T. Karl Byrne Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S.

i HAVE ONLY MET DR. BYRNES ONE TIME.HE STRIKES ME AS BEING VERY MATTER OF FACT,DEFINITELY NO SUGAR COATING OF ANYTHING.
MY IMPRESSION IS THAT HE IS TRULY CONCERNED ABOUT HIS PATIENTS AND OFFERING HELP IN ANY WAY HE CAN. HIS EMPHASIS ON AFTER CARE WAS VERY INFORMATIVE AND HE ADDRESSED THE RISKS OF SURGERY STRAIGHT AND TO THE POINT. IN NO WAY DOES HE TRY TO TALK YOU INTO THE SURGERY BUT IS MORE THAN WILLING TO LISTEN AND ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.
I HAVE SPOKEN WITH JOYCE AND THOUGH I HAVE A TENTATIVE DATE SCHEDULED FOR MAY 6TH SHE HAS SAID MY INS. WOULD NOT BE SENT IN TILL ABOUT 30 DAYS PRIOR TO SURGERY. HOPEFULLY ALL WILL BE APPROVED AND I CAN HAVE THE SURGERY AND START A NEW LIFESTYLE CHANGE.AS FOR YOUR LAST QUESTION I THINK SURGICAL COMPETENCE ALONG WITH A GOOD BEDSIDE MANNER GO HAND IN HAND.

I found Dr. Byrne to be extremely personable, straight forward and honest. He impressed me immensely. I have only had one meeting with Dr Byrne so my impression has not changed. His clinical staff was excellent however his reception staff could use a personality seminar. However, from working in a very busy family practice office myself, the hustle, bustle and stress can really get to you. His pre-op clinic for the gastric bypass are extremely large. Even after he has disqualified some people and insurance has ruled out others his conference that he holds right after clinic is so large that it has to be divided into two very large goups of 30 or more per group.Future patients should know everything there is to know good and bad about their surgeon. I did find him to be extremely sympathetic to the plight of the morbidly obese and he pulls no punches, very upfront. No after care program has been discussed yet. Yes, he did address all of the risks of surgery including percentages and his personal failures concerning complications of surgery. On a scale from 1-10 I think I would give him an 8. After all you have to save room for improvement. I think that both surgical competence and bedside manner are both important very important but if I have to choose one, give me a competent surgeon every time.

2/27/03 Dr Byrne entered the room with a big smile on his face. After what I had read on the site from his other patients I was surprised.

HE ANSWERED ALL OF MY QUESTIONS.

I had a very bad bout with pancreatitis after an ERCP test and was hospitalized for 27 days. I preferred to have Lap WLS, but he said my organs were too glued together because of the pancreatitis and Open was what he would do.

I also asked how my hiatal hernia would affect my outcome. He said I would not have reflux anymore.That made me very happy.

He is booked until September and if we were approved and decided to have the surgery it would be Sept., or later.

he is definately not trying to sell this surgery. He is the only one that does it at MUSC. and only one other doctor in the low country at Trident Hosp. He suggested we go somewhere else if we wanted it done sooner.

He told of the many shortages at MUSC:nurses, anesthesiologists.
suggested we had a family member with us.
and that we tell our family what surgery we were having because he said a family had to be restrained the week prior when they found out their loved one had WLS.

All in all I think he is good at what he does and know it. He makes no promises because everyone is different and this is not an easy way out; of the 600 WLS he has done he has lost 4 patients.
Everything is done to prevent casualties but it can happen with any surgery.

We were told we would require aftercare for life and he would provide it and if we moved away we would be referred to another doctor.

He also said one thing that troubled me, that if we got complications from WLS., many doctors and hospitals that did not do WLS would not want to touch us.

I have not had the opportunity to get to know Dr. Byrne yet. He met with me briefly when I had my initial workup however I have only been in contact with his secretary since then. His secretary is very nice and quite helpful. I think surgical competence is extremely important especially since my surgery is scheduled for Wednesday 2/26/03

I thought Dr. Byrne was very personal and interested in my problems. He was thourough in his questions and eager to answer any questions. I trust him implicitly.
His staff was friendly and efficient. He specializes in the Roux-en-Y and will not do Lap Band or BPD/DS surgery.
He is set up well for aftercare and you must attend a class on preparation for surgery, actual walkthrough of the surgery and the nutritional requirements after surgery.
He was very clear on the risks involved with the surgery. I look forward to my surgery which is scheduled for March 4th, 2003.

Honestly on my intial visit to Dr. Byrne on September 5, 2002, I felt as though I was being run through, with no individual attention to my specific concerns or needs. He flat out told me that I was a candidate for an Open RNY Gastric Bypass ( I was 5'8", 475lbs, BMI 72)and that it was up to me. He also outlined the consequenses if I didn't do something about all this excess weight. I then was taken to a room with about 8 other possible patients and the surgeries were explained and their risks, he did not sugarcoat anything. I was unsure that I was going to go through with the surgery. The next day I was contacted by his office and told that my surgery date was on December 13, 2002. I attended the mandatory class where they explain what to expect and the different devices they will use on you during and after surgery. Then they have a dietitian come and and go over the types of foods you can eat and not eat. Then they had a woman come in who was 2 years post op and had weighed about my weight and was now less than half that weight. The best thing about that class was the blue book that they gave us. It has become my Post Op Bible. It really has a ton of info in there. My next concern was whether or not my insurance would cover the operation or not. My husband is active duty military and we have Tricare Prime. We had to wait til 30 days prior to the surgery until we found out that I was approved. After that I was contacted by his office again and told to come in on December 12, 2002 for my pre-op. I was still hesitant until I saw Dr. Bryne that day. He really put my mind at ease and he explained everything that he was gonna do. I realized then that he really did care and that I was more than just a referral. He came everyday after the surgery to see how I was doing and explained what he did and what I could expect. He explained that he had to remove my gall bladder due to it being obstructed. The staff at MUSC on 6 West were great. Then nursing staff was extremely helpful. They had not opened the Baraitic Suites yet, they were opened the day I was discharged. The bed I was on was very uncomfortable and made my back and butt hurt. Dr. Byrne really emphasizes aftercare and making sure that you sip water all the time, that you are walking, that you are eating correctly and that you follow up with him regularly. When I returned on December 23 to get my staples out, Dr. Byrne discovered that I had developed a wound infection. I am presently still getting care for that. Dr Byrne and his staff have been extremely helpful. Everyone on his staff seems very caring and trained towards the bariatric patient. I am really impressed with how helpful Audra Raus, the dietitian has been . She has helped me to formulate my diet around my food allergies so that I am still meeting all my nutritional needs. The only complaint that I have about the office is that it needs more seating that is geared towards the bariatric patient. If you are considering WLS Dr. Byrne is the man you want. He is a super surgeon and a great doctor. His office has all the bases covered in my opinion. I am, as of this date, approx. 6 weeks post op and am 398lbs and my BMI is 61. I feel healthier and despite the wound infection still being treated, feel like a million bucks compared to what I was before I went into sugery. I highly recommend Dr. Byrne and his staff at MUSC. He really does become very protective of his patients and you can trust what he says. Please feel free to email me with any questions about Dr. Byrne, MUSC or Tricare and I will tell you what I know.

I really hate that I have not sung Dr. Byrnes praises on this site sooner, because I sing them daily in everyday life. Dr. Byrne in a gem of a person. He is very professional, yet very personal at the same time. He makes you feel special, not like some slob louse a weight problem. I feel that Dr. Byrne genuinely wants to help obese people to lead a healthier lifestyle, and I thank God everyday for leading me to him, & giving him the talent to help me. I tell everyone I come in contact with who is interested in the WLS to go to Dr. Byrne. I hold him & his entire staff in the highest regard. If I had the whole thing to do over again, I would... as long as my surgeon was Dr. Byrne!

I really liked my first visit with Dr. Byrne. My whole visit was filled with seeing several of his staff memebers and collegues. Screening me for my past history, etc. Everyone was very professional and kind to me. Since my reason for this surgery is not totally weight related. I was originally referred to MUSC for a Fundoplication due to my chronic history of GERD, and a gallbladder surgery that had not gone well. Dr. Adams was the one who recomended me for the Gastric Bypass. I had mulitple medical problems that could all be corrected with the Gastric Bypass vs. Fundoplication.
After my consult with Dr. Byrne. He confirmed what Dr. Adams had suggested. That I was a canidate for the bypass. After my exam I was put into a general conference with other patients. Together he met with all of us, and proceeded to educate us more on how the surgery is done, risks and benefits. My impression of Dr. Byrne for surgical competence is highly confident. His guidelines for surgery care postop with his patients of the MUSC staff is very impressive. It appears they are very well trained to deal with bypass patients. I like how he requires life time follow up care.
The only negative area I have is the follow up to date from his staff with future insurance authorization status. My insurance appears to not pay for this type of surgery for morbid obesity, however, with review it appears they will allow it with other medical reasons. I feel his staff does not know of all my prior problems/history to adequately apply for pre-authorization.

My first impression of Dr. Byrne was that he was very caring and very straightforward. He held nothing back. He told me about everything I wanted to know and answered all my questions. Office staff were very helpful. He is a very competent doctor and has a good bedside manner and would recommend Dr. Byrne to anyone considering WLS.

He was very caring & understanding. He did not look at me as if I was abnormal.

My impression has not change thus far.

The office staff had the same caring & concern attitudes.

At this point I have no dislikes with about him.

Future pts. should know that he seem more concern with getting you on the right track to better health than anything else.

He was very informative about the post surgery care & follow-up.

He does have an aftercare program.

He was very informative about risk & the benefits fo surgery.

I would rate him as one of the top notch surgeons around.

I would say both. He has performed numberous surgeons. his bed side manners are one of the best I have seen.