Valley Baptist HealthSystem Bariatric Center
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Dr Barba does both open and lap rny. He is very careful in having you see alot of specialists before approving youi.His staff is very professional and helpful.
Have not met him personally as of yet. Went to an informational seminar and heard him speak. Have been told by Drs. that know him that he is a brilliant surgeon. Surgical competence is of the utmost importance to me. The pre-op work up that he demands is incredible. I feel confident that my body will come through this surgery. I meet with him one on one March 8th!!!!!!!!
March 8, 2001
Today I met with Judy the nutritionist, Rosemary, Dr. Barba's nurse and Dr. Barba!! I met Judy's goal of losing 1# a week for 3 weeks. Rosemary explained everything that was going to happen in great detail to my husband and I and then we spoke to Dr. Barba. He is wonderful! He is very kind and soft spoken. Very patient as he answered all our questions in detail.Not rushed at all. I felt so positive about WLS when I left that day! I was treated like an important person not just another obese person on an assembly line. It was 100% a positive experience.
MY FRIST IMPRESSION OF DR.BARBA IS THAT HE WAS COMPASSIONITE FOR HIS PATIENTS AND THAT HE CARED VERY DEEPLY FOR WHAT HE DOSE,HIS STAFF WAS VERY POLITE AND INFORMATIONAL TO ME AND HELPED ME IN EVERYWAY NEEDED,HE IS A STRICK ABOUT EVERYTHING BUT HE JUST WANTS TO MAKE SURE YOU WILL BE OK FOR THIS SURGERY,AFTERCARE IS VERY MUCH THE MORE SUPPORT YOU HAVE AFTER AND DURING THIS SURGERY WILL BENIFIT YOU IN THE LONG RUN, SUPPORT GROUP MEETINGS ARE A PLUS GO TO EACH AND EVERYONE OF THEM TO MEET NEW AND OLD FACES AND TO FIND OUT NEW THINGS TO EAT AND HOW TO LIVE,I WOULD RECOMENDED DR.BARBA TO EVERYONE HE IS NUMBER 1# IN MY BOOK, IVE MEET OTHER DOCTORS IN THE PROCESS WICH I DO NOT LIKE TO TALK ABOUT,BUT DR.BARBA IS ONE OF THE BEST,HE WILL MAKE YOU FEEL SAFE IN WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND THE DECCISON THAT YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE,
LIKE I TELL EVERYONE ITS LIKE GOING BACK TO FIRST GRADE YOU HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO EAT ALL OVER AGAIN AND HOW MUCH YOU CAN EAT,AND I CANT LIE THIS SURGERY HURTS SO THE MORE SUPPORT YOU HAVE AT THE HOSPITIAL WITH YOU,WILL BE HELPFULL,FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME AT "[email protected]" FOR ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE
I was fortunate to have worked with Dr Barba as a nurse, taking care of two clients of his who had serious complications following the surgery-so I had a good idea of how bad it could get. He is a very skilled sugeon, well respected and liked by his peers, he is also sweet and down to earth. He is extremely intelligent, yet compassionate and easy to talk to. I would recommend him to anyone in a heartbeat! The office staff is friendly and very knowledgeable! Rosemary is the best! Appointments can be difficult to obtain, but otherwise you are normally in and out quickly. You can't call Dr Barba and expect to have surgery immediately. They have developed a screening program to help patients decide if this is the right thing, to expose potential complications, and to assist the insurance companies to approve the surgery. You must see a cardiologist, pulmonologist, psychologist, nutritionist, go on a diet, and endocrinologist if you are diabetic. Then these team members meet and decide if you are a candidate for the surgery. There is a very strong emphasis to make the right decision with the lease side effects. Overall, I wouldn't have chosen another doctor to go through this with. He really made me feel like this was a safe and realistic deicision.
My first meeting with Dr. Barba was in the auditorium at St Francis Hospital with about 25 others hoping to have the surgery.
The meeting was actually with his associate, Dr. Lorenzo. Dr. Barba came into the meeting later. We discussed the benefits and the risks of the surgery.
My first one on one meeting with Dr. Barba will be on February 22. On that day I also have my second meeting with the nutritionist.
Dr. Carlos Barba is a great surgeon. He is a trauma MD by trade; he does gastric bypass on the "side". I found him to be very competent and caring. Example: a few days home from the hosp. I experienced pain and called him. Not only did he call me back within minutes, he called me the next day to see how I was feeling. His office staff is wonderful; they handled all of my insurance issues promptly. I was not overly thrilled with his surgical associate. He lacked the experience that Dr. Barba possesses.
Aftercare was stongly emphasized. Support groups were available and encouraged.
Prior to surgery Dr. Barba held an "open
forum". Patients who were interested in having the procedure done were able to attend. Slides and literature were provided. Dr. Barba and his staff were present to personally answer questions.
He discussed the pros and cons in "lay"
terms. Both his bedside manner and competence were excellent.
DR. BARBA WAS KIND SOFT SPOKEN AND CARING. HE EXPLAINED EVERYTHING COMPLETELY BUT HE DIDNT TALK DOWN TO YOU. HIS STAFF IS THE BEST THAT I HAVE EVER HAD TO DEAL WITH. IF YOU CALL YOU GET AN ANSWER BACK QUICKLY. DR BARBA LIKES TO JOKE AND YET IS VERY COMPETENT WITH HIS WORK. I WOULD HIGHLY SUGGEST THAT ANYONE LOOKING INTO THIS SURGERY TO STRONGLY CONSIDER DR. BARBA AS A FIRST CHOICE. HE DOSE BOTH LAPRSCOPIC AND REGULAR SURGERY. HIS BACKUP DRS. ARE ALSO GENTAL AND CARING. THEY TO WILL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE. BEFORE THE SURGERY YOU MEET WITH A NUTRITIONIST TWICE. A DIET IS DESIGNED FOR YOU. DR BARBA WILL GO OVER THE STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS WITH YOU BEFORE AND AFTER YOUR SURGERY. NO QUESTION IS A STUPID ONE AS FAR AS HE IS CONCERNED. THEY HAVE A SUPPORT GROUP THAT MEETS EVERY LAST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH. YOU CAN CALL HIS OFFICE FOR MORE DETAILS ON THE SUPPORT GROUP. BOTH DR. BARBA AND HIS NURSE ROSEMARY SIT DOWN WITH YOU AN EXPLAIN ALL OF THE RISKS TO THE SURGERY. YOU DO NOT GO INTO THE SURGERY WITHOUT BEING FULLY INFORMED. AS FAR A I AM CONCERNED SURGICAL TALENT AND BEDSIDE MANNERS ARE VERY IMPORTANT. DR. BARBA HAS BOTH UNLIKE A LOT OF OTHER SURGEONS HAVE. AND I HAVE DELT WITH MANY DUE TO EARLIER SURGERIES THAT I HAVE ON MY BRAIN. PLEASE DONT HESITATE TO DO THIS SURGERY IF IT HAS BEEN RECOMENDED. (JUST A NOTE PLEASE EXCUSE MY SPELLING I AM TERRIBLE AT IT) THANKS PLEASE E-MAIL ME IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AT ALL. I WILL BE HAPPY TO HELP YOU ANY WAY I CAN. ONE LAST THING. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU HAVE A STRONG SUPPORT SYSTEM HOME, WITH FAMILY, FRIENDS, SUPPORT GROUPS, AND OF COURSE THIS AREA.
9/8/00 I called Dr. Barba's office to make my intial appointment. His assistant spent a lot of time talking with me about the office proceedures. Can't wait to get started. My appointment is scheduled for January 2, 2002. I am on the waiting list for an earlier appointment.
10/17/00 Wow, a lot has happened. Dr. Barba's office changed their proceedures to try to get people in faster. I have all of my apts. set up now (two nutrition apts., lung apt., Cardio apt., psych. apt.). My first apt is tomorrow with the lung specialist. I will be finished with all of my apts. by Nov. 21st. Then, the operation should be in December or January. I can't wait.
11/21/00
Ok, made it through 10 dr. apts. (lung, heart, etc...). My nutritionist helped me loose 7+pounds in three weeks, so I past that too. I have my last apt. today. A final consult w/Dr. Barba. I CAN NOT WAIT. I should be hearing from the insurance company in a week or so. PLEASE, let them approve it on the first try. I just finished reading the memorial page again. I am very nervous about the risks. I can not get it out of my mind. I just want my family and friends to know I have considered them carefully. I hope things go well. My date is set for 12/12/00, so I will try to update my information when I hear back from the insurance company.
12/8/00
Connecticare rejected my pre-approval. The surgery has been cancelled. I hired an attorney, so now it will take months of fighting and a lot of money. I am very upset and dissapointed.
Very pleasent,and Very honest
so far it hasn't changed
His office staff was very kind and helpful as well
The only thing that I didn't like was when they put you on a diet to see if you could change your eating habits. They had said that if I didn't lose enough weight, they wanted to make me wait another month. Luckly when I went back in two weeks, I had lost eight more pounds.
He has a good success record, but he has a long waiting period to see him for the first time
He emphasize after care very strongly, after the surgery you have to come back to see him I think weekly, then monthly and so after
He address the risks of surgery by telling you about some of the complications, and they make you sign a form before the surgery telling you about the risks
So far I respect him highly,but i'll let you know after the surgery
I'll have to get back to you on that one.