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

Very god first impression. Caring. He is still very caring as well as staff. They all are truly
in this with you. Can't say I really have anything negative to say. They aftercare is just as important as before if not more. He wants you
to suceed as much as you do. He has a monthly support group that is wonderful, and located in about 5-6 cities.
My P.C. highly recommened Dr. Scholten and his expertice. His bedside manner, competence, and just everything were GREAT. I would send my family to him in a heartbeat.

I finally met with Dr. Scholten on November 14th 2001. My first impression with the office staff was that they were extremely friendly and treated me great. I viewed a film about the surgery and then I met with Kay Dr. Scholten's nurse.She was great too. Then I got to talk to Dr. Scholten, he was kind of "sassy" in a good way. He made me feel at ease right away. He explained to me in detail what was to be expected of ME before and after my surgery. He had a diagram of a stomach and he explained in detail how this procedure would work and made sure that he asnwered any questions that I may have had. I met him again on December 12th for my Upper GI He was once again very friendly and personable. I have all the faith in him. Dr. Scholten explained everything to me and my husband prior to the Scope and spoke again to my husband afterwords. All in all I feel very confident in him and his staff. One last note. On my way out of his office his office staff wanted me to see a patient that was coming out of one of the rooms. she had lost 150 lbs and they were so proud of her. She looked terrific! We all stood around for about 15 minutes gabbing and really enjoying the moment. She is a true testimony. All of the girls in the office were alot of fun.

VERY INFROMATIVE,STRIAGHT FORWARD.LAID OUT HIS EXPECTATIONS FROM THE START. HAS A WHOLE PROGRAM SET UP, SUPPORT AND WEIGHT LOSS PRIOR TO SURGERY IS REQUIRED!.DIET TEACHING,MENTAL EVALUATION,ENDOSCOPIC EXAM DONE PRIOR TO SURGERY.WANT PATIENT WHO ARE COMMITTED TO THE PROCESS AND PROGRAM.AFTERCARE INCLUDES ORGANIZED SUPORT GROUPS AND AVAILABILITY TO SPEAK NURSE AND OR PATIET SUPPORT PERSON .FOLLOW-UP APPOINTMENTS AT 2 WEEKS,3 MONTHS,6MONTHS AND ONE YEAR WITH THE SURGEON. I THINK HIS PROGRAM IS THE RIGHT APPROACH. YOUR NOT OUT THERE ALONE BEFORE OR AFTER THE SURGERY.I FEEL HE IS A VERY SKILLFUL SURGEON AND IS RESPECTED BY HIS PEERS IN S.W. MICHIGAN.

Dr. Scholten was the THIRD surgeon I saw regarding this type surgery. I had seen one previously in Cherry Hill, MI and one at the Barriatric Clinic in Ann Arbor. I felt Scholten was far ahead of the rest...easy to talk to, soft spoken and extremely confident in his ability. He game me absolute confidence. His requirements before surgery are terrible....lose weight, liquid diet, support groups, psyche rundowns, etc. His office staff goes a little overboard in explaining things (perhaps my 5 years of studying this procedure made that unnecessary). After surgery, Scholten drops the bombdshell that he feels I should just live on liquid protein and give up food....that I really didn't need it and the other digests so much better. I told him that would not happen. He has a very structured aftercare program and I tried to follow as closely as possible. I would rate him a top-rate surgeon. He told me going in that there was not anything in the world he knew more about than this surgery. I believe him 100%. I thought he was excellent!

I met Dr. Scholen for the first time at my initial consultation on September 13, 2001. My husband and myself were very inpressed about his knowledge about this procedure and he made us feel very comfortable. The office staff was very nice, inviting and friendly when we were there. (Also the paient in the waiting room who was 9 mo PO and had lost 97lbs, I didn't ask her for her name but she was so nice and friendly...Thank You) Dr. Scholten explained everything very thourghly and didn't speak "over your head". He spoke to you so you would and could understand. Working in the medical field myself somethings you just know, but it as nice getting his full attention regarding all. And the fact that he stresses he is operating on your stomach to give you a tool to help in your weight loss success, he is not operating on your head.

Dr. Scholten is a very compassionate and understanding physician. I didn't feel embarrassed or uneasy one bit. He took time to explain many aspects of the surgery from preparation, the actual doings, post-care, and mental changes I might experience. He spoke to me at a level I could relate too.

My initial consultation was a loooong wait. At that time, I wondered if I should check into another program, HOWEVER, while at a support group meeting, it was made very clear that it would be worth the wait as he is one of the best physicians in the nation.

So far, I have to agree. Everything has gone exactly as it has been explained to me and the staff has been very friendly and supportive as well.

I don't think things could go any better, unless they can work on the wait----I know, he's a popular guy!!! :)

I'll continue to update as my surgery progresses.

I thought that Dr. Scholten was very nice, but he hasn't contacted me in some time. His staff helped me a lot. He stopped accepting my insurance and I haven't heard from him in over a year. He no longer accepts Medicaid. He is after care was good until my insurance was no longer accepted. Yes, he has a structured after care program. He wasn't very clear on some of the aspects of surgery. He is a very good surgeon and a pretty nice guy. He was good at both surgical competence and bedside manner.
I don't want to give the impression that Dr. Scholten is bad at what he does or unfriendly I'm just a little upset about them not accepting my insurance anymore.

I have not met him yet, but he is my primary choice for the surgery.

My first impression of Dr. Scholten was that he is a very caring and compassonate man. He was very informative and thorough. He expained the whole procedure, the risks and the aftercare in terms that were easy to understand. He answered all my questions and made me feel very confident in his ability. His office staff are very professional and extremly helpful. They are always friendly and happy to answer any questions that you might have. I would rate Dr. Scholten and his staff as excellant and would highly recommend them to anyone considering this type of surgery.

10/08/01 - ten days post-op and very happy with my surgeon. His care before surgery was excellent. My surgery was a hand assisted LAP so it took my surgeon and his associate to preform it. Surgery was Friday at 8:00am and I was discharged on Monday AM.
Dr. Scholten was in on Saturday and Sunday to check on me during rounds and Dr. Schears (his associate) discharged me on Monday.

Dr. Scholten's office has a structured aftercare program and diet and we are expected to follow it.

My only complaint is that being a VERY busy suegeon routine appointments take a while to get scheduled. I will not see him until I am 3 1/2 weeks post-op. This may be due to the fact that I have no staples, stiches or drains to be removed.

Dr. Scholten and his staff are very thorough in reviewing the risks of surgery with their patients. I was given a very comprensive list of possible outcomes to read and sign before I could consent to surgery and before He would consent to do the surgery.

I was confident with Dr. Scholten as a surgeon and have found his care and that of his staff to be excellent so far.