Oregon Weight Loss Surgery Bariatric Center

This woman is good - she knows it; not a bad thing. She is confident, outgoing and won't BS you. She will also do what she thinks is best. I did not like her for the longest time because she told me she didn't have much experience with bipolar patients and wasn't sure I could handle it. I had to wait 7 more months since my initial consultation to get the approval from the psychologist. I understand her point but the wait was depressing to say the least. I just got my surgery date today so I'm liking her a little better. She was nicer to me yesterday when I visited her. She modified the "duodenal switch" procedure from the one she was originally doing for safety reasons. She was upfront with me about this and admitted many of her patients were upset about it. I appreciated this honesty tremendously and respect her for that. I will report more after I have more interactions with her.

My first impression of Emma Patterson was not a good one. She seemed tense and uncomfortable with me. She was performing the surgery for me because my primary surgeon couldn't get privileges at the hospital where the surgery was to be performed. In all fairness I only saw her once before my surgery. All my pre-testing was done with Dr. Marinus Koning; he will also be doing my follup appointments. Dr. Patterson's office staff has been friendly and helpful. Dr. Koning's office staff is friendly but his PA's do not return phone calls and are very unorganized. I, as well as others in my support group suffered heartaches and disappointments due to the lack of professionalism by the medical assistant(s) at Dr. Koning's office. As far as Dr. Koning goes, I feel he is very dedicated to weight loss surgery and to patients who suffer from obesity. But I also feel he has too much going on and sometimes patients get neglected because he is so busy with organizing a bariatric center in the city he works in and his fight in Washington, D.C. for the rights of obese people getting authorized payment from insurance companies for the surgery. I live in an isolated place in a small town so my choices for this surgery were very limited. I believe staying with the same surgeon from beginning to end is most important. Because of where I lived and the situation with the doctor I started with I had no choice but to have one surgeon for the pretesting and after care and then one for the actual surgery. I advice all interested in surgery to attend WLS support groups in your area before setting a consultation appointment with a surgeon. Ask around and find out as much information about available surgeons as possible before making your decision.

I first met with Dr. Emma Patterson on July 10th and she is awesome!!! She is very knowledgeable & personable....she is in a class of her own. In all my research there aren't many that do all the surgeries Lap...and she does and was one of the first that I've seen here in Oregon that did. Although I am getting the RNY she also does the DGB(formerly known as DS)lap also...and there doesn't seem to be very many that even do it. She is very patient and takes her time to explain each step of the process to make sure you understand what you are getting into. Most excellent & Very impressive!!!

Dr. Patterson made me feel comfortable immediately. She is not an overweight person herself but her great compassion is what drew me to her.

The staff is wonderful, Sandy, Amber, Trish, and all the others do their best to make you feel as if you are the only patient. You feel special. When I called to tell Sandy that I had bought size 18 pants for the first time, 3 weeks after surgery, she told everyone around her and they cheered!

You do need to know that if your appt is at 10am you probably won't be seen at 10:45. Dr.Patterson makes sure to give you all the time you need. I don't mind. I am happy she is like that.

Dr. P has a great before and after program established. The support group that is provided free of charge is the wonderful part. I have met the most wonderful people who I identify with.

On a scale of 1-10, Dr. P is a 10! I have no complaints and would recommend RNY surgery from her any day!

Dr. Patterson was the surgeon that accually did the surgery on my in Portland but Dr. Koning is the surgeon folling me after my surgery. He is a aweson doctor. He totally believes in the surgery itself. There is nothing that i could not talk with him about. He is a great listener and a all around awesome person.
The office staff of Dr. Koning are not all that organized and that was difficult. Getting a surgery date was difficult. Loosing information was a common experience.
Dr. Koning has a great after care program. He addresses all my concerns before i had surgery. I would rate Dr. Emma Patterson as a super surgeon and Dr. Koning as a awesome after care surgeon. He is hoping to do his own surgerys here in Bend Soon. He is a great beneifit to all of us.

<p><font color=blue> **07/17/2001** </font><font color=purple>I stopped by the office today to meet a friend and talked w/ the receptionist. I got a copy of my chart to submit w/ my appeal again and to provide copies to Walter Lindstrom and the Insurance Commision. The office is very helpful.</font><p>

<p><font color=blue>**04/19/2001**</font><font color=purple>I want to say I like Dr. Patterson and still think of her and the staff to be wonderful in person. The chief complaint I have is the waiting for a call back. I have waited 2+ weeks several times to hear back from them. Its hard.. I realize I am impatient, and I am trying to balance that with reasonable expectations. One thing I wish is that they could return calls if not with the answer at least acknowledge that they got the message and are working on it. I think this would cut down on the messages they get daily. I know I'm not the only one waiting. I'm going to continue to work with this clinic. I feel its the best fit for me.</font><p>

<p><font color=blue>**04/18/2001**</font><font color=purple>Amber left me a voicemail at work stating my surgery was denied as an exclusion. She just wanted to let me know though she said I was probably already aware.</font><p>

<p><font color=blue>**04/08/2001**</font><font color=purple>Received my auth request.. read through it.. I think its pretty good.. was a lot of pages. I have some ?s about the comorbidities etc. listed but I'll probably just submit it as is.</font><p>

<p><font color=blue>**03/31/2001**</font><font color=purple>Talked w/ Amber and Trish in Pattersons office they have my auth request ready and are mailing it out to me to submit (this was my request).</font><p>

<p><font color=blue>**02/13/2001**</font><font color=purple>Met Dr. Patterson and Amber her coordinator. It was a great visit. I found the Dr. to be very nice and informed. She was non judgmental and easy to talk with. I appreciated the professionalism that both Dr. Patterson and the staff presented. She suggested a sleep study for me to check on sleep apnea or to rule it out and also a colonoscopy to rule out rectal issues since I have some problems. I appreciate her thoroughness! </font><p>

<p><font color=blue>**01/27/2001**</font><font color=purple>Received information. This clinic is GOOD!!!</font><p>

<p><font color=blue>**01/26/2001**</font><font color=purple>Got a call from Amber with the clinic. It seems I'll be seeing Dr. Emma Patterson and not Dr. Swantsrom. She said Dr. Patterson doesn't require my visits be completed before scheduling with her so my first appointment has been scheduled. She is also mailing me a packet with my patient registration forms and pre-op meeting times and dates. </font><p>

<p><font color=blue>**01/24/2001**</font><font color=purple>I got my next letter.. its going fast! The next steps are to meet with the Diabetic Institute for nutritional counseling and a psychologist for testing. I have both of my appointments scheduled! I'm very excited. Its going pretty quickly hope this keeps up!</font><p>

<p><font color=blue>**01/19/2001**</font><font color=purple>I received the packed (I'm impressed the office was fast!) It included the paperwork for me to fill out and a great deal of information on the procedure. I was glad to get that for reading. I will fax the papers to the office and will mail the originals for them too. </font><p>

<p><font color=blue>**01/16/2001**</font><font color=purple>First appointment pending.. just spoken with office and I'm awaiting a packet of information. I did get got a consultation approved by my insurance! I am surprised. Its good for 6 visits and good for one year!</font>

I don't know yet. I'm still trying to find her phone number and address so I can schedule my apt. I can't get it from my PCP because he's on vacation and his referral coordinator needs to name and # also so she can write the referral.

Dr. Patterson was great. She answered all of my questions and was very helpful in explaining all the different types of surgery available. She was very easy to talk to.

Dr. Patterson, is a wonderful doctor. I have nothing but faith in her capabilities as a surgeon. She is friendly, and caring, and she listens to what you are saying, and how you feel about the different types of surgeries. She lets you know what to expect from each one, and what the pros and cons of each surgery can be. She is one of the best dr's i have ever dealt with.

I met with Dr. Patterson and her staff today. They were all very helpful and competent. Dr. Patterson reviewed in detail all of my options and after we made a choice she gave me all the details concerning the type of surgery I will be having. The receptionist was friendly and greeted me warmly. Amber, the scheduling coordinator was both informative and helpful. The office was very busy.All and all a good experience.