John Alexander Bariatric Surgeon MD, FACS

Dr Alexander was a very pleasant individual that has no problem in explaining every detail of the operation.He has a very high repore with his clients.I was very impressed with his assistant Ann who always seemed earger to assist. There is only one thing that came up recently prior to my surgery date i spoke with a new lady that works in Dr Alexander`s office and she asked me what was I going to do about the 1000.00 dollars that was due for upfront Dr expenses "i asked what 1000.00 no one has told me about that and it was not in writting,She paused and said that Dr Alexander made this new rule up effective August 1, i adv her that I was in the office for consultation on Sept 28th and he did not mention it.It is November 09 and my operation is in 20 days.I advised her that I was not prepared for that and due to the fact we are in the midst of the holiday season and that I have a daughter I can not come up with that in such a short period of time,she spoke with Dr Alexander who agreed to allow me to pay it out...Whew...It thought i was going to have to reschedule.....

November 6,2001
Well--here I was sitting and waiting to meet with another surgeon, thinking what if he turns me down too. I know I need this surgery as much as I want it. Part of me does not even care if I like the surgeon or not, I am to the point I would have it even if my recovery rate was 50/50. I DO NOT WANT TO LIVE AS MORBIDLY OBESE!

Wow, I loved Dr. Alexander. He was MORE than I hoped. He was so informative, excellent at explaining the surgery. I truly left his office with great confidence that this was going to be successful and that I was in good hands. He told me Dr. Leverton made the right decision having me find a better equipped facility and staff for my surgery. I will have a very competant staff with alot of experience working with me.

The best thing about the whole office visit was the conversation of his patients in the waiting room. There I saw from them how they were doing and their comments about him.
I left his office with a surgery date! Woooohoooo........

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
(This was the first surgeon I saw--I chose to leave my comments of her in my profile.)
My first impression of Dr. Leverton was that she was 'skinny' and that she may not be as compassionate to my needs because she had no idea what it was like to be 'morbidly obese'.

As we sat and discussed my medical history I started feeling more comfortable with her.

The office staff was friendly and the office very accomodating to large people.

Dr. Leverton seemed so very young and that was a bit alarming to me. I felt I would want someone with more experience. She did tell me she had performed a certain number of these surgeries and about how many more she would have performed by the time I got approved for mine.That was a relief. And then again I told myself, my doubts could be a way a chickening out of this, I mean if she had been older, would I tell myself she was too old?

She seemed to be extremely informative and and very perceptive as she reviewed my information.

Dr. Leverton said I needed to see a cardiologist and a pulminary specialist to make sure it would be safe for me to undergo the RNY surgery.As a result we found out I had sleep apnea along with diabetes and hypertension.

Dr Leverton covered alot of information with me about aftercare and the risks of this surgery. Overall I feel she was very good and I left feeling very confident I would be happy to have her perform my surgery.

I feel she is competant and that I will be able to comfortably review and ask information with her before and after surgery.

I have been making a list of questions and things I want to go over with her when I get approved for the surgery.

October 24,2001
Dr. Leverton phoned and told me she could not perform my surgery due to the test results I had on my lungs. She suggested I find a surgeon who would be able to perform my surgery in a better suited facility to handle me in case of pulminary complications.
NOT what I wanted to hear!!!!!

He seemed very nice and very exact about the surgery and how it would work for me. My impression has not changed I go for my second appointment in 2 days. The office staff has been very helpful. They seem to be very considerate of your situation. Dr. Alexander emphasizes alot on aftercare. This is not a sure fix you have to work to make it as sucessful as you want it to be. I'm not sure about how structured the aftercare program at this time will update as I start the aftercare. Dr Alexander stated as with anything there is risk.

I went to my first consultation on October 5. Dr. A is very nice and up front about everything. He explains everything that will be done. Ann sent my insurance letter off that day and I had an approval 2 days later. My EGD is scheduled for November 7 and surgery possibly a week later.

Dr. Alexander made a wonderful first impression on me. He was very nice. He answered all my questions without my even asking. He was very reassuring and I enjoyed his way of explaining things.
His office staff are all wonderful especially Sabrina. She explained everything very well and got an approval with the fist letter.

I thought he was very kind and informative.
His staff (*SABRINA*) was great. They were always very kind and prompt to return my calls.

This Dr. is not the one that did my VBG. Dr. A. is wonderful. His staff is wonderful. They go out of their way to make sure you are happy.He stresses aftercare very much. My other surgeon could care less. He gave me the pro's and con's and said that I must weigh the differences. He is very maticulas at what he does. He will not close you on the op table if he is not completely satisfied that you will be healthy.
It is now 8/30/01 and I couldn't be happier with my decision for Dr. Alexander to do my revision. It has been a slow recovery but no complications. My husband is so impressed with him that he is now 2 weeks post-op from his surgery. No complications. Dr. Alexander has held my hand through it all. I was very afraid to go through this surgery because of the problems with the last. I know everyone says their surgeon truly cares about his patients but Dr. Alexander goes above and beyond the call of duty to make sure you are healthy. Heis a man that knows what he is doing and will not stop untill you are 110% the way he wants you to be. This is evident in the lack of complications he has. I had my surgery on 7/16/01 and have lost 42 pounds. My husband had his on 8/1601 and won't weigh but he is almost out of his jeans. We are pleased.

I was referred to Dr Alexander by a Co worker that had the surgery done a year ago with him! And she looks wonderful!
I had to wait 6 weeks for an initial consultaiton with the Dr. That was on my birthday, July 13, 2001!! My letter of MN was sent off that day by Sabirna, his insurance specialist (she is great as well).
I received word with in a week that the insurance co needed futher diet history and a few other things which we quickly provided!
I was approved for the surgery on8-9-01 and my surgery is scheduled for 8-20-01. All of this has taken place in just a little over a month! Talk about fast!!!!
Dr Alexander is a terrific Dr, he explained things very throughly! I am a nurse and he knew that but he didnt skip anything thinking that I already knew that!!! I feel very comfortable with him and his office staff, all are very nice! They have all answered all of my questions without any problems or complaints. I would recommend Dr Alexander to anyone!!!!! He has a 100% success rate and has had very few complications with any of his surgeries!
I completely trust this DR!!!

****8/8/01Pre op today was fantastic. As you read my comments I wanted everyone to know what i'm going through so that it will help others out there who are looking into this procedure. It helped me so much to hear others who have had ups AND downs of this journey. I started to edit my earlier comments, because I am crazy about Dr.A and his team. I'm leaving everything as it was, because it's a chronical. I will ad that Dr.A's staff is wonderful and the 2 missed appointments were just a fluke. Thing work inGod's timing and Not our own.
****7/29/01
I have a date: 8/14. Yippee. Anyone who is searching for a surgeon, I would highly reccomend Dr. A and his team. Theydon't waist your time, and they all work together to get your surgery done as soon as possible.
****6/29/01
Had my EGD yesterday. Dr. Alexander was great very comforting and reassuring I'm so glad he's my surgeon. He's worth the drive of 4.5 hrs I'd drive even furhter if i had to. I'm sooo looking forward to my surgery with him.
****6/22/01
Every thing was great today. My husband went with me. We waited a good while to see him in the waiting room but that's o.k because when We got to the exam room there was no wait at all. Dr. Alexander asked me a few questions and then began the indepth description of every thing I needed to know. He answered almost every question be-for it was asked. He's very confident and reassuring. He has perfected his craft. He is straight forward and plan spoken. Sabrina and Ann were very sweet and accomodating. He explained to me how he does the procedure and why ALL OF HIS PATIENTS have had success. I'm so ready to do this. I had almost chickened out last night thinking "this is just too drastic." but after today I don't want to waste one more day being fat and unhealthy.
****6/20/01
Well, I haven't seen him yet. My 1st appointment was scheduled for 5/15/01. i got a message on 5/14/01 that he would be doing too many surgeries that day and my appointment would have to be changed to 6/19/01. O.k. I'm very disappointed . I'm 3 hrs away have two small children. I don't get to just drop in for my appointment. My husband and i got some time off, got a sitter and planned a little overnight getaway. All down the drain.
****6/13/01 got a call today my appointment would have to be rescheduled, moved back another week. Same happened as stated above. Every aspect had to be rearranged again I sorta fell apart on the phone with Ann the receptionist. "How can you do this to me 2 time in a row we have made time off for this appointment its pain to make arrangements with the grandmother(world's greatest sitter but has a life, too), get time off at the jobe etc." Everyone reworked their plans for me so I can get up to Dallas for this appointment. Oops sorry folks you know those plans you cancelled to help me out. Well it was for nothing Call the Big Boss again "Can we rework the time off...Again." Ann was very nice and was able to get me an appointment for later this week, Friday 6/22/01. I changed a trip to Beaumont to visit some family for next week instead of Friday.
I really want to use Dr. Alexander he seems to have a lot of happy patients. My gosh Sabrina is very convincing. I'm a nurse for 10 years. I know what I'm looking for in a surgeon. And to top it off My Insurance will pay 100% because he is in network. They pay 70% out of network. I would try him anyway. I like what his patients have to say. I hope after Friday I'm able to sing his praises, too.

My first impression of Dr. John Alexander on July 6th was that he would now present me with the opportunity to start living again. He talked to me about all the ins and outs of the surgery "telling it like it was". I loved his straight forward approach and felt confident that I would want him to do my surgery.
After my visit with Dr. A, I talked to Sabrina, she gets the approvals from the insurance. When I walked in her office she was in the process of talking to them. They informed her that the surgery was not covered. My stomach sank and I felt all hope was lost. She looked at me and told me not to give up hope. Well I didn't and last Friday Aug 3rd she told me I was approved. I was in total shock and amazment. She asked me when I wanted to get it done. I couldn't think. I made it for the 29th and over the weekend, I decided I would take the earlier one she offered me. So there you have it, Aug 14th at 12 noon, all of Dr.A and Sabrina's hard work will come to realization. I thank them for this chance at a new life. Will update after surgery.....