Anyone use Dr. Gregg Jossart in SF?

Hi,

Anyone use Dr. Gregg Jossart in SF?

What is your opinion of him?

Did you have any post-op complications?

How easy is it to get questions and concerns answered?

How quick does he (or his partner) respond? 

What kind of aftercare do you receive?

How often do you see him for follow up?

Are you pleased with him and would you recommend him to your friends and family?

What did you think of your time at Cal Pacific Medical Center?


I met him yesterday at a support group meeting and wanted some unbiased opinions of him. They do so many procedures weekly I'm a bit concerned that his practice is like drive through surgery, where they just zip in and out and you never see the guy again.

Thanks!

If you don't get an answer to this today, you might want to 'bump' the thread tomorrow sometime . . . . weekends can be kind of hit or miss with catching some people.  There out there, cuz I've seen Jossart post-ops post!

I had him assist on my surgery. Didn't really meet him though. Him and his partner, Dr Cirangle will DO the duodenal switch, but specialize in the VSG. They will pressure that to you like crazy!
They are a cookie cutter method of DS surgery. 150 CC and 3oz stomach. I had talked with him about doing a little shorter channel and little larger stomach, and he talked me out of it. In retrospect, I wish more than anything I had gotten a little bit larger stomach.
But, i'm happy with the channel length. I'm only 20lbs away from normal, and 30lbs away from my personal goal : ) I' not really trying, but i'm not gaining, and if i do try the weight flies off me. I've been thinking of trying again here, but i'm actually pretty happy at 160...but i digress.
Anyway, if i could do it over again, i would have gone with a different surgeon, because their up front fee of 7,500 (probably more now since that was a year ago) is a bit high, and like i said, they pressure you like crazy. I think everyone's body/eating habits/living habits are different and i wish i could have had my surgery more custom fit to me.
But hey, in the end it got the job done and i'm pretty okay with things now! : )

I haven't seen my doc since the surgery, but that's because i live so far away. Haven't had any follow ups! But my regular doc sends in info to them for updates i think.

I had Dr. J, although my surgery had to be done at Good Samaritan in San Jose because I have Anthem Blue Cross and Good Sam is a Center of Expertise for Bariatric Surgery (for Blue Cross).  I have heard absolutely WONDERFUL things about Cal Pacific.  Attentive Staff and great experiences there.  Good Sam, not so much but you get what you pay for and honestly, you are only talking a 24-30 hour period of being in the hospital and if you do your research ahead of time and follow Dr. J's instructions - it's cake!  Literally, I was in the hospital 30 hours from start to finish.

I think he is extremely knowledgable and has been doing the DS for years...worked with Rabkin previously and since going on his own has really achieved high success with his all-Laparascopic approach.  Dr. Cirangle and Dr. J work together on their surgeries so you get the benefit of both.  I think all surgeons are somewhat egotistical and Dr J. does have some of that.  He really feels as if he has perfected the DS, and has been getting very good results using the smaller stomach/larger common channel combination as opposed to what was previously used years ago.

I have had ZERO issues, so I am not certain how quickly they respond in that regard, however during my office visits, he listens intently and answers any and all questions I have. 

Their aftercare program is very simple...others here on the DS forum with other surgeons have a much stricter schedule.  That can be both good and bad - just depends on how you look at it.

You see him at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and one year.  You do labs only at one year.  I am looking forward to getting mine done here pretty soon so I can see how my vit levels are.  Some surgeons order labs done every 3 months...I can see the point about wanting to know if you are trending down but it doesn't bother me to wait until year one either.  I feel good, I look good and I have lots of energy.

I would recommend him to my family.  My only reservation would be because for Blue Cross patients (and maybe others) he charges $7750 out of pocket for Non-Covered Service - which are basically a bunch of BS valued at $300 max.  Yet, I happily paid the money and do not regret it one bit - my life has changed as a result.

That my 2 cents...

Dana

I had a DS with Dr. Jossart in 11/08.  If you were at support group yesterday, you saw me there.  I started my WLS process with Dr. Woodbury in Santa Rosa, did all my tests, but couldn't seem to lose his pre-surgery weight loss requirement.  After almost a year of stalling, I got a second opinion from Dr. Jossart.  He told me that it would be a much safer surgery if I could lose some weight beforehand, but he has operated on much larger people than me, and it wouldn't be a "deal-breaker" as long as I didn't gain any weight before the surgery.  I liked him immediately from the start.  I was actually impressed with the number of surgeries he has performed.  I would actually feel much more comfortable having a surgeon that is a WLS "factory" so I know it's super-routine surgery for them.  I have Blue Cross insurance, so I had to have my surgery at Good Samaritan hospital in San Jose, which was a fabulous experience, by the way.  I have recommended Dr. Jossart to many of my friends and two of them have already had their surgeries at CPMC and loved it there.  I am very impressed with him and his staff.  I never had the opportunity to meet his partner, Dr. Cirangle, but I've heard he's excellent too.  Any time I had a question, I had a response within the hour.  You have followup visits at 3 weeks, 3 mo, 6 mo, 9 mo and 1 year, with annual labs thereafter.  I'm super impressed that Dr. Jossart attends every support group meeting himself and is available to answer questions in person there.  The other nice thing (since I live in Windsor) is that Dr. Jossart holds office hours once a month in Healdsburg and a couple times per month in Petaluma, so it is very convenient to schedule appointments during my hectic work schedule.  I spent about $7500 out-of-pocket for non-covered expenses, but feel like it was well worth it!  This surgery has saved my life.