"I met Dr. Pierce when I had breast cancer. He performed a lumpectomy for me and put in a portacatheter. When resesearching him, I learned his two special areas of interest are breast cancer surgery and weight loss surgery. rnIf I'd never had breast cancer, I would never have met Dr. Pierce. rnMy impression of him initially was that he 'seemed to know what he was doing'. I became more informed and realized that he did know what he was doing!rnrnHis office staff was nice. They were thorough at the beginning, not so much the further out I got from surgery.rnrnThere isn't anything I liked 'least' about Dr. Pierce.rnFuture patients should be ready to take responsibility for themselves. He, nor his group, do not coddle you.rnHe emphasizes after care alot. I knew without a doubt that the surgery was only the first step; a tool in my weight loss. If I didn't follow their after care directions, I'd have pain and eventually less successful results.rnThey do not really have a structured after care program. You go see them a week or so after the surgery, 3 months and you're supposed to after 6 months. I missed that one and no one seemed to notice or care. Since it is my responsibility to make the appointments, I did when I finally remembered. I found a support group through another hospital that has been very helpful. I don't believe Dr. Pierce's group has this; or if they do, I don't know about it.rnHe made me very aware of the risks. rnI would rate him as A++.rnI think surgical competence is the most important, and think both are great. Dr. Pierce has both. I would do it over with him as my surgeon again in a heartbeat!rnrnI do not have anything negative to say about Dr. Pierce or his group. Again, one must take responsibilty for oneself.rnThe negative part of the experience for me is that I have had severe gas and abdoninal (colin) pain; no one has been able to figure out what the cause is. I don't think it has anything to do with the dr. -- I just wish they were able to tell me what to do differently so I didn't have the pain."
