James McDowell Bariatric Surgeon MD, FACS

Dr James McDowell of Nashville is a GREAT surgeon.
Dr McDowell did my RNY Gastric Bypass on 6.16.15 and then he removed my Gallbladder on 8.18.16. He's very good at keeping my health at the forefront and I appreciated the reason he became a bariatric surgeon.
He's very personable and I find he relates to his patients well.

I originally chose Dr. McDowell as my surgeon because i sensed that he was very competent as a surgeon and would not hold back when speaking with me. I needed a surgeon that was forthcoming with information and would give me their honest opinion even if it differed from mine. Dr. McDowell did not let me down. When I was short on questions, he offered additional information to me. He also challenged me to make sure I knew what I was getting myself into. He has a great bedside manner. The staff at the metabolic center at Baptist Hospital are nothign short of awesome. From the nurses to the nutritionist, they have made themselves available 24/7. I am 100% satisfied with the products they delivered and the serveice they have given me. Thanks you all for giving me a new lease on life.

When I first met Dr mcdowell I was so NERVOUS, but he made me feel right at ease.....He was straight up with me about everything....Dr Mcdowell keep telling me I was so gorgeous and that when I got down to my goal of what he wanted me to be of between 150-160 that he wanted to put me in a bikini on the front page of his website....OH MY GOODNESS that made me blush! His staff was amazing and they made me feel like they cared about me a lot, I would recommend Dr Mcdowell to anyone as of so far, but I havent had my surgery yet, but so far he has been amazing!

Doc McDowell was very personable from the get go. He listen took time to get to know and wanted you to know that he was there for you.rnrnThe office staff for the Doc is great when I have questions I can call and they work around my schedule to get me in to see him which is important given the fact I travel all the time.rnrnJust to explain a little of my experiance with Doc McDowll it just so happens that I am one of those less than 1% that had complications but Doc McDowell was phenomenal when I noticed something was wrong I was able to reach him easily. When I say “him” I do not mean him not some answering service or other doctor but him. He called me back in 7 minuets I can’t get any one I know to call back that soon. He gave me some options but ultimately I had to go back for surgery. I was in and out in a day or so. I think he is on the ball and cares about his patients and I would recommend him without reservation, in fact I have. rnrn In my mind you tell the measure of the doctor not when everything goes right but when something isn’t right. I think Doc McDowell passed with flying colors. He was available even after hours, he listened and he responded when we needed to fix things. He is personable, skilled and most importantly to me he cares and gives all he has.

After a good initial impression, I've decided that I don't like Dr. McDowell. Unfortunately I didn't discover the bad things until after I had surgery, so now I'm stuck in this relationship with him indefinitely. rnrnI think that Dr. McDowell's first priority is performing surgery. At first I thought that he genuinely cared about me as a person, but his actions since surgery have shown me otherwise. He's not interested in sitting down and talking with me about what's going on with my body. He didn't leave a drain in, and didn't send me home on an antibiotic, so one of my incision sites has ended up with a pretty gross infection. Luckily my mom is a nurse, but I wonder what would happen to the average person that doesn't have anyone around with medical knowledge. rnrnI went to the ER and that's where I got an antibiotic. The ER didn't want to do anything else with the wound because Dr. McDowell said he'd see me on Monday (I was at the ER on Sunday). Well we called on Monday and the nurse said that they didn't need to see me until my regularly scheduled appointment on Friday. So they brushed me off and let my mom take care of me. At my 2 week appointment, he spent maybe 5 minutes with me. He looked at the wound, said that it looked better, but instructed my mom to stick a qtip in the wound at least once a day and brush it out. This caused me a huge amount of pain when he did it in the office, even causing a cuss word to slip out. He showed no mercy, and that's frustrating. rnrnI was told that he wanted to see me back in another 2 weeks, but since he only sees patients on Fridays then I have to wait 3 weeks before seeing him again. His nurse was upset that mom is taking me back home with her for 2 weeks, but let's face it...what has Dr. McDowell and his staff done for me here? Not a darn thing! Mom's been doing all of my care, so if I stay here and let her go home I'm going to be by myself to take care of an infected wound. rnrnI am so incredibly frustrated because I wanted a doctor that gave a damn about me. I now feel that Dr. McDowell is like a used car salesman that says whatever he needs to say to get you to \"buy\" from him, then he leaves you hanging. He'll cockily perform the surgery, but don't expect any kind of post op care from him or his staff.

Dr. McDowell has been an awesome surgeon, doctor, and friend. He has been there to hold my hand every step of the way. I would recommend him hands down. He has been the best doctor and have ever had.

When I first met Dr. McDowell, I really liked him. He was well informed and answered all questions that we had. When I had my individual appointment with him, he was really concerned about how this surgery would affect me as far as my asthma went. It was also reassuring to hear from him that they do not turn patients away. I think one statement that he said, that i found funny, but that is also very true, the Lap-Band is not a quick fix nor are there quick fixes out there, but that in order for me to be successful with this that I am going have to commit to a lifestyle change and in that change, that means that I am married to him. He made the comment that now he becomes a stalker.LoL. In all actually is he is right, for the rest of my life, I am going to have to go and see him one time or another. I have a feeling that If he feels or sees that I'm not doing good or that I'm slipping off the wagon that he has no problem letting me know that. That is what I like in a doctor, if u see that I'm messing up, then call me on it. The doctor is there to help give me a second chance at life and you better believe that when Dr. McDowell says that I can have surgery, that I'm going to take this tool and run with it and us it to my full advantage..

I have nothing but wonderful things to say about Dr. McDowell. I first met him at a LapBand seminar that I attended in January 2007 and immediately liked him. He was very approachable and easy to talk to. I waited until January 2008 before making the decision to go ahead with the surgery. It had been a year since I saw Dr. McDowell and I was slightly nervous that perhaps I should have looked into another surgeon -- that is until he came into the room and I was able to talk to him. I instantly remembered why I liked him so much and I was completely at ease. He has such a great bedside manner. He's very caring and he is extremely thorough, especially when it comes to answering your questions. I had my surgery in February and there were no complications at all. Everything went very smoothly and I knew I was in good hands. I definitely feel I made the right choice by choosing Dr. McDowell. He's always very positive and encouraging when I see him during my monthly fills as well. The only thing I wish is that he saw patients more than one day a week. He currently is only at the Metabolic Surgery Center on Fridays so if Friday is a bad day for you, that could be a problem. Otherwise, you can't go wrong by choosing Dr. McDowell. I am very happy with my decision and have no regrets whatsoever. He's great!

Dr. McDowell is AWESOME! He is a wonderful physician and CHEERLEADER!! I love going to see him. He has a wonderful nurse and staff. I would HIGHLY recomend Dr. McDowell. rnrn

I have to say that I love my surgeon. The first time I saw him was at a seminar. He made me feel very comfortable and not like I was another fat and lazy person. He tells you that it's a privilege for him to be your doctor. He made sure I knew all the risks and that I knew what was expected of me after surgery. All of the people in his office are great. Overall, I couldn't be happier with him.