J.K. Champion Bariatric Surgeon

Dr Champions staff was very friendly and professional. I received all of the answers to my questions from Dr. Champion and enjoyed getting to talk to him before surgery. I felt confident going into surgery because of the positive comments on his surgical skills my research generated. One of the nicest or prehaps most validating compliments was from a nurse at the hospital after my surgery. She wished he would do surgery on her sisiter. That was a good indicator of the quality of doctor he is since she works with many other doctors.

Dr. C is great and has a nice bedside manner. He will sit and answer any and all questions you have. His staff are very supportive also. He expects you to follow the \"rules\". I would highly recommend him to anyone.

Dr. Champion is a very professional yet straight forward man. I was initially interested in the Lapband, mostly because I was affraid of the RNY. During the initial consultation and exam he took alot of time with me and made sure that I could understand the pros and cons of each surgery so that I could make an informed decision. After surgery, he was attentive to my needs in the hospital. I would recommend him to anyone interested in having this surgery.

My first impression of Dr. Champion was one of professionalism and competence. That impression has remained consistent over time. His office staff is outstanding! He could not have a more committed and compassionate staff. Dr. Champion is a serious professional and comes across as a \"no-nonsense\" kind of person. I would like to see him relax a little more by smiling and laughing more often. Over time I have come to see a very gentle and caring side to Dr. Champion that others may not see because he is so serious about his work. Future patients should be assured that Dr. Champion will treat them with professionalism and courtesy while being firm in expecting patients to adhere to his guidelines after surgery. Dr. Champion has excellent follow-up care. During the first year you will see Dr. Champion at three weeks, three months, and six months post-op followed by yearly check-up thereafter. The risks of surgery were thoroughly covered through a video presentation, talking with a nurse, publications, and then by the doctor himself. I rate Dr. Champion as a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. Both surgical competence and a warm bedside manner are important and Dr. Champion demonstrates both. These were my personal impressions of Dr. Champion and his staff and in no way reflect the experiences that other patients may have had nor do my impressions reflect those that future patients may experience .

My first impression of Dr. Champion was that he's a very self-confident,knowledgeable,rnskilled surgeon. My opinion has never changed. He answered all questions and explains everything very thoroughly.In my opinion he is one of the best laparoscopic bariatric surgeons in the country. I traveled from North Dakota to Atlanta and I thank God every day that I did. When I think of anyone having an open Roux-en-y I feel guilty that I had it so EASY with Dr. Champion. From the minute I met Dr. Champion my worries were over. I knew I was in the hands of one of the best. He doesnt have time for a lot of idle chit-chat, but he is friendly. If you need a doctor that can sit and hold your hand or spend a lot of time with you...forget it. He's in demand. I believe he is quite busy. That is the only point that some people might consider a negative factor. I didnt need that. I preferred a qualified surgeon that would provide the least invasive method possible with a low complication rate. That is EXACTLY what I got. (I had my sister hold my hand!!) I didnt have any complications or pain after surgery, just nausea...and an oral yeast infection, which wasn't in his control. No extensive pre-op preparations, \"no food after midnight the night before surgery\"..that's it. No nasogastric tube, no drainage tubes, catheter was removed in the recovery room, IV was removed the morning following surgery. Now all I have are 6 tiny 1/4\" to 1/2\" lap sites that are healing beautifully. In 6 months I'll never know where they were. I had to call his office for the yeast infection and have him paged on a weekend. He called me promptly. I called a few days later and his assistant, Dr. Rock, called me before calling an Rx into the pharmacy. Dr. Rock is very warm and friendly. If I ever have a question I can call his office and talk to Judy. She'll answer all questions. All other staff has been very friendly and efficient, especially when I was initially trying to get an appt. Alice was wonderful. I'm in ND so aftercare will be provided by my local physician. Judy did call me at home a week after surgery to check on me and I was instructed to call Dr. Champion's office 30 days after surgery. I consider myself very lucky that I was able to have my surgery done by Dr Champion. I would rate him an 10/10. In my opinion he's the BEST!!

I have every confidence in Dr. Champion. As others have mentioned, he is not a \"touchy feely\" kind of person. His office staff makes up for this. His aftercare program is very structured and the menu plans he gives us are excellent.

I initially chose Dr. Champion after seeing a special about him on TLC. After my first consultation, I knew he was the surgeon for me. Dr. Champion is a fantastic surgeon. He is caring and relates to the needs of his patients. His staff is also just as warm and receptive, most being recipients of bariatric procedures themselves. My surgery was completely successful and my scars are nonexistent. He is a well rounded surgeon in all aspects of his craft.

DR CHAMPION WAS FRIENDLY AND PROFESSIONAL AT OUR FIRST MEETING AND REMAINS SO. HE HAS AN OFFICE STAFF WHICH IS VERY EFFICIENT PARTICULARLY IN USE OF MY TIME AND EFFORTS SINCE I LIVE SOME DISTANCE AWAY. THERE IS NOTHING I PARTICULARLY DIDN'T LIKE ABOUT HIM. I AM A HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL AND I THINK MY EXPECTATIONS OF HIM MAY BE DIFFERENT THAN OTHERS. HE RUNS A PROGRAM THAT IS ALL ENCOMPASSING FOR WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY PATIENTS WITH PRE AND POST CARE. HE IS AIDED BY AN ABLE AND CARING OFFICE STAFF. HE IS NOT ONE TO BEAT AROUND THE BUSH OR PLAY GAMES. HIS DISCUSSION OF RISKS WITH BOTH MY WIFE AND ME WAS FORTHRIGHT AND HONEST. THE SURGERY IS NOT WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT RISKS AND WE ALL HAVE INDIVIDUAL VARIABLES WHICH EFFECT OUR RISKS. HE ADDRESSED THESE ISSUES CLEARLY IN OUR PRE-OP MEETING. I WOULD RATE HIM VERY HIGHLY ESPECIALLY SINCE THIS IS ALL HE DOES. HE FOCUSSES VERY WELL ON THE ISSUE. I FELT EQUALLY COMFORTABLE WITH HIS SURGICAL COMPETENCE AS WELL AS HIS BEDSIDE MANNER. IT REALLY DEPENDS ON YOUR EXPECTATIONS. SOME FOLKS NEED A LOT OF WARM AND FUZZY FEELINGS WITH THEIR HEALTH CARE. COMPASSIONATE, THOUGHTFUL, AND DIRECT COMMUNICATION WORK FOR ME.

Dr Champion is the Best. I havent had any troubles with my surgery at all. His staff and hospital staff are excellent.

Let me start off by saying that after surgery, every nurse that took care of me, once they found out I had Dr. Champion said that his patients have very little trouble, and he was the best.rnAlways trust the nurses. They know more than we will ever know about Doctors. they know more than the Doctors staff knows!rnrnSince at no time did Dr Champion or his staff drop the ball, in fact they overcame a few hurtles others couldnt in order to get my surgery done. I have nothing negative to say about my experience with him a surgeon. Now the Hospital we had to use due to my insurance, and was one of two he works out of, well thats another story that I will write up in the hospital section.rnrnDr. Champions office is a friendly and welcoming place. Every person there seems truly happy to be able to help you through this life changing event. I considered it a sort of \"All Creatures Great and Small\" type of experience. They return phone calls promptly, and work hard as their patients advocate.rnDr. Champion himself, is open and friendly, but objective and businesslike at the same time. Every meeting i had with him, he made it clear that he was willing to spend as much time as was needed to answer any questions that we had, however this being the digital age, we had already researched so much that our questions were few.rnrnThe thing that completely sold me on him was, of anyone I've ever seen, after all the tests etc, he took one look at my left leg and said, \"Lymphadima?\" I said yes, and he told me that of the over 2000 surgeries he had performed, he had 5 deaths, and of those 5 deaths, 3 were men that fit my description, and blood clots were the killer. So that fact, coupled with the condition of my leg, he wanted to put a filter in me to lower my complication chances.rnrnHe had me.rnrnHe also was realistic about the weight loss, telling me that over time, i would go from eating 3 pieces of pizza to 1 piece of pizza and feeling like I had just had a Thanksgiving meal. But that I would still need to be careful to eat healthy foods. rnrnHis aftercare program is complete, and so far has been great. rnrnI had a few problems with the hospital, and the Dr and his staff did everything possible to ensure that my surgery would happen as scheduled (nothing like a call the afternoon before surgery that stars \"Theres a slight problem\"rnThe hospital dropped the ball, and Dr. Champions team still made it happen, and for that, I'm beyond grateful.rnHis bedside manner is.. well... he's a caring man, and you can see that but he's also a busy \"mechanic\" if you will. Which is fine with me. But might put off some.rnrnHeres a clue to how much he cares about his patients, in order for him to practice at Northside Hospital, he demanded that the Bariatric Nurse never have more than 4 patients.rnIf anyone knows anything about the current state of nursing, you know how this makes a HUGE difference in the care you recieve after surgery.rnrnMy wife will be having the same surgery once her school is out, and she will use nobody else but Dr. Champion. rnrnI highly recommend that if your looking into this procedure, you at least owe it to yourself to have a consult with him.