Alan Wittgrove Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S.

My surgical doctor was incredible. As was his staff!!! I can't begin to describe the care they give at Alvarado Medical, but it's the best I've ever had. They keep in touch with me once a month and I can call when I'm feeling down and talk to my nurse. He really emphasize's aftercare, making sure people get into a support group and with continuing followups. They have a structured aftercare program if you're in San Diego, and elsewhere they visit once every couple of months, like the bay area where i live. But my support group is up here. He addressed the risks of surgery as the very first thing and the very last thing that he talked about and made sure I understood what they risks where. I rate Dr. Wittgrove a 10 and also his staff a 10 and both his surgical competence and his bedside manner are great!

Given the choice of surgeons as I am a self pay I felt Dr. Wittgrove was the way to go. I have had great service with his office and I am looking forward to September 17th with no fears at all.

I was very happy with Dr. Wittgrove and feel very fortunate that he was my surgeon. He is very personable and at our first meeting, he took alot of time reviewing my paperwork, discussed the risks and answered all of my questions. The office is very busy and there are many people who work there behind the scenes to support the Drs. busy schedule. At the all day physical, I had a chance to talk to others having surgery at the same time, as well as the new post ops coming back for release.This created some camraderie and lessened my fears! I was very happy with the quality of care I recieved and felt I was in capable hands with Dr. Wittgrove. Not only is he a great surgeon but he is very involved in the bariatric community and trains other Drs. He told me later that my surgery was quite difficult due to my spleen being in funny place and I felt very grateful that I had such an experienced surgeon.... I would recommend him highly!
My aftercare program will be calling in once a month for followup with a nurse practioner and my PCP will be sending blood tests every other month.

Once I made the decision to have surgery, my family doctor recommended that I talk ti his very good friend, Mike Seifer. Mike had the surgery in San Diego by Dr. Wittgrove. After a lengthy conversation with Mike, I went to the website WWW.Gastricbypass.Com and did further research. I downloaded the registration forms, filled them out and faxed them to the office in San Diego. While I was waiting to hear from thier office about my forms, I traveled to San Diego and attended a seminar held by Dr. Wittgrove at the Alvarado Medical Center. After the seminar and talkin with Dr. Wittgrove I was very excitited at the possibility of having bypass surgery. A week later, I had spoken to a nurse from Dr. Wittgrove's office. She went over my health forms that I had submitted to get more information to include in the letter to the insurance company. The letter went out on the following Monday and within a week, my insurance company had approved my surgery and Dr. Wittgrove's office called to schedule my surgery. My surgery date is Sept 11, 2001. I had a phone consultation with Dr. Wittgrove to discuss my surgery options. They will try to do it laproscopically first, although he said they will probably end up doing an open bypass. Dr. Wittgrove and his staff have been extremely helpful so far.

He was attractive, relaxed, and very friendly.He answered all my questions.Over time I realized how very well respected he was by the nurses in the hospital. His staff was cheerful, knowledgeable and available.I liked least the fact that once I left
San Diego and returned to Dallas, I was pretty much on my own yet needed a doctor. He recommended someone, but he was AWFUL!!!You have one of the finest surgeons in the USA. He is nationally recognized. However, he is very busy and you won't have too much contact with him after you leave the hospital.Aftercare is #1, BUT if you don't live in the area, I found that the surgeons in my area were not welcoming at all!I was given a sheet of paper mentioning them, but I never researched what a leak really was and the true danger of the surgery. I was given the stats, but you can't imagine that you will be in that .50% or 1%. I WAS!!! Naturally both are great, but for this very dangerous and complicated procedure, I would definitely want the surgical competence.

I attended a siminar in San Deigo in May, The siminar was held by dr. ellenar (i beleive thats her last name) anyways i decided prior to the siminar that i wanted dr wittgrove, I havent met him yet I am scheduled to meet him dec 13th for consult and psysical, my surgery date is set for dec 18th 2001...

I have not yet met with Dr. Wittgrove but did have a telephone conversation with him as I had several questions pertaining to a prior surgery that I had had. My first impression with him was that he was extremely careful and listened to my questions. He answered my questions and was very generous with his time. I attended the seminar offered through his office and found it to be extremely beneficial including photos and films. The staff and doctors take great care not to over glamorize this surgery and to spell out its risks and its benefits.

When I was first "checking out" surgery, I went to three different seminars. One here in Las Vegas, one in Fresno, and one in San Diego. I listened to what Dr Wittgrove had to say in the seminar held at Alvarado Hospital in San Diego on Jan 5, 2001. I was very impressed with his knowledge of obesity and its problems as well as his understanding of what obesity does to the obese person's demeanor. The surgeon in Las Vegas did not feel comfortable operating on me laparoscopically. This is the way I preferred, so I leaned towards Dr Wittgrove. Dr Wittgrove assured me that it was very probable that the surgery should be able to be completed without open surgery. During the pre-surgery interviews, Dr Wittgrove stayed with me, even after the clinic closed, and we had a very insighted discussion. He sure made me comfortable with my upcoming challenges.
In addition to his expertise, I was really impressed with the system set up at Alvarado Hospital, plus the staff at Alvarado Surgical center. The Hospital has a 6th FLoor North wing that is used mainly for Bariatric Surgery Patients. The equipment and the nursing staff are specifiacllay for the needs of bariatric surgery patients. This is a big issue when coming out of surgery, and dealing with the discomfort of surgery.

I found out about Dr Wittgrove's "famous" patient, Carnie Wilson, after I had already inquired about his program and made the decision to have HIM "save my life".

I can't see any other physician surpassing his standards. Thank you Dr Wittgrove.

I was so impressed with Dr Wittgrove at the initial informational seminar in January; he stayed at least an hour afterwards to make sure all questions were answered, and during the seminar itself, was very patient in explaining the details of surgery and answering followup questions. I didn't see him again until my pre-op office visit in April. He spent a lot of time going over my past medical difficulties (clot in leg, gallbladder surgery)as well as my then-present lung and sinus congestion, and how to prevent complications after surgery that might stem from these issues. He likes to toss out jokes when relaxed, but he was very serious about any threat to my health. I was very comforted by that. I find Dr Wittgrove both extremely competant and possessing a kind, compassionate nature.

Most of the follow up care is done by the nursing staff who are all experienced, competant, knowledgeble, as well as most having had surgery themselves. They are available 24 hours for questions for the rest of the life of the practice and monthly follow up is included, even by phone for long distance patients. My only complaint is that the office staff is suffering a communications breakdown from the practice expanding so rapidly, perhaps new additional staff would help. I noticed they were working on the problem when I was there, so they are aware of it.

I haven't met the surgeon yet. I will on the 18th of July. I'm taking my friends word as to his capability and skill. I have talked to several of his staff and I have found them all to be very helpful and have gone threw the surgery themselves. I loved hearing their stories. I will be glad to update this after my surgery.