David Provost Bariatric Surgeon MD, FACS

It's simple. Dr Provost is the best. His staff is great. No one belittles you or thinks you are a failure. He wants to help you and gives you this amazing tool, but he will be the first to tell you, you have to use it. He wants you to come back for follow ups, as he always says, "we're here to help you."

My first & only impression was he was very young, professional, practical & blunt. Like most surgeon's, he did not present any warm fuzzies. His staff are very professional and well informed. They communicate well with the patients and gave pertinent advice on what to expect. His office nurse is a little harried, but she is very pleasant to talk with and very knowledgable about Morbid Obesity. Dr Provost was very explicit about after-care. He described his particular methodology was once a month for the first year, 3 months the 2nd year, bi-annual for 3 years and then every year after that, for life. He told me his staff would provide a list of support groups to join in my area and he expects to know which one I join and wanted to hear my first report on the value of this group with my first after surgery appointment. So I would say after-care is a priority with this group. Which is very reassuring. My surgery is 4/4/05 so I won't be able to give a complet rating until after that. At this point I would recommend this physician and his staff.

Dr. Provost is a great surgeon. But, he dosen't have a good bedside manner.

Seems to be very serious about his work, but that's what you want! I have only seen Dr. Provost once, but that one time I knew he would be good at his job.

The office staff is awesome!

Just remember....he is very serious...no joking around. His bedside manner is less than great, but I'd rather have someone that has top shelf surgical competence anyway!

The aftercare is every 3 months for the first year, then once a year for the rest of your life. He said the office would always be there for me.

Dr. Provost said every 1 our of 200 die from this sugery and that it is a very serious decision for a lifetime.

I'd rate him on a scale from 1 - 10...a 9.
I've had 2 friends that had this same surgery and recommended him to me. They both think alot of him. That was enough for me.

He is Very Professional and Knowledgable.
His staff is also very Professional and willing to do anything to help you through the process.
He stresses aftercare a lot.
He has a structured aftercare program.
I would rate him very high.

Dr David Provost is a very good Doctor.He was very friendly and explained everything to me.I still very much like Dr.Provost and
appreiciate everything he has done for me.His nurse Lois is very good and always helpful.If I had it to do over again I would still do it and use Dr.Provost .I think he is wonderful.Dr.Provost has a good bedside
manner.I would rate him a 10.

Wanda Medina
Garland, Tex

I first observed Dr. Provost in Spring 2003, at an "info night" that he and his staff conduct. I was initially impressed with the information he provided. It was detaile and didn't pull any punches, yet delivered in a professional and down-to-earth manner.

I met him in person about 15 months later (yes, his waiting list was THAT long!). My initial consult with him was Aug. 20, 2004. When he first walked in the room, I thought to myself, "He's a CHILD!!" I understand he older than the early 20's that he looks...he is one of those fortunate people who has a very young face. He also has kind eyes. He talked with me for about 30 minutes and went over material in depth, including his expectations of me after the surgery. Once again, it was delivered matter of factly, in a way that told me this would be best for me. He is responsible for the surgery but I am responsible for how t act after the surgery.

After meeting with him, I met with his staff nutritionist, Michelle; David, the insurance coordinator; and lastly, Lois, the bariatric nurse. They were all informative and pleasant. I was a bit intimidated by David because the insurance was my biggest area of concern. So every question he asked me (and the manner in which he asked it) put me on the defensive. But I know the whole staff is working for the best interest of the patients and I will be grateful for everything they do. Michelle and Lois, especially, made it real clear that this is a team effort and they are available if I need them for anything.

I will add more as I go along and have more interactions with them. But right out of the starting gate, they were TOP NOTCH!

I am posting this for Diane who passed away yesterday, August 14, 2004.

I am Cathleen C - also an OH member and close friend of Diane's family.

Dr Provost is an outstanding surgeon. He teaches OTHER bariatric surgeons how to perform the surgeries.

U T Southwestern is a teaching hospital.

I have always had a great deal of respect for Dr Provost.

Diane was *rushed* through the process & scheduled for RNY in a short period of time which totally surprised me. Dr Provost usually has a waiting list as long as your arm.

I attribute this to the fact that she had Medicare & all he has to do is complete the surgery & file a letter of *medical necessity* to Medicare for payment.

In Diane's situation, I feel that a 2nd opinion about her laproscopic surgery could have headed off the ultimate issues with her diverticulitis & COPD (I understand that Dr Provost was aware that she had been diagnosed in August 2003).

Diane was in his office for a follow up visits twice in 2 weeks before she was re-hospitalized with a diverticulitis attack (May 27th). She was malnourished & dehydrated with a bp of 75/25.

The family feels that IF he had spent more time with her during the visits, he could have headed off her trip to the ER. It became obvious to us that home health was not communicating with him on her condition.

The gastrointestinal surgeon who ultimately did 4 more surgeries on her to try & save her life said that the bariatric surgery was NOT the cause of her death but the malnutrition & dehydration attributed to her inability to heal after he operated on her.

I realize that we are excited and in a *RUSH* to get on the operating table once we are approved.. but I feel that a 2nd opinion in her case might have saved her life.

Rest in Peace, my friend. I love you.
Cathleen C

My first impression of Dr. Provost was that he was cute but shy. He really seemed to be one of those doctors that is there to help people. After my surgery, I felt like he was a genious. After my complications (internal bleeding) and the fact that he never came to see me I was a little turned off. I keep telling myself that he must have been really busy or out of town, but it still bothered me.

Dr. Provost is "a surgeon". By that I mean he didn't have the best "bedside" manner by my observation. I found him to be an excellent surgeon, but I was not impressed with his compassion or support of extenuating circumstances. I did have the opportunity to confront him with my concerns when I went for my 9 month follow-up visit. He didn't realize how he had been to me and was very warm and appologized for his failure to be sympathetic to my special needs. As a surgeon, he is outstanding. I think with a little work, he will develop the compassionate bedside manner as well. Certainly, I feel that his competence as a surgeon is the most important component of his roll in my weight loss. Another thing that concerned me was that he didn't require psychological evaluation (beyond those psychological related questions on his application form). I feel that this surgery needs to be combined with psychological treatment as an essential component of the entire weight loss package. I recommend Dr. Provost as an outstanding surgeon. Please note that any negitive comments I may have made are representing my personal experience with Dr. Provost and in no way are meant to indicate what someone else may experience with him. Once again, I would recommend him to anyone planning to have weight loss surgery, as he is top notch in the field of Bariatric Surgery.