Palo Alto Medical Foundation Hospital

I haven't actually met the man yet, but I have heard and read great things. Today I emailed Anne Timberlake his Surgical Coordinator, and she does the initial screening at Mills-Peninsula Medical Center. So I get to wait about 5 days for her to call or e-mail me back about being a candidate for surgery. Keep your fingers crossed.
9-20-01--Well I met Dr.Wetter in August at my intial consult and all I can say is I think he is great. My first impression was that he definately knows his stuff. He came in the room all smiles asked how long we had been married (my hubbie was with me) and make some joke about the "seven year itch". He asked about my diet and medical history, my eating habits, sleep issues, and basically my life in general. He explained the whole proceedure to me, what to expect, complications that may arise, how much weight I could expect to lose. He stessed that it is basically up to the patient to make this work and that you must follow all of his instructions and not try to "doctor" yourself. His office staff was great I like everyone I came in contact with. I can't say that there is really anything I don't like about him. He stressed that after care is a must and that joining a support group is extrememly helpful and infact there is one at the hospital he does his surgery at and it is one of his requirements that you attend at least one of these meetings prior to your surgery. As for rating him I give a big 10 in my book. I think he is extremely knowledgable and has a great bedside manner, and both are extremely important to me. The only thing negative I can say is that I was kept waiting for a long time in the waiting room and sometimes he talks to you like you have no clue, but I think that is because he want to make sure you understand everything.

I would recommend Dr. Foster to anyone who is considering this surgery. She was easy to talk to, very informative and made me feel at ease. She took the time to answer my questions, and I never felt rushed. The whole meeting was very pleasant. Trina, her assistant, and Lorna, the patient coordinator, were just as friendly and nice as Dr. Foster. Trina took my blood pressure and took a "before" photo (ugh!, not my favorite part), but I tried to smile through it. Dr. Foster told me that an aftercare program was being implemented again at Stanford and she encouraged me to attend. She provided detailed information about the surgery, eating plans, etc. I don't have any reservations about her skills and expertise. She is a very caring and professional person. I believe that Dr. Foster has both surgical competence and a wonderful bedside manner . . . both of which are very important to me.

1. He was a very serious man

2. As I went through the process, with ease, I realized how wonderful he was....

3. Very helpful and encouraging, especially Anne Timberlake and Terry.

4. Nothing

5. It works!

6. Alot

7. Yes

8. Advised me of all I needed to know.

9. 10

10. Both great! !

I think Dr. Foster is great. She spent about an hour with me and my husband, going over my medical history,explaining things, and answering questions. She was very direct but friendly. I feel very comfortable with her. The only thing I don't care for is that I have to loose 10% of my weight before the surgery,in order to be in the best possible shape. The more I think about it though, it's a good idea. Michelle, her nurse is nice, but is very busy. As far as surgical competence vs. bedside manner, I prefer both of them to be great. After this week, I have to tell you, Dr. Foster is fantastic. My surgery was postponed because of an elevated white count. She came in to the clinic today just for me. I was so impressed. She also called me at home and at work when the problem came up, she didn't have her nurse do it. I feel very important.

It took 6 weeks to get an appointment with Dr. Wetter, but it was well worth it. I have heard great things about Dr. Wetter and knew that he was the surgeon I wanted. I immediately felt at ease with Dr. Wetter and was very impressed with his background and experience. I talked with him for about 45 minutes and he answered all my questions. He went into great detail about the surgery and was very upfront about the potential risks of the surgery as well as the amount of weight I was likely to lose. My husband came with me and the doctor made sure to include him in the conversation. Besides being a very skilled surgeon, he has a very extensive after care program including follow-up visits, support group meetings, access to a nutritionist, etc. The staff seems very friendly as well. My only complaint is with the time it took for the doctor's office to write the request for approval letter. Terry said it would take 2-3 weeks, but took 6 weeks instead. However, it was around the Christmas Holiday season and that could have slowed down the process. I am currently waiting for approval from my insurance company, I hope to have it soon. Dr. Wetter is the best!

I had Lap RNY on June 26, 2000 and have lost 161 pounds. Dr Wetter is a wonderful surgeon. He is warm and caring and has a great sense of humor.He also shows genuine interest in patients children. My kids adore him. My surgery went fine and my recovery was great.
Dr Wetter gets my vote for Doctor of the year! :)

I met Dr. Wetter for the first time on August 8, 2001 for a consultation concerning GBS. He explained to me quite clearly how the surgery was performed and what the risks and benefits were. He seems like a nice person and I felt at ease talking with him. Peior to my visit with him, I had checked out his credentials and felt he had the training and experience to perform this surgery competently. He performs RNY laparoscopically and this was an important consideration for me. Dr. Wetter's staff was also very relaxed and pleasant. His surgical coordinator, Terry, is the whirlwind of activity that many WLS reports described her to be. She is straigtforward, caring and has a good sense of humor. Dr. Wetter performs GBS as part of the Mills-Peninsula Hospital Obesity Surgery Program in San Mateo, California. While I was in Dr. Wetter's office, he arranged for me to talk with a patient also in his office who was about 10 days post-op. I really appreciated that he did this because just being face-to-face talking with someone who had so recently been through the surgery and being able to ask questions was extremely beneficial for me. I am coming to Dr. Wetter from out-of-state and so have little opportunity to attend the WLS support groups in that area. Prior to meeting with Dr. Wetter, I had talked with Anne Timberlake at M-P and received an informative booklet describing the GBS program. Anne is very helpful and very busy, but she answered my email questions within a few days of posting. I feel quite confident about the team I hope to be working with for this surgery. Surgical competence is, for me, the most important consideration when selecting a surgeon; however, a good bedside manner is an invaluable add-on to that competency. Based on my impressions to date, I believe that Dr. Wetter has both.

I have only had one visit with Dr. Wetter, but I must say I was very impressed with him right from the start. I had read many wonderful things about him on the internet and was pleased to find out for myself that they were all true. When he walked into the room my first thought was "He sure looks young". (I'm still not use to having Dr's younger than myself...but now that I'm 50 I guess that's kind of inevitable!) Dr. Wetter was very informative and took the time to answer all my questions. It was nice to talk with a Dr. who was so understanding. My former internist always told me just to cut back on food intake and exercise by pushing myself away from the table!
Dr. Wetter's office staff were very nice. No one got that shocked look on their face when I stepped on the scale! Terry was very helpful with the insurance and explained to me how long it might take to get approval. Aftercare seems to be a big part of Dr. Wetter's program. He has a support group with Anne Timberlake(nurse) once a month. Anne is extreamly helpful and prompt about answering any questions I have e-mailed to her. I am looking forward to attending her post-op sessions.
I was impressed not only with Dr. Wetter's surgical competence, but also his bedside manner. I have a real good feeling for what I am about to do and am thankful I found Dr. Wetter.

This man changed my life, I will be forever be in his debt.He is kind, sincere, and a nice dry sence of humor.He spent over 71/2 hrs working on me trying to make a lap proceedure work for me, but had to eventually open me up for I was leaking at stomach/intestine conection and needed to see what was going on, he also took gall bladder in this procedure too.that was nearly twice the amount of time usually taken for this proceedure and I feel he really tried to make the lap work for me.He then had another surgery after me so that was another 3-4 hrs bent over one of us in a day.His bedside manner is exceptional and listened to me with care and met all my needs.
Dr. Legha is a righteous dude and I would recomend him to anyone seeking this proceedure.
The Frank

I have not met him but I have heard good things about him. The fact that he does Lap's makes me very happy. It is important to remember that we are looking for a good "knife" not a clown, so sense of humor is not critical. I have an appointment to meet with him on May 22. I will update then.
May 23, 2001 - I met with Dr. Legha yesterday and was EXTREMELY impressed. He is very serious but he knows his stuff and he gave me a sense of security. It looks like my surgery will be late July early August. I have the utmost confidence that Dr. Legha will do an excellent job.

July 25, 2001 - I had my surgury on July 5 and I am VERY HAPPy with my results. Dr. Legha is an excellent surgeon! My surgery was simple and to the point just like Dr. Legha. I highly recommend him. Thank you Dr. Legha.