Kenneth Welker Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

I have emailed him, and now I am just waiting for
an appointment for my consultation. It's so hard
to wait!
10-6
I am going to see him tomorrow. I have referred 4 other people I know to see Dr. Welker, so he will be busy!

My first impression of Dr. Welker is that he really cares about me/morbidly obese people in general. He personally returned my email, answered questions, and asked if he could call me at home to dicuss what I wanted and what my comordities were. As soon as my pcp gives me a referal to Dr. Welker I can get the ball rolling and see if I can get insurance approval.
If you live in the Pacific NW and are close to Portland, Oregon, I would strongly suggest seeing Dr. Welker. He does the DS (duodenalswitch)which is what I want done and the RnY. When he called me on the phone, he did so during his lunch break, that is how caring he is, to take the time away from himself and give it to me. Go down further on this list, click on his name and you will see what he offers and his email addy.

I talked to him on the phone this morning.. to him not an associate.. this really impressed me.. I haved talked to severla clinic but only have talked to office poeple.. He was curtis, polite and full of information for me.. Answered all my questions, asked a lot of his own .. Took my oncoligist name and phone number said he would call him and get all my cancer background.. this may be a problem but he felt we could work with it.. Tenitive date sat WAY out in MARCH.. said we had a lot of work to do first for insurance approval.. WEll schedule an office appointment after he has talked to my dr and has my medical information..

My first impression of my surgeon was utter amazement. I have interviewed about 8 clinics on the west coast. None allowed me to talk to the doctor.I was mailed the standard info packet and told to send it back, then ask questions. I found Dr. Welker on a website I was researching on. He had his e-mail linked. So I mailed him, fully expecting to be sent another info packet. HE CALLED ME PERSONALLY THE NEXT DAY.He talked to me for an hour, then two days later, he called again!!! This time he talked for an hour and 15 minutes!!! I thought surely I was dreaming. He is very prompt in returning e-mail, answers question thoroughly and respectfully. Seems to be a stand-up guy. What a shock.
I just hope that he pans out equally as well in person. I'm banking on it!

09-00 Dr. Welker wrote an amazing preauthorization request letter, however, I still got denied ( 2nd time). I have gotten a lawyer( Walter LIndstrom of obesitylaw.com) Meanwhile I have been diagnosed with "hypopnea" a form of sleep apnea. Both Dr.Welker and Walter feel that the hypopnea diagnosis will get my denial overturned. I am banking on this!

Dr. Welker has been very supportive througout this ordeal He e-mails me regularly and couldnt be a more helpful surgeon. I have even gotten into advocacy for obesity because of the encouragement from Dr. Welker and Walter Lindstrom.

Dr. Welker is very caring and involved. He spent a lot of time with me and on my case (due to the many complications). I feel that he went above and beyond what many doctors would have. There really isn't a structured after-care program (other than follow-up visits), which I would REALLY like. I feel kind of lost now that it's over, but Dr. Welker did recommend a support group run at a different hospital.

June 30, 2000
I had my consultation with Dr. Welker and it went absolutely great. He is a very kind man. He puts the needs of his patients right up front. He is a defender of us Morbidly Obese people. He is genuine and I would recommend him to everyone. I have never felt so comfortable with a doctor. He is a real human being that doesn't put on airs.

July 18,2000
Dr. Welker called me tonight and he has sent a message to the scheduling clerk to schedule my surgery for the next available date. It will be in August. I am so excited.

April 17,2000
I finally had my consultation with Dr. Anthone. He seemed very nice. He was very professional and he answered my questions in clear layman's terms. He has a great sense of humor, he told me that he gives his patients a pre-op quiz so I better remember the information he shared with me. His nurse Maria was very nice and helpful.

I feel that I will be in very caring and competent hands with Dr. Anthone.
May,2000
I had a second consultation with DR. KESHISHIAN. He was very accomodating and answered all of my questions. His coordianator BARBARA METCALF was very helpful to me especially with the insurance stuff. I am limited by my finances and my insurance has acted up.

On June 26 I have a consultation with DR. WELKER. He accepts my Medicare as payment in full. I will let you all know how this goes.

Dr. Welker is a very caring, hard working man. So far, nothing negative to report! He really knows his stuff.

Direct and responsive. Personal. Sense of humor. Incredibly skilled. Saw me everyday in hosp, sometimes twice. No structured aftercare but will refer to same. Explained risks and answeres all questions. I am a registered nurse and would highly recommend Dr. Welker. He is a busy man and not a 'hand holder', but he is warm and instills confidence.

Dr. Welker is the most caring, involved doctor of the dozens that I've seen during my lifetime.

Dr. Kenneth Welker does Bariatric Surgery at OHSU. He returned a call to me and spoke to me for about an hour and a half. I then scheduled a consultation with him and at that appt he spent another hour and a half with me. I've never had a physician spend that much time with me.

His office staff seems very friendly and competent to me.

My impression of him is that he is a very caring individual who understands the obese person and the causes and effects of being obese. He is actively lobbying for change with the health care industry and employers to get WLS covered and is having success. I anticipate that he will have even more success.

He discussed thoroughly with me what would be expected of me after surgery plus I knew quite a bit going in to the consult about what would be expected of me.

As a pre-op I'd give him a 10. I honestly don't have anything negative to say about him. He's very accessible and seems to me to go out of his way for me.

MY POSTOP IMPRESSION OF DR. WELKER - 6/18/00: I was in the hospital for 5 days and I saw Dr. Welker at least 2x a day while I was hospitalized. Each time he came he actually visited with me, he never rushed in and rushed out. He even comes in on weekends to see his patients.

He is very accessible via his pager or email. He responds to email in a very timely manner, usually within the same day. He has a wonderful sense of humor, a very caring and understanding way about him. He understands the obese person and the causes and affects of obesity physically, socially and emotionally. He told me that he has found a calling in obesity surgery and helping obese patients and if you ever get a chance to meet him or speak with him, you will see that it is evident. He gets involved in his patients lives and becomes part of their lives. He is astounding and he has changed my life. I cannot thank him enough for being who he is and for helping me to break out of this prison called obesity.