Jack Ditslear Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S.

I just met Dr Ditslear yesterday for the first time. My first impression was that he seemed like a normal person, who is young and has his act together. All the things I was hoping to see the first time I met him. In our one on one, he seemed very interested in how I felt and the questions I had. I feel Dr Ditslear and I are going to do just fine on this path we are embarking on together.

This is the second time that I have had to consult with Dr. Ditslear. I changed insurance carriers and had to wait until my new insurance kicked in.

Then my team of surgeons left their hospital [Winona] and went to Community North. They have established their own Bariatric clinic.

They are just starting, so they are not fully organized yet. They took a few old staffers with them.

Dr. Ditslear seems like a nice man that is knowledgable about the surgery. I also like the fact that thereoyhrt surgeons at his disposal - if needed.

I look forward in letting him handle my surgery and my post-op care.

Have had conuslt and have clearance for pysc eval. Dr. Ditslear and staff were friendly and informative. I plan to have Dr. Ditslear do my surgery when I can get approval. I have currently been denied due to physician supervised weight loss. My PCP, Dr Mark Lavallee from South Bend,IN is trying to help with appeal.

The only thing that I was a little disappointed with is that I was led to believe that Winlife doctors where doing both lap and open ryn surgeries. They were not yet set up for lap bypass. Dr. Ditslear has extensive experience with other lap procedures but not ryn bypass.

UPADATE:
Had open RNY on May 13,2003. Ended up in ICU for 38 days due to peritonitis. Have had to have 3 surgeries since due to complications. Have lost 102 pounds which I am pleased with. Was stuck for the last three months but am finally starting to lose again! If I had it to do over, I would definately choose a surgeon that DOES A LEAK TEST BEFORE allowing anything by mouth! This simple test could have saved me a lot of misery! ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS OF YOUR SURGEON AND PICK ON WHO HAS EXPERIENCE.

Dr. Ditslear is a wonderful Dr. He was very good in telling you the risk involved in the surgery, but was very supportive. I would rate him a big 100 out of 100.

11-5-03
Dr. Ditslear performed my Lap RNY on 9-30-03 without a hitch. Surgery went beautifully and my scars are very small and will not be noticiable. My first impression was correct- Dr. D. is very kind and soft spoken but now I know he is also an AWESOME surgeon!!


I met with Dr. Ditslear and found him to be very patient, kind and soft spoken. He was very informative and answered all my questions. I felt very comfortable with him and I look forward to having him as my surgeon. On a scale of 1-10..I would rate him a 10 for his initial visits..

For 1st consult he appeared to be knowledgeable & capable. Answered any questions I had and explained the process in a fairly detailed manner. Thus far I am very comfortable with this surgeon. The office staff at Tower Surgical has been instrumental in getting me approved for this surgery. They assisted me by requesting a Peer to Peer review with the insurance company Doctor. They pushed as hard as they could to get me approved. I can honestly say that I never expected this level of support from them. They have in effect saved my life.

Dr. Ditslear seemed very informative. He presented us with a slide show explaining in depth what the surgery entails. He then met with each of us on an individual basis to make sure we understood everything. He was very thorough when answering my questions. And best of all, he is pretty easy on the eyes :)

<blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><Font face="Comic Sans MS"><font size=3><p align="left">1/2/03

I met with Dr. Ditslear today for my consult at Winlife in the Winona Hospital in Indianapolis. He is very young which made me a little nervous but after talking with him found out he was very nice, imformative and listened and cared about questions/comments asked. The staff at Winlife was great! Everyone was on top of things and just great. Dr. Ditslear really emphasized on the after care program which is a good thing for all patients of Winlife. He was very upfront and honest about the surgery pros, cons and risks. I would rate Dr. Ditslear a 10 on a scale of 1-10. The staff told me I should expect to know something in a month or so, so I will be waiting until then.

Dr. Ditslear is a very caring and wonderful surgeon. He is open to questions and never seems too rushed to listen. He has clinic through the Win Life Center at Winona Hospital in Indianapolis. At the center the risks are talked about up front to help you make the right decisions for you. The after care program is structured and continues for 5 years post op. I would overall rate both Dr. Ditslear and the Win Life Center on the scale of 1-10 a 10! I think you need both, surgical competence and bed side manner, good bed side manner that is! Dr. Ditslear has both! The only negative thing that I can say about the program is the 2:00 appt. time and waiting until 4:00 or 4:30 for the doctor to get there.

Originally I was to be seen by Dr. Nigh but when I got to the appointment they had put me onto Dr. Ditslear's caseload. At first I was disappointed because I had heard so many good things about Dr. Nigh. However, when I finally met Dr. Ditslear for our one-on-one I was really pleased that he would be my surgeon. My impression of him? He was very personable, open, mild-mannered and kind. He spent a lot of time with me. I never got the feeling that he wanted to be anywhere else but with me, explaining the different procedures and answering my questions. During that meeting with him I felt really confident. That's saying a lot because I always expect not to like physicians. When I meet one that I like then that's it - the search is over. I really appreciated him for that. My husband accompanied me to my consultation and I was really happy that he had a chance to meet Dr. Ditslear and voice his concerns. The amazing thing was that, prior to this meeting, my husband had been very leery of my having the surgery. He was supportive because he loves me but I still felt that he didn't want me to do it. After meeting Dr. Ditslear I really saw an immediate change in his attitude about the surgery. He was actually happy that I would be doing this! I can only attribute this to all of the information that he received which helped allay his fears. And eventhough I asked the same questions 5 different ways Dr. Ditslear still answered my questions and worked really hard to put us at ease and help me make a decision that I would be comfortable with.

I was also impressed with the Psychologist. She was very attentive and encouraging. She really made me feel at ease.