"My first impression of Dr. Tanaka was that he was a little brusque. Over time, and after getting to know him a bit, I can see that he is a professional and caring person. It took a lot of "asking questions" and (I think) confirming in his mind that I understood that WLS is a "tool" and not a panacea.
His office staff is great. He belongs to a practice of 4 surgeons and they have a bariatric nurse on a pager to answer questions/respond to emergencies 24/7.
There is a structured aftercare program with followup labwork at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months...along with office visits.
Overall I would say that I had no doubts that the surgery would "work"...any doubts I had were in my ability to cope with pain and changing my lifestyle...both of which I've managed to do easily enough (so far *s*)
I'd rate surgical competence as most important. I'd rather have a surgeon who knew what he/she was doing...than one who was less than competent, but could make me feel good about it (ha!)
5-25-01: I'm 14 months post-op now and haven't a single regret that I had Dr Tanaka as my surgeon, or my association with Pacific Bariatric. Well, that's not entirely true. I wish I lived closer to San Diego so that I could partake of some of the support group activities, but I knew that would be a challenge going in. I'm presently scheduled for a hernia repair, tummy tuck and thigh lift...it was to happen on 6 Jun, but now will be pushed back to some time in Aug. I'm pleased as can be with my new life and wish all future WLS patients all the best!"
