L. Michael Howell Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

I was very impressed with the professional, straight forward matter-of-fact approach that Dr. Howell portrayed in the first meeting. When I had my one-on-one appointment, Dr Howell was very thorough and answered all of my questions. With living over 100 miles away, he assured me that he would work closely with my home town doctor after surgery for any problems.

Dr Howell addressed every possible risk and/or complication of the surgery and told us exactly what to expect.

The staff was absolutely wonderful to deal with. Cindy, the program coordinator was so helpful, and Bobbi the nurse was awesome and so understanding.

So far, I am thorougly impressed and busy getting ready for surgery. I have been working out on building up my physical stamina, I have been using the Incentive Spirometer in advance of surgery to build up lung capacity, and will be going thru hypnotherapy starting next week to learn to do self-hypnosis to help me reshape perceptions about food and nutrition as well as pain control post-op.

I was impressed when I first met Dr. Howell, he has so much compassion for overweight people.

He held a group discussion for the canidates that were there, he didn't seem rushed and explained the entire procedure to us. He drew a diagram while explaining the surgery to us, he also went over all the risk factors.

He stated that he was always looking for ways to improve the surgery.Along with the Roux-en-Y he also puts a band around the new opening of the stomach to prevent stretching of this area in the future. He states that it helps to ensure the success in weight loss for his clients.

He is very concerned about our nutritional intake after surgery. He states that people who have had gastric bypass surgery are at a high risk of protein marnutrition during their recovery and for a few weeks after that. He did tell me, that we have to "learn" to eat slowly, that his surgery is only on the stomach and doesn't include the brain, so after surgery there is a need for a "learning how to eat". The success of the surgery and the continued weight loss is determined by our committment to getting to and maintaining a healthy weight.

There is a structured after care program, we are asked to keep our appointments with Dr. Howell, the dietition and a bariatric surgery support group. We also have to committ to a walking program.

It is obvious to me that Dr. Howell cares about helping obese people.
I give Dr. Howell at 12 on the scale of one to 10.

I was relieved upon seeing him enter the conference room. He was listening to one of his nurses speak, and he cracked a smile. So I knew he had a sense of humor...

It set made me more relaxed.

During his informal presentation, I thought he did a great job explaining the procedure, taking questions and answering them as we went along.

He made me feel confident he knew what he was doing, and took pride in his skill.

The office staff has always been courteous and helpful.

They do a great job in setting up the mini Gastric Bypass lectures, with a presentation from the doctor, and then you meet with the Dietitian- break and then you have an appointment.

I was impressed. They do empasize preparing for the diet BEFORE surgery, and after care is a MUST to prevent complications and for sucess.

He does a very good job going over the risks.

I wouldn't have any doubts about having him as a surgeon doing my surgery. I felt better after todays meetings.

let me start with the fact that dr howell is an excellent surgeon and he knows his stuff. he explains everything in detail. he took the time to answer 2 type written pages of questions. the only flaw is his bedside manner. he is not a happy-go-lucky sort of guy, but oh well. as long as he is a competent surgeon i can deal with his surley manner. his nurse is wonderful. she makes up for his lack of warmth. i feel completely secure in dr howell's care.

Have only seen Dr. Howell once so far, but was very impressed as he answered all my questions and let me know what to do to prepare for the surgery. His office staff was very helpful and friendly. He fully told me the risks of the surgery and what to expect following the surgery. I would rate him very highly. Both surgical competence and bedside manner seem to be good.

A friend refered me to Dr. Howell. My first apointment was during the first part of April. Dr. Howell was up-front and I was impressed. His staff is first rate. After my first appointment I felt like I would do anything it took to have this procedure done with Dr. Howell.
Not sure if he is going to retire soon, that is what I've heard.

Where to start. My first impression of Dr. Howell was that he was kind of gruff. (If that's the right word.) He basically held no punches, telling me things I knew, but really didn't want to hear. I thought "Gee, he's not very nice." But yet he laid out everything, explained the procedure and risks, gave me a list of things I had to do before surgery, and then basically left an impression that he sincerely cared about his patients, and that impression is proven each time I see him.

He has been wonderful as far as aftercare. I developed an infection after surgery, he immediately opened the wound to allow it to drain and heal, and then had me in every week to check the wound. While Dr. Howell was out of town, my infection worsened, and I had to call in again to see what to do. Dr. Kubalik was the doctor on call and he was in surgery at the time. He had me go to the emergency room and even called down to tell them that I was on the way in. He wanted the doctor from the ER to call him in the OR to let him know what was going on. They then decided on treatment and sent me home with new meds.

I was so surprised when a couple days after my trip to the ER, Dr. Howell's nurse Kari called just to see how I was feeling, that was a new experience for me. His whole staff is great!!

My best impression of him was just today...I had to go in to have my wound checked, and I have lost 50 lbs!! He seemed genuinely happy for me! The look on his face just told me that he was sharing my success so far and was proud of it and me. THANK YOU DR. HOWELL!!! YOU MADE MY DAY!!!

If you are looking for a doctor to sugar coat things and tell you that you're not fat....he's not the doctor for you!!! He doesn't coddle you or your ego. Be prepared to hear the truths that other doctors either don't say outloud, or smooth over so as not to hurt your feelings, cuz he's gonna tell you to your face everything you yourself look at in the mirror and deny. So toughen up....and listen, he knows what he's saying!

I talked to Cindy and she was very helpful with information of what I needed to do. I met with Dr Howell on 1-28-02 and he was pretty nice. He explained everything that I was left without questions to ask. Between what I researched and read and what him and Cindy had told me, I am pretty knowledgable on the surgery. I told him I was taking Hair, Skin and Nails vitamins from Watkins for my hair he asked if it would do him any good. I think he could be rather entertaining in the right situation!! I cant wait to see him on the 30th.

I had my first appointment with Dr. Howell on 5/25/00. I found him to be very nice and willing to answer any questions I had.


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Dr. Brent P. Bruderer, MD



I found Dr. Bruderer to be one of the best doctors to communicate with. I felt very lucky to have such a skilled surgeon in Bismarck. He truly is going to be one of the best surgeons in his field if he isn't already. His level of knowledge and skill in surgery is impressive. I would strongly recommend Dr. Bruderer to anyone considering WLS, or any general surgery.

My surgeon was very imformative and to the point when I saw him at my consultation. He seemed very serious and maybe stern? to me. He didn't crack a smile until the end of the visit, but he seems VERY knowledgable and competent. He was nice though. He put a strong emphasis on aftercare. As far as I know he has a structured aftercare program. I would rate him a 9 overall, I would give him a 10 if he smiled more!