Question:
Trying to decide between Pacific Bariatric and Alvarado in San Diego.

Both centers look like they are both highly recommended, but if you had a choice which would you pick?    — amw1313 (posted on March 30, 2002)

March 29, 2002
Adam - I can't say which I would "pick" since I have no experience with Alvarado. However, I had my open RNY last year with Dr. Rumsey at Pacific Bariatric and was delighted with every single step of the process. My experience with his office staff was that they were intelligent and helpful (some of his staff are post-op (long term) patients). Dr. Rumsey himself was compassionate and skilled. He took time to talk to my spouse when he accompanied me to appointments! The moments before surgery, Dr. Rumsey came to see me in pre-op and I took hold of his hands and knew it was all going to be all right. I've lost 87 pounds and have not had one complication (I would have lost more - but I haven't done everything I can do -- but I'm getting there...) Good luck to you. Open RNY 7/17/01
   — blee01

March 29, 2002
You are right, they do both come highly recommended. Aren't we in San Diego blessed to have two excellent institutions to choose from? In my opinion you probably can't make a wrong decision in choosing between the two, whichever one you go with will be excellent. I had my surgery done in Sept. by Dr. Mary Murphy at Pacific Bariatric. She is fabulous! She was thourough and gave me all of the time I needed at each appointment. The surgery itself went perfectly. The office staff is top-notch as well. The hospital they use is Scripps downtown. The hospital staff was competent and caring. I have also spent a week in Alvarado Hospital for an unrelated condition. The staff there was excellent as well. I was actually on the same floor as the bariatric patients, although I had a different surgery. The one minor advantage of Alvarado is that the visitor parking is free, and more convenient. Hardly a reason to choose where to have your surgery, but I thought I'd toss it in! Both of the facilities have web-sites that you can research. I think you will probably be very pleased with which ever decision you make. As I said before - we are so blessed to live here, great WLS facilities and almost perfect weather, as they say; it's a tough job, but someone has to live in paradise! (of course, we do PAY big $$$ to live in paradise, but that is another topic) :)
   — Bobbie B.

March 30, 2002
I had my surgery with Dr Wittgrove in San Diego, Ca...Not only was I highly pleased with him, so was my husband who was against me having the surgery in the first place. I couldnt, however, tell you who is best or who to choose as we all think our surgeon is the best. Honey, you need to go with your gut feeling, which surgeon do you feel most confident in, which staff do you feel treats you best and which facility can accomidate you best. Only you can make that decision, you will get alot of people saying to go to their surgeon because they had a great experiance with him/her but what one surgeon does for one patient dosnt necessarily mean he can do for you. So please look into your heart and pick the one that you feel is best for YOU!
   — Deanna Wise

March 30, 2002
Ok, I will tell you why I chose Alvarado. As you may know, it was Dr. Wittgrove and Dr. Clark who pioneered the lap procedure for the RNY, so therefore they have the most experience. The hospital staff is specifically asked if they want to work with obese patients, so the staff is very caring and understanding. Also, they claim to make the smallest pouch currently feasable- at .5 oz. The chance to greatly stretch out a pouch that small is very low. Also, my surgeon Dr. Wittgrove has had only one fatality out of around 1,000 patients, and that one was because of a pre-existing heart arrythmia. I am sure both facilities are excellent, but since I had the choice, I opted for the one with the absolute most experience with this. Good luck!
   — Jennifer Y.

March 30, 2002
Adam..I saw on your profile that you have Kaiser. Now Im probably wrong about this but I thought that Kaiser only refered to Pacific Bariatrics. Do they now refer to Alvarado also? Either way..good luck. Maybe Kaiser would pay for you to meet with both surgeons to decide..long shot but maybe.
   — mastrnservnt

March 31, 2002
Go to both seminars and see what you like. I thought they were both good, Alverado was more polished in its presentation mind you but I really liked Dr Zorn from PB. I ended up have Dr Tanaka from PB and was delighted. It did however come down to who my insurance would let me go to.
   — Lesley B.

May 3, 2002
niki, i have researched pacific barictrics pretty thouroughly. i have attended all the seminars and consultations. the only thing i don't like is, they lead you to believe that you could be a candidate for the lap procedure, but won't make the final determination until you see the surgeon...which means you go through all the testing, psych eval, internist eval,,etc..etc..and about 2 months later,,you see the surgeon... and in reality,,they do no do 'lap'. they use all kinds of excuses as to why they can't do the 'lap procedure" on you..eg. you need your gallbladder removed, you've had a hysterectomy, your stomach is too big,..etc..etc. they have only done 120 laps since they have started their business. to me this isn't enough! i have posted a few times on this site and asked if anyone has had the lap procedure through pacific bariatrics and i haven't heard from one person that has. if you are considering this lap procedure, i would definately not waste my time with them and research another surgical group.. just something for you to think about. double d - double d
   — double D.

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