Douglas M. Krahn Bariatric Surgeon MD, FACS

Dr. Krahn seems nice. I have only met with him once and all I can say is he's nice. I really was impressed with him at the information seminar that I attended. It was then that I realized that he had a real heart for what he does. He understands obesity and he is honest. He is not giving any of us fluff just the truth and that is what I liked about him. I will see him again soon and you can bet I will have more questions especially as I draw closer to getting my surgery date.

He is very nice and talkrd to me about my concerns since I had already had open heart surgery. He said that was fine and I could still have the surgery lap RNY. Since then I have seen his interns who were great also.
HIs staff is to die for they are great and always answered my questions even when I was being a pest.
Future patients need to know that he is very busy and backed up. I got my surgery date of Jan 20, 2006 assigned to me back at the end of August and have been waiting all this time. All my prep work was done before they would give me a surgery date.
He is VERY concerned about aftercare. That is one of the reasons that I have stuck it out and waited until Jan. I love that he is so concered about my aftercare. He addresses
the risks of surgery head on and talked about each one.
Overall so far I would rate him a 9 1/2

IN my opinion surgical competence is much more important. I would love to have both but truly if my surgern is competent in the job he does that is what is important. I have had Dr's that have no bedside manner but then he also saved my like with his skilled hands. My 4 kids are very thankful for those skilled hands.

My first impression of Dr. Krahn, was Wow! he is so much cuter in person. Besides that... I met him at a seminar in June 2005 and was incredibly impressed at his warmth and patience at answering questions he has probably answered hundreds of times. During my first consultation I was impressed how much time he was willing to spend answering questions and making sure I had a complete understanding of the procedure I was contemplating and asking questions to completely understand my medical history. Western Barriatrics has an organized support system with meetings twice a month. The staff is always willing to answer questions and give helpful direction when necessary. Overall, I have been very pleased with Dr. Krahn and his staff. Scheduling has been challenging as they are quite busy with a heavy client load.

My first impression was that he knew what he was doing. He's very dedicated to this surgery being a positive change in a persons life. The staff has been fantastic to me. He makes it very clear this is not to be entered into lightly. We take tests along the way and I was shocked that he would take the time to go over my wrong answers. It's really important to him that you are as well informed as possible about any risks, side effects, dangers afterwards, etc.

I started out with Dr. Terry Sanderfer who is like a big teddy bear, but then just a few weeks before I was going to have my pre-op visit, he stopped performing wls (he usually performed distal rny.) His partner, Dr. Koon, didn't take my insurance, so I had to wait a couple more months until they brought Dr. Krahn into the practice.

At first, I thought Dr. Krahn was an intense, humorless, little guy that I called Doogie Howser because he was so young (and I'm only 39, so he really looked young!) However, as I got to know him, I understood that his intensity is really his passion about his work, his patients, and the outcome of wls. I grew to have a deep respect for him, and found out that he's a pretty funny guy!

I was his first patient at Parkview Community and his protocol is much different than Drs. Koon and Sanderfer, so they were really the worst part of my aftercare. Dr Krahn or the staff he shares with Drs. S and Koon were there for me anytime I needed them--mostly the support staff, though, because his San Bernadino office is soooo busy, and I was sometimes his last visit of the day. Usually. that was ok, Frieda was his nurse at the time and she was the most wonderful person ever! I wish she was still there for others to benefit from her compassion! She even brought me a softball because I told her it was my goal to play on a softball team next year! Debbie is absolutely great, and I had a feeling that everybody was behind me, pulling for me, and really cared about my outcome. However, my being the last visit was only a problem on the day I was discharged--he said he'd be there by 5 and didn't get there until 7. I didn't have a car at the time, so I planned on taking the train home. My son got out of high school early to come pick me up, and we waited for hours. It took an hour to get discharged and I missed the last train going to Los Angeles--We had to take the bus home! But, I understand that things happen, it wasn't life or death, just extremely uncomfortable, and I got over it!

And talk about structured, Dr. Krahn has a terrific binder with everything anyone ever wanted to know about wls (but was afraid to ask...lol) I really had no questions about what I was doing, he laid it all out for me.
I don't think I could have asked for a more competent, thoughtful, compassionate surgical team, led by Dr. Krahn. Parkview hospital need to be a little more careful about hiring their nursing staff and technical staff--I was absolutely unimpressed--but having Dr. Krahn there for me made me feel empowered that I could ask for what I needed and he would back me up 100%. I also developed a low-grade fever, which actually always happens whenever I have a surgical procedure--this was my 4th--and i NEVER had a surgeon more concerned or thourough about it! He ordered all kinds of tests and it turned out that I just needed to walk more and continue to heal!

On a scale of 1-10, he's a 12!

Dr. K was very informative and caring to my neeeds. My impression of him never changed. He is a great doc. The office staff is awesome! Future patients should know that in order for this surgery to work read everything you can on it and follow Dr. k's instructions. He majorly supports the idea of support groups. Dr. K has a super post program that seems very structured. He told me the risks at consult and at the seminar...very straightforward. Overall I would give him a 10.

I really wasnt sure about this at first because he was actually my second attempt at getting a doctor.

Very nice people all around. He even has one of his staff members that had the surgery with him.

He is tough-he requires certain things of each of his patients and is very relentless in having you have them accomplished prior to surgery.

Aftercare is an absolute number one priority as well as an all encompassing care formally. He has nutritionists and all other types of specialists either on staff or at his disposal to ensure best care.

All risks are addressed directly.

Overall I would rate him and his staff at 10 out of 10.

Both were and have always been great.

When I first went to the seminar, I felt he really cared. He was very sensitive to the questions presented.

After my consult, I realized he really is concerned and he is very easy to talk to. I am alway very embarassed about my appearance.
His office was very comfortable the seating and the atmosphere

He is very adamant about us attending support groups and follow up appointments


He went over all the risks of surgery made sure we were well informed.
I will have to wait to rate him until after my surgery is complete

I think both are very important

NO negatives as of yet

When I first met my doctor he was really concerned about my weight and thought I could be a good candidate for the surgery. The office staff including the nurses also care about the patients. Anytime I wasn't sure about eating something or had questions they were always there to help. Doctor Krahn is very serious about what he does. Always wants to make sure you are taking your vitamins, that you are excersing and he ask lots of questions. I would refer anyone to have him as the surgeon because he truly does care about his patients before surgery, during surgery and any after care.

I met Dr. Krahn at one of his weight loss seminars and liked him immediately. I liked that the seminar was "obesity friendly" meaning large sturdy chairs with no arms for everyone. So far I have only had my consult with him, and while he is very strict, it's only because he wants the best for his patients! The office staff was very friendly as well making the difficult decision to have weight loss surgery a little easier!!!