Peter LePort Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S.

Dr. LePort was great! Although he is a very busy man, at each step of the way he would take time to ask if I had any questions. Because I had researched the surgery and Dr. LePort so thoroughly I was very confident. His staff was great. I am not yet aware of an aftercare program. I have not be back for my first appt after surgery. I have another week or so. I luve out of the area and really hope I will be able to follow up with my PCP. He does have a wonderful support group ran by a psychologist weekly. However, I have not been to one. Again, inconvenient time in relation to where I live.

Dr. LePort was wonderful! I couldn't have asked for a better doctor. He took time with me; explained everything clearly; and his staff was a great help. I had my surgery; had some problems with pneumonia and a drug reaction afterwards, but they got me through it just fine. I have lost over 87 lbs., and I'm still losing. Friends can't believe it when I tell them that after Thanksgiving, I lost 5 lbs (and I ate quite a bit....grazed like a cow). I'm still losing, and I have about 15 lbs. to my goal weight. When I show my old driver's license to my co-workers, they can't believe I'm the same person! I can't believe I'm the same person. I have recommended Dr. LePort to everyone that I see, and I often wish I could go up to people in the malls that are grossly overweight and tell them about this wonderful surgery and this great doctor!

In my humble opinion if I may a rant a little :

I, loudly and clearly as possibly would tell anyone AVOID THIS DOCTOR'S PRACTICE. I say this because of the tactics and manipulations of his staff that will deny anything they say unless you have it in writing and even then, you’re still in for a battle, and they will try to extort you later for monies you never agreed to pay! And even send your account to a collection agency for money you don't owe! These people are not worth the hassle and grief, and all the smiling faces disappear immediately after you question them about a concern in billing or policy.

For me now the issue isn't even the actual subject of a disagreement anymore, but the way they have chosen to deal with what should have been a minor issue has become a far worse problem than the original dispute that they themselves have created. Instead of dealing with a typical professional medical office staff I feel like I'm dealing with The Soprano's with Dr. LePort's office staff.

This is not a sour grape story as I'm happy with the results I've had from wls, but wouldn't have gone near here if I knew I had to deal with one tenth of this garbage and out and out insulting behavior as I could have gotten the surgery done elsewhere without the horror story nightmare I'm going through with this Doctor's staff and office personnel. I have asked to hear from the Doctor himself but, so far have heard nothing.

I am now several months post op and while all the medical stuff is going fine, I am having good results from the surgery and I am very happy about the weight lost. But, after all I have been through with Dr.LePort's staff, and the office practices I would tell anyone who would listen: NEVER BE INVOLVED WITH HIM OR HIS OFFICE AND RUN AS FAR AS YOU CAN FROM THEIR BUILDING.

I have had nothing but problems with the staff's incompetence from minor repeated false claims of calls they say they made to me, that never happened, to major billing foul ups, paper work foul ups, scheduling foul ups to now, out and out lies and deceptions about how much and what I was paying for, bordering on total fraud including claiming I agreed and signed forms that I never saw and agreements on paying further sums of moneys that were never mentioned or agreed to and now threats to ruin my credit by his staff by now stating they are sending my account to a collection agency.

To the beginning, my insurance was all pre approved, and we all knew the numbers long before my surgery. I was very precise when I asked what the up front money they requested went for and covered and was told I would have no further payment owed to their office. I also read and know what forms I signed and agreed to. That amount I then paid was to be the full and total payment due "their office" for the surgery. All other Doctors and Hospital and co-pays have already been paid by me and my insurance company.
We are talking his office/medical group only here. And the "new" charges related to the day of surgery only that I already paid in full in advance what they requested as all their offices/medical group full charges.


Well all that's changed, and now the office is demanding more money claiming (falsely I might add) I agreed to it in writing, which I know for a fact I didn't do. After being told repeatedly and rudely on the phone I signed a form allowing the amount in question they finally have acknowledged I didn't sign the form in question as they were claiming and no such form was EVER signed by me because they didn't even have or use the form at the time of my surgery nor, was I ever asked to sign it because they adopted the form at a later date so it would never have applied to me or been offered to me to sign.

Frankly falsely accusing a patient of lying itself is beyond the pale, but to not even offer any remorse for it when you find out you were wrong is bizarre.

Now in an ethical business that would end it and they would charge off the difference of a couple a hundred dollars by their own error if for no other reason then they pretty much spent a good deal of time calling me a liar and the problem was caused by caused by their errors as it was beyond what they agreed to require as full payment for the services rendered.

If I run a business and agreed to the terms of an agreement and later found I under estimated the money or price for services I want to charge, it comes from me the service provider/contractor in error, not the other party several months later long after the fact. But, no, Dr.Leport's office staff is still making a demand for payment and sending it to collections if I don't send them more money then both parties originally agreed I would pay. They are also stating even if "they" made an error in what they told me, it still is going to a collection agency.

As someone who worked in collections and with my own legal background I am totally shocked by these peoples reprehensible comments, actions, behavior and attitudes. As I informed them that it was illegal to send this demand for payment to a collection agency because of their error or wish to renegotiate for more money from me, they said for me "to take them to court then" but they were going to do it anyway and it will be on my credit report in the mean time so it would be better for me to agree to just pay it.

Anyone who would even consider operating under those blackmail style tactics and behaving in this fashion is to be avoided at all cost. I have quickly learned behind those smiling faces are some really rude, vicious and deceptive people in Dr. Leport's office staff.

I'm an out-of-state patient so I appreciate how the staff has all the pre-op tests, etc., arranged locally for you after you arrive for surgery. Dr. LePort and Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center are considered 'In-Network' for both my primary & secondary coverage. My primary insurance authorization letter from First Health was received today (10/6/01) for surgery with Dr. LePort. Linda and Jo on the office staff have been very helpful.
Post Op Note: My experience with Dr. LePort and the staff at Smart Dimensions was wonderful. Everything went smoothly. I would not hesitate to recommend Dr. LePort to anyone who is seriously looking at this procedure.

I LOCATED DR. LEPORT'S OFFICE ON THE ASBS WEBSITE, AFTER CALLING A LOCAL SURGEON
OWENS WHO DIDN'T ACCEPT BLUE CROSS MEDI-CAL.
MY ORIGINAL DR. WAS KELLY FRANCIS WHO WENT OUT ON MATERNITY LEAVE SO,I JUST MET DR. LEPORT IN PERSON ON 1/2/02. BUT MY FIRST IMPRESSION OF DR. LEPORT WAS THAT HE HAS A PLEASANT BED SIDE MANNER AND SEEMED TO BE COMPETENT.
BUT THE OFFICE STAFF LAURA,DEDE, AN ELLEN WHO I BUGGED CONSTANTLY WERE VERY HELPFUL AND PATIENT WITH ME.
THE RISKS AND AFTERCARE ARE DISCUSSED AT ALMOST EVERY APPOINTMENT AND THE STAFF HIGHLY SUGGESTS THAT YOU ATTEND SUPPORT GROUP MEETINGS. THEY ALSO OFFER A BOOK TO GUIDE YOU THROUGH AND SUGGESTS CERTAIN WEBSITES.
I RATE DR LE PORT SO FAR AT A 10.. ALTHOUGH I HAVEN'T HAD MY SURGERY YET. I ACTUALLY WAS SCHEDULED TO HAVE MY SURGERY
TODAY 1/3/02 AT 5 A.M.,BUT THE ANTHESIOLOGIST DIDN'T FEEL MY LUNGS WERE CLEAR ENOUGH FOR THEM TO SUCESSFULLY COMPLETE THE SURGERY . SO MY SX WAS CANCELLED UNTIL I GO TO A PULMONOLOGIST AND GET MY LUNGS CLEAR.. CRY OUT LOUD!!
I'VE BEEN COMTEMPLATING,RESEARCHING, AND BEEN APPROVED FOR THIS SX TWICE SINCE 1998..AND I CRIED LIKE A BABY TODAY BECAUSE
I WAS READY TO" DO THIS".. PLUS I'M A SINGLE MOM SO I HAVE TO ALMOST SCHEDULE A BATHROOM BREAK.. BUT MY MOTHER WHO WAS PRESENT SAID
"I AM EVEN MORE CONFIDENT IN HIS ABILITIES NOW!!" AND I AM TOO LOGICALL IF I CAN'T BREATH IT WOULD BE TOUGH TO BE PUT TO SLEEP FOR 5 PLUS HOURS.. BUT I WAS READY... SO NOW I WAIT FOR REFERRALS AND PRAY TO RESCHEDULE AND TRY TO STAY POSITIVE.. BUT SO FAR EVERY I KNOW THAT'S HAD LAP IS THRILLED WITH THE RESULTS AFTER ABOUT THE 1ST 6 MONTHS....



M SURE TO BE A

My first impression of Dr. LePort was that he is a very busy man!!! and he is, but he does give adequate time to each of his patients... Over time my first impression was reaffirmed... He does somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 bariatric surgerys a week, so he is extremely busy.... His front office staff is ok, but his behind the scenes ladys, DeeDee, Ellen, Laura, and Vanessa are great! I cant say enough about any one of them, they were there throughout the whole insurance process, and were amazing.... If I had to say there was something I didn't like about Dr. Leport it would be that I wish more of my follow up was with him, instead of his physician assistant, but that has something to do with hiw busy he is, and whether or not he is in surgery as well...
Dr, LePorts emphasis on after care is tremendous, DeeDee his dietician is always available, and for every little question she was there, if it was just for a hug or to tell me about a particular food... He also has a support group which is the most helpful thing of all....
Dr. LePort is very up front with the risks of the surgery, he has programs that you go through before you see him that goes over all the risks and what the guidelines are for post op, and there is also a take home packet, and then when you visit with him he goes over it with you personally and then asks if you have any questions, he is extremely thorough.
I would recomend Dr. LePort to anyone, he is the best.

I first met Dr LePort the day I appeared at his office on October 29, 2001 for pre-surgery tests and consiltation. I was in a wheelchair becasue of severe pain in my knees, and after attending a class teaching me what kind of foods I would be eating after the surgery, I was to meet the doctor. Instead of me having to make my way through the tangle of halls and doors to the doctor\'s office, he came to me where I was. I was very impressed with the care and compassion of he and his staff. They really tried to make everything as easy for me as possible. Many times bending over backwards to accomadate me and my disability. Never once did I feel looked down on or bad about being so morbidly overweight.

Dr LePort is above all a professional, and knows what he is doing. He was very kind and caring, and told me what he could do for me, and what I would have to do to make the tools he was giving me work to make me a healthy happy THIN person again. He took the time with me to answer all my questions. I liked that very much.

I liked him, I was a little nervous meeting him though... He was very professional, quickly went over my history and the complications of the surgery. We talked about my desire to have the surgery done LAP, but he said he wouldn't really know until he got in there whether or not he could do it LAP. I asked him to try, but fully gave him permission to do whatever was necessary (Open, remove anything that may be bad)... At the consult his intelligence appealed to me, I tend to be an intellectual type, and I get the impression he is too!

There wasn't anything I disliked about him. I like his office staff too... Jo and Linda have been there to answer all my questions and Michelle has been a wonderful bonus! Such neat people!

What should future patients know about him? He is very professional, very busy, and will try to accomodate your request for surgery type as much as possible.

I thought his surgical competence was excellent and his bedside manner was good too... I only got to see him twice, otherwise his partners checked in on me (I saw Dr. Ali twice and Dr. Chin once).

Dr. LePort is very honest when describing to you the risks and benefits involved. He has a whole crew of people working with him to assure best possible success of your weight loss. He is also a gentleman, and very easy going. I, as a health care worker, was very impressed with him. His staff are all working together, and will answer all questions, and encourage calling them. They give you plenty of cards for you to use to call them. I highly reccommend Dr. LePort. Future patients should know that as there are a high volume of patients under his care, he has highly qualified assistants to help him with his patient care. I must say they are very knowledgeable, and competent. In the city where he is they have support groups every week twice a week and he also gives the e mails and locations of his support groups, and encourages other areas who don't have groups to start them. I just had my surgery 12 days ago, and they took my numbers where I would be, and said they would be calling. I rate him and his office and crew a 10 out of 10. I feel the competence of this man very important. More so than bedside manner. However, I was lucky enough to find that this man had both. And also the people in the hospital, nurses, and patient care technicians thought extremely highly of him. What more can I say? He was wonderful.

I have not met Dr. LePort yet.
He was my niece's surgeon and I took her
recommendation since she also knew several
other people in the area who were quite happy
with their experience with him. I also
checked this site for comments about
Dr. LePort.
The Smart Dimenins office staff has been nice and helpful.

I met Dr. LePort two days before surgery.
He was very thorough in explaining what I could
expect and what the possible problems were.
He was very nice and also gave me a hug,
which I appreciated.

After surgery, he visited me twice in the
hospital (I was in for 4 days), I was also
visited by the internist he had me consult
before surgery and his PA.

I also saw him (first his PA) about two weeks
after surgery before I left for home.

I've had numerous questions for Smart Dimensions
staff, which have always been answered. They
are well organized and helpful. I also
attended several support group meetings while
in Fountain Valley.