Louis Martin Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

Dr. Martin is wonderful.I have nothing negative to say about him or his staff.

I have the most wondeful surgeon. He did not just operate on me like a head of cattle but he treated me like a person. I consider him a friend. His staff is decent but often very busy. He had me TOTALLY informed before surgery..there were NO surprises.

I think I picked the best surgeon out there. I had ZERO complication and excellant after care. I TOTALLY recommend him.

I HAVE BEEN GOING TO ST. CHARLES WEIGHT MANAGEMENT CENTER SINCE 7/2001. I HAVE NOT MET DR. MARTIN YET - I WILL MEET HIM THE WEEK OF SURGERY. ALL OF THE PRE-OP EVALUATIONS AND TESTING IS DONE BY DR. WILLIAM RAUM, AN INTERNIST IN THE OFFICE. HE AND ALL OF THE STAFF ARE VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE AND HELPFUL. FULL OF COMPASSION. EVERYONE SEES A MULTIPLE OF DIFFERENT SPECIALISTS BEFORE GETTING THE OK FOR SURGERY. ONE REQUIREMENT IS THAT YOU MUST ATTEND AT LEAST FOUR (4) SUPPORT MEETINGS BEFORE YOU CAN BE SCHEDULED FOR SURGERY. THESE MEETINGS ARE GREAT. YOU GET TO MEET OTHERS WAITING FOR SURGERY ALONG WITH PATIENTS WHO ARE POST-OP. EVEN SITTING IN THE WAITING ROOM IS INFORMATIVE TALKING WITH OTTHER PATIENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES. I AM VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE SURGERY AND CAN'T WAIT FOR FEB. 14, 2002, MY DATE. A GREAT VALENTINE GIFT TO MYSELF.

I'm scheduled to meet Dr. Martin December 28

My first impression of Dr. Martin was that he was very professional and that he answered all of my questions directly, completely, and in terms that I could understand. His staff was friendly and always bustling around. The furniture in his office is very "fat friendly" in that it is built up on little platforms which reduces the amount of stress on knees and backs when an orthopaedically-challenged heavyweight is rising from a seated position. The furniture is very ample and sturdy. I never felt like I was going to break the chair or that I was stuffed into it. The only negative thing that I can say is that when you go to Dr. Martin's office, you can plan to stay there for quite a while before being seen. Friends who have had the surgery (in my support group, Bandsters) at Dr. Martin's office joke and call his office instead of the "Weight Management Center", the "WAIT Management Center". However, that does not differ from most doctors' offices I have gone to! His office is full of pictures and newspaper articles of his achievements, complete with testimonies of past patients, with before and after shots. It is very encouraging to see all of these things. Also, I use the time "waiting" to encourage others who are there waiting -- if they are pre-op, I tell them all about my surgery and what it has done for me. I have gone from a long 9-year disability (due to degenerative disk disease of the spine which was made worse by the added weight) to returning to my 20-year long profession of legal secretary, which I missed desperately. This surgery and the ensuing weight loss has given me my self-esteem and pride back. I have gone from a size 26 to a size 16. People look me in the eye now, instead of looking at the ground or passing-by birds, or anything -- instead of me! Dr. Martin explained the various procedures that he uses, and gave me an intro into some new ones that were coming down the pike. I chose the LapBand insofar as it is the least invasive, does not involve restructuring of my plumbing, and is reversible. I was part of the U.S. FDA trials, so my before and aftercare was a little more structured than I imagine most peoples' before and aftercare is. I don't mind, though, because this is how they keep track of their statistics. Risks of surgery were addressed, but with the LapBand, they are minimal. In summary, I would rate Dr. Martin with four stars -- and he's cute, too, so that gives him an extra star! ;) In my estimation, surgical competence and bedside manner walk hand-in-hand. I am not in the least bit intimidated by Dr. Martin or his staff, and know that if I have a problem, they will be right there to help me. In fact, a few months post-op, I thought my port had slipped (the port is installed along with the LapBand and is the means through which saline solution is introduced into the band, thereby tightening it and giving the patient the restriction necessary to cut down on portion sizes), and went to his office practically unannounced. Dr. Martin and two of his other staff doctors came in (along with the BioE rep -- Bioenterics is the company who manufactures the band) and all of them viewed the situation. Turns out it wasn't my port that slipped, but a glob of healing tissue had melted. (Boy did I feel stupid!) But they didn't make me feel ashamed or dumb at all. They even thanked me for coming in, stating that if I had any future questions, to feel free to drop in. Now, my thinking is: if you have a terrific surgeon, but are afraid to talk to him if you develop a problem, what good is the surgery? To me, in order for the procedure to be a success, the patient and doctor must be able to interract well. The patient needs to be well-informed of the whys and wherefores of the surgery and the mechanisms of the devices used to attain the weight loss. I consider my surgery to be a complete success, even though my weight loss is slow. It is slow because of my own doing -- I screw up and eat the wrong things (mainly sugar) often. However, my portions are small, and I have not gained any weight. I am secure in the knowledge that I CAN eat sugar if I want to, and won't get sick. The Band is a tool, not a magic wand. It enables the patient to work with it in order to achieve weight loss. Your choices are YOUR choices. Being an independent person, this is very important to me. I don't want anyone or anything making my decisions for me! -- Karen Longwell a/k/a "Chickie" on Bandsters

DR. MARTIN AND HIS STAFF ARE ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL. MY FIRST APPOINTMENT WAS NOVEMBER 27, 2001. DR. MARTIN SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH ME AND HE ANSWERED ALL OF MY QUESTIONS. HE MADE ME FEEL AT EASE AND MADE SURE THAT I WAS WELL INFORMED. HIS INSURANCE GUY, KENNY, IS GOING TO KNOW IN JUST 48 HOURS IF MY INSURANCE COMPANY WILL COVER THE SURGERY. THEY ARE THE BEST!!!!!!

Dr. Martin runs the Weight Management Center at St. Charles General Hospital in Kenner, LA. He has a staff that walks you through all of your preliminary testing and insurance paperwork. I have not met Dr. Martin yet and probably will not until it gets closer to the actual surgery date. So far I have gone through the orientation procedure and met with Dr. Martin's clinician, Dr. Raum. Dr. Raum was very nice and helpful. He answered all of my questions and gave me alot of pertinent information. As soon as I meet with Dr. Martin I will update.

10-22-2001 - The entire staff at the weight management clinic has been great. Dr. Martin is a very caring and sweet man. I met with him once before surgery and have seen him about 3 or 4 times after surgery for followups. He has answered all my annoying questions and been very supportive through the entire thing. He is a wonderful surgeon and caregiver. I would recommend him to anyone considering any type of surgery.

Dr. Martin was very took his time to explain
the surgical procedure in layman's terms to
me & my significant other. Answered all my
questions clearly. I highly recommend him
as a surgeon.

As always Dr. Martin's staff has been
wonderful.

Dr. Martin was great and has put together a first class weight management center with comprehensive counseling and services. His staff is excellent and the program is very informative and takes you from start to finish providing all the support and info needed to be successful.
His program does take time and he will not operate until you complete all evaluations.
He addresses all phases of the obesity problem and stresses the aftercare program so that maximum benefit may be acheived.
They are very careful to repeatedly list the risks of surgery.
Be patient you are in good hands with experts. Dr. Martin has performed well over 2000 gastric bypasses. He is an expert. My surgery is coming soon so I will reserve my comments about his surgical competence. I will note however that his reputation is excellent and everything makes me believe I have made the right choice.
His insurance approval deptartment is good and they will explain the problems.They will also discuss the pro's and cons of self pay.
I highly recommend Dr. Martin.

My first four appointments with Dr. Martin were cancelled the night before because of previous commitments that were made.

Office staff was extremely helpful, especially Carolyn.

I only saw Dr. Martin once for about twenty minutes. He explained the surgery and made sure that I had proper support from family and friends to help me through this.

As of now, I still have a month to go.