James D. Atkinson Bariatric Surgeon MD, FACS

I went there for 5 months. I never ever saw the Dr. ever. I requested to see him twice and was told he only does the surgeries and the PA does everything before and after. The staff was very nice especially Maria. But they did nothing for me but take my money. I am happy to report that I have found a new dr. here in Las Vegas and I am scheduled for surgery. Thank god.. I highly question any type of medical office that does not allow you to see the Dr. until you have surgery...

I had the best experience with Dr. Atkinson. He answered every question I had .He explained everything , the staff were and is great. I wouldn't change one thing. Im thankful that he gave me the opportunity to have a tool to help me regain back my life.

I was sleeved 4/2/14. I am currently 17 days out and doing great! Surgery went just fine, and recovery has been easier then expected. This has went smoother then I ever could have imagined thus far. I am 20 lbs down so far.

Editing to add new update - 1/11/15:
I am now almost 9 months out, and have had zero complications. I am down 80 lbs. Started at 268, and now 188. Would be down much more, if I had not had personal slip ups with eating choices. My sleeve is awesome, and I still have great restriction when I eat right. If I never lost another pound in this journey, I would not change a thing! One of the best decisions I made for my self! Thank you Dr Atkinson!

I attended a WLS seminar with my friend who was interested in getting the lapband or sleeve and I went with her for support. I did not have my WLS here - I had Gastric bypass in 2008 and am very happy with the outcome.

At the seminar, was the first I heard of the possibility of revision, so I did some research and saw Dr Atkinson as a patient and had an Endoscopy done to check out my pouch and stoma at Desert Springs. I was not sure what that hospital would be like, but it was some of the best customer service EVER and I have worked in healthcare most of my life.

After my test, there were some challenges and mixups with the scheduling to discuss the test outcome which was finally resolved and all was okay. Neither the staff nor I held any sort of grudge and we all moved on...

The best part for me with this practice so far is that I did get connected with their support groups and attend their Nutrition 101 class, which was really good. There is a lot of info presented in a short amount of time, excellent handouts and the nutrition does a great job of redirecting the participants so we stay on track. I was surprised to see many of the attendees there were somewhat "checked" out and not paying attention; for me I am a big believer in advocating for my own body and not depending on anyone to do it for me. I want to be healthy and prevent problems; not have to fix problems after they crop up.


The support groups are also great, but you really get out of both the classed and the groups what you are willing to put into it. The support group run by Dr A is very good, the same for the emotional group run by the therapist and the nutritional group run by the dietician and the "catch-all" group, also run by nutritionist. I did not know what to expect, but they are very good and I am so glad I found the groups. I am still considering the Mind over Eating - the refresher after 5.5 yrs postop has really help me to refocus and get back on track.

They have a retail area that is now open during the support/classes which is soooo convenient.

I give this clinic 1 star because of the horribly rude staff. From the PA to the Nutrionalist, and everyone in between. Melissa at the front desk tries to make you feel very uncomfortable. Perla (patient advocate) never returns calls, takes weeks to schedule you and doesn't have your best interest at heart. The Doctors themselves are top notch but staff is really bad. They are also out of the office a lot making it hard to get an appointment. There is another doctor here in town with far better ratings. Do your homework. This Doctor needs to clean out his office. Oh, and they try to find ways to keep charging you more money even after the "all inclusive surgery".

The staff here is awful and they lie, they never let you meet the doctor and they just give you more things to do. They want all the test, blood work, and psych evaluation before they book you an appointment to speak with the doctor. I asked to speak with the manager and they said it would take her a week to call back. He might be a decent surgeon but his customer service is awful! Many of the reviews speak of people who met the doctor on the day of surgery and never before.

Dr. Atkinson and his staff was simply awesome. He was very professional, came to my room the following day and sat down with me and answered every question I had. I very highly recommend him. He is in the top 5% of all bariatric surgeons and his leak rate is below 1%. Do yourself a favor and at least have a consultation with his office

I have never been able to meet him or talk to him despite multiple, multiple attempts, so I can't say what my impression is. The office staff tries to be nice, but they are clearly overwhelmed and can't give quality service. I'm sure he's a fantastic surgeon from what I have heard from other people, but if you can't get in for the surgery and can't get a return call after 247 tries, that doesn't do you much good. Overall, epic disappointment.

I was impressed. He is the number 5 surgeon bariatric in America. I was impressed.I didn't chose him actually he is required by my insurance. I just wish I wouldhave got to see more of him instead of his crew. Although, the crew was great.

Dr. James Atkinson and his partner Dr. Darren Soong are two of the most attentive doctors I have ever met. I had some issues, after my surgery, and my family left messages on the voicemail, and Dr. Atkinson immediately called back to tell them how to help me. I really feel glad that I picked Dr. Atkinson because if you live in Las Vegas, you know that there are other prominent surgeons in the area. There is also a structured aftercare program that is run by their staff and they make it clear that patients can call and ask any questions and not hestitate if we have a problem. Dr. Atkinson is one of the best bariatric surgeons in the country, and I know I made the right decision in chosing him to handle my surgery. He cares about his patients.