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

He is a very gentle and kind man that is very soft spoken. He is professional and thorough. He will not operate if there is any chance for failure or potential problems.

Dr. Smith strongly emphasizes aftercare and insists that you attend educational classes preop with your partner. These classes are taught by a nurse who was also his patient.
She stresses the risks and the problems that
can arise after surgery. They give you plenty of information about how you should eat while in the hospital and after you go home, as well as supplement requirements for the different surgery types.

They also stress use of the support group and the resources available through this group. The same nurse that teaches the pre-op class also leads the support group. She is wonderful!

His office staff is very pleasant and work hard to make suitable arrangements. There was a member of his staff that I dealt with when I first put my name on my list. She did not return calls and was somewhat difficult to deal with. She is no longer working for Dr. Smith. So far, so good.

Dr. Smith is the best. Very caring and concerned, takes all precausions.
I would recommend Dr. Smith to anyone, anywhere and anytime.

Very nice, quiet, not really gregarious. I had complications after the surgery (cardiac) and he was wonderful. His office staff is just okay I'd say. If you can deal with Denise or Nell you're okay. There wasn't anything that I didn't like about him. He emphasizes aftercare a lot and does have a structured program. All of the risks of surgery were discussed. I would rate him very highly overall. Both surgical competence and bedside manner are great. I recently moved to Colorado from Georgia and traveled back to have him do my surgery, that's how important it was to me for him to do it. He has an excellent reputation and has patients from all over the country.

he is avery good surgeon i was very happy to have him. expresses a keen desire for your surgery to have the best recovery possible.is very thorough that you receive a great deal of info before surgery. strongly informs you of the necessity of f/u visits & support groups. his surgical competency is excellant & he has a nice bedside manner.staff was good.

He is very professional. I really like all the staff.

I absolutely love Dr. Smith and everyone in his office. I must have called them 2-3 times a day until they had received all of my paperwork and my approval. No one acted the least bit annoyed with all my calls. They were always helpful and very nice. Dr Smith is very nice. He's soft spoken, but you can tell he really cares about his patients. He sees and treats MO people as people with health issues that he can help, not as most of the medical community does. I would highly reccomend this practice to anyone.

Dr.Smith is very professional,answers all ? from yourself & family.Our relationship warmed up as we went thur presurgy.Great office staff very helpful.I can think of nothing I wasnt happy with.Our relationship continues in aftercare.This Dr. is everything you could want.He sees that his patients recieve the best of care.He is very concerned with your comfort during your journey.He takes every precaution before surgery to make sure you have a sucessful outcome. I can best describe an incident between us to let you know about him:I told him about being able to skip,run and play with my grandchildren,I told him it was one of the best days of my life. Tears came to his eyes, we hugged,he said these kinds of stories from his patients made everything worthwhile.What eles can you ask for in a dr? The only thing negative I can say is one of his nurses is not very nice, she guards Dr,Smith like a bull dog!But she has also had WLS, so pet her on her ego,that works wonders.

I saw Dr. Dennis Smith in April of 2003. He impressed me as being down-to-earth; not some arrogant, overwheening, pompous know it all. My initial impression was only strengthened in my follow-up visit for surgery. My father, who was scared to death for me, came with me to support me. Dr. Smith was so patient, helpful and great at conveying the surgery through layman's terms that he did much to alleviate my father's fears. My father, who is hard to impress, was so impressed that he expressed full confidence in his abilities and professionalism.

When I first came to his office, I initially found his staff very rushed and brusque. However, they were in the middle of transition, because Dr. Smith had left one bariatric associatoin to form his own. They were more helpful and courteous as things got more organized. What I really liked was that a few of them had been his patients themselves, so they were very helpful in letting me know what to expect.

The only thing I didn't like was that he has a rather soft, almost hypnotic voice. I was on allergy medication and very sleepy and during his orientation film, I kept nodding off, LOL.

Future patients, particularly future DS patients, will be gratified to know that Dr. Smith works strictly in the parameters of your insurance. There are no hidden follow up fees that need to be paid up front. I had researched various DS surgeons before him and they charged any type of fee ranging from $500 to $2000. I paid his office ONLY my $1500 copay plus the $20.00 office visit fee. And I did not face any charges when I entered the hospital, though I'm being billed by various specialists after the fact. That was very helpful to me in planning my surgery.

Dr. Smith is very strong about emphasizing aftercare. Since I am from San Antonio, TX, I am expected to follow up with my internist every month and take a blood test every three months. My internist follows up with Dr. Smith I also have to take four large tablets of Citracal, two ADEKS vitamins and two Flintstones' vitamins every day. He did emphasize the importance of getting all my protein and stressed how I was bypassed for fat and proteins, but not carbs.

Dr. Smith was very meticulous about emphasizing the risks of surgery. He did not gloss over or sugarcoat anything. However, his thoroughness and professionalism did much to allievate any concern I felt.

I would rate Dr. Smith as a stellar surgeon. He seems to embody the best of both worlds; surgical competence AND a great bedside manner. I can't recommend him strongly enough. Thanks, Dr. Smith!

Dr. Smith is the best. I have heard great reports and believe him to be a very competent surgeon. Dr. Smith takes the necessary time to explain all options and gives a factual basis for consideration. I have been impressed.

The wait time is terrible. I didn't realize how long it would take just being on the waiting list. From October of 2003 until August of 2004 seems to me to be a long time. Once seen however, the timing is much improved.

If you want the best, then accept the the long wait tim as a price you have to pay to get a good surgeon.

He is WONDERFUL as well as his staff. I could call crying, mad or happy and they would help fix the problem. People just have to remember that they are not the only patient Dr Smith has. I am a nurse and i have never met a doctor with such good bedside skills.