"My first impression of Dr. Todd actually came from reading through the numerous profiles under the bariatric center's website of other Bariatric patients.
Everyone seemed to feel really comfortable with him. I went to my first support group meeting a few days before my first appointment
and he was there addressing concerns and asking questions - he really seems to value his patients' opinions, thoughts and feelings. You get the
feeling he is trying to absorb as much feedback as possible to turn that into better care in the future. By the time my appointment date (finally) arrived, I felt
relatively comfortable talking to him. I was glad to have the opportunity to view others' thoughts about him via the website and the support meeting
before meeting him - although I feel I would have liked him anyway, feeling comfortable talking to him about such an important issue in my life was more important.
At my first appointment I recognized two of his assistants because they were at the support meeting - that really impressed me - not only do you have other
post-op patients to support you, its as if the whole office has avested interest in your care through the entire process. At the office visit, they and the other
employees seemed kind, busy, efficient and friendly.
I feel Dr. Todd was very detailed in his descriptions of HOW the surgery worked, the pros and cons
of different procedures, he explained thoroughly why he felf comfortable with the Roux-en-Y procedure, and the risks associated with this surgery and also
how it compared with other surgeries and other offices performing these surgeries arounf the U.S. This portion of the appointment was pretty detailed - having read
others' profiles, I was prepared for the detail that went into his descriptions. As far as aftercare, mostly what was stressed at this point were the importance
of the support group meetings. He did go over some of the food limitations/schedule, but because of the point of my journey that I am in, I didn't expect a lot
of information on aftercare. When (keeping it positive!) I get approved and get a surgery date, etc, then I expect they will have more information at that time.
Overall, I feel that I have made the right decision to see Dr. Todd. I look at it as a marriage of sorts - this is going to be a lifelong change for me - I want someone
there for the long haul - someone I feel comfortable with through the ups and downs and who will be honest and suppotive. This is where I am supposed to be."
