David Spencer Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

Dr. Spencer proved to be as professional and as dedicated as everyone said he was. I was a bit nervous about having the procedure performed at Portsmouth Naval Hospital due to negative comments from sailors in the area. Let me go on record as saying that the care I recieved at PNH was stellar. In all the hospitals I have been in/around, PNH is top notch.

Dr. Spencer is very straightforward. His schedule is extremely full and he gives one the impression that he does not have time to fool around with sugar coating or glossing over this potentially dangerous surgury.

The office staff at the General Surgury department is comprised of active duty corpmen, as well as civilian support staff. One person I would like to mention is Lt. Commander Suzie Archer. This woman is a firecracker! Always alvailable, either by phone, pager or email. She helps manager Dr. Spener's patient care, after care and nurese teachings. She is a nurse praticiner and a wonderful asset to anyone considering this surgury. Also Chris Zirpolli is the staff nutrisionist. Wonderful! Your resources at PNH are plentiful.

Aftercare is stressed. Attendence at the Gastric Bypass Support Group has been very helpful for me. I can't imagine a more dedicated, reliable, professional and caring staff than that of Dr. David Spencer. He has saved my life, increased the quality of life of my family and given me the opportunity to die, sixty years from now - of old age!

I was very impressed with Dr. Spencer. When I went to see him for the first time, I was waiting in the waiting room. A man came out to get me. I just assumed it was the nurse. Was I wrong. It was Dr. Spencer and he didn't think I should wait any longer than necessary. So he came and weighed me and took my vitals. He answered every question and left me his card and I felt that I could call him with any questions. I see him this week to schedule my surgery.

Dr. David Spencer at Portsmouth Naval Hospital in VA performed my surgery and he did it laparoscopic. I talked with Dr. Spencer on the phone prior to my first appointment with him. I found him to be very informative and very supportive of the surgery.
When my husband and I met him for the first time, he had only performed this surgery about six times, he had just returned from CA having spent 2-3 weeks out there observing the doctor that performed the surgery on Carnie Wilson. Dr. Spencer was very impressed with
that doctor. Dr. Spencer knew I had researched the surgery and I had done my nutritional and psychological eval. prior to seeing him so all that paper work was in order. Since I had traveled so far, (about 4 hours) we went ahead and set up the surgery date, had all the pre-op work done
(lab, x-rays, etc). One thing I really liked about Dr. Spencer was the way he explained the surgery, the pitfalls and the fact that he did not raise my hopes of a huge weight loss. He explained I would never be a skinny person again but that I could lose weight with this surgery and be
a more healthy person. He gave me his car with his email address, phone number and beeper number. After the surgery, which went well and was a great success, on my return check ups at one point I was a little disappointed with my weight loss and he pointed out that I
had never loss his much weight and kept it off. He listened to all my questions and concerns and told me if I had any problems to call and have them page him to return my call right away.
Dr. Spencer is someone I admire and respect a great deal. When on my two month check up I expressed some problems I was having with eating and vomitting, he had me go see the nutritionist
right away. He is an excellent doctor, who you can tell truly cares about his patients. I would recommend him to anyone who has access to a military hospital. He now has a waiting list but he is well worth the wait.

my first impression of Dr. spencer was good.He was very informative and reassuring.

My first impression of Dr. Spencer was that he was very non-judgemental. He talked about my weight problem in a very "matter-of-fact" manner, rather than the condensending tone that I think some physicians have. He was very sympathetic to my stuggles with obesity. The staff was very friendly and I appreciated being treated with respect. Dr. Spencer was very thorough regarding the surgury and all that is involved. He was very confident. I have only good things to say about Dr. Spencer and his staff.