Roger De La Torre Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S.

i belive surgical competence in COMBINATION with good bedside manner is important-- after all if your surgeon is the best skillfully but is a big BUTT , would you be willing to notify him if things weren't going right? you gotta have a good repor with anyone who is going to be cutting on you and rearranging things!!! LOL DAWN
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June 2002-- well, i have decided, after much consideration, my gut feeling, and things i have heard from friends of family members and such to change surgeons..
I have decided to go with Dr.s Scott/DeLeTorre in Wentzville at Crossroads Regional Medical Center.. I have researched and researched and am so at peace with this change i am very confident all will be fine..If you have any questions, please feel free to email me..

9-06-02-- well i finally met with Dr de la Torre and i am highly impressed with the man's knowledge, skills, and actuall caring about how his patients are informed about what, where, when, why & how things are going to progress.. he answered all questions without acting like we were idiots and was VERY pleasant, joking and easy to talk to..and the fact that they were the 4th in the world to do lap RNY is a great thing!!! his office staff was very nice and Nancy in the scheduling was wonderful!! they also give you a list of foods, protiens, and such to purchase BEFORE your surgery so that you have it all before hand!!! he did however ask us if he had talked us out of the surgery with all the risks he went over... i told him no way-- with me being a nurse i KNOW that ANY surgery has risks involved... i guess that is part of his job tho to make sure EVERY detail isn't left unsaid.. Can't wait!!!!!!38 days!!!
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03-22-04---well, i have seen dr de la Torre post op and in passing at work.. I am a nurse an have gotten the pleasure of working with a few of his pts at a local hospital, and i believe i have found my calling.. LOL i have heard many views about his bedside manner but i DO NOT HAVE one bad thing to say about this man!! I believe he aided in saving my life (medically) as well as spiritually and in turn gave me a 2nd chance and i will forever be in debt to him!! and i would (and HAVE) recommended him to anyone who asks my opinion of bariatric surgeons.. THANKS AGAIN!!! Dawn

Dr. De La Torre was wonderful. He was very kind and friendly. He is very smart and confident about what he does. His office staff is always friendly over the phone, I finally met his RN, Nancy. Let me tell you she is sooooooooooooo nice and friendly( to bad all nurses aren't like her)! I have nothing negative to say about the DR. When you attend his class he goes over all the risk, bad and good. He is very bg on aftercare. I would rate him a 10 as of right now. Surgical competence is the most important to me.

He's surprisingly young for someone who is called the pioneer of roux-en-y laporoscopic gastric bypass surgery. After discussing the procedure with him and hearing a bit about his past and credentials, I was quite impressed and reassured I had made the right choice. I think his complication rate is the lowest of anyone in Missouri any most of the United States. His office staff are very productive and have the routine down perfectly, from getting your insurance packet together to scheduling your appointments. The only negative is that you only get to see Dr. De La Torre for short minutes at a time and not frequently at all. His other associates take over. However, he does this to ensure the vast majority of his time is spent in surgery. He has a very structured aftercare and a registered dietitian presents the patient (before surgery) with a book that explains, in detail, your food plan. Dr. De La Torre went into the risks involved with this surgery in detail and made sure all questions were answered before leaving. Out of a score from 1 - 10, I'd give him the highest score of 10. His surgical competence is truly unrivaled with this surgical method as far as my research into the matter has indicated.

Typical Surgeon.

Stayed the same all of them think their GOD

Nancy is great and so are the interns

Very quick doesnt listen well

Hes a typical surgeon if you want to chat talk to Nancy
He doesnt talk much about after care

nope

He's very informative about the risk

On a scale of 1-10 I would give him about a 8

Surgical competence I would rather him know what he is doing I can always get good bedside manners from the nurses.

When I first met him I felt like he was hurried, but then what Doc isn't. He was curtious and answered all my questions. His one day class that he gives pre op was great and he talked with us for probably an hour. I felt very good about him at this point. Office staff has been wonderful! Nancy makes the Dr!! Felt like he wasn't available for my surgery. Not even sure if he was there or not. Never saw him in the hospital. Saw another Dr. that I had never heard of and only saw him once. Discharge orders were different than what I got in my packet pre op. Waiting for my first post op visit in 2 days.
I feel surgical competence and bedside manner are equally as important. Doctors are wholistic care givers and should act as such, not just business men.

I just finished the pre-op class. He seems very concerned with his malpractice liability, so he went into graphic detail of everything that can go wrong, his personal stats, and how he never promises a laparoscopic outcome. He did mention AMOS indirectly, saying that internet support groups are great, but he never reads them because he doesn't want to hear anything bad about himself. :) He explained that even though he's the surgeon, we probably won't see him after surgery in the hospital, because he's part of a team and an associate takes care of the after-visits.

During my personal visit, I noticed that he didn't seem very interested in me as a person-- for instance, I tried explaining my problems with major depressive episodes after any surgery, and he just looked confused and said, "You plan on being depressed afterward?"--as if I *choose* depression (up until that point, I had been feeling pretty proud of myself for being responsible enough to recognize the pattern beforehand. His question made me feel like I was a silly little girl who was about six inches tall.) Also, I'm taking a pretty hefty dose of Vicodin daily now just to maintain; when I asked what the normal take-home meds were, and what dose, he just said liquid Lorcet, but wouldn't tell me how much--I guess it looked like I was a drug-seeking patient, when that's not the case. It's just that over the years, I've built up a tolerance for most of the narcotic meds, and some of them just don't work anymore.

For anyone who watches ER, Dr. De La Torre reminds me of Dr. Romano's less compassionate cousin. Excellent surgeon, zero bedside manner. He does five surgeries every Monday, kind of like an assembly line. I got the distinct impression that he's really just in this for the money. (An idea which was reaffirmed when they required me to sign a contract saying I would do binding arbitration instead of a jury trial if I ever had any malpractice concerns. He does have the right to sue me in small claims court, according to the contract. Cute.)

The nurse, Nancy, was great. She was able to explain that basically, Dr. De La Torre does the surgery and the follow-ups, but most of the aftercare is left up to you and your PCP. Any meds you'll need in the hospital, besides the actual surgical ones, have to be prescribed by the PCP.

Overall, though, I decided to go with De La Torre because he has an excellent record and I have an excellent PCP. My mother is also a nurse case manager--so I know that I'll be in good hands throughout the procedure, with people who know enough medical jargon/lingo to be my advocate when I'm too whacked out to make any sense.

I did alot of research, I think he is a very competent and progressive surgeon. I have been very please with his staff and efficiency. The "all day" appointment covers generally everything including risk, and gives the opportunity for you to ask any question not covered. The only thing I think that might make the overall experience better is a least one actual encounter with the doctor after surgery. I was out before he came into surgery and haven't seen him since, that is a strange, detached feeling. I in no way doubt that I was in good hands, just not much "connection" with the man, who has your life in his hands!

Dr. De la Torre was very pleasant. He spent alomost 45 minutes just discussing the various procedures and my options. The office is very busy, but had the time for you if you need it.

My first impression of Dr. De Le Torre was wonderful, he explained the surgery even the not so good side of it and the mortality rate all the things you don't want to hear but ned to hear. He has wonderful bed side manner and is awesome to look at. His office staff were very helpful and very curtious, willing to go the extra mile to make you feel comfortable.

I have been soooooo happy with Dr. DeLaTorre's office. I had a very bad experience with another place in St. Louis called New Start. They jerked me around for 5 months, only to find out that the Dr. I was going with (Dr. Gaskin) was no longer doing surgery due to the malpractice insurance. Also, during the course of those 5 months, they never even sent any of my paperwork in for insurance approval.

I went with Dr. DeLaTorre's office on Monday, February 3rd, 2003. It is now Monday, March 17th, and I already have insurance approval and all what I am waiting for right now is to spend a day at the hospital, where they will go over everything with me of what I can expect with my surgery, and I will meet the Dr. that day. When I get done with that, they will set my surgery date, which they are telling me may be as early as the end of April or beginning of May.

Needless to say, I have been very happy with his office. They have been very fast with all the paperwork, and have been eager to answer any questions that I had, without making me feel like I was "bothering" them.
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7-3-03
I am 2 1/2 months out of surgery (10 weeks) and I have lost 62 pounds so far!!!!! Very hard in the beginning, but I feel absolutely wonderful now...Best decision I ever made!!!!!!
********************************************10-31-03
I am 6 1/2 months out of surgery and have lost 105 pounds so far and 87 inches off my body!!! This was the best thing I could have ever done!!
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