Dennis C. Smith, Jr. Bariatric Surgeon MD, FACS, FASMBS

After being on the waiting list for 3 months, I finally met w/Dr Dennis Smith in Marrietta, GA on 2/22/02 and was still not sure. At last, today, I have fully committed to going through with the surgery. I have decided on the lap BP/DS, and I have total faith in the knowledge and skill of Dr. Smith. He made me feel very comfortable and answered all of my questions with a much appreciated candor and straightforwardness.

The staff was very nice and accomodating. I was schedule to watch the video at 12, and I was called in promptly. I then came back at 2:00 to see Dr. Smith, and I waited very briefly. Overall, I would rate him high so far. He was very technical, and I suppose a little more warm and fuzzy would have been nice, but I would much prefer him to be competent and well versed in his field than warm and fuzzy.

3/25/02

I have been interacting with Coty in Dr Smith's office. She is very quick to return phone calls...she called me the same day she received approval from the insurance company, and she even helped me with directions when I was lost looking for another Dr's office! Everyone in Dr Smith's office has been extremely helpful and efficient.

5/6/02

Ok, I'm experiencing a bit of frustration now with Donna in Dr Smith's office. First of all, they are moving to deal with all of the new patients, and apparently Dr Smith is moving out on his own. That's great, and I understand there is a transition period to be expected with a move. The first snag I encountered was when I faxed my FMLA paperwork over. I requested a confirmation by email when it was returned to my employer, but I did not receive one. Luckily my benefits coordinator brought it to me right away. It came back with dates of 5-8 thru 5-28. First of all, I have to be in GA on 5-7, not 5-8. Plus, 20 days to recover? What happened to the 4-6 weeks that I was told by Dr Smith? Donna responded that since I was having it done lap, then 2 weeks should be plenty of time to recover. Whatever! When I tried to contact Donna I was told that she was at the other office and had no phone. I was told she would get a message and call me. She did not call me. Well, let me rephrase...she called me TODAY to tell me that she was missing several important lab/screening results along w/my psych eval. She informed me that I could not be seen tomorrow without these results. Fine time to tell me!! So I've been on the phone this morning trying to get everything faxed over there. As for the dates, I'm not worried...I know that will all get straightened out, and hey, if I'm ready to go back to work standing on my feet teaching for 8 hrs a day, great, I'll go. I'm venting...this is not really that bad...it's just that i'm stressing just a bit making sure everything is ready today for me to leave for GA tomorrow. This is not something I thought I would be dealing with today.

Dr. Smith was very quiet , but very nice. He has answered all of my questions and been very helpful. I am very confident that he is a terrific surgeon. He is very highly regarded by everyone who has has surgery by him. His office staff was very friendly. I, personally, have never had any problems with getting someone to answer my questions. The worst part of was trying to get in to see him. They had a phone lottery type thing, and it was only by the grace of God I ever got through to get an appointment. He does frequent checkups and wants you to be commited to long term follow ups. I was told of all the risks of surgery , and you take a quiz on the day of your consultation to make sure you understand everything. Before the initial consultation , you watch a slide presentation that goes over everything about the RNY and the DS. I think he is a terrific surgeon and he devotes so much time to his practice.

Your first visit with Dr. Smith at Advanced Surgical Center includes a two-hour slide video where he thoroughly explains each slide...the risks of surgery, etc..there were three other persons present at the time. You may ask questions at any time. Once the presentation is completed, you get to speak one-on-one with Dr. Smith for about 15 minutes with any additional questions you may have concerning your individual situation. He is very attentive, reserved and professional. His staff tends to be overwhelmed with the volume of requests lately, so it is extremely important to follow up with them. To date, Dr. Smith has not lost a single patient! I believe that Dr. Smith's surgical competence is a much stronger trait than his bedside manner. Overall, I would rate him excellent!

The office staff at Advanced Surgical Center could use some training in office etiquette, organizational skills and better time management.

I first contacted Dr. Smith by email. I sent him the questionnaire that he requires to be filled out by email. On Jan. 16, my LOMN was mailed to the insurance company. On 1/22/01 I had a consultation appt with him. He is now doing a group consultation appt to deal with the volume of patients. He does a slide presentation of each type of WLS surgery and then answers questions. He then meets with each patient seperately. I am expecting to hear from my insurance on 2/7/01. They do approve WLS if medically necessary. I have no reason to believe that I will not meet the criteria with a BMI of 64, diabetes and hypertension.

I have angeled 3 of Dr. Smiths DS patients and have found that he is very caring and competent surgeon.

He seems to have a very low rate of complications with his patients. He also has been very successful with Lap surgery, no matter the size of the patient.

The only negative thing has to do with his office. They are trying to cope with all this sudden surge of interest. They were not prepared I think for the volume. And like all of us, they have bad and good days in how they interact with patients.

Dr Smith has a big waiting list at this point, but he is an excellent surgeon. We didnt get this way over night and I feel it is worth the wait to have surgery laproscopically with him. He cares about patients over the longterm

I was recently very ill with a unrelated condition. I came home from a trip with a liver infection (not hepatitis). I went back to Kennestone Hospital and he followed me. Along with a GI doc. He was very concerned about my nutritional status with me being so ill, he was in to see me twice a day.

My first impression was that Dr Smith was very busy but very concerned with my health. He seemed as though he was concerned about the health of obese patients and helping to cure the problem. I liked him. I have only seen him one time.

I am very pleased with the office staff. They are friendly and helpful, especially Cody.

I have not experienced anything negative with the office staff.

I don't know much about the aftercare program yet. I can't comment on that yet.

Dr. Smith definitly stressed the risks of this surgery. The video presentation was extremly informative. It presented all of the pros and cons.

My rating right now at this point is a 9 from what I have experienced so far.

I think that definitly surgical competence is better but it sure helps mentally having a doctor with a good bed side manner.


It's a little over three weeks and I need to update my surgeon info.

I feel that Doctor Smith did a great job. I have had no complications. Thank God. I went back to see him a week and a half after my surgery. He removed my drainage tube and did a general check up on me. I had lost 14lbs and he seemed happy with that. He doesn't talk alot but everything went fine. I will go back in to see him early in March. I'll report back.

I emailed Dr. Smith first to tell him of my decision for surgery and to ask a question. I was not a patient but he still answered me and I liked that. Lets face it surgeons make good money, but his answer with no FEE made me feel like he cares about people more than revenue. I was able to get a referral from my PCP and due to some other items Dr. SMith worked me into his busy schedule. I was so excited...His office is over 70 miles drive and I was anxious the whole trip for first visit. The staff met me with smiles and I filled out the MOUNTAIN of paperwork. I was then able to meet Dr. Smith face to face and discuss my case. THose of you who said he is "all business" were right. He was personable but not jovial. I guess being a big guy that jokes alot, I feel uncomfortable if people arent as relaxed as I am. He explained my surgery options and took my prior history. His nurse then came in and was a bit discouraging with dates and a good bit of "oh no that cant be done" and "the list is so long it will be a long wait" but I figured they do this to alleviate some of the anxiety and to give you time to dwell on your decision. I guess I am suprising them. I met with him on Monday (01/28) and needed my cardiology, pulmonology,and blood work done as well as medical records sent. Today is Friday, (02/01) three days later and I am done. I have my pulmonology release, cardiologist is today, and all blood work has been done. I am determined. Insurance is what waits now. I definitely am pleased with the comments about competence. I would prefer a mean expert to a nice novice anyday!!!! One funny thing, Dr. Smith did not know about this website and that his patients are discussing him, or at least he acted suprised. As for rating Dr. Smith overall I will do that on a scale after each visit. His first grade on office visit was an 8 out of 10. Mainly because of the discouraging comments from his nurse.

My impression of Dr. Smith was he was a very busy guy! But he was down to the point and we got everything covered in a decent amount of time. i got to meet with him watched a clip of surgery which was very informative. His office staff are VERY nice and I look foward to seeing them again. He is very good doctor overall! He showed us exactly what could happen with the surgery the good and the bad. And did assure me that he would do anything he could to keep me safe!

I met Dr. Smith on 11/5/01, 4 days after I was involved in an auto accident. I was in a neck brace and arm sling but I wasn't missing the appointment after the time it took to set it up. Dr. Smith and his staff seemed very efficient and caring. He has a prepared slide show which went into detail about the various surgeries and possible risks. I have chosen the Lap Roux-en-Y. I was approved with the very first letter. Having comorbidities and previous doctor supervised diets definitely helps. They are booking surgery for February but because I have been out of work for 2 months due to auto accident, I won't be able to have this procedure until I have accrued some leave which will probably be April or May. However, I am going to start on the pre-op tests that are required, i.e., psych eval, upper GI, pulmonologist and cardiologist.
If I change jobs, I may be able to have the surgery earlier it's just that my current job has given me major headaches about being out from the accident - as if it was my fault. The only negative I had with the Dr. Smith experience was attempting to get an appointment. They have since changed their procedures.

I was impressed with Dr. Dennis Smith the first time I saw, but that is what I had expected after gathering alot of information form this website. He is very knowlegbable about the subject of obesity. His office staff proved to be very helpful with all my schedulaing an insurance approval. The thing you should know about Dr. smith is he is not the talkative type but was willing to answer all my questions completely. I am only 5 days post op today, Dec. 16. but Dr. Smith was by the hospital every morning to check in with me.

Doctor Smith was wonderful. My first impression is that he cares about his work and patients. The staff was also wonderful. We talked about the Duodenal switch and the gastric bypass and he suggested the gastric bypass. He is very adiment about aftercare. When we got there of course we filled aout paperwork, then we viewed a video that explained everything you need to know and then we spoke with Doctor Smith. He answered every question truthfully. I am so excited.

Dr Smith's staff is great. They have returned my calls, answered questions when I have called.