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

He is very concerned about his patients and their success at weight loss.

He is very busy and is booked in advanced to the new year already or close to it.. The staff tries to answer all your questions to the best of their ability.



He is very upfront and to the point with his patient no messing around
After care is stressed alot and if appointments are missed he gets upset because it is only to help

Explains in detail what they are and what can be expected
EXCELLENT IN ALL ASPECTS

SURGICAL

I first met with Dr. Howell on April 11, 2001.
I kept hearing from people that he is a very
straight forward man, and he gets to the point
quickly. Well, I found him to be the same. I
had many questions for him, but he answered every
one of them for me, and later during my exam he
joked that I am very thorough with my
questions. He really seemed to lighten up while
he was doing the (very brief) exam.
He was very prompt getting my letter off to the
insurance companies for approval, and his nurse,
Cathy, scheduled my surgery the day she received
the approval letter from my primary insurance.

Good Surgeon, has been around a long time. Good reputation.

Never changed

Finally got a new nurse, his other nurse was a bi***

Does not spend enough time with me.

He may retire in the near future? Not sure but appears to be close to the age of retirement.

Pretty good with the aftercare of surgery.

Yes good structured follow up care

Good at explaining the risks.

I would rate him a 8

Surgical competence is better but you have to have both to be really good

1/11/01 I made my first phone call to Dr. Howell's office. They informed me of him having a total hip replacement and that he would be out of the office for a few months. That disappointed me a little but I have alot of things I can do prior to my visit. The office staff was very friendly and she will be mailing out information to me.



1/16/01 I spoke with Cindy this morning. She was telling me about her surgery and how happy she has been. I made an appointment with the dietitician for Feb 1 so I can begin my 3 months of supervised dieting. I also have an appointment for my psych eval. By the time I get this stuff done Dr. Howell will probably be back to work. You know, I'm a little excited now

1/26/01 Yesterday I met with the psychiatrist that prescibes my antidepressants, we talked about my plan to have the surgery done. He was very supportive of my decision and did my psych eval for me. So, now I have that taken care of. I guess all of these little baby steps are what it takes.

1/31/01 I decided to join Weight Watchers instead of going to the dietician. I went tonight and am on my way for my 3 months of supervised dieting.

2/11/01 My blood sugars have been elevated, so I went to see my PCP who sent my to the Diabetes Center to be placed on meds and to see the dietician. I will now be following with her instead of WW. My PCP and the Diabetes Center people were very supportive.

3/2/01 I just arrived home after an 11 night cruise. Had a great time but the food was very difficult at times. I looked at myself in the pictures on board the ship and I realized just how heavy I am. It made me all the more determined to have the surgery.

3/15/01 I am very frustrated with Altru Clinic at the moment. My release was sent to them in January and they have yet to send my records to Dr. Howells office, so needless to say, I can't make my appointment with him. I'm just a little frustrated today I guess.

3/21/01 Cindy from Dr. Howell's office called on Monday and my paperwork from Altru finally came. I just need to complete my 3 months of working with the dietitian which will be the first week in May and then I can see Dr. Howell.

4/17/01 I finally have a date for my appointment with Dr. Howell. It's May 23 and I also see the dietician the same day. WOW!!!

5/27/01 I had my appointment with Dr. Howell on Wednesday the 23rd. He is very straight forward and tells it like it is. I was very impressed with him. I received a copy of his letter to my insurance company on Saturday, that was very quick. Now the wait for them to reply back.

7/10/01 Well here it is July 10th and I have yet to get an answer from BC. First of all, the letter from Dr. Howell didn't make it to BC. Then BC wanted more info from the psychiatrist. OK, last week I found out that they wanted info from my psychologist. I saw him today and he has never received anything, so I call BC and they were just mailing out the request today. I am about at my wits end. I feel very frustrated and pesimistic about this whole thing.

7/23/01 I have a date!!!!!! October 26th! I can't believe it.

10/6/01 The days are starting to really fly by. I have so many things to do at both work and home. I'm getting very excited/nervous all at the same time. I guess that's normal. Three weeks from now the surgery will be over! I'm ready.




10/24/01 Only 2 days to go!!!!! I can't believe that the day is almost finally here. I think that I am ready, I got everything done at work that I needed to and at home I think all bases are covered. The feelings inside range from anxious, scared, excited, you name it. I am very comfortable with making this life changing decision. I really want to be healthy and able to do things again. I have met some wonderful people through this website and I want to thank them all for their support and love. Thanks.

I like Dr. Howell. I have so much faith in his ability to do this surgery. If it wasn't for the fact that he has done hundreds of these successfully, I wouldn't be quite so confident that I would be OK. I had surgery 6-29-01 and whenever I had a problem I could call in and get answers very fast. I even needed to make an office call and got in right away. The care is excellent.

His PA, Cathy, is awesome! She has given me great advice and they both really care how things are going.

Dr. Howell was very down to business. The office staff was very helpful telling me what steps I needed for my insurance to pay. Dr. Howell gives you the impression that he cares about you and that you are not just another sugery.

I WAS VERY IMPRESSED BY DR.HOWELL, HE'S HONEST AND UP FRONT AND TELLS IT LIKE IT IS AND IT WILL BE. HE'S GOOD ABOUT EXSPAINING ABOUT THE PROCEDURE AND THE PRO'S & CON'S.
CINDY HIS CORDINATER, SHE IS GREAT AND VERY HELPFUL WITH SENDING OUT INFORMATION AND ANSWERING QUESTIONS MORE THEN ONCE. WHEN I WENT IN FOR MY FIRST APOINTMENT WITH DR.HOWELL THE OFFICE STAFF WAS VERY PLEASANT TOO. DR.HOWELL MAKES YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE AND IS EASY TO TALK TO. AFTERCARE IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT!! DR.HOWELL WENT OVER THE WHOLE PROCEDURE FROM A-Z AND WAS HONEST ABOUT IT. MY EXPERIENCE WITH DR.HOWELL & STAFF SO FAR SO GOOD. I'M WAITING TO HAVE SURGERY, I FOUND OUT MY DATE IS SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 24th, 2001. I CANT WAIT...

Dr. Howell was very informative. He took plenty of time to explain the surgery, the risks, and the benefits.
His nurse is very matter of fact and efficient. Got her job done and was out of there.
Cindy the coordinator is very helpful with whatever you need to ask.

I had tried to see Dr. Howell for surgery a couple years ago, but my insurance wouldn't cover gastric bypass under ANY circumstances. 1/1/2000 we changed to BCBS MN. My primary care physician sent a referral. Cindy was my first contact. She mailed the paperwork & explained the steps needed to satisfy my insurance, including a 3 month supervised diet (I saw a dietician) & a Psychiatric Eval. After jumping the hoops, I met Dr. Howell in May. It seemed like an extremely long wait, but in retrospect was really beneficial as you get alot of educational material to go over & learn about how your life will change (not always for the better, but in the long run the positives outweigh (no pun intended) the negatives. Cathy, RN perhaps comes across as brusque, but I felt she was professional. Dr. Howell isn't one who gives you the "warm fuzzies", but he knows his stuff & comes highly recommended by former patients, other physicians & anesthesiologists. What more could you want from someone about to do surgery on you? He takes the time to answer questions & really does care about your success. Aftercare with him & a dietician is stressed for a couple years post-op. I did my homework, discussed risks & goals, & felt Dr. Howell was extremely qualified & competent. I had my surgery 7/00 and don't regret it a bit. I would recommend him to anyone considering gastric-bypass surgery.

My first impression of Dr. Howell was that he
is very professional and knowledgeable of
this surgery. I was VERY nervous the first
time I went to see him.
I had some questions writen down for him but I
had done alot of research before my visit. I
was very impressed with his assistant Cindy,
she was very helpful and willing to answer
any questions I had. On my first visit
Dr. Howell's nurse Kathy was impersonal and
I felt like I was waisting her time. This
did change after my surgery. I talked with
her on the phone for awhile and she was very
willing to help. Also at my post op visit
was pleasant.
Dr. Howell is very concerned about his
patients. My family was very impressed with
him after my surgery because he was the only
surgeon or nurse that took the family out of
the waiting room to give them his report. In
fact they got scared because of this and
thought there was a problem but of course
there was no problem.
After care is very important to him and he
stresses that you need to follow the plan of
care. I feel very comfortable with him and
would recommend him to anyone considering
this surgery.
I did get sick in the hospital on the day he
was going to discharge me. My system had not
started working and my liquid diet was
sitting in my little stomach. I threw up
twice and he came over from his office right
away to check things out. Yes I ended up
staying in the hospital for two more days.
This of course is my opinion and everyone's
exerience is different.