G. Wesley Clark Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

Dr Clark was great he visited me while I was in the hospital everyday. I even got a teddy bear from him. He always answered all my questions. I had read some comments on him on this site that weren't to friendly I was totally expecting a different person. He was great and have absoulutely no complaints I wish my PCP was a nice and informed and Dr Clark. I just wished his office staff would be a little more speedy.

I met Dr. Clark just days before the surgery. I liked him and felt right at ease with him. He answered my questions with his knowledge of this surgery. I was impressed. The office staff was very nice. They had every thing down to a science. They see alot of people so it must work. Dr. Clark has follow up with blood work for the first year. Since I am from out of area I call every month and fax my blood work when needed. I rate Dr. Clark a 10. His surgical skill is the best but his bedside manner isn't to shabby either.

to be honest, my wonderful wife Joyce has done most of the legwork. She also helped my 19 Y.O. daughter Sarah get thru this on 1/22/02. From what I've see/heard and the direct contact I've had, the entire Alvarado program is top quality.....I'll have more to report after 5/07/02....

I finally met Dr Clark today. He seems gruff at first but when we started talking it was better. I didn't get to see him for long. Funny, I had all kinds of questions before seeing him but once I was there I forgot most of them. I felt though that if I had more questions he would have stayed and answered them.
In his office you are sent all over the building for tests and lab work before finally going to the hospital for a chest X-Ray. The office staff was all very nice but in some areas you had to wait awhile because all of the pre-ops(about 10) for the coming week are also having the same tests.
You are told that you have to check back in every month in person or by phone call(if you aren't in the area).
I had the take a quiz to see what knowlege I had about the surgery.
I'm not sure how his bedside manner will be, I guess I'll know more in five days.

Dr. Clark is awesome. Straight forward, to the point, gets the job done and he knows his business.

He has a reputation for being gruff and he is not warm and fuzzy. But he takes the time to answer your questions and he does a fantastic job. He is also very clear about your roles and responsibilities post op.

The staff is awesome. They are efficient, thorough, compassionate and several of them have been WLS patients, so they speak from experience.

Dr. Clark is adamant about after care. They have classes on nutrition and exercise and are available if you have questions.

Dr. Clark came to see me briefly every day I was in the hospital - he answered my questions and I felt confident.

On a scale of 1-10, I'd give Dr. Clark a 10. Surgical competence in the most important thing to me and his bedside manner is ok - not lovey dovey, but ok.

Just has my pre-op on Friday. It was so smooth! There were 11 of us receiving our pre-op exams that day for surgeries on Monday and Tuesday. Alvarado just changed their procedures for the pre-op day so almost everything happens in their offices rather than at the hospital. As of April 1 even the chest x-ray will happen in their office building! This meant that I was done and on my way a couple hours earlier than expected. What a bonus!

Dr. Clark and the whole staff were very reassuring and easy to work with. They give you a true/false test to be sure you understand the risks of surgery (after all of my internet study and studying their "Gastric Bypass Owner's Manual" I scored 100%). My surgery may be observed by other doctors receiving training in the laproscopic procedures they have inovated here at Alvarado. Seems to me that can only be good for me!

I have only met Dr. Clark one time. I attended his seminar and was impressed with his presentation and obvious compassion for those interested in this surgery. I didn't know what to expect, but I came away convinced that it was my solution. I will next meet with him on March 7th for my physical.

His office staff has made this very easy though they have come across as a bit too passive. I appreciate active involvement such as making a phone call for follow-up to an insurance company rather than waiting around. I was often frustrated with the lack of response. I get the feeling that this is a personal hangup of mine. I am always pushing to get things moving. My insurance went through the first time, although the provider was hesitant and needed a great deal of education on the surgery. The office provided them with it. The office was amazing at how fast they organized the sleep study, turned the results around, and within a week or two I was on a CPAP machine sleeping through the night.

I felt I was left a bit too much on my own as far as the psychiatric eval and the blood work. I was given a paper with what I needed but I had a very difficult time relaying that to the lab and finding a doctor to do the eval. I won't have that done until 2/22, but my lab work was finally done last week.

The risk of surgery was outlined quite well. Though I don't think it hit me until I saw the website with the list of patients that have died. I believe from what I have read and discussions I've had, that I have made the right decision on the surgeon.

1/2/02 Surgery date is scheduled. So far so good. Met Dr. Clark at seminar and found him low key yet professional. My surgeon choice was taken very seriously. The reputation of Clark & Whitgrove and their years of experience are what made me choose them.

8/21/01 Have been working on this since April 01 but all the problems I've had relate to my insurance company. Have not yet met with Dr. Clark, but his insurance staff person Marla has been helpful to me in this awful trial and tribulation to get my approval.

Drove 800 miles to attend a seminar by Alvarado and no-one from there showed. It turned out they were in the same town just a different location. Staff problems in that area. They did call and apologize profusely for the mix up a few days later.

Dr. Clark was great.. he's a little imposing, a tall large man! He's got a dry sense of humor once you get him talking though.
The office staff was amazing, nice, professional, and some of them had had the surgery themselves.
The aftercare for those living out of town is a little on the slim side.. phone calls once a month that consist of a few questions. They do listen if you have concerns and do get back to you right away though...

I did so much research that Dr. Clark really didn't have to tell me much about the risks and limitations of the surgery, but he did make me take a multiple choice test before my meeting with him to be sure I understood what I was getting into, I got a 100% :)

Surgical competence was excellent. I didn't see him much so I couldn't say a lot about his bedside manner. The exam I had with him in the office pre-op was good though, he was a really nice guy.

My only complaint is that I didn't see him but once after surgery, and at the time I was in a morphine haze... the rest of the time I was cared for by his nurses and staff.

I attended an Alvarado seminar here in anchorage. Dr.Ellner (a partner of Dr.Clarks) was the speaker. She did a wonderful job explaining the procedure. I already knew most of the information but I took my husband and mother along so they would have a clearer understanding of it as well (it worked). I have not yet met Dr.Clark, but after hearing Dr.Ellner speak and talking with some former patients from Alvarado, They are my number one choice! As far as the doctors office the whole staff has been absolutely wonderful. If your from Alaska, Alvarado does a few seminars up here a year.. check out their website to find the dates!