" Not only does my surgeon, Dr. de la Cruz-Munoz, have great "numbers" - even compared to other surgeons who do only bariatric surgery - but he is nice and willing to take time to explain procedures and experiences to me and my family. He was recommended by a friend and, after "interviewing" a number of surgeons, Dr. de la Cruz was the easy and obvious choice. He is very personally interested, very smart and very, very good at what he does. Just hearing him describe the robotics of the surgery, you know that hs is very skilled at it. There is no genuinely no trace of "disdain" for overweight people (which I did sense at another surgeon's office) He even checked with other doctors for me about another issue I had recently- and phoned me- when my own GP couldn't be bothered !
In addition to a lengthy office visit with my husband and I- where he addressed all our questions and concerns- Dr. de la Cruz does a very thorough and informative "seminar," which all his patients are required to attend. Although I had done a lot of research on the surgery prior to this time- the seminar still had much to teach. He also explained some added safety measures he takes that he believes contribute to his lower rate of complications.
After the seminar Dr de la Cruz stayed late answering many individual questions either publicly or privately and addressed very specific concerns (where I believe another doctor would have said "see me in my office" (and pay for an office visit !) )
The seminar ran concurrent with one of his support groups and a number of people in the support group came into the seminar and spoke of their experiences and answered any and all questions we might have had- no matter how "personal' ! They were all very obviously happy with their surgery and their surgeon. During that time Dr. de la Cruz also listened to what all of them had to say and even asked some questions of his own.
Dr. de la Cruz travels around the country if he wants to watch another bariatric surgeon at work and has sometimes incorporated some of their "best practices" into his own surgery. I was very impressed that he recognizes he might still be able to learn something from another surgeon- I talked to other surgeons who CERTAINLY did not feel that way- and, ironically, they have less reason than Dr. de la Cruz to feel that way as their "statistics" are not as good as Dr. de la Cruz's. I do think though that other surgeons should be coming to watch HIM work- and I'm sure they do.
Dr. de la Cruz is obviously brilliant- obviously good at the "robotics" of doing the surgery- he is likeable and nice. Despite the fact that he is extremely busy DOING surgery- he takes all the time you need if you have questions or want him to explain something. He EVEN personally sat down with my paperwork and his cellphone- calling my GP personally and going through my paperwork when I was having some trouble getting the paperwork in order.
He knows the stats and hospital stay time of other surgeons in this area by heart.
He took time out in between every surgery to come to the pre-op room and speak to the next patient to see if they had any last minute questions or concerns before we were sedated (I think most surgeons just see you in the operating room - and good luck on being clear headed enough to express a concern then) I'm sure his day would have been finished at LEAST an hour earlier had he not done this- but it is his way- and I really appreciated it.
Most of his patients stay only one night in the hospital (their choice- he has no objection to allowing you to stay longer if you feel you need to) Several young women to whom I spoke said they felt good enough to "go to the amll" when they left the hospital the next day !
Melissa, the surgical co-ordinator is super-efficient- never forgets anything- calls when she says she will- gets things done in a very timely fashion- keeps all the patients straight- is really nice and encouraging- and beautiful on top of it all!
The office is run well and is calm and has always operated on time when I have been there.
His bariatric practice is a "Center of Excellence" with above average statistics for success with this surgery and lower complications than other surgeons who perform this surgery exclusively.
I just can't say enough about this brilliant, nice surgeon ! I am so glad I was able to have him for my surgeon and recommend him to anyone !!!"
