Adam Smith Bariatric Surgeon D.O., F.A.C.O.S.

The reason that I chose to go with Dr. Smith is because:

#1 - He's conveniently located and I didn't want to have to worry about traveling 2 hours if anything happened and I needed immediate attention (He is appx 15 minutes from my home)
#2 - I went to his Information Forum and he seems quite nice and very competent
#3 - He and his wife have both had the procedure done from what I understand.

My main concern with Dr. Smith is that as of 2003 he has performed less than 100 procedures, but other than that, I feel good about my decision. When I spoke to him, he seems genuinely concerned about every one of his patients and is not the "Weight Loss Surgery Assembly Line" that some of these other WLS doctors appear to be.
As of my surgery (June 2003), Dr. Smith has performed approximately 110 procedures. He did a great job on me, and I would highly recommend him to anyone considering the Adjustable Gastric Banding.

4/25/03 Just went to the Q & A seminar last night and met Dr Smith.
He was not only personable but compassionate, apparently he has had the Lap Band and has a pretty good perspective of what most of us are going through and is very interested in our success.
He gave a pretty thorough presentation and handled questions very well.
Loved his bedside manner !

I met with Dr. German Berbel on Friday, January 17, 2003. He is Dr. Adam Smith's partner. I liked him alot. He answered all my questions. He was very kind and patient, I asked alot of questions. He really knows alot about the Lap Band.

Dr. James Hall was a nice man, I was very comfortable with him and the questions he asked me for the phys. test. The test had a lot of questions but it was an easy test.
And he explained about the aftercare group.
I like the aftercare program they have set-up for their patients. I like Sharon, she really knows her stuff when it comes to the diet we must follow after the surgery.

Michelle has been wonderful to work with.
Great group of people. Myra the nurse is really great to work with. She is really helpful.

Dr. Berbel was wonderful and did a great job. I would recommend him to anyone. The best. I met Dr. Smith at the hospital and I really liked him also. Two great doctors.

I have attended the seminar but have not met with him one on one. I was very impressed by the fact that he has had the lap band procedure himself as has his wife. He was very informative and answered many questions. He did not seem hurried or irritated by some questions as other surgeons have been at seminars.

3/14/03 I had my first consultation with Dr. Adam Smith and he was great. He is very down to earth, explains anything and everything in great detail, and he really seems to care about the patient and their health, not just their pocketbook. He even remembered me from the seminar. His office staff are friendly and very helpful.

There are two surgeons at the Osteopathic Health center in Fort Worth. I met Dr. German Berbel and was very comfortable with him immediately. He answered all of my questions before I had a chance to ask any. He drew diagrams and explained the procedure in detail (lap-band). I have not met Dr. Smith yet but as I understand it, they are both present during all of the lap-band procedures they do. We did discuss the risks, but I feel I'm at a greater risk by not having this done. The office staff is very professional, organized and nice. The waiting area has plenty of large seating areas and overall comfortable. The nutritionist took my home, work and cell phone #'s. She told me she WILL be calling me to make sure I am keeping my commitment to excercise, eat what I am supposed to and chewing my food(chew, chew, chew). My husband & I have already started eating slower and chewing more. It's really strange when you pay attention to it. We are all in too much of a hurry! My surgery is scheduled for December 12th and I can't wait. So far this has been an uncomplicated process but I did some work myself. I began by having my bariatric Dr. that I have been seeing for about 6 years write a letter to my insurance company and I wrote one myself and sent them together, before I had even talked to or had chose a surgeon. I got an approval 8 days after I had my consultation. I think some cases it helps for the patient to be pro-active. I sent my letter to my Insurance Company on 11/06/02, had my consultation on 11/08/02, got my approval from Humana on 11/18/02. I did get frustrated when I called my surgeon's office and got an answering maching for two days so I sent him a letter via overnight delivery. They called me the next afternoon (11/21/02) and I got a surgery date for 11/12/02. I wasn't whiney or mean to anyone, I'm just no BS kind of person. I know it will not be this easy for everyone. All situations are different. Don't be discouraged. Employees at insurance companies and Dr's offices get busy and the word is out about these proceedures now so It might take a little longer to get the ball rolling. I have nothing bad to say right now I hope it stays that way!
December 24th. I had my surgery on Thursday Dec. 19th. Dr. Adam Smith did a wonderful job. I have five little incision marks with no stitches, just the little strips. They are itching right now. It seems to me that Dr Smith must be VERY gentle because I have very little bruising. I have had a lap prior to this with just two incisions and my abdomin was completely purple. I am a little confused about some of the side effects like burping and always feeling like I have air trapped, but I'll find out in a couple of days. Right now I am feeling great! I really have the utmost confidence in Dr. Smith and his office and surgical staff and would recommend him to anyone.
2/3/03
I had my first fill on 1/23/03 & I was very disapointed because I did not feel any more of a restriction. I waited a few days and made another appointment & got my second fill on 1/29/03. I was disapointed at first because I initially did not feel any restriction but by the next morning I could really tell a difference. I don't have anything bad to say about Dr. Smith. I think he is very knowledgeable about the LapBand he is very nice and has a gentle manor about him. I sometimes feel a little rushed when I go in for a fill because I would like to ask more questions and I don't feel like I have time. I know he would answer anything I asked but we are usually in back to back for fills. I just wish he would allow a little more time for questions. They do have monthly post-op meetings so his patients are by no means left hanging...

Hoping to have surgery

Dr. Smith has been really nice eat time I've seen him. He and his wife have both had the Lap Band surgery and I think that makes a big difference when it comes to trusting him. He knows what I am feeling now a week after my surgery and that is a comforting thought. He just started doing the Lap Bands in January but he has spent a great deal of time doing laproscopic surgery on the abdomen. I liked that fact a lot because I knew that if there were any problems during the surgery that he would be able to take care of them on the spot and not have to call in a specialist. I'm only 23 and I did not want the RNY. There are just too many complications that can easily happen with that surgery. The Lap Band has it's own share, but not the malnutritional types. The surgery is going to work for me and the main reason why I choose Dr. Smith's program (ultimatly) was the structure on the aftercare. There is a consultation that is $912 made up of the medical exam, about an hour with the nutrionist and a huge battery of written and oral tests with the psychologist. Then, the package is $21,500 which covers the surgery, hospital, everything with the surgery as well as all adjustments for a year, seeing either Dr. Smith, the nutritionist or the psychologist whenever I need for a year and the 2 support meetings a month. The staff in Dr. Smith's office is really nice. His bariatric coordinator's name is Michelle and she knows everything there is to know. She had the RNY last year so she understands first hand about insurance, the surgery, working on the weight loss, the whole works. What's really nice is that everything is done through her, from appointments to paperwork...anything. You don't have 6 people to try to keep straight.

Actually Dr. Smith and at the time Dr. Robert Snow were my doctors. I have nothing but deep thankfulness to extend to these two Gentlemen. They have took a very risky surgery, and made it efortless to obese people for weight loss. The type of surgery that I had was done laproscopic. Which means I was in the hospital a day, was only on liquids a week, on strained food for a week, and am able to do everything without restrictions. The staff at University of North Texas in Fort Worth are extremly caring and professional. These two Doctors are both family men and are the best! They both went into great detail on the surgery, and the program itself. The only gripe that I have is that there is not enough knowledge in the United States about the effects of obesity on the human being. The Lap-Band Surgery is so new, but the risk factor is very minimal. Dr. Smith had only a difficult time when trying to tighten my band. The port that was used on me is extremely smaller than average.