"Dr. Bovard is amazing. He is very personable and "real". My biggest fear when I was looking from a surgeon was that I would find someone that would judge me as a larger person and not treat me as an individual. I had been to another surgeon's info session and he just came across as arrogant and his staff didn't even calculate my BMI correctly! (Which is important for insurance! It was about 4 points too low!). When I went to Dr. Bovard's session, he just guessed my BMI looking at me. It showed me that he had a lot of experience, even though he was new to the area.
He can be very direct (which can be to some a negative), but to me this is fine, since my personality is similar. Honestly before I went on his pre-op liquid diet I ate as I normally did. I did try to limit amounts, but I didn't diet. I felt comfortable when he asked me how I had been pre-liquid to tell the truth. I think that this is very important in having a successful post-op in feeling you can be honest.
Dr. Bovard really emphasizes aftercare. Its something that he harps on from day one. He talked about the importance of aftercare and how it is why his patients lose more than the national average. This could be cockiness, but I'm hoping not! Time will tell with my weight loss.
I can say that Dr. Bovard and his staff are so compassionate about people living healthier lives through weight loss surgery. Casey works in his office, and she is soooo super friendly. She does everything with a smile on her face, always calls you by name, and they remember you. You're not just a number. If you want to self pay, they have a program where you can have surgery in as fast as 15 days. 15 days! I waited a month, but when talking to other surgeons, there was this big "hoop jumping" system. It just didn't seem for me. Dr. Bovard has worked with the Louisburg hospital to reduce their rates and has been able to provide the lapband surgery there for $12,900. I almost cried when I heard this. I'm a student, and was willing to take out a loan to make this possible for me, but with insurance not willing to pay and the average in NC being $23,000 it was disheartening. I wouldn't have been able to have this surgery without the support and caring of Dr. Bovard's office. If your considering surgery, I would definitely go to his informational seminar (its free!) before surgery. But if I could do it all over again I would!"
