David Wernsing Bariatric Surgeon MD, FACS

Well I finally got to meet and talk with the surgeon today, he is David Von Ruden out at Lakenau Hospital. My first impression of Dr. V is that he is very knowledgsble about the surgery, and he likes to be attentive to his patients. He made sure I asked all the question I had, and made sure I know about the surgery. He told me to make sure I set up an appoinment with the Bariatric Coord. Beth-Ann so we can get the ball rolling. I found out about Dr. V through someone else he performed the surgery on, she raved how well her surgery went so I wanted to meet him and have him do my surgery.

Met with Dr. Wernsing. Was very factual. Still unsettled on him from a personality standpoint, but my highest priority is competence. Could not get a solid handle on that, but he seems pretty experienced (for the limited time he has been practicing). No mortalities yet... I sure don't wanna be the first! Said he sees stoma restrictions appearing in waves and not sure why. He also sees more of this with laps than open. Again, not sure why.

At this point I'm planning on proceeding with him. Just not patient enough to wait another 9-12 months to see Dr. Kirkland or Noel Williams.

I had a consult w/ Dr. Wernsing on 9/3/03. He was very down to earth, undestanding, knowledgeable, polite and courteous. My first impression was that he was someone with whom you could sit and talk to as a friend as well as a surgeon. He definitely knows the ins and outs of this surgery and was very informative in telling me the risks of surgery, but also reassured me that should something go wrong he is skilled enough to be able to correct the problem before one really arises. I give Dr. Wernsing on a scale of 1-10, he would get a 20. I'm looking forward to our next meeting.

My impression of Dr. Kirkland was a good one. He spoke with me and 5 other people in the lobby of his doctor's office. He does this because if he only saw one person at a time then he would only have time to see 1 or 2 people a week. Obesity surgery is not his main surgery. It's operating on cancer patients with gasternol problems. He was very informative. He spoke about how long the surgery would be, how long you would be out of work. He suggested people join a gym and get on a supervised exercise program to help their weight loss along. He did say there are risks to the surgery but in his practice they are very minimal. They take care in making sure that there are very few problems. He seemed like a very good doctor and the people in his office are very helpful but very busy.

I was originally planning to have my surgery with Dr. Kirkland but have learned that I am able to have my surgery lap instead of open. Dr. Kirkland does not do lap but his partner Dr. Wernsing does. I met with Dr. Wernsing yesterday and he is very imformative. I feel very confident that I will have no problems with the surgery.

my first inpression of dr wersing was he looked to be about my age and i,m 32. he wasnt very personable. i hoping my view of him changes in the futre befor my surgery i,m schedued for feb 25 03 i,m very excited. just have a few more questions to ask my surgeon.aFTER my seconf meeting with dr wersing i felt totally comfortable with him. he did an excellent job on my surgery and i have no complaints. he was very good about calling me back after surgery whne i had questions and concerns i would recomend him to everyone. Thanky you dr wersing.

2/3/2003-I have an appointment with Dr. Wernsing in Philly at the end of February. I've abandoned all hope of having surgery at BTC. BTC is never going to get "in network status." Irregardless, I'm tired of waiting for them. They were never up front with me. I feel sorry for anyone who goes there for surgery..........I had my appointment with Dr. Wernsing yesterday and I have to say I liked him very much. He seemed very sympathetic and was very up front about the risks of the surgery. I thought he did the surgery laparacopically but it turns out he does it open. I could care less though. I just want to have this done as soon as possible. I'm not that impressed with Dr. Wernsing's office staff though...........I hope they prove my impression wrong.

Dr. Wernsing is very confident. He made me feel very sure of his ability. There was no doubt when I left his office that he was the right doctor. The office staff was light and comfortable. A nice warm feeling as if you had just made a friend. My initial consultation had been canceled once due to an emergency surgery. At least they got me before I drove the whole way there. My next appointment was scheduled and then they called the day before and made it later in the day. The doctor was about a hour and a half behind due to the surgery that was scheduled that morning. He didn't apologize for being late and I am glad he didn't. If I was the one on the operating table I don't want him to feel bad that he stayed and finished the job.
He went over all the risks and the statistics. He covered all the base's. Now I am just waiting for insurance approval, which was the only thing I didn't like. The girl that does the insurance approval let me know she would start on it in a few days and she was not that familiar with my insurance. I got an anxiety attack at this time that I waited so long to get to this appointment and had the patience and understanding of all the delays. I just couldn't understand why the paperwork wouldn't get started that day. I guess I should just learn more patience. So now we wait and see just how many days we wait for it to be submitted and then how long for approval. THE WAIT IS ON, AGAIN!
For those of you that are new and just thinking of finding a surgeon, you might be waiting weeks and months for that first consultation. I went with Dr. Wernsing because he had just moved to the Philadelphia area and his patient list was shorter. I only had to wait seven weeks to get an appointment. Most of the doctors I called it was four months or more.

I had a consulation with Dr. Wernsing 1/8/2003. The consultation was a fact sharing section that left me with neither an overly impressive nor unimpressive opinion of the doctor.

I have not been too happy since the consultation though. It took me over 5 months to get the consult and 3 weeks post consult, I still had not heard anything regarding the authorization or anything else needed pre-op. I spoke with Jody at the office who let me know that Trish was handling my case and that she would be giving me a call. I got the impression that my case had not previously been assigned and if I had not called, I would end up in file heaven. A few days later, after no call from Trish, I called back. I was basically given the brush off and told that if she had any news to relay, she would call. I wasn't even allowed to speak to anyone to get the details on my case.

I just called today and asked for Trish and was told that she would call me back, she was waiting on a return call from my insurance company.

All the stories I've read have indicated that the potential patient heard from their insurance company within a week or two - good or bad. It has been a month since my consult. I have a call in with my insurance company to hear what they have to say.

Dr. Wernsing is a professional. His explanations were articulate and concise. I have every confidence in his ability. His office staff is friendly and competent.

havent had first appointment yet two month waiting list for first visit.

I was supposed to meet with Dr. Wynn but while i was out of work due to illness. I lost my health insurance. I applied for medicaid and received it. I wanted to continue with my consult. I called Dr. Wernsing and got an appointment within 3 weeks. He is very nice and informative. I never did see dr. wynn out of DE. At this point I would like him to do the surgery.