Question:
Has anyone heard anything good or bad about Dr. Lawrence S Barzune In Dallas, Texas?
— Terri B. (posted on December 3, 1999)
December 3, 1999
Dr Barzune is going to be my surgeon. I heard about him from several
people on this website. His seminar, which you must attend, is very
informative. You don't have any contact with him until you insurance is
approved. You have to fill out a couple of forms and submit them to his
staff. It takes about 2 weeks after you have filled and returned you forms
for his staff to form the letter to you insurance. So fill it out
completely. You will get you surgery date in the insurance letter. My
insurance received the letter on 11/11 and we are still waiting for
approval. Dr Barzune has been doing this surgery for 10+ years and is
rated in the top ten surgeons doing this surgery. He is very approachable
and does not like for his people to be in pain, which is appealing to me
since I am a chicken.
— Jen L.
May 4, 2000
Dr. Barzune is a jerk as far as I'm concerned. My sister phoned him from
Canada and his office told her there would be no problem with her getting
the surgery. She is on Medicare. She brought a letter from a doctor in
Canada but when she arrived, Dr. Barzune told her is was not sufficient and
she needed to go to another physician to get the letter. He recommended Dr.
Farkus. When she went to Dr. Farkus's office he told her she had
right-sided heart failure. It's been three weeks since she visited his
office and he still has not written this letter, nor has he done a
follow-up on her heart problem, or sent her to a heart specialist. Dr.
Barzune refuses to do anything for her until he receives this letter even
though Dr. Farkus has said he's spoken to Dr. Barzune at length and told
him he would fax the letter soon, so that they can go ahead and schedule
the beginning tests. As of today, Dr. Barzune is going on vacation until
the 11th of the month and has not set up any appointments for testing. The
person who usually sets up the tests (Lorraine)has done nothing and every
time my sister calls to see what is going on, she is rude and complains
that she has too much work to do and doesn't have time to do everything and
complains that Dr. Barzune gives her too much work. I am appalled at the
way she has been treated by both doctors and this Lorraine person. He will
NOT help you with your insurance company either. I went to him and he did
send a letter to my insurance company. The letter looked like a FORM letter
and I was not surprised when my insurance company denied me. When I asked
Dr. Barzune's office what I should do next, I was sent information on an
attorney in California to contact. Maybe other people have money to pay an
attorney, but I don't. I am extremely annoyed with the way my sister and I
have been treated by Dr. Barzune and his staff. (Cindy has been very nice
though) I would NOT recommend going to him at all!
— Louise P.
May 5, 2000
An update on Dr. Barzune. I was finally able to speak to Dr. Barzune by
going through Cindy instead of Lorraine. He returned my phone call and was
VERY nice and helpful. He's told us that he will schedule the testing and
surgery date today. He will also speak to Lorraine concerning her
complaining to patients about how over-worked she is. It seems we were not
the first to let him know about her complaints. If you can get past
Lorriane and her BAD attitude, I think you will be much better off. Will
update again as things proceed.
— Louise P.
May 5, 2000
I have had no dealings with Dr. Barzune, but Dr. Stephen Hamn is my
surgeon and he's here in Dallas (Plano) as well. He AND his staff are
awesome and I would recommend him to anyone. He does the before the appt
seminar, but then, everyone goes back and visits with him privately and he
answers all questions. I cant imagine a doctor not even meeting with you
till surgery is approved. I find that offensive, actually. It's like he's
not treating you as a person, simply a check. (which i'm sure is more
common than not) Anyway, if your sister isnt happy with Barzune, try
another, we have several here in Dallas who are good. Simply because he's
on the top 10 list in some publication, doesn't necessarily mean he is.
know what i mean?
— Kim B.
May 15, 2000
Update: Another delaying tactic (because Dr. Farkas still has not written
the letter for my sister). Dr. Barzune actually gave her the stress test
last week but now nothing is scheduled until June 6th (more tests). At this
point, I'm praying that Dr. Farkas gets Hemorrhoids for the rest of his
life. Needless to say, I am very annoyed with the way my sister has been
treated. I went to Dr. Alexander today (for myself)and he's great. I
entered my opinions in that area as well. (smile) I made my sister an
appointment with him for the end of this week as well.
— Louise P.
April 9, 2001
I have met Dr. Barzune. All I can say is WOW!! He is an unbelievable man,
so compassionate, so intelligent, and very very nice. He is the top
bariatric surgeon in Dallas and one of the top 10 in the nation. I have
medicare and Scott and White Healthplan, and chose to go out of network,
and pay, so he could do my surgery. I would fly, drive, or whatever it took
to have him do the surgery. The office staff is awsome also, willing to
help in any way they can. On a scale of 1-10 he is far above any scale
requirements.
— dodoheead
May 13, 2001
Dr. Barzune? uh, yeah...i've heard that he's the BEST WLS surgeon around!
You're in good hands when your with Dr. B!
— Joanie P.
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