Surgical Weight Loss at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital

My first impression of Dr. LePort was that he is a very busy man!!! and he is, but he does give adequate time to each of his patients... Over time my first impression was reaffirmed... He does somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 bariatric surgerys a week, so he is extremely busy.... His front office staff is ok, but his behind the scenes ladys, DeeDee, Ellen, Laura, and Vanessa are great! I cant say enough about any one of them, they were there throughout the whole insurance process, and were amazing.... If I had to say there was something I didn't like about Dr. Leport it would be that I wish more of my follow up was with him, instead of his physician assistant, but that has something to do with hiw busy he is, and whether or not he is in surgery as well...
Dr, LePorts emphasis on after care is tremendous, DeeDee his dietician is always available, and for every little question she was there, if it was just for a hug or to tell me about a particular food... He also has a support group which is the most helpful thing of all....
Dr. LePort is very up front with the risks of the surgery, he has programs that you go through before you see him that goes over all the risks and what the guidelines are for post op, and there is also a take home packet, and then when you visit with him he goes over it with you personally and then asks if you have any questions, he is extremely thorough.
I would recomend Dr. LePort to anyone, he is the best.

I first met Dr LePort the day I appeared at his office on October 29, 2001 for pre-surgery tests and consiltation. I was in a wheelchair becasue of severe pain in my knees, and after attending a class teaching me what kind of foods I would be eating after the surgery, I was to meet the doctor. Instead of me having to make my way through the tangle of halls and doors to the doctor\'s office, he came to me where I was. I was very impressed with the care and compassion of he and his staff. They really tried to make everything as easy for me as possible. Many times bending over backwards to accomadate me and my disability. Never once did I feel looked down on or bad about being so morbidly overweight.

Dr LePort is above all a professional, and knows what he is doing. He was very kind and caring, and told me what he could do for me, and what I would have to do to make the tools he was giving me work to make me a healthy happy THIN person again. He took the time with me to answer all my questions. I liked that very much.

I liked him, I was a little nervous meeting him though... He was very professional, quickly went over my history and the complications of the surgery. We talked about my desire to have the surgery done LAP, but he said he wouldn't really know until he got in there whether or not he could do it LAP. I asked him to try, but fully gave him permission to do whatever was necessary (Open, remove anything that may be bad)... At the consult his intelligence appealed to me, I tend to be an intellectual type, and I get the impression he is too!

There wasn't anything I disliked about him. I like his office staff too... Jo and Linda have been there to answer all my questions and Michelle has been a wonderful bonus! Such neat people!

What should future patients know about him? He is very professional, very busy, and will try to accomodate your request for surgery type as much as possible.

I thought his surgical competence was excellent and his bedside manner was good too... I only got to see him twice, otherwise his partners checked in on me (I saw Dr. Ali twice and Dr. Chin once).

Dr. LePort is very honest when describing to you the risks and benefits involved. He has a whole crew of people working with him to assure best possible success of your weight loss. He is also a gentleman, and very easy going. I, as a health care worker, was very impressed with him. His staff are all working together, and will answer all questions, and encourage calling them. They give you plenty of cards for you to use to call them. I highly reccommend Dr. LePort. Future patients should know that as there are a high volume of patients under his care, he has highly qualified assistants to help him with his patient care. I must say they are very knowledgeable, and competent. In the city where he is they have support groups every week twice a week and he also gives the e mails and locations of his support groups, and encourages other areas who don't have groups to start them. I just had my surgery 12 days ago, and they took my numbers where I would be, and said they would be calling. I rate him and his office and crew a 10 out of 10. I feel the competence of this man very important. More so than bedside manner. However, I was lucky enough to find that this man had both. And also the people in the hospital, nurses, and patient care technicians thought extremely highly of him. What more can I say? He was wonderful.

I have not met Dr. LePort yet.
He was my niece's surgeon and I took her
recommendation since she also knew several
other people in the area who were quite happy
with their experience with him. I also
checked this site for comments about
Dr. LePort.
The Smart Dimenins office staff has been nice and helpful.

I met Dr. LePort two days before surgery.
He was very thorough in explaining what I could
expect and what the possible problems were.
He was very nice and also gave me a hug,
which I appreciated.

After surgery, he visited me twice in the
hospital (I was in for 4 days), I was also
visited by the internist he had me consult
before surgery and his PA.

I also saw him (first his PA) about two weeks
after surgery before I left for home.

I've had numerous questions for Smart Dimensions
staff, which have always been answered. They
are well organized and helpful. I also
attended several support group meetings while
in Fountain Valley.

Excellent Surgeon.

Never changed my impression.

GREAT!

Nothing.

He is very understanding and explains the surgery in detail.
A ton of aftercare including support groups weekly.
Yes.

In detail.

10+

Both great.

The "Surgeon's Surgeon" in my book.

I was very impressed with Dr.Leport and felt I was in good hands. He was upfront and honest with me which I felt was refreshing. I have had many friends that have had their surgery under Dr. Leport and just adored him. His bedside manner was terrific and you can tell how much he cares about his patients as he always takes his clients calls. Dr. Leport is just now offering the Lap procedure but due to my size and the lenghth of time he has been doing this procedure he felt that my surgery most certianly would be "Open". I once again feel I am in great hands with Dr. Leport.

I haven't met the surgical staff yet. Since I am coming out of the area all my visits and preop things will be done in the days just prior to surgery. The office staff is pleasant and generally efficient. Of course, it is difficult to wait for return calls when you are anxious but I have no real complaints yet. I am impressed at how they seem to have worked out the details to make this as convenient and doable for me as possible.

I had my surgery two weeks ago and met Dr. LePort two days before my surgery. He was very professional and pleasant. He covered all the bases which had also been well covered in the information he had previously provided. Aftercare was emphasized and a program set up for follow-up with my local family practice physician as well as return visits to Dr. LePort. The sent OR records to take to my doctor that arrived at my home before I did. The office staff has been caring and supportive, calling to check in on me. I am a nurse and work with surgeon regularly. I give Dr. Le Port high ratings in competance as well as bedside manner, a combination not always found in surgeons. I definately would and have recommended him and the Smart Dimensions program to others.

My surgeon is actually Dr. Kelly Francis, but will be assisted by Dr. LePort. I met with Dr. Francis, who was very knowledgeable and helpful.
The office staff is great!!! They do it all for you!! All the paperwork, all the appointments, calling the insurance, everything. It was very nice.
They are very concerned about aftercare. They give you all kinds of helpful resources and make themselves available. They have a support group that meets once a week.
Dr. Francis was very direct about the risks and that this was something only to do after everything else failed. She wants her patients to be certain and if they aren't she wants them to wait.
So far, I give her a great rating.