Eric Bour Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

I loved Dr. Bour and his reasons for doing this Surgery!

dr. bour is a careful and caring doctor. He and his assisant Katie are easy to talk to you do not feel embarassed or feel as if you are being talked down to.
after the surgery he makes sure you are not in pain. His commitment to after care and long term recovery is great.

Eric Bour is very very down to earth....very calming. Everyone at the office and his staff has always been very professional and friendly.

I started going to Bariatric Solutions in Greenville on July 1st. At that time I met the office staff and the psychologist and was told about how the program works and what would be expected of me as a patient. I didn't actually meet the surgeon, Dr. Bour, until late July at a seminar held for all patients interested in surgery. I thought he was young, but knowledgable and seemed a little out of sorts in front of a crowd.

My first individual appointment with him was on August 5th. It was then that I knew he was the one for me. He was very personable, caring, wanted to know how I felt about things, etc. He was GREAT! His assistant Katie was excellent also. They spend time with you, not just 5 minutes and hand you a bill.

Since all the publicity lately about obesity surgery, Bariatric Solutions has become very busy and crowded. It takes all of the staff longer to reply to messages, etc. but they are working on the staff levels. Kim, who handles ALL of the insurance part alone, is probably the busiest and most important and is GREAT about keeping you informed about what's happening.

Dr. Bour and his staff Greatly emphasize aftercare! Before you can start the program, you must agree to a minimum of 1 year of behaviour modification training and follow-up and check-ups with Dr. Bour for life! It is an excellent structured program.

Dr. Bour spends a lot of time with you, answers questions, talks about the risks of surgery - is very straightforward.

I would rate Dr. Bour overall as Excellent! or I wouldn't let him cut on me!

I think he has a nice balance between "doctor surgical lingo" and bedside manner. Again, if I weren't comfortable with him, I wouldn't be letting him cut on me on Tuesday, December 10th!

Truthfully? Dr. Bour is a nice guy. I'm in love with him! He's not like all of the other surgeons who care more about money than about their patients. (So his "tough love" exterior is really a coverup for his concern for me.)
His staff is also really supportive. They are big advocates against "drive-thru" surgeries, which can be tedious for the patients at times, but I know they won't let me fail as a result. Everyone I meet has nothing but praise for him and his staff. They are super-big on aftercare (to the point of making their patients sign contracts of compliance).
On the downside, I feel like I'm kept in the dark about some aspects of surgery (like my post-op diet) because his staff has a "baby steps" policy and they refuse to let you know everything. It's like a game they play: "right now you're on clear liquids--come back a week from now and we'll give you a little bit more of the puzzle."
Dr. Bour is serious about the risks of surgery, but he's also confident that his patients will pull through. He's a diplomat (meaning that he teaches other doctors how to perform this surgery) and sometimes I feel like he's over-qualified.

He is wonderful! I have been so impressed with him and his staff. They are very sensitive and understanding about the problems that are related to obesity. He is very concerned about follow up after surgery and I have heard that he actually called a patient who had been slack about keeping an appointment. He let her know how important follow up visits are and I heard that she said she would not screw up again. I was impressed that he seems to go the extra mile for his patients. That is the kind of doctor I want for a surgery as important as this. Dr. Bour, Dr. Spearman and the rest of the staff are so passionate about what they do and I highly recommend them to anyone interested in having the surgery done. To date, I do not have anything negative to say about the staff or Dr. Bour.

November 11, 2002.<br>

Dr. Bour's office has a very organized process for patients. Attendance is required for at least 6 behavior modification sessions as well as the psychological testing before the initial office visit with Dr. Bour.<br>
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Dr. Bour gives a monthly overview of surgical treatment for obesity. He was very thorough and professional yet made everybody feel at ease. Dr. Spearman facilitates the weekly behavior modification sessions. Dr. Spearman's knowledge of obesity related behavior is the most indepth of any psychologist I have ever met. He knows what it takes to make this life change. Dr. Bour's surgical assistant, Katie Myers, is very knowledgable and seems to be very committed to building a relationship with the patients. Kim Hawley is the program coordinator and works very hard and has dealt exceedingly well with all the questions/concerns I had. She answers all my questions, even the aggravating ones... Kim also quickly put together a thorough package as the request for approval from Cigna as soon as Dr. Bour's dictation was returned to my patient file.<br>
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Since I've had all my pre-op tests, I'm waiting for a response from my insurance company. I feel very comfortable with Dr. Bour and his team.<br>
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Update: 11/27/2002 - Surgery scheduled for Dec. 17th!!!<br><br>

12/09/2002 - Surgery in 8 more days. I feel so fortunate to have gotten on Dr. Bour's schedule.

I have not yet met Dr. Bour. I have, however, met Dr. Spearman the mental health physician and Kim the program coordinator. I have also had my first pysche evaluation, written test and attended the first of the six (6) group/individual therapy classes required by Dr. Bour's group in order to progress to the point of scheduling surgery. I am very impressed by this medical group. They seem to really care about my circumstances. The staff members that I have met thus far are fabulous. One thing that impressed me also is that it appears as though (not sure how to say this) that a fair portion of his staff are women that are waiting to have surgery, have already had it or something like that as there are a few women working there that are as large as I am. This certainly demonstrates a empathy toward overweight people. This group requires extensive pre-surgical orientation and education. They also ask for a commitment of at least one to two years followup and offer many post-surgical classes, updates, etc. to help you along the way. As time goes by I will update and let you all know how it is going, especially about my meeting with Dr. Bour.

I LIVE IN SOUTH CAROLINA BUT WAS WILLING TO GO TO GA OR NC TO HAVE THE GASTRIC BYPASS SURGERY. I CHOSE A DOCTOR IN GREENVILLE, SC AT BARIATRIC SOLUTIONS. YOU MUST HAVE FOLLOW UP TREATMENT AFTER THIS SURGERY. IF A DOCTOR DOES NOT HAVE A PROGRAM TO LAST AT LEAST A YEAR THEN YOU NEED TO GO ELSEWHERE. DR BOUR HAS THIS PROGRAM IN EFFECT WITH FOLLOW UP ON THERAPY, DIET, AND VISITS WITH HIM.

I liked Dr. Bour the first time I saw him. He has that 'open' kind of face that everyone trusts and likes instinctively. So far my impression has not changed. If anything it grew better when Kim called and told me that Dr. Bour was having the dictation on my information redone, because there were things in it that just did not quite satisfy him. That tells me (what I already knew) that he is very thorough. The staff is wonderful. They don't treat me like a fat person, and I really like that, after all it is something I will have to get used to! I also like the fact that I won't just be turned away after I have the surgery. I see some posts on here indicating pretty much that some other surgeons just do the surgery and don't take care of the patient. Dr. Bour has an intensive presurgery program as well as an after surgery program. And so far it doesn't look like either of those programs are bound by time constraints. It looks as if they are there for as long as I need them. It also helps that I already knew Dr. Spearman--the psychologist on staff--It makes the behavior modification easier to deal with. And behavior modification is one other thing that is stressed. Dr. Bour comes right out and tells you that the surgery won't 'fix' your problem unless you help it. That is addressed in the pre-surgical program information session that is mandatory for everyone. Overall if I were rating Dr. Bour and staff based on competence, compassion, and quality of the program I would have to give them a 9.5 After all, there is no such thing as a perfect 10! :)