Center for Metabolic & Obesity Surgery Bariatric Center

rEALLY NICE DOCTOR, VERY PROFESSIONAL BUT MAKE SURE YOU ASK THE QUESTIONS BECAUSE I FELT LIKE I DIDNT GET ENOUGH INFO. FOR EXAMPLE, HOW MUCH FOOD MY STOMACH CAN HOLD NOW?

I just called this office as I am a 7 year patient with a lapband who just needed to find a doctor closer to home for my aftercare and occasional fills. They want 250 office visit fee + 250 for the fill fee. Total= 500$ are you freaking kidding me? this is ANAL RAPAGE! outrageous!!!

He did a good job. I had a revision surgery. No nausea, no problems so far. I am 4 days out.

Compassionate!

I saw Dr. Beltre because I began regaining the weight and had abdominal pain and reflux. My gastric Bypass was in December 2002 and I lost 167lbs from 380.
it was discovered that I have a hernia and the small bowel is acting like it's own stomach allowing me to put too much in.
Dr. Beltre is very knowledgable and sent me for a cat scan. I really enjoy the time he spends with the patient. My original surgeon was far too busy. Dr. Beltre addressed my aftercare problems and was sympathetic to my problems/lack of knowledge he reiterated the need to be responsible for my body, myself. No blame laying just upfront "let's move on from here" advice.
I will find out in a month whether revision will be done when the hernia is repaired. In the meantime he has outlined the proper eating to encourage weightloss again as well as allievating some of the symptoms I have been having.

I will post again next month.

It took me almost a year to get approval but once it was done the surgery was super easy. It has been less then 2 weeks and I feel good. I have been able to walk 2 miles a day and have no really pain or side effects. I could not recommend this Dr enough

I had my surgery in Mexico and arranged follow up and fills with Dr. Beltre. The office staff and nurse were very nice and helpful, and Dr. Beltre was very nice as well. Unfortunately, this is where the positive ended for me....

I went in for a fill 6 weeks after surgery. Dr. Beltre could not feel my port, and after numbing the area, began to probe my abdomen with the needle in an effort to locate my port. After about 20 minutes of probing in my abdomen, he informed me I would need to go get an x-ray because he was unable to locate the port. I went to another medical office and paid for an x-ray and then returned to Dr. Beltre. He looked at the x-ray, compared it to my abdomen, marked my skin where the port was shown ont he x-ray, then stuck the needle in again. This time, he probed so much and so deep that I was in terrible PAIN (I tolorate pain pretty well... this HURT). After poking and prodding my abdomen for about 30 more minutes, he finally announced he could not find my port. We tried laying down, standing, stretching etc. He told me "it's not where it shows on the x-ray". This didn't make any sense to me, because I was staring at the x-ray of the port that was taken less than an hour earlier. He recommended I go see a provider that used flouro, and of course blamed my surgeon for him not being able to find my port. He first told me that it was placed incorrectly beneath the incision, then said it wasn't there. He told me that since I had surgery in Mexico, the surgeons sometimes don't feel the need to place the port carefully because they don't have to worry about follow up. I found this strange, since my surgeon offers free fills for life to all of his patients (I just didn't want to fly back to Mexico since I live in Florida, but I know many of his patients, especially the ones that live closer and can drive, DO return for the fills). After he blamed my surgeon for his inability to find my port, I got a refund and left. I was so upset and disappointed. I was scared that something was wrong with my port or it was placed wrong. I was so looking forward to the next step on my journey, and now I had to find another provider, wait for an appointment, etc. I was worried I would start to gain weight back. Thankfully, I had read on the internet about a fill provider in the Tampa area on the internet. This provider was slightly more expensive, but highly rated and used flouro. I called the office on my drive home, and thanks to a cancellation, I was able to go in the next morning! I drove all the way to Tampa with my abdomen bruised and sore from the day before with Dr. Beltre, and TERRIFIED of the thought of more needles in my stomach! When I got there, the office staff was wonderful, and the provider was extremely thorough and had a great "bedside manner". She gave me a lot of information, and answered a lot of my questions. I explained that I was very nervous and the circumstances of my visit the day prior with Dr. Beltre. She comforted me and told me I'd be fine....I layed down and she began explaining the procedure. The nurse numbed me and the next thing I knew, the provider was helping me sit up. When I sat up, I noticed the needle in my stomach! To my surprise and delight, she had the needle in my port on the first try, and I didn't feel it. After about 5 minutes, we were done! No pain! She was very concerned about the bruising on my abdomen from the previous day. She told me that the port location and band were perfect, and didn't understand why (even without flouro), there had been such an issue finding my port the day prior. Having had this experience, I HIGHLY recommend the fills with flouro... Trust me... it's WELL worth the extra money!

I was impressed with Dr. Beltre when I first met him at his seminar. I had been to other seminars and the surgeon had seemed unapproachable. Dr. Beltre was warm and talked to you not at you. His nurse Ali was also present and she was nice as well. I gave here all my insurance info and she called me back the next day with my insurance requirements. As I had already complied with the 6 month diet she was able to schedule me an appointment within a few days. I as shocked as other surgeons do not see you until right before surgery. At my appointment Dr. Beltre encouraged questions and did not rush me. I felt very comfortable with him. He did make sure I understood that surgery was a tool and not a quick fix. His after care program does not seem as involved or focused as other doctors. He does stress the importance of post-op appointments the first year after surgery. His nurse Ali is awesome. She always took my calls (I called her almost daily while waiting for insurance approval)and sounded pleasant. She kept me up to date and informed at all times. His office scheduled all my appointments for the psychologist,nutritionist and pre-op clearances. Dr. Beltre is warm,sincere and reassuring. rn

What was your first impression of him? I met him the first time when my husband had to have his gallbladder removed. I thought he was a very capable surgeon. When I went to him about the gastric sleeve, he answered all of my question, and put me at ease.

I first met Dr. Beltre while attending one of his WLS seminars. I was very impressed with the compassion and sensitivity of Dr. Beltre and his staff. Dr. Beltre always makes time to completely answer all of my questions. His staff is professional, friendly and quick to return telephone calls. One staff member in particular, MARIE, has gone out of her way to provide excellant service and to assist me with the necessary hoops encountered during my journey to my surgery date. Dr. Beltre shows medical and surgical competence and a gentle bedside manner as well. I feel very confident trusting him with this proceduere.