Shanu N. Kothari Bariatric Surgeon MD, FACS, FASMBS

Dr. Kothari was wonderful to work with and made me feel very comfortable and confident in the surgery. His staff was also wonderful to work with, both before and after surgery, and I have never had better nursing care than I did at Gunderson Lutheran Hospital. Aftercare and followups were emphasized, and the entire experience for me was very positive. I feel great, have had no post-op problems and after two weeks I am back to my normal daily routine!

My first impression of Dr.Kothari is that he is very pleasant man, very easy to talk to, and instantly made my Husband and I feel very comfortable. He was very thorough in explaining everything about the surgery and answering our questions, and believe me my husband had lots of questions for him.
His staff were all very nice and treated us very nice, again we had no problems answered everything and told us more than what we new to ask. He pretty much tells it as it is about the surgery risks and aftercare, he wants you to know all that will go on or could go on. Right now after only seeing if for the consult I would rate him and his staff very high, we felt at ease with him and everyone, and they never hesitated to tell you what may or may not happen during or after surgery.

I called in just to see if I could get an appointment to be seen, to my surprise I talked directly to Dr. Kothari's PA, Chris. He was wonderful and made me an appointment with in days of my call.

My first meeting was great. I felt comfortable from the moment I entered the clinic. Everyone was straight forward, talked directly to me, instead of above or at me. I never felt like they rushed through my interview. I felt as if I was his only patient and his staff made me feel like I was important.

I reserved my final decision upon completion of surgery. Now a week post-op...I would highly recommend Dr. Kothari and the staff at Gundersen for WLS.

Meet him for the first time today- He was younger than I thought he'd be, but very open andrticulate. We discussed the possible problems that could come up- though the chances are 1-2%. I have great confidence in him and think he will do a great job.

Dr. Kothari seems very confident and genuinly interested in making sure that we make the right medical decisions for my situation. His team was very kind and honest.
Dr. Kothari was very straight-forward about the extra risks I have to deal with, with my previous abdominal surgery history.

I have only spoken to his phisicians assistant, Chris Larson. Since I am so far away, they haven't seen me yet(January 16,2002 is my pre-op testing)we did the consultation over the phone. Chris is a very nice gentleman, who knows his stuff. Ruth the secretary is great, she calle me 1 day after I spoke to her with an answer about Medicare. I will update after Jan 16th.

1-29-02 Dr. Kothari and his staff were the BOMB! They are so great, I would highly reccommend him to anyone. He did my surgery in 2 hours, and even repaired my bowel. The incisions are all under 1/2 inch. Gunderson Lutheran is the best Hospital ever.(and I have had 3 kids and 15 previous surgeries) If you are interested in him, JUST DO IT!!! You wont be dissapointed.

Dr. Kothari seems like a real down to earth, kind guy, not one of those in-and-out kind of doctors, he didn't act like he just HAD to hurry up and leave, he took his time and made me feel comfortable.
I think the rest of the team was also very nice, didn't seem like the type of people to judge me.

Dr. Kothari seemed very knowledgeable. After going through an 8 month process with Mayo Clinic only to find out there was a yar to a year and a half waiting time for surgery I was happy to hear that my wait would be MUCH less with Dr. Kothari. His staff is excellent and his secretary is very helpful with the insurance process! He explained to me the benefits of the LAP procedure and is developing a support group for pre and post ops. So far, I have been very impressed with his genuine care and expertise!

Had my surgery on 11/27/01 - Over 1 month earlier than scheduled! Dr. Kothari and his team did an excellent job! No problems or complications at all! And the hospital staff at Gunderson/Lutheran is first rate! Everyone from the desk attendants to the surgical staff was kind, caring and knowledgeable! I would recommend without hesitation Gunderson/Lutheran in LaCrosse, WI to anyone needing care and Dr. Kothari and his staff for any kind of surgery!

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The keyword here is <b>TEAMWORK!!! </b> The first consult will consist of three separate meetings. Each gathers information and shares with the other to keep everyone "on top" of the patient information.
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I met with <b>Dr. Kothari</b> for the 1st time on December 5th, 2001 and was very impressed with both his expertise and sensitivity to patients with obesity. Any question that I came in with he answered fully and the questions that I threw out as he talked were also explained in great detail at a level I could understand & re-explain to my spouse.
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His PA <b>Christopher Larson</b> is very knowledgable and friendly. He runs the monthly local support group that meets the last Thursday of each month from 5:30 - 6:30. After one meeting, I know I'm going to like working with him on my second chance. I also had one "official" office visit with him prior to meeting Dr Kothari and was equally impressed with him in a one-to-one setting.
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<b>Heather Gustovson</b> is the nutritionist that works closly with Dr. Kothari to screen and educate patients about what the needs are before, during and after surgery. Height, weight and body compositions are taken and calculated at the time of the first consult.

Dr. Kothari has a wonderful manner. Duirng my examination he was respectful, helpful, kind, knowledgeable. I had begun this process with another program and patient interaction was very important to me in addition to the need for surgical competence. I am doing my best to evaluate the latter through others, but personnally as a patient I was appreciative of his manner.

A new program is being developed at Gunderson and he and his staff are very professional, kind and have great senses of humor.

They explained everything thoroughly, discussed risks and possible complications. At the same time they were supportive and solicted questions and feedback.

During my visit they emphasized the life long changes that needed to be made and the need for aftercare and connections with others. There is a structured aftercare program with the dieticians who work with the program. In addition, Dr. Kothari suggested this website and books and they were all very supportive of patients researching information and bringing resources to their attention.

I will be attending aftercare elsewhere as I do not live in Wisconsin.

I will have more to report after pre-op visits and of course post operative.