TriStar Centennial Medical Center Hospital

I have not met with Doctor Olsen yet. I have an appointment on 3/15. I am so excited. However, his staff has been so nice and very helpful. They are very understanding of how difficult it is to live in another part of Tennessee and try to get all that you need done. Debbie Thompson is his program director and her staff has been very helpful with getting my consultation set up, giving me an e-mail address and sending me needed information. If Doctor Olsen is just half this helpful and nice I am going to feel very fortunate.

3/28: I had surgery consultation and found Doctor Olsen to be very nice and his staff. They are just very overwhelmed with too many patients and not enough staff to take care of us in a timely fashion. I have been told they are working on it, but not scheduling until after May and it will be more like August or September or later. I have been very depressed as my pre-determination is only good for 90 days (June 9). I worry about this and the fact that I am so ready for this tool to help change my life and it is taking so long. But, I know Doctor Olsen would do it today if he could. Sorry to sound so down, but this is very hard to swallow, but the up side is I will have the surgery eventually. Later...

I was e-mailed by Terry in Doctor Olsen's office 3/20 stating they are really trying hard to get the surgery load caught up. Keep your fingers crossed they get me in before June 9. I will be so relieved to hear that they will. If they don't I don't know what will happen next, but lets be positive. I know that I have Lisa and Debbie in the Bariatrics office and Terry in Doctor Olsen's office doing all they can to get me and others like me in for our surgery. They have all been very nice and Lisa especially has been very emotionally supportive over this very trying time.

I am absolutely crazy about Dr. Olsen. He is kind, calm and excremely capable. I pride myself on having always had a really good sense of judgement. I knew immediately that although Dr. Olsen had not been in the field of bariatrics for very long, he was an expert laparoscopic surgeon who knew exactly what he was doing. I think I was only his third RNY patient but I would have been his first in a heartbeat. I can't say enough good things about him.

Dr. David Dyer has been practicing surgery laparoscopically for quite a few years, but performing gastric bypass is new to him. He took his certification training At Alvaredo under Carnie Wilson's doctors, and was hand chosen to do this by Dr. Olsen who pioneered gall bladder lap surgery. I like both of them very much. We have not had but one opportunity to talk at length, so I don't know if my perception will change later, but Debbie Thompson who is the RN who runs this program at Centennial Hospital in Nashville is top notch and she has complete confidence in these men. She has had the surgery herself so she know what she is talking about. I have found everyone involved in the program to be very helpful and friendly. Being kind and friendly is a very important element in my comfort level, so I feel very good about everything right now. Obviously competence is the most important thing, but a good bedside manner goes a very long way with me. The biggest drawback of course is the lack of hands on experience Dr. Dyer has in this procedure. I know he has great skill from all that I have heard, but he is still working slowly and I hate to think of being "out" that long.

My First impression of Dr. Olsen was that he was very knowledgable. I was particularly impressed with his stong background in laparoscopy. He was actually involved in some of the very first laparoscopic prcedures ever. He is patient and understanding. He explained everything to me and my family as many times as I needed. He visited me at least once everyday I hospitalized, sometimes even twice. His staff is great too!! I dealt mostly with his nurse, Terri. She is so friendly. I must have called her a thousand times but she never seemed bothered or "put out" by my calls. Even just today, I had a post op question and Dr. Olsen called me back personally. What a wonderful doctor! He told me about all of the risks in detail several times, even up to the morning of surgery. He went over the risks again to make sure I understood. The aftercare is very structured, Dr. Olsen works with a nutritionist who also vistied me everyday. Everything is mapped out a week at time as far as what you should and shouldnt be doing. I know its not very imformative if there are no negative comments, but I swear to you I honestly, 100% have nothing negative to say about Dr. Olsen, his staff, or his work. I didnt expect to feel as bad as I did afterwards, but thats because I had never experienced surgery before, It wasnt the doctors fault. you can read more about that as I update my profile!!

I first seen Dr.Olsen a the seminar that Centennial
Medial Center hosted. The program director Debbi
Thompson and Dr. Olsen both spoke to us. I have
not yet had a one on one meeting with him. I am
currently waiting for his nurse to contact me about
an appointment date.

Dr. Olsen was very nice. During my first consult with him, he looked into my eyes the whole time he was explaining the surgery to me. He was highly recommended to me.
His nurse Terri is very nice and supportive.
Anytime that you have a question or a concern, she is willing to go out of her way to help you.
Overall I think I have made the best choice by having Dr Olsen to do my surgery.

Originally I had posted on here about the experience I had with the first doctor I went to, which I was not pleased with. But, I no longer want to keep that information on here because I'd like to devote this space to the doctor I decided to go with & had the surgery by. He deserves the recognition. That is Dr. Douglas Olsen in Nashville, TN.

I found him and his staff as well as everyone at Centennial Hospital to be completely competent and they all treated me with the best of care! Also I was pleased to see Dr. Olsen go over & beyond what was necessary because he wanted to be careful & do everything to perfection. This is the type of doctor you want, not one who won't take the extra time to do the right things! Also my surgery wound up being more complicated & took 6 hours, Dr. Olsen did a fine job so I feel if he can handle me then he can handle any complex situation & do a good job! He has an excellent team of people working together to help you achieve your goal of surgery & weight loss. You'll have this team of people help you each step of the way! I would recommend Dr. Olsen & Centennial Hospital to any & everyone!

Dr Olsen was very nice, He explained everything in detail and answered all of my questions. He made me feel at ease and confident in his ability.My impression of him is he seems like a very capable surgeon and also has a good bedside manner so far. He does not seem rushed and took time to listen to me and answer all of my questions.His staff was nice and my date was set the same day I was approved.
He really stresses aftercare and is new to the program because of the complete support system it offers.He addressed all of the benefits and risks of the surgery.I think competence and bedside manner are equally as important. A doctor should make you feel at ease as well as being a competent surgeon.

I meet with Dr. Olson on February 5, 2001. Me was very nice. He looked me in the eyes the whole time we spoke.(My mother always said you can't trust someone that won't look you in the eyes.) Dr. Olson explained everything and asked me to ask any questions. He seemed very interested in me. He said as soon as my insurance approved he would see that his nurses made me a date. Allin all he was one of the best DR.s I have ever seen. He made me feel at ease and with a decision like this one I needed that.

Saw Dr. Olsen at the seminar first. I was impressed
that he took the time to be there himself! Very informative
and helpful in decision making. After meeting with
him for first consult, my first impression was only
reaffirmed. He is new to the bariatric field
but is a laparoscopic expert. Terry in his office
was very friendly and helpful with my questions.
Dr. Olsen did not make me feel rushed during the visit
and seemed more than happy to address my concerns.