Jill Endres Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

Dr. Endress is fantastic.
NO.
GREAT.
Nothing.
She is a true shooter, does not hold back. I like that.
Followed me monthy after the first month and weekly the first month. After the first year every six months.
Yes, a very structured aftercare program.
Yes.
A++
Yes.

Dr. Endres first impressed me with her vast intelligence, quickly followed by her genuine concern for me as an individual. You always feel as though you are her favorite or only patient, even though the waiting room is packed with other patients. She cares for you as though you are part of her extended family.

I think that the Alvarado group is packed because of word of mouth. These Doctors are running a quality program that stresses lifetime aftercare. I recently flew back to California from Texas for my one year check-up. During this year I have had a couple of times when I was worried about medical problems. All I had to do was call and the staff promptly put me in touch with someone who could diagnosis my symptoms and tell my personal physician how to proceed.

From the first call one year ago to Belinda Pino to Mike, Pam, Leslie, and the guy who did my breathing test… you could not ask for a more caring staff. Everyone at Alvarado goes out of their way to make sure you feel respected and treated with the utmost consideration. Many of the staff showed me before and after pictures and I was amazed. I was extremely nervous right before going into the OR, the OR nurse showed me her pictures and I calmed down.

Future patients should know that they could not choose a better or more qualified surgeon. You are entrusting your life to Dr. Endres and your trust will not be misplaced. The hospital nurses are excellent at the Alvarado Hospital. You would not have to have any family there. The nurses check on you very often. They anticipate your needs and take care of them. Dr. Endres insist that you follow up. She has many reasons for this, but you must remember that it is your responsibility to call and reschedule, when you miss an appointment. This will give you a lifeline and is in your best interest. Dr. Endres likes to tell you of any new changes you may need to make on your supplemental vitamins, etc..as research is developed. You would not know about these things if you failed to stay in touch.

Dr. Endres does address the risks of the surgery. She takes time with you to describe the procedure, and address all of your concerns. She has the patients stay for 10 days with in minutes of the hospital so that she and her staff can take care of any problem that may arise. The Alvarado staff has performed over 4000 of these surgeries. They know what to do should a problem arise because they have seen it before.

I would rate Dr. Endres as totally awesome! She is surgically competent, has a great bedside manner and gives you a plush teddy bear to help you cough after surgery. She has changed my life with this tool and I hope she will be your choice in this journey. My quality of life has improved. I can now move and breath, imagine….

I LOVE DR. ENDRES. I work in a hospital and interact with physicians on a daily basis, none of which are the calaber of this truly amazing human being!! She spent over an hour with me in her office to discuss my precedure and after care. I had NO questions going into surgery, she covered every one of them. Dr. Endres even brings her patients teddy bears the night of surgery because it is hard to cough and hugging this bear helps...I think she must be a great mom as well, oh, and is great at giving hugs at the right moment. Her office staff were outstanding, they were all very eager to help answer questions and got as excited with every post-op patient that came in, one nurse came out with a patient and showed us all her pre-op pictures and told us all how proud they were of her! AMAZING! Dr, Endres **** Four Stars!

Tamara Hall
Las Vegas, NV

I met her at a seminar for CSWC in Santa Clara Ca. She seemed to care about what she was doing and spent time with me after the meeting to just talk and get to know me. She remembered me 6 months later when I was ready to commit. My opinion has only been reinforced by time and getting to know her better. Most doctors are a little stand offish but not her.
Her office staff has been doing this for Dr. Wittgrove for a long time and has it down to a science without being condescending.
The thing I like least is that she is in San Diego and I am in San Jose. This is the only real negative. It is really hard to find someone you knows cares about YOU not just your operation.
The aftercare at CSWC is all it should be or could be. They have always been there even when it meant taking on some of the responsibilities of my primary care physician because he couldn't treat my condition properly.
All the risks were completely explained first at the seminar then on the phone, then at the office just prior to surgery. Don't let anyone tell you that the risks are not that big a deal. They are a big deal and the only way to deal with them is to make sure the support is there. Before, during and after surgery. I know. I am still trying to get better.
How can you rate someone on caring. If that was it I would be hard pressed in expressing how I feel. Rating on capability! That is a no brainer. She can and will do all that is needed to get you to the goal you have made for yourself. She can't do it for you but she/they can do all they can to make it as easy on you as possible. You are the only one that can get you truly there.
As you can see above I can't say enough about Jill Endres' competence. She has all that a surgeon could need and more. She will take that extra step, make that personal call you don't expect AND tell you to get your ASS back to San Diego if you can't get something you need where you are.
In closing I need to say that this is not a love fest for a great doctor. This is the truth about a great doctor and caring human being. She doesn't have to always be there, she has staff to do that, but she is there anyway.

My first impression of Dr. Endres was that she was very knowledgeable, caring and a very awesome person.

My impression changed as we spoke more before and after surgery. By the time we said good-bye at my discharge, I was convinced that Dr. Endres is not a human being. She is a truly special angel. I think I even caught a glimps of her wings.

The staff at the Alvarado WLS office was very efficient and friendly. The staff at the Alvarado WLS floor in the hospital was good. They responded quickly and seemed to be on top of scheduled things. There was one good exeption: Anthony was my first nurse and was soooooo compasionate and gentle. There was also one bad exception: LaLona (?) I think her name was. She acted like it was her first day on the job, wreaked of perfume and took every short cut she could think of. She also had very poor english.

Other than the poor nurse, there was no way my experience at Alvarado could have been better! I am amazed at how painless it really was!

She came to Fairbanks to do a seminar. She's very personable, kind, wonderful sense of humor, caring, confident. She knows what she's talking about and addressed every issue imaginable.

Dr. Endress is a wonderful person and surgeon ,she looks young but is very knowledgeable and was easy to talk to with a great bedside manner. my impression of her only got fonder with time,during my preop consultation she spen almost two hrs with me and my mom and addressed all our concerns and was very thourough in her explanation of the procedure and what i should expect afterwards. The office staff is great as well, i worked with Korina Hinton the Insurance analyst and she was so helpful after i got all the information she needed , she did the rest and got me approved in 3 days.And she was the best to talk to she was so excited for me when i became approved.Dana the receptionast is also a great person and very attentive.If you want a group with a great mix of people, who really know there stuff then you want them. Everything was discussed including aftercare and the risks. If i had to Rate them 1-10
I would give them a 100 !!!!!!!!

I couldn't have asked for a better surgeon than Dr. Endres. She specializes in laproscopic surgery. My first impression of her was that she did know what she was doing but over time my impression got even better as I realized just how much she knew what she was doing. She also doesn't do the surgery on just anyone wanting the surgery. If you are between 35 - 40 BMI then you need to have a medical reason as to why you need the surgery. She makes sure you completely understand the procedure and your aftercare. She is strict about the aftercare program (i.e. diet and exercise) so that you have optimum results. Her surgical competence is the best but since she cares so much about her patience's her bedside manner could not be better.

I was impressed with her confidence that she
could operate on me Laproscopically since I
was a big man. I weighed 419 pounds at the time of my operation. As time went on I became more confident that what I was doing was the right thing to do. Jill's staff are the best,they answer all your questions quickly. And they follow-up all inquiries in
a timely manner.Jill is very patient and
will answer all your questions no matter how many you have. Jill really emphasize's aftercare. I get regular check-ups at her office and she meets with me personally, which I feel is impressive in today's world of healthcare.Jill saw to it that I got involved in a fitness program that would adress the physical problems of loose skin,andstrenght problems I had after surgury. She even got me hooked up with a personal trainer to set up an exersice program and work with me to suceed. Jill and I had a one on one meeting were she addessed
therisks of the surgery. She answered all my questions and gave me a rundown on what she expected from me post-op such as walking
and braething. I would rate Jill as one of the most competent surgeon's I ever was around. Her surgical competence, and bedside
manner are GREAT!!!

Dr. Endres made a personal phone call to me prior to my first visit. One of her first statements to me was that the two of us were born on the same day. I was impressed that she took time to find out something personal about me and would mention the connection. It made me anxious to meet her.
When I went in for my pre-op visit she was very personable and I appreciated the fact that she was willing to spend enough time with me to make me feel comfortable. I did not feel rushed or hurried. I had time to think about her responses to my questions and then generate new questions from those responses. She was straight-forward and frank about the risks involved . She did not try to cover up that this was major surgery. She assured me that she was a competent surgeon and that she had not lost a patient yet! She went over my history thoroughly and reviewed the list of my co-morbidities. This was followed with a thorough physical examination. She explained the further lab testing that needed to be done and told me the reasons behind each test and how it would help her make the best decisions concerning my upcoming surgery.
My impressions of her over time have only grown in admiration and respect. She has been there for me any time I have had a frightening experience or unexplained crisis. Both times that I have had to call after hours she came to the phone. Once, she was not on call but she was the one who called me back. I felt her immediate concern as I struggled to describe the symptoms. Again, she was frank about what had to be said but was sensitive to my fears and concerns. I developed pancreatitis two weeks
post op and had to be back in the hospital for two additional weeks. I was grateful that she took a conservative approach to this condition and allowed my body time to heal instead of immediately rushing into more surgery. I felt she was an advocate for the right choice on my behalf as she consulted was other doctors about my condition. A more recent crisis occurred just prior to Christmas. I was having intense pain and after 31/2 hours of dealing with it, I gave in to calling her. She advised me to go to the nearest hospital for fear that I couldn't make it to San Diego, a distance that was questionably far. I told her that I was unwilling to go anywhere else or let anyone else touch me. (I haven't given her my rationale behind this yet. Maybe the next time I see her, I can explain myself) She made a preliminary diagnosis but as time passed my symptoms changed. In fact, the pain subsided and I called her back. She was waiting at the ER for me and had alerted a team for possible emergency surgery. When I called back and said that the pain was subsiding she eased my mind and had me deal with what she thought could have been a kidney stone that had passed. She had me follow up with some lab work hoping to identify what the cause was for such intense pain. (I hope that NEVER happens again!)
The office staff has a huge job. Dana, one of the receptionists is amazingly patient. I can't even imagine how many phone calls the office gets on a daily basis. She is very willing to direct the call to the right person or indicate who is available to help. Wanda, on the other hand, has difficulty with the simplest directions. I hate talking to her. I can't tell you how many times I have had to tell her things over and over. A frustrating example was when I called to tell her that I needed a particuar date for an appointment due to the distance I travel and also because I was going out of town. After several minutes of waiting on my cell phone she came back and said that she was able to schedule me on the date I told her I WAS NOT available. So, I re-explained to her that I would be out of town that date. Beleive it or not she came back with the other date I told her was not a possibility. I finally told her that if she couldn't figure this out that maybe I should talk to someone else. She did manage to stick with me and was finally able to get me an acceptsable appointment date. The nurses have been wonderful. Again, there has never been a feeling that I was rushed in and out. The last trip I made took me 2 and one half hours to get there. The traffic was unbearable! Pam was willing to wait for me. She cut her dinner date short so that she could spend adequate time with me. I really appreciated that.
I can't think of anything that I like least about
Dr, Endres. The statement below says that 100% positive reviews are suspect and less informative.
I have tried to be extremely specific by giving examples of the fine care I was given. I wish that there was more of a possibility to see her on my monthly visits, but she is not a general practicioner, she is a surgeon. Her job and her priorities belong to those who are receiving surgery. I am sure that if I asked to see her she would see me but my schedule is tight too and I can't get in there when she has office hours. That's as negative as I am willing to get! Like I stated before, she has been there for me in any crisis situation I have had. I can not find any fault in her care for me.
The aftercare program is run by the competent staff of nurses, a physical fitness expert and psycologists. Support groups are offered every first and third Wednesday of the month. Structured monthly topics and emotional support sessions are conducted respectively. I drive down to San Diego every other week to particpate fully in the programs and the support this group offers. I schedule my appointments to coincide with the Wednesday activities offered. I also use that day to go to the water aerobics class sponsored by the group. Craig Whitgrove is a personal trainer and is in charge of the bariatric physical fitness program. They offer circuit training, a personal fitness program, water aerobics, etc. for all of their patients. I enjoy getting to go there twice a month. I don't believe that another group has such a comprehensive aftercare program. Dr. Endres is in support of these programs and is emphatic about following the program that is outlined as well as following the 4 basic rules for success. (That's a challenge!)
My statements should indicate how I rate Dr. Endres. I would recommend her to anyone. I have been very open with my decision to have gastric bypass surgery. It came to me as "my only way out". I definitely understood that this was only a tool and I had to work the program to make it work. I am not perfect in it but each day I work at doing my best.
Dr. Endres and her staff have done everything to motivate and encourage me along this journey. I bet it could get tiresome and mundane to see one fat person after the next with all their complaints and fears. I have never felt that I was just a number to her, or a statistic. I have thought of her as my friend. I would put my life in her hands and feel comfortable in referring her to any of my friends tht might consider this surgery. The added bonus with Dr. Endres is that she has a wonderful "down to earth" bedside manner. Tha't always nice and can make a person feel comfortable but the important issue is that her competence is superior. She knows what she is doing. I can't thank her enough!