Stefan M. Pettine Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

I HAD THE BEST FIRST IMPRESSION OF DR. PETTINE. HE MADE ME FEEL REALLY COMFORTABLE WHEN WE FIRST MET. HE WAS VERY INFORMATIVE AND ANSWERED ALL MY QUESTIONS. I HAVE CONTINUED TO LIKE HIM THROUGH THE TIME I HAVE KNOWN HIM. I HAD MY CONS. ON APRIL 6, 2004 AND WAS IN SURGERY APRIL 26, 2004 CAUSE I AM A CASH PERSON. THE STAFF THERE IS ALL GREAT AND VERY FRIENDLY. HE MADE ME PROMISE TO COME TO ALL MY FOLLOW UP VISITS BEFORE HE WOULD SCHEDULE MY SURGERY SINCE I LIVE IN YUMA AND WENT TO FORT COLLINS COLORADO TO HAVE THE SURGERY. I HAD THE BEST SURGERY EXPERIENCE SO FAR WIT DR. PETTINE AND AM ONLY 2 WEEKS OUT OF SURGERY. WHEN I WENT FOR MY POST OP I HAD LOST 18 LBS. AND HE HUGGED AND CONGRADULATED ME OVER AND OVER. HE IS VERY PERSONAL AND GREAT. I WOULD RATE HIM A 10 HE WAS THE BEST EVER.

Dr Pettine immediately put me at ease by his confident and personable persona. He was very honest and descriptive about the positives and negatives of WLS and answered most of my questions before I even asked them. He took quite some time making sure that I had researched WLS extensively on my own and had a solid understanding of my decision to go forth with the suregery. He is very easy to talk. My experience with my laproscopic RNY was exactly as he described it would be. Dr Pettine saw me each day of my hospital stay. His bedside manner is upbeat, positive and confident. I would highly recommend him!

I liked him from the moment i met him. He seemed to care and spent time talking to my husband and myself no matter how many dumb questions we asked. My impression of him has only gotten better over time. Any patients who use him in the furture should be comfortable in knowing he cares and is a wonderful doctor with a wonderful sense of humor. The after care i have received has been wonderfull. He didn't pull any punches when it came to giving us all the risks of surgery. He was open and honest up front and didn't try to sugar coat anything. Over all I would rate him as a 99 on a scale from 1 to 10. His surgical competence and bedside manner were both wonderful. He is very good looking and is ok with my teasing him about how all the nurses get week in the knees when he walks on the floor. I know this review is all wonderful and some might question it but I can honestly say that 5 months out of surgery I really no matter how hard i try have nothing bad to say about this doctor, his staff or the hospital. I never expeceted my experiance through this whole thing to be so positive. I expeceted problems with the doctors office but got none. I expected no so good care at the hospital but go just the opposite. I was in pain and not a happy camper in the hospital but can not complain about my care at all.

Dr Pettine is a very friendly, very knowledgable and very caring man. He has never once hesitated at all to answer any questions I or my wife have had. He was very up front about the seriousness and risks of this surgery but on the other hand very encouraging and re-assuring. Never have I felt that he was trying to hurry me through any of my appointments so he can get on to his next patient. Furthermore, his office staff is great. Same deal..very caring and helpful. His surgical competence and skills are outstanding and only equaled by his bedside manner. Bottom Line... he and his staff are just GREAT! I would reccommend them very highly.I know I'm supposed to include something "negative" but I really can't think of anything. Oh, okay. He wouldn't let me sleep on my stomach until the first post-op visit.

When I had my first appt. I wasn't sure about Dr. Pettine, I was worried and he seemed so sure about himself. I left feeling scared.Now that I look back I know I was scared because I was afraid that I might not actually get to have the surgery because of my insurance! But my next appt. I really grew to like him and his sense of humor, and that he really enjoyed his job & should feel sure about his skills! He cared about my husband's concerns, addressing his questions with the same time he gave mine! The staff was very busy but still professional, the aftercare is so helpful, you just don't do this type of surgery without some type of afercareprogram! I had my surgery at the surgery center and that was amazing, the nursing staff was excellent! I have had very little problems, and feel lucky & blessed. For anyone out there I'd say research, research, research - make sure this is right for you. And if you can have Dr. Pettine !

Dr. Pettine seems very confident. He spent a lot of time with me and my husband discussing to pros and cons of the surgery and painted us a realistic picture of all that it would entail.

So far so good.

The staff is very friendly and accomodating.

There is nothing negative to say about Dr. Pettine.

He is very handsome!

I will update after surgery.

I have had only one meeting with Doc Pettine. I liked him a lot. He was very honest, funny, professional, and easy to ask questions to. He described things very well and is very up front. Pettine is very likeable.
He talked about the risks and really focused on if I was mentally ready. I really liked that he talked about the mental part of it and gave me a lot to think about. He also gave tons of information on nutri. Pettine talked about all aspects of the surgy with me for an hour. It was great. He was not hurried at all and very laid back. I would rate him a 9. The only thing we didn't talk about that much was the after care of the actually incision. But, all of that was in the really great booklet they gave me. I have to say the booklet is incredable. It has so much info and answered every question I have.
His office staff was great and very informative as well. I have never been in a doctors office were everyone is giving you so much info and so knowledgable.

I have "known" Dr. Pettine for over a year now. My surgery was December 18, 2001. My first impression of him was that he was young and extremely good looking...well that was my first thought. He was genuinely kind and "likes" fat people. You could tell he is invested in his job and treats people with respect. I don't have to mention here that obese people don't typically get respect from the medical community.
Anyway, he has been wonderful since then. A typical appointment goes like this. He walks in the room, asks me how I'm doing, tells me I look great, opens my chart, does the appropriate, ohh my God about the weight loss since the last appointment, hugs me, and then we sit and chat about food, pain, exercise, scars and excess skin. He takes time to deal with the emotional stuff too, like new accomplishments (crossing legs or running on a tredmill). He is a wonderful man and did a great job with my surgery.
The staff is great and he is a part of a team that deals with obesity surgeries. The nursing and clerical staff are just as easy to get along with. First they remember you, I never check in, they check me in. Second, they always take time to say how wonderful I look and most importantly, I dont wait but a few minutes.

I give the whole place a 10 out of 10. Bedside manner, respect, competence and understanding about the struggles, before and after the surgery. I HIGHLY recommend this place and this surgeon!

Dawn Bienek

My first impression was good, but I got the feeling he was a high school football player who decided this would be a lucrative career. After speaking with him for a while, I changed my mind. I realized he was very knowledgeable, and could probably recite human anatomy without missing a beat. The staff was great! The nurse (I don't remember her name) was very cheerful, upbeat, and seemed to be empathetic. I am a little nervous that he's only been doing Lap-RNY for a little over 6 months, but he assures me he's been doing lap surgery for the better part of 6 years, and is very comfortable working that way. Plus he's been doing open RNY for 5 years and stated he's done over 400 Gastric Bypasses, and hasn't lost a patient yet (although he didn't want to give me the wrong impression, stating any doctor can lose patients, he's just been lucky there haven't been major complications), so silly as it may sound, that made me feel better. When he first came in he said he was not there to sell me on the surgery, but to tell me the worst possible things that could happen. He said if I decided that I could live with worst case scenario, then I was ready to have surgery. If not, I needed to really think it through more, because these things are entirely possible. Overall, I would say I am pleased with him, and feel comfortable having him perform my surgery.

Dr Pettine is a very friendly and personable DR. The impression he gave to me was that he is here to help me make a big decision in my life and he will give me the good with the bad and he still could not change my mind. The office stafff is very friendly and make you feel comfortable. I am having the Lap RNY surgery and I am glad I have had the oppportunity to have met a Dr who really seems to care about how I feel and how I am going to feel after it is all done and said. Everything I have experienced with the staff at Northern Colorado surgical Assoc has been great.