Neal Gorrin Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

My impression of Dr. Gorrin - I think he is the best wls surgeon a person could have - he was very encouraging and matter of fact. He answered my questions without hesitation and was patient. His office staff was very friendly but extremely busy. There are so many of us wanting this surgery. But they would take the time to speak to me and answer my questions even if it was via voicemail. You have to be patient and persistent because their workload is tremendous!!! That would be my only negative - they need more office staff to answer telephones; triage the calls and contact potential patients. I would say, do your homework, attend whatever classes they tell you should attend and come prepared to ask any questions. There are ongoing classes before, during and after surgery. My biggest obstacle post-op was that the classes are in South San Francisco (they were before surgery) and I live about an hour to an hour and half drive away during weekend traffic - not fun. So I had to go to other support groups in east bay. Dr. Gorrin did explain the risks of the surgery and I did massive research. I would rate him as a great surgeon; his bedside manner was fine with me and even I would say surgical competence is your greatest concern, but with Dr. Gorrin, I got both, great surgeon and great bedside manner. Cute too!

Dr. Gorrin struck me as a very competent surgeon. He was very helpful in helping me overcome some anxieties I had about the surgery. I feel very lucky to be under his care.

I really like DR. Gorrin. He was very informative. He also impressed me by having read all of my file. Whicj I know does not always happen.

I met with Dr. Gorrin on 6/4/02. He was pleasant and personable. You definitely don't feel as if you are being judged! He told me I am the perfect candidate for surgery.... so of course I liked him right away! We didn't discuss much about the surgery itself, but he did say they would take my gall bladder out as I have a stone already.

Dr. Gorrin did turn out to be a very nice surgeon. I would recommend him to anyone going with Kaiser.

I liked Dr. Gorrin from the moment I met him. He's personable, but very straight-forward, business-like. He told me what I needed to know, and answered any questions that I had. His office staff, the Bariatric Team, has been there whenever I've needed them, too. What I liked the least has nothing to do with Dr. Gorrin personally. It's just that Kaiser is so corporate, everything is rush, rush, rush. You don't really have the time to get to know your surgeon and any of the staff really well because they have so many patients to see, and not enough time to devote to all of them. Future patients should be aware of this--if you want to be "babied" (sorry, can't think of another word for it) through the gastric bypass surgery process, it won't happen. There is no time for that. I didn't feel slighted in the least because I like for people to give me the facts and let me do what I'm supposed to do. You have to do the work to get ready for surgery, and no one can do it for you. The Bariatric team does have an aftercare program, and people have stayed in touch with me since surgery. The weekly support group in South San Franciso is also very helpful. The risks of surgery were carefully explained to me many times, and I feel that Dr. Gorrin is an excellant surgeon. My surgery lasted only an hour and twenty two minutes. Personally, I prefer surgical competence over bedside manner. Bedside manner is great (and Dr. Gorrin is wonderful), but I'd rather that a surgeon do his or her job very well.

Dr. Gorrin was very pleasant and made me feel at ease. He answered my questions and advise me of the risks. He also reminded me that surgery was a tool and not a solution. Dr. Gorrin also looked at me as a person, not a fat person. His staff is polite and willing to assist you with any and all questions and concerns. I have been able to leave messages and a staff member will call me back within 24 hours. Dr. Gorrin also expected me to attend support groups (which I was against.) I am so glad I attended the support groups. They are wonderful. Dr. Gorrin was also concerned with how much time I neded before returning to work. He asked "me" when I felt I'd be ready to return to work. That made me feel like he trusted my judgement and respected my needs.

When I became concerned about my slow weight loss, Dr. Gorrin addressed my concerns and put my mind to rest.

Dr. Gorrins' skills, abilities, knowledge and mannerisums made my whole surgery journey easy.

He seems quite confident and has a no bs attitude. He seems to have a good sense of humor. Confidence and humor, in my opinion, are very good qualities in a surgeon!

My original surgeon is leaving and now I have Dr. Gorrin. I will meet him on February 26.

Dr. Gorrin is fabulous. He is helpful, caring, clear and comforting. Of course the office staff is great. I feel so much more confident about my decision to have surgery since meeting the the doc. He told me I was an excellent candidate for surgery and although he is learning the lap procedure, I am going to the open route. He was totally cool with that. I never felt embarrassed or uncomfortable with him. Can't wait to get him in the operating room!

Very Very nice and personable. He really cares about his patients, his staff are very professional and curtious, can't say there's anything I dislike about him. He's a handsome surgeon....