Jeffrey Gutman, MD

dr gutman did a great job except after the surgery I had a fallow up appointment and was told I would be off for six weeks to recover then my work called me after two and one half weeks telling me I need to return to work very poor communication and giving me incorrect info not very good unhappy. was never told I would have to return so soon. was never told that I was released to return poor communication with me

Let me start by saying that this man is an angel! And I mean that whole heartedly! After suffering years with horrible stomach pain, mainly located on the lower right side, pain through to my back pain, loss of appetite with some yucky tummy days, among other symptoms, Dr. Gutman was able to diagnose me with Chronic Appendicitis within 5 minutes of meeting me! A mystery stomach issue dealt with for 4 years resolved in minutes! He was wonderful, and SUPER ATTENTIVE TO ALL MY NEEDS AND FEARS. For one, I had a bad experience with anesthesia when I was younger, so he put me in touch with THE BEST anesthesiologist ever– Dr. Matt Cook! Talk about a miracle worker! Simply amazing! Also, I was seen right away and had surgery the next day! He talked to me throughly through phone calls, two office visits, and taking time out of his morning full of surgeries to discuss my procedure and address my concerns while I was waiting for my turn in the OR! Surgery was about 20 – 30 minutes and I have been pain free all day! Mind you I just had surgery earlier this morning, and I am still not in pain! Just some cramping in my chest and shoulders due to the carbon dioxide pumped into my stomach during surgery! I highly recommend Dr. Gutman to anyone who needs general surgery!

Dr. Gutman saved my life with emergency surgery in the middle of the night, and all his correspondence and treatments were skilled, compassionate, substantive and effective.

I had my gallbladder surgery less than 2 weeks ago with Dr. Gutman. It’s still like a dream to me, I can’t believe that it actually happened.
All I can say is that Dr. Gutman is a magician!
Here are the tips:
— If you are having symptoms it’s better to remove it early. if it’s small you might can try a drug to dissolve (Ursodiol)
— Ask the anesthesiologist to put in painkiller and nausea meds in the IV, so that when you wake up you don’t feel bad.
— Ask the surgeon to give two painkiller prescription, one stronger in case you need. The new law requires paper prescription for narcotics so someone has to pickup
— Bring a pillow to surgery
— If you have a difficult case you can read the end of review.
If you want to read in detail here’s the complete story:
I know I have gallstone issue long time back (10 years). My stone is 1.7cm and stuck at the neck. As a result the gallbladder first ‘extended’ then shrunk over the course of years. However I didn’t have any classical symptoms, so surgeons didn’t advise surgery. I am super scared of surgery as well.
Earlier this year I started to get some weird stomach issues (extremely bloated when get to a cold place like AC room). Lately, when I get 3 midnight pain (not much, resolved by Advil), I think I had enough of the torture, not because of the pain/​discomfort itself, but from the worry and apprehension of surgery. I want to resolve it quickly.
I picked Dr. Gutman from the Unilocal reviews. I got the next day appointment. I found him to be extremely compassionate and calm. He explained that he had done 8000 lap coly, none had CBD damage, 38 cases converted to open (among them, 24 or so is due to acute inflammation, others are due to extreme overweight, etc.). In my case it’s 99.99% lap based. The biggest cut is in navel (1cm). If there’s unclear situation he would do intraoperative cholangiography to get the structure clear. If the stone is too large he will crack it before taking out gallbladder (if stone has calcified then it’s difficult).
I immediately told him I want surgery tomorrow. I don’t want to give myself time for apprehension and hesitation. Michelle (surgery scheduler) is so nice, she got me scheduled to National Surgery center (did another review) next day.
As requested, he gave me a prescription for pain med (Vicodin), a calming med (Valium), and a even stronger pain med (in case Vicodin does not work).
The anesthesiologist (Cook) called me that night, I explained to him that I want meds for pain and stomach relief in the IV, he is very nice and added a patch for stomach (the one that you put behind your ears when you go to cruise).
That night, I didn’t take Valium, and I slept well. I can’t believe this. I was scared of surgery for so many years and just a half an hour meet with Dr. Gutman gave me full comfort and courage.
Surgery day, I am still calm. The good thing is that the anesthesiologist came in (Stephanie? not Cook) and told me to relax, because Dr. Gutman did lap appendix for her, and lap coly for her dad! Well this is better than the calm medicine she just put in :)
When I woke up, absolutely no pain, just some general feeling, nothing compared with even the little pain previously. Surgery started at 8:30AM, I went home at 11AM. The pre and post op nurse in National (same one) was an angel, gave me lots of warm towels and allowed some extra time for my wife to arrive for pickup).
I only took two pain med in all, one is at 11AM before I left, just for the bumps on the road. Another one is at 9PM before I go to bed. I can get up from my bed (really low) without help that night. Immediately after got back home I started to update my moments :)
In general I am not a strong type of person. I kept my self inside all the time after surgery. At the 9^th day I sat in front of a opened window and got cold. I got a 101 °F fever, I slept for 1.5 day, the fever subsided, just in time for my post op appt.
In the post op appt, I asked Dr. Gutman about possibility of incision induced hernia, he said he did lap (appendix + gallbladder) about 14 000 cases, only had 2 such cases, so don’t worry.
I also asked if he uses latest lap techniques, like the single port or Da Vinci robot. The answer is that single port along is 2.5cm cut, and Da Vinci takes 30 min to setup while he can finish the whole lap coly in 30 min. Plus the new techniques has their own inherited extra risks.
Overall, I think he is definitely the #1 surgeon for lap surgery. If your case is different (for example you have a calcified stone like 2.5cm) then you might check other options (like surgeons do single port since your cut would have be that large anyway). If you have extremely inflamed or porcelain gallbladder (well in this case you might ended up many times in ER), you can try to find a surgeon that opens up the gallbladder and dissect from inside (Dr. Gutman does not do this way). I am skeptical that you can find this kind of surgeon.

Dr. Gutman is one of a kind! He is extremely knowledgeable, and compassionate! He explained the procedure well, and did a nice job with the surgery!
I would highly recommend Dr. Gutman!

Dr. Gutman is an excellent surgeon. He is very experienced and thorough. He repaired my hernia and did a great job and would recommend him. He’s done thousands of them. His staff was great: friendly very thorough, efficient, accommodating and professional and felt very comfortable throughout the process. There was very little waiting.
So why the 4 stars? I think he could improve upon his bedside manners. In recovery I spoke to him briefly and he seemed very rushed. While I was finishing my last sentence he was already walking away. His staff was more engaged and was able to answer most of my questions. I felt that he really should spend at least 1 – 2 quality minutes listening and acknowledging. Those few minutes would have dramatically improved the overall experience. However what matters most is that he is extremely experienced and qualified. So do not let his lack of bedside manners stop you from seeing him. His staff more than makes up for it.

I’ve had a cyst in my neck for 20 years!- I kept asking doctors to remove it as I knew it was just a lypoma/​fatty tissue cyst that I’ve gotten before. I went through needle biopsies, several sonograms/​ultrasounds for years and nobody would remove it. I went to Dr. Gutman and he asked if I was okay with needles and if I had 10 minutes… LOL. in 10 minutes he had it removed!!!- a quick lunch time surgery a couple stitches and it’s done! He cuts to the chase (no pun intended), gets the job done. Has a fantastic bedside manner. Can’t recommend him enough!

Dr. Gutman performed an excisional biopsy on me almost 4 weeks ago. The fibroid was seriously the size of a flattened golf ball, but it’s healing really well and I feel like he performed the surgery very precisely, stitching up the wound keeping in mind the way my body would heal and how it might look after. The scar is hidden very well and won’t be noticeable at all over time. For the scale of the removal, I was surprisingly mobile afterward.
To top it all off, he’s a really nice guy with gentle bedside manners. That really helped in the hospital immediately before we rolled in to the operating room… It was my first surgery and I needed the reassurance!
Overall I highly recommend Dr. Gutman and I’m glad I picked him to slice me! Hehe :)

Several years ago a young lady Ethiopia came to the United States diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer. She had very little money. Dr. Gutman was referred to me by another physician friend of mine. I was struck by his compassion and willingness to help despite all of the liabilities. He donated his time for the surgeries, negotiated with the hospitals for a reduced pay for services and took care of my her until the end. Surgeons are supposed to be highly skilfull, but completely heartless. For me, to this day when I think of what it means to go above and beyond in patient care and use surgical skills, compassion and his name to advocate for a patient, Dr. Gutman comes to mind. He is a man of heart and skills. He has challenged me in my own life about how much I care for my clients! As far as his skills are concerned, he is simply THE BEST. He is the surgeon that surgeons would want to operate on them.

Dr. Gutman removed my gall bladder using minimally invasive surgery. I was surprised that I was able to get up and walk around immediately after the surgery. Amazing job really!

Dr. Gutman has operated on me twice since 2009. He is kind, compassionate, highly competent and accessible. He listens to, and seems to care very much for, his patients. Another «noted» SF surgeon who shall remain nameless had recommended much more extensive surgery with a much longer recovery period. I saw Dr. Gutman on the recommendation of my oncologist for a second opinion, and he told me the more extensive procedure was not warranted. Not only that, he scheduled the surgery for the very next day after our appointment, very comforting to an anxious cancer patient. After the second surgery I had some difficulty, and he and his staff were there for me every time. He deserves the highest praise and receives my unqualified recommendation.

Let’s see, Doctor Gutman is everything you want in a doctor– not arrogant, listens, does NOT need your money so does not recommend drugs and surgery 2 minutes after talking to you,(I speculate this not based on the expensive cars in the parking lot but on the incredible amount of gallbladder removal surgeries I read he performed!-thousands!) …Dr.G.has credentials up the wazoo and is the kind of Doc you can tell do other things necessary for medical survival if you were stuck on a dessert island post a plane crash and this guy was on your plane as one of the survivors! He’s not the Skipper or Gilligan I’m certain of that! I’d go to this guy for a tooth ache or broken finger or haircut if I thought my insurance Co. would pay him and if I didn’t have insurance, I’d go to him for these things anyway if I had more income! Also-​if «dead doctors don’t lie» and die at an average of age 65 in this country… due to poor health and lack of taking care of themselves, well, Doctor Gutman does not look like a Shamoo with yesterdays Vietnamese soup on his collar from not washing his clothes or coming within ten feet of a female in months either-​he appears completely normal and under 18% body fat! LOL-​If I require a surgical procedure he is qualified to do – He is the guy I am calling and you should as well!

My consult with Dr. Gutman was great. He was professional, he seemed very knowledgeable, he took a lot of time explaining the procedure (gallbladder removal.) I felt very comfortable with him. His staff were professional, and kind. They fit me in the Friday before Christmas. The day of surgery was a different story. I had the procedure done at Good Samaritan Hospital. The registration girl was terrible, but the pre-​op nurses were the best. They were thorough, funny, super nice, professional, can’t say enough about them. Dr Gutman was running an hour behind schedule. I did hear great things about him from the nurses and also from another patient who was having a procedure done. I didn’t get a visit with the doctor before the surgery, I spoke to him briefly in the surgical room before I went out. Basically it was «hello» and I was out. I was groggy, but I think I did speak to him post-​op and I asked him if there was gallstone and he replied «yes». I had heard that surgeons ask you if you want to see the stone, and my friends had told me not to. But I did want to see mine, but was not given the option. The post-​op nurse sucked bad. He spent a lot of time talking about how terrible previous patients were. He basically wanted me out of there so that he could go home, or that is how it seemed. I was told that my husband would be there post-​op, but I didn’t see him until the nurse was wheeling me to the car. Oh, and the nurse was a male, he tells me to put on my clothes and closes the curtain. Then he just yanks the curtain open while I am still half naked and is rushing me out. I don’t even think that I had my bra on.
Here is what makes me not so happy with Dr. Gutman and the hospital. I didn’t get clear instructions on what to do post-​op. I wasn’t told about the air that would be trapped inside, and how painful it would be, or how to deal with it. I felt rushed because the doctor was running late, I don’t mind waiting, but I want to feel like the doctor is not rushing through my procedure. I must be spoiled, but my regular physician and Dr Levitt from San Jose Gastroenterology, because both call me to follow up and check on me. The surgical center that Dr Levitt uses also called me when I had my colonoscopy and my upper endoscopy, before and after both procedures. I think Dr. Gutman should have at least had a staff member call and follow up to see how I was doing or if I had any questions. I’m definitely disappointed about that. The surgical dept at the hospital could have called as well.

This Dr it’s an angel. Shame on those with 1 star. He is professional, explicit and dedicated to his patients. My husband had a galblader surgery today. At Good Sam. Thank you from the bottom of my heart His office staff is just amazing with setting up everything and explaining everything. I will be forever thankful for your professionalism. Renata and Sean Jansepar. MY Husband was scheduled for an uotpatient surgery however for complications had to take him next day as an inpatient surgery .Dr Gutman went beyand his call of dutty to make the surgery safe and succesful. again Thank you

Best doctor I have ever been to he is GREAT

Went in to outpatient elective surgery at Good Samaritan Hospital on a Friday. Doctor Gutman was very professional, and the procedure was only 20 minutes. The following day was pain killer day, the next day no pain killers, and the third day I was back to work. One week I was released for general exercise. Nagging issue I had for 5+ years, glad I had the surgery now that it is over. I felt in great hands.

Nicest man, great staff. I hope I never have to make an appointment for another surgery, but if i do– he is the man to go to!

A+++++++++ Dr Gutman is awesome! I wish I saw him 15 years ago when the pain first started. I have a phobia with doctors and never went. This doctor is trusting, caring, listens, and takes care of his patients. I put my moms life on it! EXCELLENT DR FOR HERNIA REPAIR! Guys if you have a hernia. GO TO DR GUTMAN! He not only handles his business but he also cares for his patients and will work with you however he can. DR JEFFREY GUTMAN YOU ARE #1 HERNIA SPECIALIST! Multiple hernia operation 2 days ago and I can already have sex. Trust me guys. This doctor got magic!

Wow! What a 24 hours! We met Dr. Gutman yesterday for a consultation and 4 hours later he was removing my husband’s gall bladder. Dr. Gutman was very thorough during the exam explaining the procedure in detail. After the surgery he was very reassuring. It’s not even been a full day and already my husband is feeling much better. I would highly recommend Dr. Gutman and his staff to anyone looking for a surgeon.

Skilled and efficient, Dr Gutman wants to deliver his surgical services in the most cost effective way possible. He is rare value in today’s health care environment.