Carlos R. Gracia Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

Nice guy, very knowledgable and thourough. Rushed but caring. Wants you to be fully prepared and as healthy as possible for the best outcome. Seriuos about the pre-op weight loss. In OR before going under and when done, I barely remember but him I remember, being sweet, telling me I did great and all went perfectly, ect. Then, after surgery, never saw him again. Others took over and UCLA was great in the hospital. Follow-up visits at UCLA are a joke, probably won't bother anymore except for the yearly for their records. But overall a great surgeon and hospital I'd highly recommend. Just know you'll be dropped on your head once the initial procedure is successful.

only saw the surgeon once, for about 15 minutes, at my very first preop. subsequent preop conducted by a resident.

never saw the surgeon again, never saw him at or after surgery, never had any postops with him.

don't know how common this is. i don't really have a complaint, just from some other profiles, it looks like they get much more support directly from their surgeon.

however, there are huge differences in programs in many many details, so nothing seems out of the realm of normal.

I never met him, I met with three other Doctors for all my appts. pre op. He was always too busy to come, although I hear he was present for my surgery. I didn't meet him after my surgery either. The only people who did meet him were my Husband and Mom, he came out after my surgery and Said....Quote" hello, it went fine, you can see her in about an hour"
My surgery did go fine though and My roommate in the hospital had him opperate on her right after me and she also did very well. Plus all of the doctors that
I did meet were great....especially Dr. Patel he was terrific.

very knowledgeable, frank and to the point
i think he is an excellent surgeon, the office staff is great debbie frickel his rn educator is an expert in this field . least thing i liked about him is that he is not very personable but his skills superceed that.the classes before surgery prepare you for after also he follows up with you very closely. he did address risks with me in fact one surgeon had turned me down due to a past surgery on my esophagus and undone that surgery to do my rny he took great caution and did an excellent job i would rate him a 9 on a scale of 10. would recommend his services to any candidate.i believe formost competence is better but bedside manner makes you feel more comfortable and trusting

Dr. Gracia was a nice looking man that I saw about once (at the pre-op) through the whole process. There were many other doctors that attended me while I was in the hospitol and at the post-op. The whole staff was very nice and seemed to care about everyone participating in this surgery. I least liked the fact that I only saw Dr. Gracia once. I would have liked to talk to him more, one on one. Future patients should know that there are going to be other doctors assisting with your questions and concerns. The aftercare programs that they have would be support groups. Dr. Gracia made sure that I knew all matters concerning what was going to happen before, during and after the surgery, including all the risks. I would rate Dr. Gracia as a great surgeon. I experienced little pain after the surgery and when I went home, I didn't have to take any pain medications.

I have only had my consult but...My first impression of Dr. Gracia is very down to earth. He is also very willing to listen and answer any questions you may have. I didn't like his assistant to much at first and seemed rather smug and almost looked down his nose at me and my mom (who came with me to my consult.)I can't really remember his name (maybe I chose to block him out...Dr. Baccardi or something like that but he kind of grows on you. The office staff at UCLA are great..very nice and helpful. UCLA has a more strict policy I find than Pac. Bari in San Diego. More to follow...more hoops to jump through but that is a good thing at least they are thorough (or how ever you spell it..lol) The risks of the surgery were defined to me in detail and all of my questions were answered ( lap vs open) And now it is in Gods hands. I will let you know the rest AFTER surgery...

Good impression of surgeon

No

Very busy, butproficient



Very good surgeon

Strongly, but unfortunately there is not a dietitian available as part of his team


Classes

very good

surgical competence

IMPRESSED

IT HASNT

EXCELLENT AND VERY FRIENDLY

N/A

NO NONSENCE TYPE OF DOCTOR

VERY STRONGLY

YES

VERY SERIUOSLY

A 10

SURGICAL COMPETENCE

My first impression was he has a very busy office. Over time I came to relaize what an excellent surgeon and human being he is. His office staff was friendly and accomodating. What I liked best about my suregeon was his knowledge about the different types of bariatric surgery and helping me decide what was best for me. What i think furture pts needs to know is that you are in great hands. He comes with years of experience. He did emphasize aftercare. As I was going through my surgery and the first few months that followed my surgery his program and office was going through some revamping. There was no structured aftercare program for me. I currently follow up with my Primary Medical Doctor. However I would rate this surgeon the best. I got what I asked for which was a successful Lap RNY and my life back. I will forever feel grateful to Dr. Gracia and UCLA!