James D. Atkinson Bariatric Surgeon MD, FACS

Dr. James Atkinson

Dr James Atkinson has shown he is a skilled surgeon. My Gastric Bypass was performed easily and by following the guidelines at Bariatric Eating.com, I have maintained my health and weight loss without incident.rnDr Atkinson is a bit aloof and my impression hasn't changed over time. I only saw him at surgery time and one time afterward.rnHis staff is very welcoming and generous with their attention.rnWhat I like least about Dr Atkinson is that I don't get to see him more. But his Physician Assistants are wonderful and listen well.rnFuture patients should know that if Dr Atkinson performs their surgery, they should feel safe with his ability to perform sound surgery. No one does it better.rnAftercare is not highly emphasized as I have not been encouraged more than one time to go to support group meetings. But bariatric eating.com has a support group every Wednesday night so that takes care of me.rnI was told about risks of surgery. rnI think Dr A is the best bariatric surgeon in the country. Everyone at the hospital praised his skills.rnSurgical competence is the primary goal. Bedside manner does not one any good if the surgery is botched up.rnDr A is primarily a good surgeon, the best in my opinion, and has the good conscience to visit after wards as well as his partner Dr Soong which was a pleasant surprise.

First Impression?
Very professional, very experienced, realistic expectations, and very approachable.
Did impression change?
TBA
Office staff:
Very nice. The office is quite busy and this may lead to some of the delays in responses, faxes, etc. Overall, above average for a medical office staff.
Liked least?
May be too busy a practice, very difficult to get face-time with the surgeon
Future patients should know...
Dr. Atkinson has a remarkable surgery record with regard to the RNY. he is a very meticulous surgeon and takes a lot of pride in his work. He will not try to really push you toward one operation or the other, that is up to you. He will give you the data, and infor on all the procedures and you need to come to a choice about what you want to have.
After care?
TBA
Rate so far?
Very highly

I haven't met Dr. Atkinson yet-I will meet him the day before surgery. rnrnI chose him because my father and his good friend went to him. They are both doctors and did extensive research on who the best person to see was and time after time, Dr. Atkinson was the answer. It made MY research quite easy. :)rnrnThey both look great and I'm looking forward to moving forward with my life.rnrnThe one negative thing I would say is that when I went for my initial meeting with them, they didn't tell me much of anything about what to expect. Whether this was because they expected I got the full scoop from my dad (which I have) or not, I'm not sure. But if I hadn't done a LOT of research on my own and watched a close family member go through it, I would be very uneducated. They do have informational seminars to attend which I didn't. They told me they would do a 1 on 1 with me since I was out of town, however I didn't get much info.

I really did not \"meet\" Dr. Atkinson until day of surgery. I did attend his seminar and knew who he was but met him right before- he was very nice and answered all of my questions as well as my family's. He is great still now after surgery... during my recovery I had severe nausea and anytime (even on weekends and after hours) that I called... I would get a call within 10 minutes and RX'S were called in to the pharmacy of my choice. Office staff is professional. There is an aftercare program and I have am too soon after surgery to know the benefits. I would give him a 10 out of 10 and recommend him highly. I believe surgical competence is more important than bedside manner but with this surgeon you need not choose- he is great @ what he does and how he does it!

I can not tell you much about Dr Atkinson. Through the seminars and the follow up it was Dr. Soong that I spoke with. Dr. Soong is the lapband side and Dr. Atkinson is the RNY. Dr. Soong was great though. He is always friendly, has a smile on his face and takes the time to answer anything you want to know. The first time I met Dr. Atkinson was 15 minutes before surgery and that was it. He does great work though and very competent(this from other patients).

He is kind, but looks at me like he doesn't remember me most of the time.rnrnVery impersonal at times.rnrnAppears he has so many surgeries going, he has trouble remembering.rnrnBoth at extremely important!

I loved my Dr. He was great and hip to the new procedures. I am totally against blood transfusions and he was totally o.k. with it. He answered all of my questions, even helped with wrighting a letter to my insurance company on why I needed to have the WLS. His staff was great as well, even some of they had the surgery. rnrnThere was nothing that I didn't like about him. rnrnThat he is very straight forward, will answere an any of your questions. rnrnHis aftercare is obviously to go to support groups, stick to the plan if any questions he encouraged us to call his office. rnrnPrior to even being considered for WLS you have to attend one of his seminars and it is very informative and he goes over all of the risk factors, he answers all questions. rnrnOverall I would rate him a big fat 10. rnrnI feel that both are very importyant, however if I had to choose I would choose surgical competence. rnrnI have absolutely nothing negative to say. When I went in for the surgery at was at my highest of 275 and I am now 1 year and 3 months post op and still looking to loose another 25-30 lbs to be at my goal weight. rnrnThe reason I have nothing negative to say, is that he informed a group of us about eating differently prior to surgery and not to have a big meal the day before surgery, and the ones the followed had absolutely no complications, however 1 person decided to eat and eat as it was superbowel sunday and surgery was the very next day, unfortunately the day after surgery he had to be rushed back in as he started to hemorage, however he also did not have the same dr that I did for the actual surgery.

Dr. Atkinson is soft spoken man. He was happy to answer all my questions and felt very comfotable with him and his staff. I would recommend him to others

I'm so... excited!