Matt Kirkland Bariatric Surgeon MD, FACS, Director, Bariatric Surgery

I met with Matt Kirkland today and was very impressed. He seemed very down to earth and approachable. He sat down with 5 other people and myself and explained everything about the operation and life after surgery. I had written quite a few questions down prior to the consult and he answered every one before I could ask it. The only thing I would change would be his location which is in center city Philadelphia. I'm in the suburbs and it's a hike, but it doesn't really bother me too much because he seems like a great doctor.

Dr. Kirkland was a wonderful surgeon! Very experienced with this surgery!

My impression only got better!

His office staff are very nice and helpful

He is to the point!

It is very hard to get an appt. some people wait 6 months.

He emphasize on attending the support group meeting after the surgery!

If I rated him I would give him a 8.

Some people think that he has a poor bedside manner, I didn't feel this?

I had my initial consultation with Dr. Matthew Kirkland in Philadelphia on 9/3/02. He spent about an hour and a half talking to me and 5 other patients. What we heard were truthful and detailed answers to all of our questions. He calmed my mind and put me at ease with his information. He is very experienced in this type of surgery, and seems to take a very "safety first" approach including pre-op visits to a cardiologist, pulmonary specialist, and support groups.
His office staff is very helpful and caring. They are doing all of the legwork re: insurance approval, pre-op testing, etc.
I should be having my surgery by the end of October - AND I CAN'T WAIT to take the next step on my journey.

Dr. Kirkland on first impression was very attentive to my interest in having the surgery performed. No matter what question I asked he was able to answer it. Until my visit, he was unaware that there was such an informative website to educate potential surgery candidates. He was very please that I was so well informed and decisive about having the procedure performed. I have referred several interested candidates for the surgery to Dr. Kirkland, advising them to make no decisions about having the surgery before they have thoroughly done the research and are comfortable that it is what they truly want. My opinion has not changed about Matt Kirkland. If I had to do it again I would choose him again! The staff is very friendly, warm, caring and helpful. As a result of my being so informed of the risks because of my research of the website, I discussed with him the risks that I knew exists. On a scale of one to ten, I would definitely rate him a big fat 10. He is a competent surgeon with great bedside manners.

Negative:In my opinion he's so busy that he wasn't personally available to answer questions I had after the surgery. I would ask the staff and they would ask him and they would call me with the reply.

I had my surgery with Dr. Kirkland on 6.19.02. I found his office staff very helpful and they got my insurance stuff taken care of very quickly.

Technically, I would say Dr. Kirland's skills were great, I have had no problems post-op.

Care at Pennyslvania Hospital was good, I had good pain control and was able to get help when I needed it.

My only caution for other patients would be to go into the first visit with your questions ready- Dr Kirkland can talk pretty quickly.

He was wonderful, and put you at ease. This is about 40% of his business, the rest is with cancer patients.

Somehow this comforted me to let me know that he wasn't out there gouging desperate people.

His staff is polite, especially Tinyetta Bagley.

My first impression was a very good one. He spoke with confidence and had a very good "bedside manor"

Office staff was also very nice and very willing to assist.

Dr. Kirkland emphasizes aftercare and suggests support groups.

All the risks of the surgery were explained verbally and in writing. I was not treated like I was stupid for asking any questions.

Overall I would rate Dr. Kirkland "excellent"

I think both are necessary to be a successful and I belive Dr. Kirkland has mastered them.

I would totally recommend Dr. Kirkland.

I was not sure if I would like the Doctor when I first meet him.

The Doctor came in and explained the surgery to me and as he began to tell me about the procedure I became more confident in his ability.

The office staff was nice but very business like.

There really wasn't anything that I did not like about the doctor after I meet him. I liked his confidence the most.

He really didn't emphasize aftercare that much. He does have a support group that meets the last Tuesday of each month but he does not usally attend.

We really did not discusse his aftercare program.

The doctor went over the risk but did not stress how risky the surgery is.

I would rate Dr. Kirkland a 9 on a scale of 1-10.

I think surgical competence, and bedside manner are great, but I have heard that this doctor does not have a very good bedside manner, but is a great surgon. I would rather have a great surgon then one with good bedside manner.

I HAVE NO COMMENT ON DR. KIRKLAND

Very informative, but you must go to the support groups to get any info/ or you will be in the dark. His staff is professional & courteous and handled all the paperwork from insurance to disability papers without a glitch. The only thhing missing from Dr. Kirkland was lack of info for post-op wound care and expectatiins...asgain...I went to 2 deminars...and had I not...I would have known no more than the MD's name.
I went by the MD's surgical reputation and the Hospitals reputation....I would not consider having surgery from anyone less than excellent....so bedside manner is never an issue with me...He is very nice, but I only saw him for 5 seconds my 2nd day in ICU...The rest of my stay and prior to surgery was dealt with by interns and residents.
I chose to have the epideral, and gratefully I had a wonderful anastealogist who actuall stroked my hair as he was working on the procedure...How kind and calming....I felt like a 3 year old in Daddys safe hands...He was wonderful