Center for Metabolic & Obesity Surgery Bariatric Center

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.

Dr. Beltre did a revision on my lap band back in sept. 07. Unfortunately, the infection continued and I had to have the band removed. I had the sugery done in Mexico and was too afraid of going back. Dr. Beltre calmed me down and tolerated my impatience with the infection and whole ordeal. I have the utmost confidence in him because he is calm and keeps me calm. No question is stupid and he spends additional time with me when other patients are waiting. Because he is become so well known for bariatric sugery and his wife is an internist in the practice with him it is very busy and the wait can be long. But it's worth the wait. The aftercare was good and I would rate him overall excellent. I am going for the sleeve soon and felt there was no other choice to make. I feel confident in his care. He has both surgical copetence and great bedside manner and hope that over time he doesn't loose it.

4/26/07rnMet with Dr. Beltre for the first time. I was impressed... he was professional, courteous and I felt comfortable with him. He was patient and seemed interested in thoroughly answering my questions. I like the fact that he works with his wife (also Dr. Beltre) and his office staff was welcoming as well. I will attend seminar and support meeting next month and am looking forward to them.rn5/3/07rnHave been setting up required tests, appointments to get package ready to submit. Called Dr. Beltre's office with questions/requests and have nothing but praise for his staff. They are very nice, (not impatient even though I know they are extremely busy), helpful and optimistic. Moving along.rnrn5/29/07rn After much confusion I found that I do not have insurance coverage for ANY WLS or treatment. So now I am self pay and still moving along. I did receive a lot of mis-information from all parties concerned - Dr.'s Office, Insurance Co. and work. rn I attended my surgeon's seminar and mentioned that he should have someone from his office attend that is WELL versed in insurance and cost information. (because there were MANY questions and very little reliable information out there for perspective patients). We rely on our doctor's office to at least point us in the right direction to receiving accurate and correct information regarding costs and coverages.rn The seminar WAS very interesting and educational (even though I had already read a book and researched online for 5 weeks) - enough so that I changed my surgery from RNY to Sleeve Gastrectomy. I also found that Dr. Beltre is a very NICE person - not at all aloof or distant as some doctors can be. He was warm and attentive to all the people attending. I liked that. And I liked him.

Well I met Dr. Beltre on 3/13/2007. There office is easy to find and I didn't have to drag the wheelchair out because the office is close to the parking lot. That means alot to me. The paperwork took a good 15 minutes but there was no wait. Dr. Beltre shares an office with his wife, who is an interml medicine Dr.rnThe staff are very nice and Dr. Beltre is a total sweetheart. rnI already had all of my tests complete so I can't comment on what it would be like for somebody new but he does require everything to be complete before scheduling surgery. The best part is he finances the operations in his office and saves you interest charges. Atleast he does at the time, so I just had to pay half up front and the rest on a payment plan. This helped me ALOT.rnI havn't met the NUT he uses but as I understand they visit you in the hospital which I REALLY like. I will comment more as my journey begins.

My first impression of Dr. Beltre was that he was very down to earth and very honest, with a caring nature about his patients. I asked him all kinds of questions and he answered them very knowledgeably. He advised me to attend his seminar that same week, and explained things very thoroughly. He does not hide anything! His office staff is super friendly and very helpful. I am especially thankful to Leslie, his nurse, for taking care of all my paperwork and getting me approved quickly with no delays. Dr. Beltre is wonderful with his patients, and goes out of his way for them without giving it a secong thought. He did take a little longer to do the surgery than what was planned, and I guess that could have been prevented, but that was my own personal impression. Surgical competence and bedside manner are both great, and I would gladly recommend him to anyone!