Donald Scholten Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

DR SCHOLTEN WAS AN EXTRAORIDINARY MAN, HE HAS GREAT BEDSIDE MANNERS. WE DO NOT ACCEPT BLOOD, USUALLY SURGEON FROWN TERRIBLY AT THAT..HE SAID "GOOD FOR YOU". MY IMPRESSION HAS ONLY GOTTEN BETTER. THE OFFICE STAFF IS FABULOUS ESPECIALY AMY WHO HANDLES THE INSURANCE PART OF IT ALL. ALL THE RISKS WERE LAID OUT COMPLETELY, ALL THE PROPER TESTING WAS DONE. THE AFTERCARE WAS DESCRIBED AND I HAVE STARTED TO EXCERCISE NOW. I COULDN'T HAVE POSSIBLY CHOSEN A BETTER SURGEON.I WOULD RATE DR SCHOLTEN 110% BOTH HIS BEDSIDE MANNERS AND SURGICAL COMPETENCE WERE REMARKABLE. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS MAN TO BE YOUR DOCTOR AND SURGEON.

Well, first off I must say I had a basilar migraine the first time I met Dr. Scholten, so the meeting is a little fuzzy in my memory. I'm glad my sister was with me to remember what he said. There was no way I was going to cancel after waiting for so many months. He seemed very nice and he was very soft spoken. He explained everything in great detail using pictures and diagrams. His office staff is very helpful. Anne was super helpful. One thing to note... He makes his patients lose weight, and he MEANS IT. I had my first surgery date cancelled because I didn't lose all the weight he required. (He wanted me to lose 40# and I had lost over 30# AND quit smoking and Mary Kay still cancelled the surgery! I was devastated and angry!) I now have a surgery date of July 13, 2001. I live 10 hours away from Grand Rapids, so I will not be taking advantage of all the after-care programs. I did attend the support group once and it was WONDERFUL! I sure wish I lived closer.

Update: Dr. Scholten was wonderful. His bedside manner is excellent and he listens to the patient and makes us feel cared about. He does not use staples, only internal stitches and steri-strips. My scar is just a thin red line and I'm happy with it. His staff was wonderful and handled all the insurance stuff. He has a great photo album of his patient's before and after pictures in his waiting room. It's nice that he does because sometimes the wait is LONG! lol I would recommend Dr. Scholten to ANYONE. He is an excellent surgeon. I had heard a few negative things pre-op about the care at Spectrum Health, in Grand Rapids, MI, but I was very happy with it. The nurses were very nice and helpful, even when they seemed to be over-worked. They were all so cheerful and always smiling. That sure was nice.

I am impressed with Dr. Scholten, and his staff. My first contact was with Anne at a Circle of Friends meeting. She is a very outgoing, friendly person. I could hardly believeit when I went to the office 10 days later and she recognized me...there had been 27 people at that meeting! Impressive!
When you first go in they have you watch a video which is outdated...they need to do something about that. The book they give you has some outdated info in it too.
Even though I knew alot about the procedure before hand, Dr. Scholten sat with my mom and I and made sure I clearly understood the surgery and my responsiblities in this new lifestyle. He very much empahisizes that surgery is only one piece of the puzzle of success....you have to be committed to following the food plan, daily exercise, and taking vitamins in order to really be successful. MaryKay, his nurse, is a very efficient, knowledgeable person. Amy in their insurance office was great -- knew her stuff and went out of her way to get me scheduled prior to a change in my insurance! My surgery is on OCT. 16th, so I'll give me feedback after that.

I have not had one complaint about Dr. Scholten, from my first meeting until present time. He answered all of my questions fully with no hesitation. I did not feel rushed at all in any of my office visits. Dr. Scholten's staff is very professional and courtious. If I have any questions I deal with Ann or Mary-Kay in his office. They are the best! Dr. Scholten's program is a alot more demanding than others I have read about. I feel his pre and post-surgical plans, better prepared me for life after surgery. I have no hesitation refering interested parties to Dr. Scholten.
Dr. Scholten also supports the local "Circle Of Friends" support group. His office representative (Ann) attends all of our meetings and Dr. Scholten has also attended.

Dr Scholten performed the DS for me on 2/27/01.
.............................................

UPDATE : June 2003 I am home from the hospital and recovering from my Duodenal Switch Revision. I was forced to have my surgery revised due to the poor quality of the initial surgery that was performed by Dr Scholten. I chose the DS surgery because of the shortening of the common channel. After a failed VBG because my staple line broke I researched all the surgeries and my biggest concern was two fold. The first being I wanted a surgery that would allow me to eat as normal after the surgery as I did prior. I also wanted the surgery that had the statistics for having the lowest incident of weight regain. The DS fit both those catagories, after a 10 year study almost no one had a revision due to weight regain.

As most know in researching the DS the length of the common channel plays a HUGE part in the weight loss success of the surgery. At the time of my surgery industry standards was a common channel at a length of 100cm. At my intitial consult with Scholten as well as the morning of surgery I relayed my concerns to him that my common channel be no longer than 100cm. Both times he did NOT object.
After my surgery I began to lose weight as expected. It wasn't until I was about 6 months post op that I knew somthing was wrong, I had stopped losing weight completely and began gaining. I called Scholtens office and requested my operative reports, this was unheard of in the DS community to stop losing weight so soon.
My operative report stated he left my common channel at a length of 125 cm which was far to long. I struggled for several years trying to lose the weight when I finally went to another surgeon for a revision. I had only lost a total of about 50 lbs from my D.S.
Much to my suprise and the operating physician during the revision surgery he found my common channel not to be 125 cm as Scholten had reported in my operative reports, but it was left at a whopping 255cm. Dr Scholten had clearly and illeagly lied to me and falsified medical records. I was also told by Scholten that during my operation he would remove my appendix, my revision Dr found them there and completely intact.
Now that my story is out at the DS website more people are comming out and testifying about the substandard way Scholten performed their surgery as well.
One person happend to ask about Scholtens performance and was immediatly notified by former patients of his that they had failed to lose the weight that the Ds promises because he intentionally left their common channel far to long also. They are now having to face the fact that to obtain the correct weight loss that the DS provides they too are facing all the risks, pain, expense and everything else that goes along with having their surgery revised.
It amazes me that a physician would be so greedy and unethical to take on a patient and provide for them such substandard form of surgery. My common channel was over 100cm longer than industry standards, this was NOT an error in measuring it was a blatent disregard for performing the surgery according to industry standards.
In an attempt to be fair with Dr Scholten on the Ds website they have posted a request for anyone who had Dr Scholten and who was satisfied with thier outcome to please reply. To date NO ONE has come forward with ONE story of satisfactory weight loss from Scholten's Ds patient list.
The Ds website is currently removing Scholten from their list of surgeons to avoid directing anyone to him for his substandard paractises.
If you have any further questions please email me [email protected]

I was impressed with his reputation before ever meeting him, and after the first meeting, I knew why. He is the most knowledgabe and caring individual I have ever met. He is wonderful with emphasis on teaching both before and after the surgery, and is concerned about you. His staff in the office is great & make you feel easy asking ANY question you desire to know. My surgical experience and uneventful recovery was much easier due to his skill and continuing followup. Choosing Dr. Scholten as my surgeon and the RNY itself was one of the best decisions in my life. I highly reccommend him to everyone.

I felt very comfortable with Dr. Scholten right off. Very personable type man. Received very prompt and courteous response from his office staff. My primary care believes in this man and now so do I. U cannot g wrong with Dr. Scholten.

Slightly intimidated because of my high regard for him. He put me at ease. His office staff is friendly, efficient. Total package - they're a good team! Dr. Scholten's known as "the best". Nurses in hospital recommended him above others because he is so good & his patients have a lot less complications. Yes, he has a very structured program- before & after surgery. Surgical competence & bedside manner - very good.

I thought that Dr. Scholten was very nice. Most of the nurses were extremely nice in his office. It just took forever for this to happen. Over a year. Will let you know more post op.

Dr. Scholten is a very busy surgeon. I first went to one of his seminars (he was not a speaker and it's a $95 charge) in February of 2002. I decided not to have the surgery but a couple of months later changed my mind. I started thru the testing and in November had my first appt. with Dr. Scholten. He is a very nice man and explained everything in detail and even wrote everything down on a piece of paper while he explained it and then gave it to me to keep. His nurse Mary Kay is NOT warm and fuzzy. The rest of his staff that I came in contact with, Ann in the front and Amy in the insurance department were the best. Unbelievably helpful, supportive and patient with everything. The second time I met Dr. Scholten was in the hospital for my upper G.I. and he was wonderful.