The Bariatric Center – Kansas City

Not really happy with their customer service. Botched appointment times, get voice mail most of the time.

Due to other medical reasons I gained a lot of weight and was facing some serious health concerns. I was restricted in my options to lose the weight and decided surgery was necessary before the risks with the weight gain became more severe. After doing a bunch of research I narrowed the options down to two places, The Bariatric Center of Kansas City was the only one that would take my insurance. The surgery has been a success and that is the only positive thing about this place.
The first step in the process is to attend a seminar. During this seminar they paint a picture of the costs and what to expect with the surgery, diets, exercise, etc. The picture they paint of the costs is terribly unrealistic. Many things that are a part of the process are not included in the price and must be paid separately. The price ideas they give do not include the surgical testing and counseling, the doctor monitoring while in the hospital, and many other things. It is still worth it, but I have to wonder how many people start the process and pay some of the fees, but can not continue due to the hidden costs. It is very much a used car salesman pitch feel.
When I went to get my pre-​surgical blood they told me I could have a light lunch being my appointment was late in the day. When my tests came back days before the surgery, the doctor said my tests were not within guidelines and I would need to get a release from my PCP to have the surgery. I knew there was no way the blood work was accurate, no way I could get in to see my PCP prior to surgery for a general consult, and after more conversation we realized the problem with the blood work was due to not fasting. Still they said a release from my PCP was required. After some more discussion over how this was their failure, they agreed to do the blood work again. I went in for my second round of blood work. I am a very hard stick and always inform the people doing the sticking of this. Sometimes it leads to just a couple of sticks, and occasionally someone takes the time to really find a good place in order to get things done in one stick. This time, after multiple tries the lady finally gets the blood flowing and all of her tubes filled. With the tubes in one hand and the other hand full of things that need to be properly disposed of, she opens the little container on the wall and puts the blood tubes in it instead of the trash. This meant more pokes.
Surgery day came and I showed up still unsure if the blood work was acceptable or if I would be sent home. No one bothered to call me with the results and initially they were unsure if I was even going to have surgery. Finally everything was ok’ed and I had my surgery. This was a very frustrating experience as you are placed on a very strict liquid diet for weeks before the surgery. If the surgery would have had to be rescheduled, this would have meant starting the process over. The actual surgery part of this facility and the nurses that take care of patients after surgery are great. You do not see your surgeon again after you have surgery. There is a separate surgeon that checks on you afterwards (that you have to pay separately for) and your follow up appointments are with the doctor’s nurse practitioner, student, whatever he is.
You can count on spending a lot of time at the doctor’s office when you have follow up appointments. They are never running on time and overbook terribly. Although the actual visit is less than 5 minutes, you will have at least an hour wait after your scheduled appointment time. Don’t bother showing up early and don’t fret being late. The nurse that takes you back is really sweet and seems to genuinely care. I feel bad that she is often the brunt of frustration from patients because of the greed machine that dictates the poor scheduling. Her concern and care is pretty much where it stops. There is absolutely no genuine empathy or concern from anyone else for the constant and absolute lack of respect for your time. It is very clear the concern is more about maximizing profit and not the patient.
Would I recommend The Bariatric Center for this type of surgery, yes, I think they are very skilled in what they do and successful in the surgery process, but I would also set realistic expectations for the entire process and how much it will suck.