George Cowan, Jr., M.D., Professor, UTHSC Bariatric Center

First impression Dr.Cowan was real sympathetic and also has a personal battle with obesity over his fater. Office staff just very busy got real upset with insurance person but, I am sure she is doing the best she can. He was real hurried. He is busy though. ALWAYS expect to wait in the office several hours. Not sure about after care haven't been there yet. Explained the risk of surgery in great detail. Overall rating for Dr. 9 Office 7 From what I understand from other patients he is very caring before surgery but after the surgery he is very protective of you and watches you like a hawk.

Dr. Cowan looked at me and his first response was not how fat I was. He told me that I had pretty fingernails. He is so very busy and so is the office staff. They are very nice and overworked. He is estremely knowlegable and experienced. I had to wait almost four months to get a date and I had to stay on the phone with them after the second month to speed things up. He wants me on CPAP for at least two weeks prior to surgery. I do not think that he will operate on just anyone that wants the surgery. You have to go thru everything. I am a little older and had to go thru so much but I refuse to give up. Aftercare is important to him and they do have an aftercare program. The risks of surgery has explained and I am glad that he is my surgeon. I have to drive 350 miles to his office but he is worth it. He has many years experience and a world of knowledge. I have a date and I am afraid. One lady told me that I could die but I told her that being as overweight as I am is killing me anyway. I feel very confident with him. I just want to make sure before I go to sleep that I see him in the OR. I just wish that he had more staff in his office. They really have to work hard. The insurance girl is nice and so is Cathy his nurse.
Janie Stragand

dr. cowan was extremely knowledgeable about the surgery. he insisted that i know everything, good and bad, about what would occur. his office staff needs some work. some of the people were very nice and helpful, while others were quite hateful. the only complaint i would have about dr. cowan was that i have spent maybe 30 minutes all told with him since the surgery. i have seen another doctor who just started practice with dr. cowan. his name is dr. hylar, and he is a very nice man. he has spent quite a bit of time with me following the surgery. aftercare is emphasized greatly in dr. cowan's office. he wants to know everything about you after the surgery. the risks of the surgery were outlined in great detail before the surgery, and i felt that i had been well informed beforehand. i would give dr. cowan an A+ for him. i would recommend anyone who needs a gastric bypass to see him. i have that much faith in him. his surgical competence is outstanding, and he really cares for obese people and sees us as real people, not just pieces of meat, as other doctors do.

Dr Cowan is a very sincere person-very supportive to his patients both before and after surgery.

Dr Cowan requires patients to either attend an orientation or rent an orientation video explaining the surgery and associated risks prior to the initial appointment. I attended the orientation in December 1999, the first appointment I could get was February 2000, I had surgery in July 2000. So it is not a quick process, but does give you the opportunity to really know if surgery is what you really want.

I did great! I had surgery on Tuesday and was discharged Friday at noon! Very few problems - NO dumping, some vomiting when I started on more solid foods. I lost 55 lbs in 4 months, this is 50% of what I want to lose overall.

His office staff is a mixture of great and not so great individuals-just like every other office. DR. Cowan rated AAAAA++++

You, as the patient should be prepared to work with your insurance company, keep after them, follow up and make sure all the paperwork is submitted. Don't leave it up to the Dr's staff-they are working with a lot of patients, not just you.

I don't like the surgery Dr. Cowna gave me. however it is better then nothing. I can't overeat as I once did. It is taking a long time for my weight to come off. however I am loosing some weight.

Dr. Cowan is a very caring doctor. He wants what is best for you . I would gave him a 10. His office staff need some work. Hopefully in time they will do better. Dr. Cowan tried to explain the problem with his office staff. I think it is out of his hands and it has a lot to do with UT.

I attended Dr. Cowan's required three hour lecture in January, 2000. I went in for my first appointment February 3, 2000. He is a very compassionate person. Referring to the insurance company, he told me to "keep my head up and don't let them get me down." That became some important advice during the appeal process.

The negative thing I would like to say is office staffing problems. I think this has been going on for quite a while. It was frustrating to me to not be able to talk to the insurance representative when I needed to inquire about something. I think she was new to the position and was spread pretty thin. However, when I hit the "crisis" point and was at the point of hysterics after my second appeal, she immediately called me back. In other words, a person can only do what they can do with the time that they have! Maybe things will smooth out in the next few months with the staffing problem.
Once approved, I was able to schedule a surgery date one month from approval date! Surgery date is July 11th!

He said I'm too fat to have the surgery.

I went to Dr. Cowan because I had seen him on a national news show. He seemed very compatent and is. Very passionate about what he does. Believes whole heartedly that obesity is a genetic and metabolic disease and can not be cured without surgery. He is very overworked and therefore I had a lot of trouble with his staff and follow up appointments. I had this done three years ago, so things may be different now, but I felt very overlooked once my surgery was over with. It was if the staff sees this everyday and it is no big deal that you are throwing up all day, but to me it was the first time this had every happened. He does have an aftercare program, but I lived three hours away from him and so I never attended any of these support groups. His staff never attempted to connect me with a group in the area that I was from (Nashville, TN) at the time. Overall I would go to him again for the surgery. HIs follow up has not been that great. They have never attempted to make sure I am getting the appropriate care since the surgery. I saw him maybe four/five times post-op and that has been all the contact I've had with him. He did a good job on the surgery. I wouldn't trust just anyone with this kind of procedure and I felt confident and trusted that I was in good hands with him as a surgeon.

I attended Dr. Cowan's seminar on August 3,
2000. I was very impressed with this man. He
was thorough and informative. He displayed genuine caring and compassion for people who suffers from morbid obesity. He also displayed a wonderful sense of humor. He knows his stuff. After the seminar I was able to schedule my first consult which will be August 17, 2000. My insurance has already approved me for Open Roux-n-y with Dr. Cowan as long as he finds that I am a good candidate for the surgery. Dr. Cowan was very frank and open about staffing problems his clinic is experiencing right now. I have not had much contact with the nurses and other staff yet but everyone has been helpful so far. I had several questions for one of the nurses during the seminar and she answered them and was helpful.
AUG 17,2000 I had my consult with Dr. Cowan and he was wonderful. I was very impressed with his caring and understanding as well as his medical expertise. My husband likes him as well. Dr. Cowan's staff was great as well. Very nice and effeciant. They work hard and are very busy. I think if you let them know that you understand the responsibility and work load they are under, they respond in kind. On the day of consult, I was scheduled for Aug 31, 2000!!