Abbott Northwestern Hospital Bariatric Center

My first impression of Dr Schwartz was that he seemed very kind and patient, but very interested in making sure that I understood exactly what he would be doing in surgery, what the possible risks were and what my responsibilities were. His office staff is very professional and kind, as well. He is possibly the busiest surgeon who does this surgery in Minnesota, but I would recommend that those interested in having Dr Scwartz perform their surgery not be put off by the length of the wait to get an appointment. He is busy because he is very good.
His offices offer an aftercare group, but it is 150miles from my home so I plugged into another group closer to home. The day of surgery I saw him very very briefly and before I was discharged from the hospital I saw him briefly, so I got the impression that he relies a great deal on the hospital staff to fill in the blanks and answer questions, however he was very clear about the fact that I could call if I needed anything, and that he would be expecting to see me, and all of his surgery patients annually for the rest of our lives. I was satisfied with the limited interaction with Dr Schwartz because
it is clear that the hospital staff, his office staff and the partners in his practice are all on the team and willing to maintain the high level of care.

My 1st impression Of Dr.Drew is he is very caring and truly honest with his patients. He made me feel very comfortable with my decision to have the surgery. His office staff are very busy but also friendly. To all future patients when you meet with Dr.Drew you will also see how caring and honest he is. The wait for me to see him was about 8 months , and was worth the wait. My info meeting was on the 13th of May and I met Dr.Drew on the 6th of DEC. When you meet with him his office staff will weigh you and you will have some blood work done, the you will meet the doc, he will explain the process of the surgery the goods and the bads of the surgery. He will answer all questions you ask, he will even talk about his training he has had which is years and years not enough time to go into that right now. So after you meet you can make your Appt for surgwery if you have all tests done and out of the way. Advice go see the dietician and get the gallblader ultrasound done before your Appt with the doc, this can make it much faster to get your date. He also will tell you about the after care and about keeping all appts after the surgery. I would rate Dr.Drew ######1 in the whole world, His bedside manner and his surgical competence is well above excellent. I had my surgery done on the 19th of DEC. and Iam feeling great, I also just had my 3 week check up on the 7th of Jan.03 and all is good I had to learn how to give myself the B12 injection which was a piece of cake didn't hurt at all. I am so happy with my decision to do this for me. Thank You Dr.Drew:)

Dr Schwartz knows his business. He has been doing this surgery for years, which is probably why the waiting list is so long!

He answered all of my questions before I even had a chance to ask them. He is busy and didn't really give me the impression that this was an unlimited time block. I was frustrated that it seemed that his staff had not reviewed my paperwork prior to my appt. Little bit of a problem with my psych evaluation, but all worked out in the end.

I was hoping he would suggest one procedure over the other but he left the decision up to me completely.

Office staff was a bit haried, but coridal. I got in and out in less than 90 min including lab time.

When I firt met Dr Schwartz he was very nice. He took the time to answer all of my questions and made me feel very comfortable with him as my surgeon.

When I was able to meet with Dr. Drew, he was very helpful on answering all my questions and calming my fears. He was honest about complications, but was very confident in the surgery. The office staff seemed really nice and helpful, especially Christa, she knew I was nervous, but she said " They do alot of these surgeries, you will be fine." she was very nice and helpful. I would recommend him to anyone that is looking into having the surgery. We will see though after I have my surgery FEB. 13TH 2003.

I think I am going to like Dr. Drew a lot. I got the call one day and had the appointment the next week. I had a conflicting event, but was not about to give up my appointment with Dr. Drew! My appointment with Dr. Drew was for 3:30, and I had to be at a function 95 miles away at 7. Unfortunately I was his last appointment for the day and I did not see him until more than an hour after my scheduled time slot. I did make it to my 7 pm function, so it was OK - but I sure would have appreciated a more "on schedule" appointment.

Dr. Drew was very thorough - went over all the risks, etc. He has a very busy office - but rushed as they are - they get everything done. As mentioned above, I think I am going to like him a lot.

This was my personal experience, I am easy to please and always look for the good in people.
Dr. Drew has a very kind, calming presence. I was a little nervous for our first meeting but when he came into the exam room there was just something about him that was instantly calming.
Dr. Drew is very professional and fully explained everything up front, went over everything that we had gotten in the informational meeting and reinforced how this will change my life.
Dr. Drew's office staff is what "customer service" is all about. Whenever I called with questions or concerns they checked into them fully and followed up with me in a very timely manner. They are the ones who did all the work with the insurance. I did however call the insurance co. to confirm so as to calm my concerns about the insurance covering the procedure and then when I had a date I called them back to advise the new date.
I rate Dr. Drew overall, excellent. His office is right at the hospital which was convient. Abbott Northwestern Hospital gives extroidinary care, they were my hospital of choice, so to have Dr. Drew there was great.

He was very caring and had a sense of humor, which is important to me. I was referred to him by by internist and I trust her jusgement. I also work for spine surgeons that do surgery at the same hospital as Dr. Schwartz. They all recommeded him highly. He has also done many hundreds of surgeries and I wanted someone with much experience.

There is a very good aftercare program and a great support group for all WLS patients, pre-ops and post-ops in the Minneapolis area, no matter who your surgeon is.

My first impression of Dr. Schwartz came from his wife, nurse, and P.R. Wiz Judy Schwartz. After hearing about a new peocedure being performed in the Twin Cities on the news, I called the ofice the next day (February 2002). My heart dropped when I heard that they had received over 100 calls that day and it may take weks for someone to get back to me. Though disappointed, I continued to converse with the receptionist and we had a very pleasant conversation. I thanked her for her time and thought that that would be the end of it. Imagine my surprise that afternoon when I received a call from Judy Schwartz. Apparently, the receptionist thought that I was very nice and personable and since Judy was having a "tough" day, the receptionist told her to call me because I would be a positive contact. This just goes to show that God is Good All the Time, even when we don't realize it.

Judy informed of an informational session that would be taking place in the next couple of weeks and that she would send me some information. I attended the session, very excited, and thought that would be the start of something big. Little did I know that my insurance company would drag their feet (they, Medica, still believed the Lap Band procedure was experimental). So March became May and May became July and I was still waiting. Judy was available every step of the way and she battled the insurance company on my behalf. Finally in July, my employer changed insurance companies to Prefereed One and we were in business again.

I spoke with Judy to tell her about the insurance change and she immediately scheduled me with a consultation date with Dr. Schwartz. I also believe because I had waited so long battling with Medica, I was also called back with a surgery date prior to my consultation. October 10 was my original date. I was nervous, excited and full of questions.

When I finally had an opportunity to meet the Doctor, I was impressed with his sincerity and patience with me and all of my questions. I thought I would be having the Lap Band procedure when I went in but because it is still in the early stages of being performed here in the U.S., it could take upwards of two years to get it adjusted to the point where I could experience the weight loss experienced by those doing the Ruyin Y. Dr. Schwartz did an excellent job of explaining the differences in procedures and the risks associated. He instilled a quiet confidence in me that let me know everything would be o.k. no matter which route I took.

Because of my multiple medical problems, I chose to switch from the Lap Band to the Lap Ruyin Y. I liked the concept of the Lap Band but I didn't feel I had two years to wait for results. I was on a life saving mission and time was of the essence. After I made the switch, I was afraid that I would have to move back my date. I was quite surprised to receive a call a few days later from Christa (the surgical scheduler and another bright star in the office) moving my date up to September 24 (from October 10). I was even more surprised to receive a call later saying that due to schedule changes, they would have to do my surgery on September 3. If that date did not work for me, I would have to be moved to late October or early November. I jumped at the 3rd.

Overall, I found the whole process to be reassuring, professional and very supportive. Judy kept me engaged and on track and I will always be thankful to her. I couldn't imagine having this done anywhere else in the world.

Dr. Drew could work on his bedside manner, but he appears to be extremely knowledgeable and competent. I trust him to do the surgery. The office staff is VERY overworked and can sometimes seem to be unsympathetic towards people waiting for a surgery date. I've finally gotten a surgery date after 6 months of waiting (AFTER being approved by my insurance company!) I'm told the wait is now 9-15 months. I can't believe they are still soliciting new patients when they can't handle the number they have now. Can't wait til this whole thing is over!