S. Ross Fox Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

I have not met Dr. Fox yet, in fact I am at the bottom step of starting the ball rolling. I am planning on attending his mandatory discussion group on 1-12-00. His office staff is very patient as I called them about 3 times inside of 15 minutes because I kept coming up with questions I wanted answered. I will update this as time goes on.

1.21.00 I felt the discussion group was satisfactory. I have done research on Dr. Fox, and found some things I have to talk to him about one on one before I put myself in his care.

He said I could probably get into a size 8 after weight loss. Sure hope he is right. I was hoping for a 5-6, but I have a medium to largish frame, so he is probably right. I have yet to meet with him one on one.

2.21.00 I am still waiting for 3 out of 9 doctors to send in my records. This has been a frustrating month. I want everything to move ahead yesterday. I will call Dr. Fox's office again on the 23rd if they don't call me first. They have been great at talking to me, and returning my calls. This is really important, as i know I am going to need their support if and when I have surgery.

5-28-00 Well, I had my consult with Dr. Fox, and found him to be compassionate and personable. He seemed to feel sorry that I have to use a cane, and that my knees are in such bad condition. I feel he is competent to do my surgery, and I am very impressed with the coordination of things when the ball finally gets rolling. His aftercare program is impressive, and I signed a paper stating I was his for life. He has had many years experience and is constantly reviewing and updating his program. I have met many of his patients at Michelle Curran's support group, and the one thing I noticed about them is thier glow of health and their wonderful color. He is a stickler for taking a lot of protein in drinks, and vitamins. His main concern for you is your success, and that is reiterated to me on numerous occasions. If something isn't going right, or feeling right, they want to know. They have many alternative ways in which you can go that works best for you as an individual. You can say I am impressed with Dr. Fox and his Staff. I'll write more after my surgery which is coming up in 2 days.
Sept.25,2000
Well, I filled this out, and darned if AOL didn't knock me off and destroy everything I typed. GRRR!!!

I obviously had my surgery, and am very happy with the results. My first big problem arose when I recieved my first bill from Dr. Fox's office. $175.00 for an appt with a PA!!! First, I was not told that there was a 90 day cut off on the aftercare, nor was i told I would be "on the clock"..paying in 10 minute increments. Since I am self-pay, my insurance will not pay for this, and I am stuck with a bill that is going to take me awhile to pay off. Glad I "caught on" as no one was about to tell me of the policies of this office. It's hard to get answers for things when you don't know the questions!! I found the office staff unyielding and unwilling to "work with me" on this problem. After much questioning on my part...I found that I cannot even call a nurse in the office without paying a minimum of $80.00 for the phone call!!! I am very sad that my relationship with Dr. Fox must end like this on such a negative note. They will not deal with you on an individual basis, and I see now why Dr. Fox will not discuss financial matters with you..as his office is inflexible on these matters. Had I known of the 90 day cut off, my last appt could have easily been made within this period of time. I mean, who is going to knowingly throw away $175.00 and not even talk to the doctor himself? I must say I am extremely disappointed that they will not work with their patients that don't have good insurance. My surgery was very successful, and as a surgeon, I have nothing but praise. But I can no longer afford to see him. I will be dealing through my PCP from here on out, and am wondering if they are going to charge her if she calls for information. I said a lot more in my "lost" message, but guess this all about covers my disappointment. Any preops that are considering Dr. Fox to do their surgery, and are self pay....Please ask this question....how long does my aftercare last, and how much will I be charged for visits and phone calls after this time period has elapsed! Now you have the questions that I didn't have going into this. Hope they are more flexible with you than they were with me.

Have only just met the good doctor once. I live 2000 miles from his clinic.
He's very nice and extremely sympathetic. I do wish he weren't so apologetic for us, it's like, being fat is never our fault.
Shoot, I eat like a pig, why isn't it my fault I weigh 500 pounds? Also, he wants $7,000 for the surgery. Now don't get me wrong, I think he deserves everthing he can get for all the help he's been. But right now that's the sticking point to my getting the surgery. Blue cross only wants to pay him about $1,000 for it.
Office staff seem very nice and as helpfull as I could hope for.
From all I hear his aftercare is pretty great, but will have to wait to find out for myself.
this update 9/23/00. Will right more after surgery.

My first impression of dr fox was, he is a good man he got strat to the point and told you all pros/cons of the surgey.After one year of nowing him and his staff i still think thay are all wonderful.Dr Fox and Staff will help you any time of the day or night someone is always avalibal.Ypur aftercare from the srugery is very importen,and they well tell you and if you dont come they will call.Aftercare program they give lots of info. On what you need to do and you keep seeing the Dr every Month.Dr fox will tell you all the risks with surgery and tell what you can do to prevent it also.I would rate Dr Fox to be one of the best Drs. around.His surgical competence,bedsidemanner or all wonderful.He cares about everyone he works on.

Dr Fox was terrific. He really cares. You can tell from the first meeting that he and his staff are routing for you to succeed.

Aftercare is definately important. Dr Fox makes sure you are completely educated about the changes you are making to your body. He has support groups all over the Puget Sound area. Go to one and talk to others, it is the best way to find out what to expect and if you have any questions or complications you have valuable input from those who have been through it!

Overall rating is excellent in my opinion.

Dr. Ross cares about his weight loss patients. He is intelligent, funny, ahead-of-his-time and a real thought leader in the medical weight loss field.

His office staff is filled with compassionate, helpful, supportive and sharp people. There was a one glitch in the insurance department in getting my paperwork through the system, but as soon as I called to follow-up the paperwork and wrote Dr. Fox a personal e-mail, the ball was rolling and within a week my paperwork was faxed to my insurance company.

The people on his insurance staff, along with Steve and Carolyn the physician's assistants, really went the extra mile to compile the necessary information to get my case approved the first time.

Dr. Fox emphasizes aftercare more than any other doctor I interviewed. He supports monthly group meetings throughout the community and provides access to 24-hour-a-day question line for emergencies and chronic problems.

Dr. Fox is competent, professional, experienced and his patient's success rate of full weight loss is impressive. I highly recommend his office to anyone in the Tacoma/Seattle area.

Dr. Fox is very enthusiastic about his work and really cares about his patients' quality of life.

He is very busy and doesn't get enough time to see his patients on a personal basis.

His staff is terrific. Always helpful, responsive and cheerful.

His bedside manner is the best!

The aftercare provided by Dr. Fox's staff is extensive and persistant! The support group has been VERY helpful.

Complete information was provided on all risks. There was never any pressure, just total support if surgery is selected.

Very good.

Both great in my experience!

I first went to an informational meeting in Tacoma on Mar. 29th. The patient advocate and Dr. Fox answered the questions very well, no stone was left unturned. By May 2, I was in for my pre-op physical to be submitted to the insurance company and by June 20 I was in having my short medial RNY. Dr. Fox is an older gentleman and that might throw some people but he has 30 some odd years experience behind him. I never saw him personally until the morning of the surgery, his P.A. Steve has been my primary care person and Steve is wonderful. He takes the time to really answer questions and seems very interested (as do all of the people in Dr. Fox's office) in a positive experience for the patient. Dr. Fox has a great aftercare program and my care at Pugent Sound Hospital was very good. They even sent me a beautiful red rose while recovering. I rate them as a team a 10.

He has passion for his work. He has lots of experience.

Follow up could be better. The hospital he uses, Puget Sound, is not of the best quality.

Staff if fine.

If you have the money, go somewhere that has an excellent hospital and works more closely with the patient post op.

The after care is skimpy. I feel dissapointed. A lot of the documentation they provided (support group info, post op booklets) were not up to date.

Dr. Fox did explain all the risks associated.

I think that Dr. Fox is an excellent surgeon and I never had any fears. He has a good bedside manner.

surgical competence is better than bedside manner... but both pretty good.

Great first impresssion. Intensive orientation to the procedures addressing benefits as well as RISKS! Very busy man, good schmoozer. Excellent bedside manner. Financial staff not very helpful, and, infact one could be pretty abrasive and argumentative at times, especially when telling you what your hospital would or would not charge you (she was wrong!). Patient advocates were excellent, very available and very supportive. Dr. Fox had his surgical priviledges modified for a while, during an investigation into allegations of mal-practice. Was allowed to do surgery under supervision. At hearing he was cleared of malpractice and all surgical priveledges reinstated. High emphasis on after care. Has set up monthly support groups that include pre-op patients, recent post op patients, and "veteran" patients who have had surgery anytime in the past. I rate him highly. Very concerned that his patients have a positive outcome. Very knowledgeable about current, new developments in bariatric surgery and passes that information on to this patients and office staff.
Excellent surgical competence with some EXTREMELY obese patients that have been denied care by other surgeons because of operative risk. Willing to address the risk with the patient and patient's family. Very informed consent procedure. Great competence as well as bedside manner.

Very kind, excited about his work.

No, my impression didn't change.

Office staff is extremely patient and always willing to help.

Like least - Dr. Fox is very busy, didn't get to see him personally except at initial group session and at surgery. Then bumped into him at his office.

Follow up care and risks are explained very well.