John Pilcher Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S.

Dr. John Pilcher is the consummate professional. He has been attentive, caring and efficient. His office staff have also been caring. I have no complaints about anyone in the office. The aftercare problem has been entirely my fault as I keep forgetting my appointments. They have been exceptionally nice to me despite my failing.I would highly recommend Dr. Pilcher to anyone needing a highly competent and caring doctor.

Dr Pilcher comes highly recommended from many doctors here in San Antonio. From what I was told and later found out for myself after meeting with him, is that he is one of the best bariatric doctors in the country. He is very well mannered, well educated doctor that holds high standards for himself, his surgical team and his patients.rnrnThough contact with him is somewhat limited throughout the 3 month weigh ins required by insurance, I did receive alot of information from him and his staff during this timeframe.rnrnDr Pilcher requires his patients to strictly adhere to and meet all criteria and goals he sets prior to surgery. He does this for the benefit of the patient. He has emphasized that meeting these goals will help me in my recovery process as well as with the actual surgery.rnrnNow I have to say this about New Dimensions Weight Loss...The staff is extrremely freindly and outgoing, but unfortunatly I must admit, at least in my case, they were completely unorganized and out of sync with my entire process. There seemed to be a lack of competence and communication with my account.rnrnIn Feb 2008 I was told by a patient advocate that I was all done and we just needed to submit everything to insurance. Two days later, I' told I need another weigh in for March and be cleared by a phsychologist. rnrnI was floored and very upset. Their in house mental health person gave me a thumbs up in Dec 2007, but she made one small note in my file that sent up a red flag. The problem was nobody told about this until March 2008. I fought them hard on this and finally, their new shrink agreed to meet me on the spot and gave me the all clear.rnrnAll told, they put just about every roadblock that the insurance hadn't already done. I was suprised that a doctor with this standing hand this kind of staff supporting his patients. Great people, just not great at what they were doing.rnrnBut on the other hand, when I brought an issue they overlooked they did a pretty good job and trying to fix it. It just happened too often. rnrnAt our final pre op meeting April 10, 2008 Dr Pilcher directed me to his top office person and she was extremely apologetic and understanding of my frustration level. We talked in a very calm, personal tone meant to give me a forum to vent my disatisfaction with the whole process and for her to gather information she could use to better train the entire staff on providing a more acceptable patient experience.rnrnOverall, I'd give the staff a generous C-. As for the Dr Pilcher, well, if I post here post op he gets an A+, if you never hear from me again, I gotta go with a D-, with a heavy grading curve.rnrnI'd rather have a top notch doctor while I'm on the table, than the best receptionist in town.rnrnAnd as advised, these are just my personal impressions based on my personal experience and in no advising anyone to seek out this center or doctor nor am I advising anyone to avoid this center or doctor.

He seems like a wonderful man who really cares about my future.

My first impression of Dr. Pilcher was that he was very professional, honest and little! He is the most adorable doctor that I have ever met. He always has taken the time to answer anything that I have asked, but he is also no nonsense. He says what he has to say, listens to your questions and answers them, then he is on to the next patient to give them the attention that they deserve. Beatrice is his office assistant and she is the one that you would go to if you need anything or have any questions for Dr. Pilcher. She is very nice and takes her time to talk to you. Veronica is the receptionist and she seems a little stressed all the time. I am much more impressed with this staff than I was with the staff of Weight Wise, which is where Dr. Pilcher was when I first met him. There were some administrative issues a couple of months before my surgery and Weight Wise no longer allowed the doctors of New Dimensions access to their facilities. At that time I was told I had to choose to either stay with WW or stay with Dr. Pilcher. It is obvious what I chose to do, and I am very happy that I did. I love Dr. Pilcher and would recommend him to anyone contemplating having this surgery.

When I first met Dr. Pilcher he seemed very quiet, just asking me questions and listening to my answers. And he would always smile. My impression of Dr. Pilcher did change after a while. I grew to feel he really wanted to help me and other people with weight problems. He has never struck me as being a money hungry doctor, but only as a caring doctor. He told me about the risks of having a revision and I appreciated that so much. I had prolems after my revision but it was because of prior surgeries I had had which lead to several complications. Dr. Pilcher was there every time I was put back in the hospital. He even told me at one of those times that he would aways be my doctor for the rest of my life. And that's true! Even once when I was put in the hospital which was totally unrelated to my surgery, my husband let Dr. Pilcher know and he came to visit me 3 of the 5 days I was in the hospital and the other 2 days he called the nurses station to check on me and have them tell me he called. You just don't find a doctor nowadays that do that!!! He's absolutely wonder. His bedside manner is wonderful. He may come in and out quickly sometimes, but he will definitely take good care of you. I could go on and on about Dr. Pilcher but just one last thing.....I was having horrible pains in my right side and my primary doctor ran tests and they came back negitive....nothing wrong with me. I went finally went to Dr. Pilcher and he did an ultra sound, blood work, then a MRI, then nuclear medicine....nothing. I finally broke down and cried and told him I'm really not crazy, the pain's there. He told me he believed it was there and if I was willing, he would remove my gallbladder because he believed something was wrong even though the tests said nothing was wrong. I went in for surgery and after waking up he told me my gallbladder was inflammed and \"angry\" looking. The next morning, Dr. Stegemann, I believe, who assisted Dr. Pilcher also told me my gallbladder was very \"angry\" looking. Other doctors just though I was crazy but Dr. Pilcher believed the pain was real and not just in my head. You couldn't ask for a better doctor!! I honestly cannot say anything negitive about Dr. Pilcher.

Dr. Pilcher is a kind doctor who is quiet but accepts feedback, not that he acts on it. His office staff, especially Yolanda is the BEST! rnrnMy patient advocate Cindy P. with WeightWise dropped the ball on me. She didn't return an email asking \"what the hold up was on my surgery?\" I added a cc to the email to Dr. Pilcher, he emailed me asking for more specifics and got Yolanda on my case. I was in surgery in less than 10 days. rnrnI am now (July 5, '07) 4 months post op of my Lap-Band (3/8/'07) and have had numerous fills. I still haven't gotten to restriction needed for satiety. I do wish I had more contact with Dr. Pilcher, he seems to leave most things up to his PA Jon, but Jon needs to get input from Dr. P.rnrnI wanted the best I could get and even though I had gone to a seminar with another group they were too agressive for me to feel comfortable. I am glad I waited for the right surgeon. Dr. P's group, New Dimensions, work together and he has another surgeon helping in the operating room. rnrn I feel Dr. P is too busy to give me time to speak with him at my appts for fills etc.rnrnI do wish he had a different group to work through than WeightWise. WW seems to be having internal problems. rnrnOmie aka Myrtle

I absolutely love the professionalism of the office, staff and especially Dr. Pilcher. I can't tell you how I have been falling thru the cracks so to speak at my PCP, but Dr. Pilcher and his staff have been getting things done. I am thrilled with his bedside manner and his attention to detail. Also even when on vacation his staff is working hard for the patients, so when he comes into the office midway thru his vacation your chart is sitting there complete and ready for review. I have to say so far I am very impressed, I highly recommend the personal attention you get here and the fact that you feel wanted, welcomed, furniture in the office is all oversized too. I think that says alot about him and his staff. Alot of his staff have had WLS and they all say, you have come to the right place.

From my doctors introduction (Dr F. Ng the best family doc in the entire world), I attended a seminar when thinking about WLS.rnrnI was impressed with the doctors, the staff, and the honest testimonials. Dr Pilcher made it clear that he is providing a tool and the hard part is up to me, his patient. He expects his patients to listen to what he instructs them to do, but at the same time he is kind, considerate and compassionate. He and all of his staff provided extensive information and care, his surgical competence and bedside manner is excellent. rnrnHe is extremely particular in how his patient is handled while in the hospital and at office visits. I thank Dr Ng, Dr Pilcher and all of their staff for helping me to help myself to live healthy.

DR. PILCHER IS AWESOME!!!rnrnHE WAS VERY INFORMATIVE AND PATIENT.. HE HAS AWESOME BEDSIDE MANNERS. I AM SO FORTUNATE TO OF HAD HIM AS MY SURGEON!!

'My first impression of Dr. Pilcher was fantastic. He is so intelligent