Peter J. Wiltse Bariatric Surgeon D.O., F.A.C.O.S.

I met Dr. Wiltse on 5/12/2010. I must admit I was a little apprehensive, I had never really talked to anyone about how I felt about my weight, but once I started talking with Dr. Wiltse, my anxiety left. My first impression of him, was that he was very knowledgeable of his procedures. He calmly explained to me all of my options, risks, and what he would require of me. He then made plenty of time to answer all of my questions. I was so pleased with my first visit, I couldnt help but tell everyone how wonderfull Dr. Wiltse had been. After our consultation, we started the next step, seeing what prerequisites I would have to meet for my insurance. The office staff was wonderful also, they are always ready to help in any way they can. Dr. Wiltse strongly emphasizes aftercare, making sure you know that this is a tool to help you change.

He was excellent, I loved him, great personality. He was the best.

When I met him I was impressed with his friendly, open manner. He has a dry sense of humor that I myself share, so we hit it off right away. He was very informative, and had respect for the fact that I had done extensive research into this procedure and him. He talked with me as someone who has a clue, which I found refreshing, as most doctors speak to me (as an obese woman) like I'm an idiot or something. His staff was great! They were friendly, and I was most impressed with his people onstaff that have had the procedure done. If you have that much confidence in someone that you would go to work for them, that is just fantastic. Everyone was nice and didn't treat me different because I'm obese. I look forward to working with this group of people on the new me. Dr. Wiltse's track record is impressive, over 500 surgeries, and the facility mortality rate is 1 in 700. Now I'm seeing Dr. Thrift after Dr. Wiltse "mysterious disappearance" from Barix. He seems to be a nice man, but I don't know much about him.

My first impression was that he was as excited to meet me as I was him. I knew this fabulous man was going to change my life. My opinion has not changed he was a great surgeon and I would recommend him to anyone. The office staff is the best. I feel very comfortable there. Most of the girls in the office has had the procedure done themselves. Plus that is all they do there. You are surrounded by people just like you. The thing I liked the least about him is I didnt see him enough right after my surgery. I only saw him once before I left the Bariatric Hospital. The nurses were wonderful though. I could have just stayed there for the next two months. If you are in Texas, please consider the Barix Clinic in Wylie. It is so worth it. Future patients should know that this man knows exactly what hes doing. He and his staff put you at such ease. He emphasizes to the extreme on Aftercare. He does have a structured aftercare program that is very easy to follow. He sat one on one and went over every risk of the surgery. I rate him at total 10. He was a fabulous surgeon, the bedside manner of the nurses were beyond my dreams. I would do it all over again with the same people.

Dr Wiltse was GREAT!! He was very nice and explained the procedure thoroughly. He made me feel at ease about the surgery. His staff was FANTASTIC!! Great bedside manner!!
I would recommend him to anybody that is considering having surgery at BTC in TX.

My first impression of Dr Wiltse was good. He is kind of quiet, but a pretty good listener. He answered all of our questions, and did explain at length the dangers of this surgery. He also explained the dangers of open RNY versus Lap RNY. Then he let us make the right decision for us, so that was cool. I have found that after surgery, he is really more like, "Everything ok? Yes, Ok, see you in 3 months." So, you really need to be knowledgable about yourself and your aftercare. I would recommend him, he did good work. I have heard some say the scar they have after him is small, but mine is rather large, so I am not sure if it is just me, or if there was some problem during surgery, or what. Don't get me wrong, it isn't like I am ever gonna be a supermodel or anything, so I am overall happy with his work.

Hi,
My name is Sherrie Smith and I wanted to post a few points from the last 6 months of my life that might be of help to someone out there that is still fighting the uphill battle with their insurance company to pay for bariatric surgery. I am currently 7 days post-op and I am so excited to be on the road to regaining my life, without restraints. I had the Roux-en Y procedure, performed by Dr. Peter Wiltse. You can see an example of Roux-en Y procedure at http://www.barixclinics.com/
I fought for 6 hard months and have very distinguished gray highlights in my hair to show for it. = ) I consider the half a year I devoted to making this surgery a reality to be the hardest, but the most worthwhile thing I have ever done in my life. There was a lot of frustration and days when I thought I might be losing my mind. Insurance companies are big corporations that have the average Joe by the short hairs, but sometimes, they are actually decent and do the right thing.

The hard part for me, was not getting UHC to approve my surgery. The challenge for me was that I am on an EPO plan, which says there are no out of network benefits period. I didn’t want to go just anywhere to have my surgery. I wanted to go to a facility that specializes in this type of surgery, where the surgeons do only this type of surgery, everyday, and where the staff does not offer prejudice to someone because their body is larger that our society dictates. I wanted to go to Bariatric Centers, in Wylie, Texas, which just recently changed their name to Barix Clinics. (http://www.barixclinics.com/) I cannot say enough about the thought and expertise that Barix has invested in their program. Besides the normal hospital admission things that you get, they have an entire personal hygiene kit waiting for you in your room when you return from surgery. This includes a toothbrush, tooth paste, shampoo, anti-perspirant, etc. But, the device that I found most thought provoking was the pair of tongs that I have come to consider a lifesaver. After surgery, you are only able to stretch so much, so wiping yourself, even just after urination becomes a challenge. The complete nursing staff, respiratory therapists, and techs that take care of you there are fantastic people, who made my hospital stay seem like it was the Ritz Carlton on Loritab. They constantly inquired about my pain level and were always kind and caring. I just can’t say enough about these fine people.


But, back to my story, starting in October of 2003, I was told by UHC that no benefits would be available to me to travel to Wylie, Texas to have my surgery. But, since I work for such a large company, there were co-workers who had been able to travel out of network to Wylie to have their surgery and they were on the same EPO plan as I was. The operators at main 800 number for United Health Care will always tell you that no matter what, out of network benefits are not possible on their EPO plan. To start the process of getting out of network benefits approved, you will have to contact the CARE department within UHC. Their number is 800-265-5636 Option 4. They will want a lot of information from you, so be prepared for questions. Before an approval for the medical necessity of such a surgery will offered by UHC, they will want several years information of all the many diets you have been on, what dates you were on what diets and how much weight was lost on each diet. They will require that you have a psychological evaluation and send them the results. They will also want 2-3 years medical records outlining all the many health problems that you may have that are related to your being overweight. Some of the questions that the CARE department will ask you in your initial phone call to them may be unanswerable at the time, because Barix will not make an initial consultation appointment for you unless they are fairly certain that UHC is going to pay for it. The initial consultation is where you will meet with a surgeon, and he will determine whether, according to your BMI, you would be a candidate for this type of surgery.


If the surgeon agrees that you are a candidate for surgery, based on your BMI, the next step will be to go through a series of tests to insure that you are healthy enough to undergo surgery. Remember, this IS major surgery. In the beginning, when faced with my laundry list of tests, I felt very overwhelmed. The tests that my surgeon required of me were :

· Cardiac Echo
· Cardiac Stress Evaluation (which led to my Cardiologist scheduling me for an Arteriogram as well.
· Pulmonary Breathing Strength Test (PFT)
· Aterial Blood Gas
· Sleep Study
· EGD
· Upper GI

The Internet was very valuable to me in knowing what to expect from each of these tests. I find the unknown to be the scariest, so I always feel better when I have a little knowledge to go on.

In my sleep study it was found that I needed to have a CPAP machine (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) prescribed to me. The sleep study showed that my breathing gets very shallow at many times during the night, so I don’t get quality sleep because my brain wakes me up, without my knowledge, every time my breathing becomes so shallow. Sleep Apnea is a very serious problem, which many people may not be aware of. I sure wasn’t before I started this journey. Here’s a little blurb regarding Sleep Apnea:

The Greek word "apnea" literally means "without breath." There are three types of apnea: obstructive, central, and mixed; of the three, obstructive is the most common. Despite the difference in the root cause of each type, in all three, people with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times during the night and often for a minute or longer.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is caused by a blockage of the airway, usually when the soft tissue in the rear of the throat collapses and closes during sleep. In central sleep apnea, the airway is not blocked but the brain fails to signal the muscles to breathe. Mixed apnea, as the name implies, is a combination of the two. With each apnea event, the brain briefly arouses people with sleep apnea in order for them to resume breathing, but consequently sleep is extremely fragmented and of poor quality.
Sleep apnea is very common, as common as adult diabetes, and affects more than twelve million Americans, according to the National Institutes of Health. Risk factors include being male, overweight, and over the age of forty, but sleep apnea can strike anyone at any age, even children. Yet still because of the lack of awareness by the public and healthcare professionals, the vast majority remain undiagnosed and therefore untreated, despite the fact that this serious disorder can have significant consequences.
Untreated, sleep apnea can cause high blood pressure and other cardiovascular disease, memory problems, weight gain, impotency, and headaches. Moreover, untreated sleep apnea may be responsible for job impairment and motor vehicle crashes. Fortunately, sleep apnea can be diagnosed and treated. Several treatment options exist, and research into additional options continues.
Lastly, if it is found that you need a CPAP machine, you will have to wear your CPAP at night for 6 weeks prior to surgery, as required by Barix. This is so your body will be at its ultimate point of good health, so that your healing process will shorter and less likely to involve complications.

Whoever you may be, I wish you the best in this journey. I can’t say it will be without frustration or tears, but it is a necessary part of getting your life back.

I really enjoyed talking with Dr. Wiltse, he is very friendly and very up front. He is VERY knowledgeble and can answer any of your questions without hesitation. I feel a lot safer with this Doctor than with the previous surgeon I was seeing. The office staff can get a bid rude at times, but I do understand that I am not the only patient they have and they had to explain to me exactly what it was they were doing and why it was taking so long!

Dr. Wiltse was a very down to earth person. He was straight to the point. I thought he was very nice and knows exactly what you are going through. He answered all my questions and questions from my sister (my support). He had a great sense of humoer and even laughed at our jokes (our sense of humor). I feel very confident that he is a good surgeon and he didn't make me feel nervous at all.

My first impression of Dr. Wiltse was that he was very quiet and pleasant. He thoroughly explained everything about the RNY surgery and answered all of my questions in most cases before I had a chance to ask them. Dr. Wiltse was very upfront about all of the risks as well as all of the positives that would come later. I can't say that there was anything I did not like about Dr. Wiltse. He seemed very proud of BTC and the care they give to all of their patients. The staff at BTC were excellent and very knowledgeable and always willing to help me and answer all of my questions. I would highly recommend Dr. Wiltse and BTC to anyone.