Dr. Macatol/Dr. Barba

Has anyone heard of any problems Dr. Macatol may have had with any patients. I am a bit concerned as he seems to be a bit new on the circuit. Does anyone have any statistics about him? Any deaths? Serious complications? How many has he done in the past 2 yrs? I would appreciate anyones help. Also, Does anyone have information on Dr. Barba and his stats? Has anyone heard of anything bad about either of these two docs?

Joni~ I don't know a lot about Dr. Barba, but I have member in the support group I run that have used him with happy results. I work with a lot of patients of Dr. Macatol. He has been kind enough to allow me to use his reception area to hold support group meetings in. (Although we are now moving to a bigger location b/c member ship has exploded). My group is soley owned by me though and the only input Dr. Macatol really puts in is to answer medical questions if someone has one. He's really good about that. He's been doing the surgery on his own for over a year and is doing several a week. He also holds seminars, that he conducts and explains the surgery in detail. He does what's called a mini-open RNY, meaning the incision is only a few inches long (usually max 3-4"). All of the patients of his that I've spoken with have been highly satisfied with him. Best of all, he doesn't have a huge waiting list. You can pretty much see him and have your surgery done within 3 months....that's as long as you can get all the testing done quickly and get your insurance approval. He has 2 offices, one in Torrington and one in Waterbury and his secretary's name is Joyce. She's a doll. FiNally, the last thing I can tell you about him, is that I used him to do my TT. His after care was impecable and so wonderful. He even came to my house on a Saturday night at 8pm, drove all the way from Waterbury down to Ansonia where I live, just to check on my incisions and drains. Now that's some bedside manner! Anyhow, I hope some of this information helps and if you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to email [email protected]. MUAH!!

hello, i did the same thing u did with dr. barba and i'm still waiting for the p/w to come in for a dr. appt. i didn't feel like waiting so i check on here and found dr. macatol. went to his sememar at the end of april and i schedule for surgery on june 24.....he very straight forward... he has great support groups..liza runs them and she does a great job...the dr is at the meeting...so he can answer question...and is very supportive and so is the group...my understanding macatol has done about 80 with no death rate.....only 2 leakage and a couple of blood tranfusion.....i have not heard of any complaint about him.... and his after care is great from my understanding...u see him and not his nurce... good luck./.

I'd like to comment... I don't know anything about Dr. Macatol. From comments below sounds like he has some supporters. However, stating that he has done 80 surguries and hasn't has any deaths is not necessarily a supportive figure. Consider that the death rate is 1 of 100 when reading that figure. Anyway- my main concern is that you are checking out your doctor choice in a more thorough way. First, by asking HIM about his stats and history and much more. Second, researching his medical record with the state. And third, but not least, search for his patients and speak to them personally (which You are trying to do). If you want suggestions for questions to ask the Dr. and ways to research, please email me and I'll send you a list of things you can do to feel confident in you Dr.'s abilities. Finally- regarding Dr. Barba, I don't know him personally- I screened him before I chose my surgeon (Dr. Aranow) and found many things that I did not care for. So, ditto to all of the above, on the researching Dr. Barba. I hate to preach- but I am a STRONG advocate for finding out ALL you can in advance, rather than chosing someone who 'seems good' because of the length of their waiting list. I'd rather wait and be secure in my choices than rush through the process and not have all the info. Again, I am not saying anything negative about either of these surgeons, just advocating for your right as a patient to have ALL OF THE FACTS IN ADVANCE. Sounds like you are beginning by taking the right steps. So, good luck in your journey and let me know if you need any help with research!