J. Wesley Alexander Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S.

I have only met Dr. Alexander one time, in September. He was very business-like and to the point. He gave me literature to read about the surgery and the aftercare. The literature described the risks and what I could expect. The impression I got was that he expected me to take responsibility for myself, and I couldn't expect to be babied. As for returning to work, he basically said that I could return to work after a couple of weeks, and that most people stretched it out unnecessarily. He did say that people whose work was primarily physical would have to take more time off. His "bedside manner" is not great, but he instilled a feeling of confidence in me. He is apparently held in high regard in Cincinnati, and my PCP is very happy that he is doing the surgery. Until recently, he was primarily a transplant surgeon. He still does that, but has expanded into the gastric bypass area. It is much more important to me that he be competent than friendly and understanding. I have been waiting since September for a surgery date. He told me it would be late October or December. When I didn't hear from his office by early November, I called. One member of his staff was very rude and told me she couldn't tell me when the surgery would be, because there were 100 people ahead of me, but it definitely wouldn't be in December. I later talked to the office manager, who told me I was number 8 on the list, and it would probably be February. It is now scheduled for February 18, but I didn't know that until January 30. It has been very frustrating for me because of my work. I have things scheduled for several months, and to have to cancel them is a great inconvenience to other people. I couldn't keep days open, because I didn't know when it would be, and I couldn't afford to keep the whole month of February open. Even if I did, what if the surgery were scheduled for February 28, and then I would have to take March off also. However, that is not the fault of the office--I guess it depends on what dates the hospital gives the office, and when. The office manager has tried to help me as much as possible, and has been very friendly and understanding. I have misplaced the paperwork that Dr. Alexander gave me, but my recollection is that I am on my own for long-term aftercare. He does the surgery and the immediate post-op stuff, but afterwards I'm under the care of my primary care physician.

My first impression of Dr. Alexander was that he looked very sleepy. I had taken my daughter with me for the initial consultation visit, and we were both afraid that he was going to fall asleep while he was talking to us. Dr. Alexander's assistant Jennifer has been a great means of information and support for me throughout my surgical experience. His receptionist Cathy seems a bit rude, but I understand she is extremely busy. Dr. Alexander has no structured aftercare program. After the visit to get your sutures removed, he wants to see you 1 month later, then 2 months after that, less often after that. Dr. Alexander is very good at giving the patient literature to read addressing many questions that a patient would have before and after surgery. Everyone that I have spoken with at the Christ Hospital has had nothing but wounderful things to say about Dr. Alexander. He is a very accomplished surgeon and transplant specialist.

Dr. Alesander was reccomended to me by a surgical technician and a scrub nurse who worked with him, as well as by a gastroenterologist I work with. I am an endoscopy nurse. He looks a little older, and moves a little slowly, but he is kind and through(sp?).His office staff is stressed, and it took me from April 2001 till July 2001 to get in to see him. Then I was put on a waiting list and told my surgery would probably be in late Jan. 2002.I was unexpectedly moved up to Dec 12,2001.He also does kidney transplants, and wls patients can be postponed if a transplant has to be done, but luckily, my surgery went off on schedule. I even talked to him in the OR, very reassuring.He has no formal aftercare program. He sees you 2weeks post-op, then 1 month, 3 months and 6 months. I don't know about after that. He was very up-front about the risks of surgery. Christ Hosp., where I had my surgery done, was excellent, from registration, to check-out. I had a special air mattress bed, even. I had NO complaints. Only Dr. Alexander's tired and older appearance concerned me, and that appears to be only my impression, he certinly keeps a busy schedule, and has a kindly and concerned bedside manner.

I met with Dr. Alexander for the first time today and found it to be a very informative experience. I really can't say much about my first impression of the doctor, because I was so nervous going in (I'm not terribly keen on knives or needles). One interesting thing I have to note is that he and his staff are in the process of setting up a surgical weight loss clinic at Christ Hospital. Until now, his aftercare consisted mainly of wound care.

Also, a vascular surgeon whom I trust implicitly has given me a wonderful recommendation for Dr. Alexander. It seems he studied under Dr. Alexander and cannot say enough good about him! Just for the record, Dr. Alexander is an organ transplant specialist at University Hospital.

I've only met him once at my first office visit. The desk staff was inaccurate when it told me that he was on time and I was seen 2 1/2 hours later. I understand that surgons have emergencies but their staff should be aware of them and inform the patients. Dr. A was sorry for the delay and understood the frustration. He said I was a good candidate and they would contact the insurance company. He gave me a paper that addressed his most asked questions including risk. He answered any questions I had about the info. From the waiting roon, I deduced that he did a fair number of these surgeries. This is a far as I have gotten with him. Debbie, who coordinates the surgeries, is very hard to reach and has given me info that was contradicted by later nformation that supposedly came from Dr. A re when and which meds to stop. Otherwise Debbie has been very helpful. It has worked well for me to get information from his office via Karen. With my pre-op visit, I was able to check on how his schedule was running and could plan accordingly. It worked well. He has little aftercare other than wound care and post-op check ups. He sews the incision father than using glue or staples as he finds stitches hold better against the strain on the incision. This means the incision needs to be kept clean. He doesn't routinely make nutritionist appointments because those of us with such extensive histories of dieting know what to eat and the surgery will keep us on track. He's probably right. I feel extremely confident in his abilities as I have done some research and have found that he enjoys an excellent surgical reputation.

(Post-op) The procedure went well and I have had no serious difficulty. Dr. A is a supurb surgeon and I have no complaints. It was easy to reach him for reassurance when I had concerns shortly after discharge.

Subsequent office visits have on time and efficient. I'm glad I had my surgery done by Dr. A. He is professional and does excellent work. He is not a full-service bariatric center and you have to get anscilary services on your own. I definitely recommend mental health counseling and a visit to a nutritionist after you are on real food again.

Dr. Alexander is a very nice and gentle guy for a surgeon. I have dealt with many surgeons in my years of nursing and Dr. Alexander is not the usual pompus surgeon. He has sort of a cult club of nurses at Christ he has performed surgery on and they all have had great luck and success. That is enough for me.
His office staff is kind. Kathy who schedules his surgeries has been patient and kind even though I have bugged her repeatedly wanting to know "WHEN IS THE DATE"

I met with Dr. Alexander on October 30. He explain everything regarding the procedure. He will do a gastric stapling with RNY bypass. This will be performed at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati. All he has to do is send the certification letter to Antheme Blue Cross and within 2 weeks, I should have a date for the surgery. It looks like the surgery will be performed during December or maybe January.

Debra Miller, who handles are patient needs, is very good. She is very professional and will spend all the time needed to answer all and any question regarding the operation and insurance needs. She has been most helpfull in doing all the paper work.

Dr. Alexander performed the gastric stapling RNY bypass on December 27, 2000, at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is a top notch transplant surgeon who has put this experience and knowledge in the weigh loss surgery field.

He and his staff explained everything to me and answered all of my questions. When it came time to do the surgery, it was performed very well.