Hilario Juarez Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

I liked him I went to his seminar and like what he had to say but most of all is that how he spoke to us/me like a frend.

His office has been good specially getting back on phone calls.and getting information to you.

they do have a aftercare/support group I understand that its pretty good. they inform me about this web page.by the way this web page has helped me to better understand what I am going to be dealing with!!!

I seen him for the first time at the seminar. I can see that he is a very busy DR. I had my appt. with his Assistant Emil. It went real good, he is a very smart man. All my questions have been answered. All my paperwork was turned in before my appointment. I waited 4 weeks for the office to send the info to my insurance, I was approved in 2 days.

My first impression of Dr. Juarez was....he is softspoken and to the point. My consult only lasted for 5 minutes. He took one look at my stomach and said he could do a Lap on me. I was really excited. Now I have to wait on my psych eval and then the real stuff begins!

I was approved for surgery on April 24th 2002 and got my surgey date for July 24th 2002.

Now my surgery is only 30 days away!

August 2001-I have not yet met Dr. Juarez. My consult is scheduled for October 26th and I can't wait!!!

Dec. 23, 2001-I thought time would crawl, but it has moved along surprisingly fast. I had my consult with Dr. Juarez on Oct. 26th. I found him to be very nice and comforting. His office staff was very nice. The seminar was informative and surprisingly packed! I was concerned when calls weren't returned when I was trying to follow-up, but they submitted me to Pacificare about 4 wks after the consult...after dictation...and I was approved, no questions asked in 4 days! Jackie called me immediately with the good news. My only commorbidity is asthma! I am so grateful.

POST-OP 3 months: Dr. Juarez is a fabulous surgeon and I still see him for follow-up. I recommend him highly!

I have only met Dr. Juarez once, and that was at the general information seminar he gives every month (November, 2001). He seemed very nice, knowledgeable, and sensitive to our problems. For my first appointment at the office, I met with his PA, Emil, who was very, very nice and informative. I have spoken with several of Dr. Juarez's patients and that seems to be SOP for his office. He is very busy and it took 4 months after insurance approval to get a surgery date. The packet that they send you is a little confusing, as I did not realize that I had to get the medical records from my other doctors myself. It's difficult for me to be aggresive on my own behalf.

I have wanted to have Lap-RNY since I began researching it in Jan '99. Until January of this year I never had insurance that would cover it. My surgery date is scheduled for 7/31/02. My insurance doesn't cover St. Luke's where Dr. Juarez is part of the surgical weight management program. My surgery will be done at Good Sam. Therefore, I am not allowed to attend Dr. J's seminar or participate in any of the support groups offered to his patients whose surgeries are done at St. Lukes. My appointment for consult was conducted with Emille (who has been very pleasant), but I have never even met Dr. Juarez. I am completely disenchanted with his office staff. I have read other people's complimentary remarks about them and can't believe we're talking about the same group! Because I am not having my surgery at St. Lukes, I feel like I've just thrown out there to fend for myself and its kind of scary! I've recieved no information on pre-care or after-care. My surgery date is 10 weeks out. I called the office last Friday to ask for an appointment with HIM. The person doing scheduling had a hard time understanding WHY I wanted the appointment. I figure if the guy is going to be rearranging my anatomy with a scalpel and staple gun, I should at least be able to meet him face-to-face! I was also told I'd need to get another referral from my PCP for the appointment! Anyway, it's scheduled for June 17th and, hopefully after meeting him, I'll have more info and perspective to share.

I just had my initial consult on 3/25/02
I don't know what I was expecting but it sure wasn't what I got. His Office staff seemed friendly enough but very rushed. I know he's busy but I feel like nothing was explained to me. Unfortunately I have an ahcccs insurance that doesn't cover any of the teachings and I wasn't able to recieve an information packet to fill out ahead of time. If it wasn't for this site I would have been totally lost. It took more time to fill out the paperwork than it did meeting with the Dr. He seemed nice enough but was very vague. He told me he didn't think I weighed enough to have the surgery. I am 110 lbs overweight with a bmi of 40 and several co morbities. And once he saw that sai that he could do the surgery lap. I guess I should be flattered but he made me feel like I wouldn't get approved because I don't weigh 300+ pounds. The thing is I'm still young and don't want it to get that far in the future. He seemed nice. But it would have been nice to get a little more information from him. The said it would take 4-6 weeks to hear anything. This waiting game stinks If I'm not going to be approved I'd just like to know now.... Has any one had a similar problem and been approved?
If I am approved I would still want him to do the surgey. I've heard nothing but good about his surgical ability.
UPDATE: I would just like to say that Angelia from Dr. Juarez's office is great. She has really been helpful with dealing with the problems my insurance creating. I feel that she has gone out of her way for me even with me calling and bugging her all the time. I would just like to tell her thanks :o)

I've only met Dr. Juarez twice, both in informational group sessions, but was impressed with his warm tone when patiently answering 2 hours of questions. He was very open about the risks of the operation, without minimization. I asked some rather pointed questions about his experience and patient complications, which he addressed seriously and non-defensively.

The staff at St. Luke's, especially Kelly, have been very nice and encouraging. An extensive aftercare program is available and I believe required.

The only thing I find disturbing is that although I submitted information to the practice in September, I was only notified that I was accepted ten days prior to my 1/18/01 surgery date. I feel very rushed now getting all the pretests and paych exam done, and a little apprehensive about the whole procedure. My mom and husband are extremely nervous, and I don't have the luxury of time to let them talk to doctors or other patients. I do still plan to have the procedure, and am excited, but wish I'd had a bit more time to 'digest' the event.


Update: I had a great deal of trouble medically, involving a lot of additional hospitalization (including additional surgery and two intensive care units) and was extremely unhappy with Dr. Juarez. Due to the suggestions on how to avoid libel at the end of the update page, I won't go into detail. This is my opinion about my experience, and I am making no statements about what other people may experience.

Hilario Juarez seems very competent and friendly. I have seen both positive and negative opinions about this doctor and his staff on the WLS site. I can understand both sides. I believe that both Dr. Juarez and his staff are patient and caring. They also try very hard to provide good service. But the plain truth of the matter is they are extremely busy. Is it no wonder it can take over 3 months to get a surgery date after approval, when in just over a year the requests for this type of surgery in the US has tripled? That would be a very good reason that Juarez and his office staff may have received bad reviews. I too have been frustrated or impatient at times with them but have tempered those feelings with the understanding they are doing the best they can under such a huge workload. I would not want that kind of pressure at work! So Juarez and his office staff get my seal of approval :o)

Dr. Juarez has an excellent staff working for him, which is good since you rarely see him at all. I met him once before my surgery date. On the day of surgery, we spoke briefly before I was wheeled in the operating room. He is pleasant, confident, and, essentially, a man of very few words. His assistant, Emil, is the person I've dealt with the most in terms of having questions answered/voicing concerns. He is professional and personable. All in all, I'd say they handled my case well. Dr. Juarez's surgical competence makes up for what he lacks in bedside manner. Expect both Dr. Juarez and Emil to be pressed for time. Don't be surprised if most of the contact you have is with the office staff. Also, be diligent in monitoring the communication between Dr. Juarez's staff and your PCP. Your PCP will often forget to send lab test results, xrays, and other needed information. Keep tabs on the progress of your case. It will push you through the system much faster.