Kenneth Welker Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

Dr. Welker agreed to see me on a day he normally does not have clinic. It was obvious from the first moment that he is a totally dedicated, caring, competent physician.

He handles all of his own administrative work - works 18 - 20 hours a day.

Vibrant, quick, fast-talking - answered every single question with a detailed explanation that I had no trouble understanding.

Has a structured aftercare program, including recommendations for diet and supplements, quarterly blood work and follow-up appointments.

I have a great deal of confidence in him.

Post-op: Dr. Welker is very concerned and involved with his WLS patients. I am so glad I chose him. I feel very comfortable emailing him with any question - he always responds very quickly. I don't know of ANY other surgeon who does that. What a guy!

Dr. Welker is knowledgeable, patient with all questions, astute, and obviously skilled and very devoted to WLS work. I was quite impressed that he authored an Opinion column in the local paper here regarding the importance of WLS. He really is an excellent listener, and a first rate human being.

My first contact with Dr. Welker was by E-mail. I sent a lot of Dr's (I mean a lot)my plea for help and Dr. Welker was the most concerned and helpful. He returned my E-mail the same day I sent it which was on a Sunday. He told me to give him my phone number and we would talk. We talked for about 20 minutes and he was very informative and nice. He told me he was booked and if I tried to get an appointment through the hospital I wouldn't get in for an initial visit until August 2000. He told me he was going to try to set up extra time to see more patients and he would see me in a week. He called me back and left a message on my machine saying what time and date two see him. I am going to see him on march 20 and set everything up. Wish me luck..............................................I seen Dr welker for the first time and he was very profesional. He sat down with me and got his pencil out and started asking me about my weight loss history and he asked about all medical problems. He told me he needed to get all the information for his files. He then explained to me the procedure and told me he would write a letter to my insurance company to convice them to let me have this operation. He said if that didn't work there were some other avenues to seek. He sent the letter 2 weeks later and on the third week I was approved and I GOT A SURGERY DATE!!!!! Dr Welker is a good guy who really likes what he does and always tries to do what is right. My surgery date is May 19th.....Wish me luck and please send me your prayers. Thank you and Godbless.....

My first communication with Dr. Welker was via email, as I am in Chicago and he is in Oregon. He responded at length within 24 hours. He followed up with a phone call within two days, and we talked for quite a long time. He treated me with respect, like I was an intelligent person who matters. He was very forthcoming with information and facts about the surgery itself-- alerted me to all the risks, very clearly. In particular, because I am self-pay, I think he wanted me to be very aware of possible complications. He gave me a great deal of information about himself and his history with surgery in general, and weight loss surgery specifically. He eagerly agreed to call my PCP and establish a relationship with her. As I will be coming from out of state, he outlined very specific requirements for my care post surgery. We have emailed many times since, and talked again on the phone about more specific details of my trip to Portland. Others who have been operated on, or met Dr. Welker for pre-op consultations have a found him to be competent, thorough and extremely kind and "user-friendly." While I know there are many risks with surgery..I have no doubt that I will be in "good hands." PUN INTENDED!

Dr. Welker is a very quiet man. who is nonjudgemental and made me feel very comfortable. These impressions did not change. I am not sure about after care because I just had my surgery.

He is absolutely wonderful; his staff is wonderful as well; can't think of anything I don't like about him or OHSU (as of yet). We discussed options/possible complications at length (even email each other). He's definitely an eleven, on a scale of one to ten.

My first time I spoke to Dr. Welker on the
phone he blew me away. I can tell that
Dr. Welker is the kind of guy who doesn't
just "practice" medicine, he strives to
thoroughly understand it. I have spoken with
several bariatric surgeons in person and
over the phone and I have never found anyone
to be more knowledgeable then Dr. Welker. He
doesn't just know how to do the surgery, he
understands the complex physiology behind the
changes made to the persons body who is
undergoing the surgery.

I am still pre-op so I have only dealt with
Dr. Welker as a person researching surgery,
but he has my confidence.

My first impression of Dr. Welker has carried through to this day. I am amazed by this man. He has such care for his patients. I am not even an official patient and he has taken very good care of me. He follows through with each email and phone call.

I am a proud member of the Welkerette's - this guy is great easy to get ahold of, willing to spend the time talking about things that you need to talk about, friendly and patient. I have never had a doctor spend so much time with me before. He gets an A+ from me so far.

I found Dr. Welker to be very knoweldgeable and well informed. He seems very dedicated in his belief in WLS and has made a commitment to work to change insurance companies' stand on the surgery. He is trying to bring about a change in the ins. companies by working with them, but has indicated the willingness to take them on legislativly if necessary.

OHSU appears to be an excellent hospital and Dr. Welker's staff is just great. He is willing to work with patients form out of the area as long as they have adequate medical support in their home communities. I did not discuss with him and aftercare program in Portland as I am traveling 300 miles to see him and have the surgery. I have a support system through an on-line community as well as my own support system within my home community.

I feel Dr. Welker combines an exceptional blend of skill, knowledge, and committment with excellent "people" skills.