Alan Newhoff Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S.

My first impression of Dr. Newhoff was he was very direct and to the point. He listen to my concerns and was polite. His office staff was nice and helpful. I never felt rushed on my office visits with him. Dr. Newhoff takes his time to talk to you and listens to you, you don't feel rushed like some Dr.'s make you feel. He strongly recommends you attending his after care program. Attending the support groups really help you through your problems and concerns.
Before you leave his office you will know all the risks you need to be aware of. You must get up and walk after your surgery or he threatens to take your pain medicine away after surgery...of course we know he really wouldn't do that. This is his way of stressing how important it is to get up and walk, walk, walk. When he would make his rounds at the Hospital, he was very kind and always made me laugh. He is a wonderful Doctor. I highly recommend him to anyone seeking to have the surgery.

I met Dr. Newhoff lasy year May of 2003, took that long after delays from my former PCP did not file paperwork for Insurance, then I was dropped from Insurance then after 3 month wait I was eligible for Medicare, so we sent the information my prior PCP was to have , then last week received letter confirming my surgery date, today I went in for pre-op meeting, next date is 01/12/2005. Office staff very friendly, pre-op director is a former patient and looks great. I will add more later, while typing this (12/13/2004 10:40PM MST, AZ) I was watching ESPN sportscenter and they had story on Weiss who went from the Patriots football team to the NotreDame head football coach and they were talking about how he almost died on the operating table having Gastric bypass surgery, I'm going to have to check on this story .Later
Ron

My first impression was that he knew what he was doing and was very serious about it. I was warned a head of time that during preop he may not be so friendly so I was expecting it. But to me he was professional and wanted to keep it that way to let you know he was serious about what he said. His Staff was very friendly and courtious. Although I did get frustrated because I had to do most of the work getting my records and other stuff all on my own, where everyone else just let the office do it. Once I started bugging them every week, they started to see I was serious too. Then as soon as I was approved they worked fast to get me in ASAP for surgery..(from August 3rd to the 11th) must have been the bugging...LOL! Anyway Dr. Newhoff is very much concerned about you after and makes sure you get the proper care and treatment if needed. I've had problems with keeping food down and when I have talked to him he gets right on everything...not like my PCP who could care less. His after care program is an ok one. He sees you often in the first 6-9 months, then as you are doing better it gets further apart. He is a great Dr. and has a wonderul sense of Humor. I like him alot!

I am very pleased with Dr. Newhoff. I think he is a very nice man and he takes the time to address all concerns and answer any and all questions you may have. I can't say that there is anything I dislike about the man. But, I have only seen him twice so far. He is very straight forward and tells it just like it is. I think at times that his office staff can be rude, but I guess that is expected with any doctor's office. I would recommend Dr. Newhoff to anyone who is thinking about having the surgery.
I started out going to Dr. Juarez, and that office is a zoo. It took me 3 months to get in for the siminar and another 2 months to get in for a consult. They messed up my paperwork and wanted me to start all over with the consultation which was scheduled 3.5 months out. I finally thought to myself,
'how can they deal with this many patients and be able to care for them all". I felt uncertain about the doctor and at that point is when someone referred me to Dr. Newhoff and I am greatful they did.

Well I finally did it, I HAD MY SURGERY! I have no complaints about Dr. Newhoff at all. He is a wonderful man. I am very happy that I chose him as my surgeon. He did his rounds every morning and left a couple encouraging words. Like I mentioned before, I would recommend him to anyone thinking about having WLS.

What was your first impression of him/her?
I was impressed with him, and his answers to my questions.

How would you describe his/her office staff?
Before the surgery his office staff were very friendly and one of them had had the surgery herself.

How did your impression change over time?
I am not impressed with his office files as I tried to get some life insurance about 1986 and his office could find no record of ME so the insurance was denied.
I tried contacting them directly and got the same result.

What did you like least about him/her?
The lack of follow up instructions.

How much does he/she emphasize aftercare?
Does he/she have a structured aftercare program?
At the time I had my surgery either I fell through the cracks or there was NO AFTERCARE.
As far as I can remember the only follow up I received from the Dr and his office staff was a packet mailed to me with suggestions for a diet and a few recipes. I do not remember any plan or instructions for follow up visits or support help.

How did he/she address the risks of surgery?
I was told that there was a risk of death from the surgery just as in any surgery.

How would you rate him/her overall?
I would rate him as above average talking to patients and answering questions

Which is better, surgical competence, bedside
manner, or both great?
I would say his bedside manor was the best.

Additional Personal comments.
I had the surgery preformed at Good Samaritan Hospital in July or Aug of 1981 and proceeded to lose 195 lbs. over the next 9 months.
In 1991 I was having sever problems with pain so I had a few tests done and they revealed that I had an ulcer in my esophagus due to constant vomiting from problems with the gastric bypass surgery.
I had the surgery reversed and the reversing Dr. stated after the surgery that if they had used (1) one less staple I would have been ok, but that the opening between the (2) Two sections of the stomach was too small, therefore requiring the food that I ate to be EXTREAMLY well chewed or to be a liquid!
I lived primarily on soup for (10) Ten Years.

My first impression of my surgeon was very positive. He has a no nonsense straight forward attitude. In the few months that I've known him, I think more highly of him and am so glad I chose him as my surgeon. His office staff is very professional, helpful and kind. Future patients should know that Dr. Newhoff is a highly skilled surgeon with many years of experience. He cares about his patients and is dedicated to them. Listen to what he says and follow his instructions. He knows what he is doing. He is very serious about patient education both pre-op and post-op. He does have an aftercare program, a patient educator and support groups for the different stages of life after WLS. He addresses the risks of surgery in a very open and honest manner. He will answer all questions and concerns. He doesn't sugar coat the risks involved with surgery. He wants his patients to be fully informed. Overall on a scale of 1-10 I would have to give him a 9. Only because no one is perfect.

I first met Dr. Newhoff in a small group consultation. I thought that he was extremely professional and knowledgable. He was very clear that he expected us to do our part and do the work required after surgery. He spent about three hours with us and answered all of our questions. He had visual aids, which showed the various procedures that are available. He gave his surgical experience history as well as his educational history.

I initially had difficulty with some of his staff. The receptionist was very rude, abrupt, and unhelpful. The woman who deals with the insurance part had no voice mail and was difficult to reach because of that and her office hours were slim. Because of this, I was very frustrated and requested my PCP to send me to another surgeon. The referral specialist is also in the process of WLS and recommended who she was using, Dr. Juarez.

I went to the seminar with Dr. Juarez at St. Luke's. The room was a conference room and was filled with probably 200+ people. He had two prior patients there who gave their testimonies. He answered most of the questions, but with all those people he had to stop the Q and A at some point. I found Dr. Juarez's staff to be very kind and helpful, however, I was not impressed with him.

I had my individual consult with Dr. Juarez and while waiting I met two ladies who were post-op and having severe problems. They were not happy with him at all and agreed that they wished they hadn't have had the surgery. However, there were other patients there in the waiting area who were post-op and were very satisfied with the care they received from Dr. Juarez. I met with the PA first who spent about an hour with me answering all my questions. I had actually gone into the memorial page on this site and jotted down every reason for death listed. He went over every reason with me and explained what they were and what could have happened. He was very kind and patient. Dr. Juarez came in after us being there a total of three hours. Since all my questions had been answered, I had none for him. He asked some brief questions about my medical history and that was it.

After that consult, my anxiety raised and kept raising with time. I did not like my experience with Dr. Juarez in the personl consult. I can't really describe it except that my "gut" was telling me that something wasn't right. Of course, this is just my own personal experience and my referral person is staying with Dr. Juarez and feels very comfortable with her decision. For me, personally, he was not the right decision.

I finally decided that having a surgeon who I felt was good, but had a stinky staff was far better than a doctor I didn't feel comfortable with and with a great staff, so I returned to Dr. Newhoff. Upon doing this, my anxiety ceased and I am happy with my decision.

I met with Dr. Newhoff for my personal consult today and we talked in his office at a leisurely setting. I have since had good experience with his staff as well. The old receptionist is now gone and the insurance lady has voicemail and her hours seem to have normalized. She has gone out of her way this time around to help me and make my request move. Dr. Newhoff is a no nonsense guy and emphasizes how important it is for you to follow the post-op instuctions and that this is a tool, not a cure. There are two classes conducted at the office, which address lifestyle change, protein suppliments, support, etc. that you are required to attend before surgery.

At this point, I would rate Dr. Newhoff an 8 out of 10, since I am still pre-op. I have heard that his bedside manner is not that great simply because he doesn't play with this and what your responsibility is. He has been doing surgery for over 27 years and I feel that he is extremely competant.

good guy, great surgeon. i'm a nurse and i know these things through the grapevine. not just my opinion.

office staff- need more help i think. i was a self pay but when the insurance ended up paying hospital bill due to other surgeries done at same time i asked them to submit surgeons bill and see what happened. person who handled this at first very nice but then went out on maternity leave and next person not very helpful at all. she didn't know how to do it she said, only one who did was out for so long the deadline would pass for filing before she got back. then called back and told if i drove there they had a paper I could submit. come on. that's their job i said but she replied that since i'd signed a self pay contract it was my problem. i guess self pays don't merit their time to help even though i'm sure they get more $$$ from our surgeries than those that insurance covers.will update again when all is resolved.

my first impression of Dr. Newhoff was that he knew what he is doing and is concerned with his patients, he's not one to coddle you, but lets you know whats going to happen, what he expects and wants to help you gain your goals. The only change of my impression of Dr. Newhoff is that he is better than I had origonally figured and am glad that I picked my as my surgeon, he is fantastic

His office staff is very good, they do their work very well and efficiently, are well put together as a working unit.

There was not anything that I disliked about Dr. Newhoff at all, he tells it like it is and expects you to do what he says, which I will, cause I know he has the experience, not me and thats what I have him for.

Dr. Newhoff imphasizes aftercare very much, he gives you 2 yrs of cost free aftercare, now that is what I call a caring doctor.

Newhoff has a pretty good structured after care plan, since I am only 2 wks out so far, I have not really dwelt with this so far, will update later.

The risks of the surgery were very well addressed, I know that with any surgery there are risks and this one is no exception, I was very well informed of this.

on a rating system of 1-10, ould rate Dr. Newhoff a 12+ he is that good.

Both surgical comptence and bedside manner were fantastic with Dr.Newhoff, he is a fantastic surgeon and I would use him again if I had to

Dr.Newhoff is quite different from the other Dr.s I interviewed. He scared me at first with his direct questions. I thought I was interviewing him, but at the same time he interviewed me. What a creative way for him to see if I would be able to handle the procedures. Not only is he a gentleman, but a "gentle man". He cares about you as an individual, not as a money figure. The time he takes with you during office visits is unreal. No rushing, just an easy to talk to attitude. I did have some complications after surgery, and Dr.Newhoff was there for me every step of the way. I am thankful that he accepted me as his patient, and would recommend him in highest regards. The staff is very helpful, even with questions you feel are silly, they take time to explain everything. The only negative thing I can say about Dr.Newhoff is....he is soooo thin, and never had gastic bypass.