Peter O'Brien Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S.

I began my journey at BTC in Belvidere, but I was denied by insurance so I had to find a different surgeon.
I found Dr. O'Brien through a recommendation of my PCP. I had my initial consulation in early August and my surgery is scheduled for November 7.
Dr. O'Brien was very nice and informative. He explained the procedure and answered all my questions. His staff has kept in contact with me and they have returned all phone calls.
They have a very thorough aftercare program and they have been wonderful to work with from the very beginning.
After my insurance denial, they have been willing to work with me on setting up a private pay plan.
I would recommend Dr. O'Brien to anyone considering having LAP surgery.

I liked Dr. O'Brien, and his staff is very friendly. He explained the procedure to me, answered my questions, and told me his office would do anything they could to help me get insurance approval. So far, so good !

Dr. Peter O'brien is one of the most compationate physicians I have ever met. I work in the medical field and one of my goals at this time is to one day be able to work with him. I wasnt sure about the surgery at first but as soon as I met him there was no doubt in my mind this is what I wanted and he was the one I wanted to do it. I asked Dr. Obrien if he could record the surgery so that I could see how it was done. On May 10. 2001 I had my surgery. I was in the hospital for 2 days and then Dr. Obrien asked if I thought I was ready to go home. I felt great and by my 1st recheck I had lost 18 pounds. Shortly after I became sick couldnt eat anything and was in some pain. Pam, Dr Obrien's nurse got me right in. Turned out it was my gallbladder....I also had a ulcer. I had no intentions of going back for surgery. I had some trouble with the anethesia. I was put on some meds and now I am 3 months out and 60 pounds lighter!!! If you are thinking of doing this surgery....I say go for it!!!! And would I recommend Dr Obrien? I wouldnt recommend anyone else. By the way I had LAP and would do it all over again!!!!!!

PROFESSOR PAUL O'BRIEN

FIRST IMPRESSIONS WERE THAT HE WAS CARING AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROBLEMS EXPERINCED BY MORBIDLY OBESE PEOPLE.
HIS OFFICE STAFF ARE VERY FRIENDLY AND HELPFUL.
PAUL ASSISTED IN THE US FDA APPROVAL PROCESSAND IS A LEADING AUSTRALIAN WEIGHT LOSS SURGEON. HIS AFTERCARE PROGRAM IS COMPREHENSIVE AND STRUCTURED.


YES

YES

10/10

SURGICAL COMPETENCE, HOWEVER ALSO HAS A VERY GOOD BEDSIDE MANNER.

I met with Dr. Peter O'Brian on January 22, 2001. He will be dictating a letter to my insurance company this week for pre-approval.Dr. Obrian comes highly recommended by my family doctor, and almost everyone in this area who has WLS. His staff has been very nice and very helpful so far. Very down-to-earth and easy to communicate with. He drew pictures of the procedures he uses and told me about a web site with a lot of information. He told me I should be a good candidate for laparoscopic gastric bypass, except that I am very short, so it is possible that he might have to switch to the open procedure. He requires me to have several types of medical tests such as EKG, blood work including blood gases, pulmonary testing. Different testing is required for each person before surgery, depending on their medical history. From all I have heard, he is definitely a competent surgeon, and easy to talk to.
03-13-01: Surgery is done! I feel fine! Dr. O'Brien was very competent, and was very solicitous after surgery, checking on me 4 times the day of surgery and 2 or 3 the next day before sending me home, and then even calling me at home the next day to make sure everything was OK. I'm doing very well after surgery and know that I owe alot of that to him.
07-25-01: I had another follow-up visit with Dr. O'Brien today and have now lost 51 pounds, which is better than I've EVER done on any diet in 4 1/2 months. I will go back again in 3 months. The only negative I have about his clinic staff/procedures is their scheduling for post-op appointments. It is not possible for me to schedule an actual appointment 3 months in advance because "we don't have that schedule available yet", but they put me on a list and will supposedly schedule an appointment later and notify me. HOWEVER, last time I did that, I never did get notified!

Our first impression of Dr. O'Brien was that he was very professional and caring. This impression stayed with us throughout the surgery. His office staff has been wonderfully helpful. We like the fact that he is a straight shooter and will talk frankly with you about the surgery. Future patients should know that he has been doing wls for over 25 years and has done over 100 lap mgb surgerys. He is concerned about aftercare and wanted to know that we had contacted our pcp about such. We asuured him we would stay in touch via the internet and phone to discuss problems or progrss. He made sure that we knew the risk of our surgery. We rate Dr. O'Brien very highly, we had great competence in his ability and expertise, he had wonderful bedside manner and was always concerned with our progress. In our opionion he was the best!!!! I know that these reviews are not supposed to be all positive, but we absolute were very pleased.

Dave and Debbie Beck
Elk City, Oklahoma

I wasn't impressed with him at first, probably because I was scared to death.


He saw me before surgery, stopped in that afternoon, early the next morning, again that afternoon and the next morning and again at 2 to release me. Pretty good for a busy Dr., I'd say.



Because I left the hospital so quickly, he had me come to his office 4 days later. Next appointment is in 3 weeks.



The best

surgical competence, then bedside manner.

My first impression was that he seemed to be a very caring surgeon. My impression of him didn't really change--I was right on target. I feel like when I see Dr. O'Brien he really cares about me and how I am doing both pre and post op. His nurse Pam is the bomb. She is super helpful and has always been very quick to respond to questions/concerns. Dr. O'Brien feels very strongly about aftercare and is insistent that you follow-up. He wants to be sure that YOU are taken care of--no fooling around with your health!! He is very thorough and explains things so that you understand. (i.e.layman's terms)I feel very confident in his abilities as a surgeon and his bedside manner was excellent. He was always interested in making sure I was doing ok. For that matter, the entire staff that took care of me from beginning to end was phenomenal. (Sioux Valley Hospital is where I had the procedure & recovery/recooperation)I would recommend Dr. O'Brien to anyone considering this procedure. I also strongly recommend you do plenty of research and investigation on your own as well--this helps when you have a chance to ask questions about the surgery itself. I had the Laproscopic procedure and have done very well so far.

Dr. O'Brien is very nice,he talks to you like you really matter. So far ive only seen him once but ive talked to some other people who had him and every one seems to like him. He told me all about the surgery and gave me books to read. We faught with the ins. co for six months, found out he had to fax everything or they said they never got it. Thank God that part is done.

Dr. O'Brien has been wonderful since the first time i met him. My first impression was that he was a kind man that was very good at sharing his knowledge. I am an RN and i found that he talked to me like a peer and really laid it on the line. He is wonderful. Pam from his office is wonderful too. She really helps you get everything taken care of and takes care of the paper work.

Dr O'Brein came and saw me everyday and twice somedays. He was always willing to answer questions and take time to make sure i had the whole picture. He was wonderful and i have recommended him already to other people.