Marvin Tiesenga Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

He is friendly, funny and sweet. His staff is very helpful.

He (actually his son, also Dr. Tiesenga) is the one I met - they will do the surgery together, I'm told. He seems very nice. He has a thorough aftercare program, it seems. As far as office staff or coordinator, NO COMMENT.

1) Seemed very serious at first, but turns out he has a very good sense of humor. I liked him from the start because he was willing to answer all of my questions. 2) My impression of him only got better with each visit. He is a very good surgeon and does great work. Will always try to do the surgery laprascopically first, open if the lap is not possible. 3) His office staff is wonderful. They are well educated in knowing what to say and do in order to get the most favorable results from your insurance company. Even though I have an HMO (with not the best record of giving out approvals) I was approved on the first request which I feel was due to the staff's persistence and follow-through.4) The one thing that I least like about Dr. Tiesenga is the fact that he does not really do much follow-up. He is great at "slicing and dicing" (which is his "job") but was not very helpful with questions I had after surgery regarding diet, vitamins, etc. He just kept referring me back to the dietician and my primary care physician. Since it was he who told me I should be on certain vitamins, iron, etc., I felt that he should be able to answer questions regarding them. He would not. 5) Future patients should know that he will do a great surgery with the least amount of cutting to you that is possible. 6) He does emphasize aftercare but to do it through your primary physician and the dietician staff. 7) He gives you a printout of what to do after surgery and he does run a support group that meets once a month. His big thing is to keep in contact with fellow WLS patients for support. 8) He addressed the risks of surgery by handing out a packet of information on the first visit. This packet explained the surgery in detail, the types of surgery available and which might be better for you, the risks of each surgery and the process you will go through from getting an insurance approval to surgery, to aftercare. I suggest that patients not be afraid to go to the first visit "armed" with questions, concerns, etc. Dr. Tiesenga is more than happy to answer any question (at least pre-op!) and never made me feel like I was taking up too much of his time. 9) Overall, I would give him a high rating. He did his job well and I never felt intimidated by him. Actually, I found his sense of humor welcome. 10) I believe his surgical competence is better than his bedside manner, although his bedside manner is okay. Personally, I'll take a surgeon who is good at doing surgery and maybe lacking some in bedside manner over a great bedside manner with lacking surgical skills!!

I was pretty nervous when going for 1st consultation. Dr. Fred, Dr. Marvin's son and partner, was very comfortable. He thouroughly explained everything and suggested me going to their support group. Second visit, saw Dr. Marvin. He reminded me of my grandfather, to a tee, so I was a little nervous with him. He doesn't talk as much as his son. Gets to the point. Then, I saw Dr. Marvin at the New Hope support group, along with his wife, and got a different impression of him. He's very kind, but just doesn't smile too much. Also, reading up on him, he just received the Douglass Award for excellence at West Suburban hospital 2000, where he is the HEAD surgeon there. I'm glad I will be having "the best" for MY surgery/healing.
OFFICE STAFF: friendly, helpful, very comfortable atmosphere. Stephanie is in charge of handling the WLS. She is quick, and obviously knows exactly what needs to be done for insurances.

To be honest, I am a christian and had prayed and fasted over having this WLS. I was going to go somewhere else, and was recommended to Dr.s Tiesenga. I walked into the waiting room, where the 10 commandments are hanging, and I felt it was right in my spirit. These doctors are a blessing, and I pray God Blesses them all!!!

WLS SUP> GRP: called..New Hope
Every 3rd monday of the month. Dr. recommended the group, and I have learned soooooo much. It makes me feel that I am not alone in all of this. Everyone, whether post-op, pre-op, or just thinking about WLS is so friendly and open. THESE are the people to ask all your non-medical questions.
Also, I am very impressed that Dr. Tiesenga attends all of these meetings, it is so important. It really is a blessing.

Negative thing to say? I really don't have any. REALLY!!! They rock!

I think Dr. T is a well rounded doctor. he is very professinal and straight forward. His office staff is great! very helpful and knowledgable. Thanks Stephanie!

I found him to be no nonsense and very clinical - not overly warm. He made sure I was aware that lifelong diet and exercise changes were necessary to make the surgery successful. The office staff were very friendly. We discussed some of the risks of surgery, but not in depth. He gave me materials to read, including a pre-operative written exam with several questions regarding all the risks I have ever read about and some I hadn't. I go back for another visit after I see the psychologist at which time we will discuss the exam, etc.

I had my second meeting with Dr. Tiensenga today. He came across as warmer and more friendly. He know's I have done a lot of independent research, and so he did not cover very much in depth with unless I asked questions.

Dr. Tiesenga's surgical competence is excellent and my surgery went well. His bedside manner improves with each visit, and his office staff, Jenny in particular, are great. My only complaint is that his program is new and they are having major problems getting a dietician program set up properly, and there isn't currently one for me to see. I wish all the wrinkles for this had been ironed out before my surgery was done.

7/16/02 update - Dr. T's program is improving - they've started monthly support groups and have hired a new psychologist and dietician. The dietician has a background with diabetes and not WLS, so she's learning still, but this is much better than not having one at all.

I met Dr. Marvin Tiesenga today 6/10/02 he's the nicest guy and knows alot about gastric bypass surgery. His office is so clean and the staff were great, understanding and helpful. I would advise others to know what they want and have all the info needed prior to see him. His staff was impressed that I had everything ready and was well versed on the procedure and all. He addressed all the risk and I was given a handbook detailing everything. All I can say right now so far so good. Will update after surgery.