Thomas Umbach Bariatric Surgeon MD, FACS, FASMBS

My first impression of Dr. Umbach was that he was young, confident, knowledgeable and not someone who treats you like a child. He accepted that I had 'done my homework' and seemed to have studied my case history prior to our meering. As with many surgeons, he's now 'on to the next' - but I'll withhold a second impression until I have my first post-op meeting with him on 2/11. I don't know how long he'll keep me off work, or what kind of feedback he provides until then. He did a great job, as far as I can tell, on my surgery. I went home the next day. If I were to comment on anything I liked least about him was perhaps he could be a little more encouraging--but I'd rather have a great surgeon who loves what he does than someone who has perfect bedside manner. Besides, the support team and nurses were outstanding! Not too much emphasis from him on aftercare--more of that comes from the support group process and case management, from what I can tell so far. The Bariatric Program at Kaiser has a very structured aftercare (and pre-op) care and evaluation program--I've been extremely impressed. I'd say his surgical competence was the best--bedside manner was OK, but not at all a problem. I'd recommend him to anyone considering the surgery. I've actually had a fairly easy surgery and recovery (so far). I hope things continue as they have. I think the team approach at Kaiser is wonderful, and my impression is that each of them does their part very well.

my first impression of Dr.Umbach was he was no nonsense, and he wanted you to KNOW what you were getting yourself into. I liked him right away. His office staff is WONDERFUL and very kind. Future patients should know, to do what they ask you to do, walk, follow the 1200 calarie diet, and be honest with yourself, is this what YOU really want? I am 100% happy I had this surgery and would do it again in a heartbeat. I feel Dr. Umbach, took very very good care of me, he came and saw me after the surgery and a few times before I came home just to see if I was "ok".

First impression, he is young. Found him to be competent and staff report he is expert in Lap Surgeries. Staff were always supportive. I would recommend Dr. Umbach to anyone awaiting surgery. He addressed risk face on, Overall I liked him he checked on me several times after surgery.

GREAT surgeon! Easy going, calm, confident, quick, and very caring and sweet. I'd recommend Dr. Umbach to anyone. And he's another "C" - CUTE! :-)

I was very impressed with Dr. Umbach.
His entire practice is roux-en-Y gastric bypasses. He specializes in doin it laporoscopically, and was able to do me lap, after everyone told me I would have to be done open. (I lost 65 lbs, to allow him to do it.)

He is part of a comprehensive pre-op education and post-op support program. He very thoroughly explained everything (including risks and possible complications) and answered all my questions. I had a very positive relationship with him and had an excellent outcome.

Overall, I would rate him excellent for both his surgical skill and bedside manner.

My first impression: young...handsome...confident...strong and arrogant.
My impression changed because I communicated my view of self and doctors.
I let Dr. Umbach know that I did not feel ugly...just fat and unhealthy. I also mentioned to him that God was the ultimate healer and he was a "tool" that God used to help people like me. I thanked him for dedicating his life to this area of medicine. He concurred and said his wife tells him this all the time! It keeps him "humble" he said.(What a guy!)
You should know that Dr. Umbach is a no nonsense, hands on partner. He wants to know that you are committed to this journey and will do your part to obtain the ultimate success goal. He gets very charged when his patients do well and follow the golen rules as well as utlizing the aftercare staff available to us. He seems to grow taller and swell with pride when he sees the change in the over all health of his patients.
The aftercare program is in place but YOU have to make use of it.(Do your part!)
Surgery is not to be taken lightly. Dr. Umbach would rather not cut...But he knows that this is saving many lives...so he chooses the lesser of two evils. Look...we're all dying anyway! But what quality of life do you want? Pills, Pain and isolation or Health, mobility and happiness. It's your choice and Dr. Umbach understands that he is just a step in the direction of the choices you make.
Overall I rate Dr. Umbach as a 9.9 because perfection is not possible, but he comes damb close. His bedside manner is as good as mine! And as for his surgical competence...put it like this...If I need to get cut again - He's my man.
Because I took the initiative to communicate my heart with Dr. Umbach, he has become, in my eyes: a strong, yet gentle, caring',yet no nonsense, funny, yet serious partner in my fight against obesity!
What can I say...I trust my doctor!

I thought Dr. Umbach was very good. In fact. I thought the whole Kaiser SSF team were excellent and very supportive throughout the whole process. They really emphasize the importance of preparation and aftercare. Really explain the risks involved.

I HEAR WONDERFUL THINGS ABOUT MY SURGEON BUT HAVE NO YET MET HIM I WILL ON APRIL 13 2004.

Dr. Umbach is a pretty cool guy. When I first met him he was very user friendly, young and cute. He was actually referred to me by the approving doctor who said that he is does A LOT of laproscopics (more than the other 2 Dr.s at Kaiser) and is also more likely than them to preform a Lap on someone who has a higher BMI. Since I am pear shaped and lost my required weight in my upper body she (and he) said I was a great candidate even though I had a BMI of 56.

Surgery went amazingly well. I went in the 28th, and was discharged on 1/29 at 2:30 PM! I have 5 small scars, and he was SO GOOD that I have NO BRUISING except for a quarter sized bruise in the one incision they do most of the work! Not like some people who come away with their entire abdomin bruised. Hell, the IV's gave me worse bruises. Pain wise...I felt as if I had been strapped into crunch machine for a day, but that was it!

Follow up...The Dr Umbach actually called me about a week after my surgery to answer any questions and see how I was doing.

I am very impressed by him and I think he did a wonderful job and made my first surgery a comfortable and healthy experience. No negatives about him at all.

the first time i saw dr umbach was at my orientation with my dad. i told my dad he was young. but he sure knows his stuff. since then i still think he's young and i told him so and he said he'll have a grey haired older dr in the surgery room with him. dr umbach is very cute and easy to talk to. his office staff are very nice and helpful.