Ervin "Woody" Denham III Bariatric Surgeon MD, FACS, Director of Bariatric Surgery

Dr. Denham is awesome. He made me feel very comfortable about my journey. His assistant Karen Thomas is sent from God!Any question you have, she had the answer for.

After meeting with Dr. Denham and the bariatric nurse coordinator Karen, all of my questions were answered and my mind was put at ease. They gave me tons of information and were very attentive and comforting to talk to. Dr. Denham has the cutest southern drawl.

First let me preface that I worked in the same operating room that Dr. Denahm worked at (Northwestern Memorial Hospital but now he is at Evanston in Illinois). He is a seasoned surgeon so can handle any complication that may occur intra op and post op. His technical skills are superior. His OR's run smoothly and his surgeries are quick. He is a kind and loving surgeon who will spend all the time you need in the world with you. He is very hands on, very concerned. When he transfered to another hospital, I was very sad but glad I had my surgery scheduled with him before he moved on. He is willing to try new modalities of treatment. Example, I had a pretty big post op complication which he resolved but the pain I was in was unbearable and lasting forever it seemed. We talked about acupuncture and he said it was worth a try, 2 treatments later the pain had improved by 80%. I could go on and on but basically if you choose Dr. Denham, you have made a wise choice.
I do not know his staff at Evanston so can not say anything to that. I stayed at the Northwestern program and am now with Jay Prystowsky who is just as wonderful. Matter of fact, it was a hard choice between them but since Dr. Prystowsky only did open and I was a candidate for lap, the decision was inevitable. The staff at Northwestern Memorial is awesome.
I can not think of anything I did not like about Dr. Denham and the same with Dr. Prystowsky.
Northwestern and the surgeons are very supportive of aftercare. There are regular meetings with the surgeons, dieticians, and we have a support group as well. Aftercare us a huge topic for us preop and for at least 4 months we prepare preop for our aftercare.
Northwestern Memorial has a website that you go to once scheudled with the surgeon for your first meeting. It is interactive and goes into the surgery, risks, benefits etc. You can ask questions at anytime and when you are done with the program, it sends the qustions to your surgeon so when you arrive at that first meeting, you have a lot of info already and the surgeon already has your questions and concerns. They also have a huge preop networking group where the surgeons speak on the risks etc and then 45 minutes the pre ops can question the post ops who sit on a panel.
Dr. Denham overall rates superior as does Dr. Prystowsky and the program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Illinois.

He was very nice and knowlegeable. He was able to answer all my questions and hear my stories. He was concerned if I was depressed from being overweight. He turned me over to his nurse to learn more about all the pre op testing that would be involved because it was elective surgery. She had the surgery herself three years ago. He was open to what dates I wanted to do the surgery. He has done 125 of the surgeries so far lap. He said the learning curve is at 75 surgeries. He said he would check on me everyday I was in the hospital to make sure I didn't get a blockage. He also mentioned he wanted to see me for many visits after the surgery was over to check in. He told me about the risks and then gave me numerous papers to read with all the risks listed on there. They also gave me a huge booklet of information about what to eat post op and how to recoop from surgery. This booklet is very useful. I will be able to rate him more once I have the surgery and see what type of repoire we build. I think bedside manner and surgical competence are both very important. But I also think nursing staff in the office are important as they are the ones a recent post op would contact with any questions they have in the intial phase after surgery.

Dr. Denham is very personable. He has lots of knowledge and is willing to share any of it with you that you want. One of the things I liked best was that he said he would stay in as long as I needed to answer any questions that I had. I had such a quick recovery from the surgery and am doing so well, I credit it to his skill as a surgeon!!

Dr. Denham, or "Woody," was really friendly when I first met him. He answered all of my questions and was optimistic about a good outcome. After surgery, I had several complications involving strictures and allergiec reactions. Woody checked on me every day in the hospital, as well as sending his "crew" to see me at least twice/day. At follow-ups, he has been attentive and mindful of my complications. He regularly attends support/networking meetings at the hospital, and always makes a point of checking in with me. He has great empathy, as well as a good sense of humor. He always has an encouraging word for me, and seems genuinely pleased with the progress that I have made.

Had my surgical consult with Dr. Denham on 01/08/04, and was very pleased by his caring nature and his ability to explain in great detail the pros and cons of the surgery. His assistant Roseann was very helpful in explaining the insurance claim processing with United HealthCare.

Dr. Denham was very thorough. He spent about 45 minutes describing the procedure and discussing the possible complications. He even drew me pictures.

The plan it to have lap-RYGB on 12/3/03.

DR. DENHAM AND STAFF HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY HELPFUL AND INFORMATIVE, HAVE MADE THE PROCESS INCREDIBLY SMOOTH!

Dr. Denham seems to be a very nice man. My first impression of him was a very good one. I have encountered other patients that have had some sort of contact with him and they all seem to be positive about him. The office staff is very friendly and personable, that's what I like the most. We have become on a first name basis. Their total program at Northwestern is the best that I have encountered, and I have had two experiences with two different doctors.