LeGrand P. Belnap Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

Well just had to stop by and say , he was a great surgeon. I had a transplant and the transplant surgeon messed up and gut a lymphocele which was draining fluid around my transplanted kidney and crushing it. After they saw that happening they said we could never find it so they did another major surgery to make a window to drain into. About 2 years later the kidney failed and he took it out and when he saw me afterwords told me they got it out fine and found the lymphocele and fixed it. He has done multiple surgeries on me and great experience everytime. Even great when i see him in the in his office funny pleasant and always informative.

I have met him twice, the night I went up for my Consultation. He explained the proccedure to us, and what it entailed. He seemed really nice and down to earth, and he seems to care very much about his patients. rnrnHis office called me the day that I was approved to let me know and schedual a surgery date. It was set for the 23rd of january, but when I went up for my pre-op on the 19th, because of my current weight and my BMI's he tod me that he wanted me to loose 40 pounds before surgery.rnrn He explained that he would be better for me in the long run and that it would make it easier for him to get in there and do the procedure. He was very nice about it, we talked about how one goes about loosing weight and what he wanted me to do. I explained to him that I have a bad knee so some kinds of exersize are difficult for me, and it made me verry happy when he didn't tell me that when I lost weight that my knee would get better. I know that I have a bad knee and need to have surgery on it, but I don't think that right now wth my current weight that I would handle knee surgery. rnrnI go up to his office every Wensday to weigh, every one that I have worked with is awesome. I love Vikki, she ROCKS she is always so friendly, and so supportive. I think that he has a great staff. rnrnI am looking forward to having surgery and getting to know Dr. Belnap better. I love it when I tell my other DR's that I am going to Belnap and all I hear are glowing praise. I am happy that I have made the choice to go to him. rn

I first met Dr. Belnap late on Tuesday night, October 25, 2005. He had spend most of his day in surgery, on a baby's liver.
He is funny and focused and seems to be passionate about his patients.
So far his office staff have been wonderful.
Dr. Belnap and his staff explained the risks and possible complications of the surgery, but also explained why they believe it helps so many people.
I'm so excited to have found such an outstanding surgeon. I can't wait.
I do understand though that I may have to wait for my surgery, if Dr. Belnap is called to do a transplant on short notice.
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I am now 5 days post-op. I did have to wait for my surgery. I was scheduled to check-in the hospital at noon on Monday, 11/14/05 with surgery to start about 2:00 pm.

Dr Belnap did not make it to the hospital until around 7:45 pm, but I was immediately taken to the OR and was in my room by 11:00 pm. It made for a very long day, following a very long night (the whole clean out your colon thing) and I was not given anything to eat or drink of course.

I did not see Dr Belnap until 12:15 am the next morning and that was the only time I saw him, while I was in the hospital.

He's very smart, very personable, and very busy. Often times you have to wait and wait for him then end up having to reschedule another visit. He strikes me as being very cavalier about things. Nothing worries him, nothing scares him. He's very confident in his abilities to handle things. He's been doing this for more than 20 years so his confidence is understandable.
The office staff is great. Very helpful and positive and, of course, busy. I've never felt neglected.
He's a great surgeon. He normally does transplant surgeries, and it seems like everytime another surgeon screws up, he gets called in to fix it. I was impressed by that. His bedside manner is like almost all doctors, he's busy, to the point, and doesn't want to waste his time. I sensed he was in a rush but he did make sure all my questions were answered before he left me.
I would say surgical competence is most important. I was looking to hire a surgeon not a best friend.

First, I’d like to mention that I only registered with this site so that I could comment on Dr. Belnap. Bottom line, if you are looking for a surgeon, you will find none better.

That being said, it is really important to be aware upfront that he is a transplant surgeon and may be called away to harvest an organ at anytime. Cancellations can happen, but know he does his best to avoid them. He once made the surgical staff stay past midnight because a mother and daughter had flown in from out-of-state for bariatric surgery and he wasn’t able to operate on them in the morning as planned. I thought it was extremely considerate of him, but I hear the surgical staff was a bit chagrined.

Dr. Belnap is very compassionate, but he is also very different. He has outstanding bedside manner, but not much in the way of excess time. He is extremely meticulous and consequently complications are a rarity for him. What's more, when other surgeons run into problems, Dr. Belnap is whom they consult. He is exceptionally well respected by his peers. The drawback for his patients is that with everyone seeking his advice, his pager is constantly going off. Expect that his pager will go off when you talk to him, because it will, it always does, and he will suddenly stop mid-sentence and disappear instantly. It’s happened every time I’ve spoken with him. For me, this wasn’t a problem, because I was grateful that the surgeon operating on me was the one being sought for assistance, rather than the other way around.

When you ask him a question, be prepared for the answer. Dr. Belnap doesn’t “sugarcoat” anything. Like I mentioned before, he is different, but it is clear he’s a genius, and gifted people can be “quirky.” The benefit to this is that if you get bored, you can always ask a hospital staff member about him. They all seem to have a story or two to tell about him.

After surgery, don’t be surprised when seven o’clock in the morning rolls around, and the surgical floor fills with doctors and Dr. Belnap doesn’t come by. I’d heard rumors that he does his rounds at odd hours. My sister’s seen him doing rounds at four in the morning in the Intensive Care Unit at Primary Children’s Hospital. On the day I was to be released from the hospital, he called me from California. Apparently, he was busy harvesting an organ for transplant and was not going to be able to make it back to see me. I understood completely.

If you want a surgeon who will perform your surgery precisely on time, show up for rounds the same time as everyone else’s doctor, and treat you like all his/her other patients, Dr. Belnap is not the best choice for you.

However, if you are comfortable risking the possibility that should a more urgent case arise, you may end up having to “wait your turn,” while he saves someone else’s life, Dr. Belnap is definitely well worth the wait.

If you have questions about the surgery, I would recommend reading up at his site: www.drbelnap.com.

After having researched all the Surgeon's in Utah and a few out of state as well as attending many free classes i decided to go with Dr. Legrand Belnap.

First off, Dr Belnap is a Transplant Surgeon and my Surgery was delayed one week because of this. But who can argue with a cancellation when your Dr is out tying to save a life. The other reason that i chose him is because when i was in my Pre-op Dr appintment he received a page from a near by group of bariatric surgeons that needed his help in Surgery due to complications. Apparantly when things go wrong for other surgeons, Dr Belnap if who they call.

Dr Belnap has some very strange office hours and is very busy, it is not uncommen to wait in his office for 3 hours on a Saturday night before he showes up and talks to you for 5 miutes. If you cannot be flexible and have no patience you might want to look elsewhere. But im my oppinion you would be settling for a lesser Surgeon.

Dr Belnap is up to date all all the variouse Surgeries. He will discuss them with you. I had Questions about the Duodenal switch, and he told me that he does perform them as an open Surgery but preferes them for someone very very large. But in the end it was my choice, and with all the information he gave me i chose to have a Distal RNY.

After Surgery i was in no real pain and was actually up and walking after 3 hours after being out of recovery. I was discharged after two days and am feeling great. Today is July 29th and i had surgery on the afternoon of July 26th.

I like Dr. Belnap because he was different than the other Doctor's I had consulted with. Over time, I learned that he really listens to his patients. I was very impressed with his office staff (although I did have to wait quite awhile to see him). But they were kind and helped me and I found out that the reason I waited for so long was that he was saving someone's life in the OR. They helped me with my insurance and any questions that I had. I flew to Salt Lake, specifically to meet with Dr. Belnap after a friend of mine recommended him. I couldn't have been happier with the results. It's been a year now, and I am down 148 pounds. I work out everyday, eat right and I'm down to my goal of a size 6. I eat for fuel now. I eat to live, not live to eat. Dr. Belnap has changed my life. I was so nervous to have this done. Nervous enough to almost cancel the last minute. Dr. Belnap went over the risks and made sure I understood exactly what was in store for me. His follow-ups were thorough, he made sure I was on the right track. My overall rating of Dr. Belnap would be that I would recommend him to anyone thinking about having the surgery. Even if it means flying out of state (It was worth it to me). His surgical competence and his bedside manner were both great. Although, sometimes he seems rushed, I've learned that he is a busy doctor, performing many surgeries, not just bariatric. I felt safer in case any complications came about. At first, I was a little irritated by the wait, but quickly felt guilty when I found out he was doing a transplant and saving a life. Put things in perspective for me.
Julie Palella

I heard about Dr. Belnap from a friend at work. I knew that he is a very busy surgeon and that the wait might be lengthy, and he was late about 2 1/2 hours but I say it was worth the wait. I really liked Dr. Belnap. He is precise and to the point. No sugar coating it here, and I like that in people. Though my appointment was cut short and I did not get to ask all of the questions I would have liked to. I don't think I will regret choosing this Dr. for this surgery.

I don't know to much about him yet I just got the approval from the insurance company and this is the only doctor they let do the surgury for them to pay. As soon as I know more I will let you know.

He keeps odd office hours. Meet with him @ 8:00 in a sunday evening. He was at LDS hsopital helping with an emergency another doctor had during surgery. He was to the point and I learned more from him in an hour or so than I have from anybody else. He stated that i would not be denied this. I was denied but he called and talked to the MD that did the review and 4 days later I was approved.You have to keep on the office staff because they are a very busy office.
After surgery he did his rounds at midnight or later but is a very caring and skilled surgeon.