than welcome to pop in and visit and show off my new body whenever I like. He definitely grows on you visit after visit. Even though I had issues with his office staff, I highly recommend him and would go through it again with him holding the knife!

03/11/03 I called today and talked to Melinda about my concern for losing too much so quickly (104 lbs in 20 weeks). She told me when I hit my ideal weight (160lbs) if I don't hit a plateau to call and make a follow up appointment with Dr. Cribbins. She told me I should have hit a plateau by now and I told her I have hit small ones that I was able to break with in days by changing or increasing my exercises. She questioned my protein and water intake and I verified that I still vomit occasionally, but I drink ample water and I eat protein with every meal. I was happy with the resolution and I look forward to losing the next 14 pounds.

06/09/03 Since I am now NORMAL I popped in on Dr. Cribbins to show off my new body! (He did say stop by anytime during that last office visit...didn't he?) Well, he was not in, but the office staff was amazed at my results! They pulled my chart and took new pictures, don't I wish they would just throw that first one away! They promised to show him the new me. They were so friendly, I almost feel bad about being hostile about the surgery date...almost! Their door really is open if post ops need anything so don't hesitate to keep in touch!

Dr. Cribbins is very interested in helping. I have a lot of questions for him and he is always very patient with me. I never feel like he is rushing in and then out of the office. At first I thought he looked like he was 12, but now I can tell he knows his stuff. His office staff is also great!

1/19/03 *** I made an appointment with Dr. Cribbins. I see him next month. ** Dr. Cribbins is a very educated doctor. I felt very comfortable talking with him freely and I didn't feel rushed. Dr. Cribbins comes very highly recommended from my peers at the hospital.<br>
8/2003 ** I had my surgery and Dr. Cribbins did a wonderful job. I have had no problems and am loosing weight like I should. Each time I see Dr. Cribbins he is so cheerful and positive. His staff worked hard for me to get this surgery and I thank them from the bottom of my heart :)

I met with Dr. Cribbins today 11-13-03 he is a very young looking doctor but he knows his stuff when it comes to bariatric surgery,he stressed the risks of the surgery,and he showe diagrams of how the surgery would be done his office staff was friendly ( Belinda ) I rate Dr Cribbins a 10

Dr. Cribbins was very nice. He explained the 3 typical procedures well. He was very informative. I've had a history of blood clots so he helped my decide the safest type of WLS to have. I didn't feel as if I were forced to chose that method. (Gastroplasty, I had wanted RNY) He gave me and the others at the seminar reasonable goals. We were told that we could expect to lose perhaps 60% of our excess weight. I would be thrilled with 60%. Of course that estimate may be more or less on per person.

I just faxed his office my new insurance info today. I will be sure to post anything I learn from Dr. Cribbins office.

I think he and his staff are fantastic.

They have a website now, visit it at http://www.txcenterforobesitysurgery.com

I couldn't have asked for a better surgeon than Dr. Cribbins. He has a wonderful bedside manner and a kind disposition. I would trust him with my life again if I had to. He is very cautious and thorough. He has definitely proven himself to me and my family.