Cleveland Clinic Florida Weston Bariatric Center

Friendly, to the point, quick. My impression has not really changed. Anita (insurance/approval)was most patient and diligent in getting my approval. Least Liked is his quickness. I am sure he is very busy, but he was just a little short and quick. Very honest and too the point, which is good. I was told to make a 10 day post op appointment to have my staples removed, no other aftercare at this time suggested. I have open availability to the nutritionalist via phone or emails. At this time I am unaware of any structured aftercare program. There are monthy meetings at the hospital, however I live 2 hours from where I had my surgery done. All the risks of surgery where outlined in orientation and during the mandated nutritional seminar. Overall, he is very friendly and sincere. Bedside manner...in and out. Didn't speak with him long and usually it was one of his associates or interns that I dealt with. However, someone from his team was always available to answer questions.

Dr. Rosenthal was very caring in his approach and gave me hope for a future.
My impressions has stayed the same.
The office staff, especially the insurance coordinator (Anita) was very persistent w/ Aetna HMO. I was denied twice and the appeal, until finally a year and a half later it was approved. Everyone must understand the work load of staff/patients and the paperwork associated, just be patient, and know that they are working on your behalf. Prayer is the #1 solution, I give God all the glory!
Yes, there is much aftercare support w/groups and nutritional classes. Be prepared to pay out of pocket for nutritional aftercare at the Cleveland Clinic. Yes the risks of surgery were discussed minimally, they have an excellent track record, I thank Dr. Rosenthal for his honesty. The biggest emphasis is on the change of lifestyle, support, habits, and making sure one is emotionally prepared for changes. Both surgical competence and bedside manner are great.

I liked Dr. Rosenthal. I felt comfortable with him. I had everything set last year and My shrink said I wasn't ready. Well after a year and more weight, He has finely said I was ready to handly the surgery. Hooray!! I have an appointment scheduled for July 2. I can't weight.

I think Dr. Szomstein and the entire staff at Cleveland Clinic Hospital-Weston are the best! I always get prompt replies to my e-mails or phone calls and everyone seems to genuinely care about what the patients are going through. The professionalism of the program, moral support, and written material is incredible. I highly recommend Dr. Szomstein and trust him explicitly!

Thank you, Dr. Szomstein!!!!!!!

I'm still pre-op. I met Dr. Rosenthal briefly for my first consult and was very pleased with him. He was very polite, answered my questions and always has a smile on his face and says "hi" when I see him in the halls. I think he is a wonderful surgeon that has my trust 100%. Staff was great! They are friendly and try to help you as fast as they can. Michelle(nutritionist) was great! She answered lots of my questions and gave me a book with all the info on eating. The program is set up for a year for you, and you can email or call her with any questions or concerns you have. The only disappointment I had was Dr Rosenthal has so many people WAITING for surgery, they are scheduling into 2005 already! I live 4 hours from clinic, so will be doing most follow-up care with my pcp in my area and I belong to 3 support groups so far.

My first impression of Dr. Rosenthal was that he is very confident in his profession. I didn't feel any different over time. There is room for improvement with his office staff, especially the appointment setters. Emily Swartz and Michelle Lefkowitz are awesome. They are there for you every step of the way as far as nutrition goes. The only thing I would want different, is to be able to see Dr. R more often, instead of his fellow doctors. Future patients should know that if they are going to the Cleveland Clinic in Weston and Dr. Rosenthal will be attending them, they are in EXCELLENT hands.

They emphasize aftercare and have great monthly support groups. The give you a structured diet to follow post op. In the orientation meeting, they go through every detail of the surgery and address all the risks. I believe his surgical competence and bedside manner are both great!

I liked Dr. Szomstein the at my first meeting with him. He was confident and told me right away that I was a good candidate for WLS.

I did not see Dr. Szomstein for my pre-op visit but did see another member of the staff at Cleveland Clinic.

My stay in the hospital was the most trying of this ordeal. The Cleveland Clinic is understaffed for nurses and nurse assistants. If it were not for my brother who came to help me from Texas and my friend Nanci, I would probably still be in the hospital trying to get into or out of the bathroom. The bed was awful, you had to put the bed into an upright position to get into and out of the bed (try doing that in the middle of the night by yourself because no nurse would come to help). Plus you had to unhook yourself from the leg machine (for clotting), unhook the oxygen I was using because the line was not long enough to get to the bathroom, drag the IV machine to the bathroom (the cord was only long enough to fit outside the door and you had to stretch to get to the toilet).


I attended a support group for post-surgery one week after getting out of the hospital. It was well-organized and run by the doctors and nutritionists at Cleveland Clinic who are part of the WLS program.

I was very happy with Dr. Szomstein, Dr. Rosenthal and the other physicians but not happy with the hospital stay. The only nurse that took any time with me was Mrs. Cosman, RN. She was wonderful and very attentive to my needs. I know it is not the fault of the nurses that the hospital is understaffed and they were doing the best they could under the circumstances. I do appreciate everything that was done for me during my hospital stay.

From the first time I met Dr Rosenthal I liked him, I really felt he really cared about all his clients. He understood obesity and If it was up to him he would help everyone that was overweight. His staff was helpful always but a very busy office. There is nothing that I did not like about him, infact when I did have my surgery march 1st he came in everyday with 5 or 6 other dr that he was training, and they all were wonderful. They ran special test on me because my legs were swollen to make sure I did not have a blod clot. What I liked the best is he has never had a death from all the surgerys he has preformed. And that is very important to me as it should be to new paitents thinking of bypass. I am thankful for him everyday of my life. He is truly a wonderful man. After care with him is a must, now I see him once a month.He did informe me of the risk of the surgery but did not make me afraid to have it either. I put all my trust in him and it turned out fine.

Dr. Rosenthal is wonderful..I cannot say enough about him and Dr. Szomstein. The are truely amazing men and having literally saved my life! I will always be truely grateful to them fo giving me this second chance at life.

My first impression of Dr. Szomstein was great; he came into the room smiling, sat down, and began to load me with information. All, which I was eager to hear and learn about. I also had a list of questions myself which he answered all of them to where I understood the answer and didn't make me feel he was in a rush. I felt I had his undivided attention for as long as I wanted it. He does have a structured aftercare program, which is mostly talked about with the dietitian. We went over the risks of surgery and he explained it all. I would have to say he has a great surgical competence, bedside manner, and made me feel like I was his only patient. After meeting him, I realize I had made a good decision :)
The staff was great, they are all apart of a team and it really shows. They work well together to get the job done in a proficient and professional manner. Everyone of them were very informative.