Last January 25th, I was your first patient at Southeast Memorial Hospital to receive the Lap Band procedure. First and foremost, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. It has changed my life in so many ways. I have lost 74 lbs so far and am doing great. ... You're a compassionate, caring and informative doctor who believes in what he does and those qualities are not easy to come by these days. ... If there is one thing I have learned throughout this process, it is all about the follow up care after the surgery that matters.

I owe Dr. Hollis a huge gratitude, he gave me new hope. I have been overweight almost my entire life and knew I had to make a change. My wife and I talked about lifestyle changes that we needed to make and decided it was time to be healthier. We began eating better, exercising and I began looking into weight loss surgeries, even visited a couple doctors. What makes Dr. Hollis so special is that you see other surgeons on TV and their media campaigns but you never see the people they’ve worked on while you’re out and about or hear about the results they’ve had. Dr. Hollis runs a small but powerful practice, grassroots if you will. He doesn’t treat “fat people” like most surgeons, instead he treats the disease. I ran into a few challenges on my road to weight loss that I’d like to share.

Other doctors had actually turned me away from their clinics because my BMI was too high, but Dr. Hollis didn’t say “no, you can’t do this.” He walked me through my options before surgery and explained that I “may have to jump through a few hoops, but I can do it.” So, I lost 45 lbs before I even had my Lap Band placed.

I had been overweight for so long that when I decided to do the Lap Band surgery, I was nervous about the lifestyle change that would be necessary for it to work and whether I’d be able to live up to my commitment and meet the program’s expectations as well as my own.

The support I received from Dr. Hollis’s staff throughout the entire process has been incredible! Dr. Hollis walked me through everything about Lap Band and made sure I had an open line of communication to them (him and Beth) anytime of the day via email if I had questions. I know this is a privilege, but this is exactly why BayChoice is different. No one gives their number out anymore, especially doctors. And Sonny Gorneck, the nutritionist, is amazing! I think she is just as important as Beth in the whole program. Without Beth and Sonny, the obstacles I have faced would have been 3 times greater. I can’t tell you how much it helps to have a strong support group behind you and I can’t thank my wife enough for standing by me through it all.

I’d like to say this has been an excellent experience and if I could recommend Dr. Hollis to anyone, I’d recommend him to the world! He’s like Mozart with a knife.

Just because you’re overweight now doesn’t mean you always have been. I’ve struggled with weight off and on throughout my life, but I noticed as I got older it was harder and harder to drop the pounds.

I’ve had an interesting weight loss journey and am happy to share my experience in the hopes that anyone that has had a similar situation will get some inspiration with the fact that I made it! I've lost over 80 pounds so far and feel wonderful.

Like I said, I wasn’t always heavy, but when I hit my 40’s the extra pounds just would not go away. I’m a former Weight Watchers director so I know how to diet effectively, but the weight just wasn’t coming off. It got so bad that I was severely depressed, had very low self-esteem, no ambition, no energy, I stopped seeing my family and even refused to leave the confines of my own home! My husband was upset that I never wanted to do anything and was always so low, so sad and depressed. It really was taking a toll on our marriage. That’s when I decided, enough is enough!

I researched weight loss surgeons and found Dr. Hollis. He is an amazing surgeon. He’s down to earth and doesn’t make you feel less just because of your weight issues. He’s “Homespun” and cares about his patients. Dr. Hollis maintains a high level of professionalism and is willing to get down to your level, that’s something a lot of doctors just don’t do. The BayChoice staff is wonderful and has been very supportive. My personal support system was small, I really only had one strong confidant to talk to throughout my Lap Band program. Remember you have to be tenacious through the process going through the up’s and down’s. If you don’t have much support in your life, be sure to visit the support groups, talk to Dr. Hollis and Beth, and the nutritionist, Sonny. They will listen!

I had one slight hiccup a few months after my Lap Band was placed. I tore my Achilles and had foot surgery. This landed me in bed for a few months thus throwing me off of my weight loss program. But I stuck with it and stayed focused.

I can’t tell you how great it’s been to lose the weight. My confidence is up, I feel good again and I'm able to buy clothes off the rack. I’ve started to get back into my pre-weight gain clothes, and my husband and I have even taken up dancing again. I’ve felt so good in fact, that I recently visited my family and met my grandchildren (I had only seen the oldest as an infant, now she’s 6). They are gorgeous and I enjoyed playing with them so much!

Stop alienating yourself. This is the best thing you can ever do for yourself. I encourage anyone to check and see if Lap Band weight loss surgery is something they can do. I’ve lost a lot of years – life’s too short – don’t wait. If you want to get the weight off and you’ve tried everything else, this is the place to be. Dr. Hollis has been amazing. Just because you’ve failed does not mean there is no hope. You can get to where you want to be!

Just wanted to let you know that I ran my first race EVER on Thanksgiving day. Finished the 5k in 40:23!! Training for a triathlon in the spring! Dr. Hollis put my band in on 8/31/2009 and I have gone from 238# to 193#. I've also run in the Houston Jingle Bell Run - 5 miles, no walking - finished in 65:04. I'm currently training for a half marathon in Disney World called the Princess Run! It's the first weekend in March. I can't tell you how pleased I am to have the freedom to move without pain in my knees. I tell anyone who will listen that these changes are due in large part to Dr. Hollis and my lap band. Thank you for helping me change my life.

I had been looking at having the Lap Band procedure done for a long period of time. I had gone to serveral different seminars describing how the system worked. I had conducted a lot of research on the subject and decided this was the way to go with my hope of losing a large amount of weight in a safe manner. I had even consulted with several friends who had the Lap Band and the By-Pass procedure.

My problem was finding a doctor and facility that was not treating the surgery as what I felt was just a "money making procedure." All the places I had contacted wanted me to do all the work of getting the doctor records and in dealing with the insurance company. I was beginning to think I would not find what I felt was a doctor and facility that had my best interest as their concern until I met Dr. Hollis and the fine people of True Results. After my first meeting with them I realized they were interested in what was best for me and treated me as an individual. Dr. Hollis spent a lot of time talking with me and explaining how the procedure would work and what I could expect. True Results staff was eager to get all the information needed to satisfy the insurance company and schedule all my appointments. They did a great job od describing how the process would work and how long it would take.

When it was time for the surgery the facility was great and Dr. Hollis again spent a lot of time explaining what was going to happen and answered all questions I had. I honestly had no concerns about the surgery when I was wheeled into the operating room because I knew I was with a surgeon who had my best interest in mind. My family was pleased with the way he kept them informed when my surgery was over and I was in recovery.

The hardest part of this process is my understanding the changes you have to make along with the surgery. Dr. Hollis spends a great deal of time explaining how you have to support the surgery in your eating habits and he put it in terms I could understand. Dr. Hollis is easy to talk with and I would recommend him to anyone considering having any type of weight loss surgery. The Doctor and his support staff were all fantastic and first class.