Cleveland Clinic Florida/Bariatric Institute Bariatric Center

My first impression of Dr.Szomstein was very comforting. My husband and I saw him as a very caring and informative surgeon. His eyes showed us first that of a caring person behind the knowledgeable MD/Surgeon title. To have both of these together meant a lot to me. He explained all of the procedure in detail, and answered all of our questions and I want to say he was very patient in doing so. It has now been almost 10 months for me, and I still have the same opinion of him. If not more so, as they do not except my Insurance any longer. But when I saw him at our monthly meeting, I shared with him that the Ins. was not accepted anymore, he reasured me that we are still apart of the family (as he calls it.) and they are only a phone call away.
The office staff seemed to be always to busy to help and at times were not responsive and often times very short tempered. Hopefully, its because they need more employees to help with the load.
My overall experience with the surgery was great and I give them a 9 on a scale of 1-10. Ten being the highest.

that he was very nice and very hansome and that he really cared for my health and highly qualified.

it is still the same.

very nice and they know what they are doing.

nothing

that he is very professional and that he is really hansome prepare your self, lol but really he cares for you alot and loves his pacients.
there are other programs that are in the hospital for pre and post operartion paicients.
calminly and that there would be risks but htat they are low.
11 out of 10
both outstanding.

Dr Szomstein and his staff are amazing. They were very kind and I knew the way he spoke to me that I was finally making the right decision.

WELL I HAD MY CONSALT ON TUESDAY OCT.4 AND
IT WAS WONDERFUL DR.ROSENTHAL AND HIS STAFF
ARE THE NICESEST PEOPLE I HAVE EVER MET!!!
I FELT LIKE DR.R LOVES HIS JOB LIKE HE KNOWS
HOW HE IS HELPING PEOPLE AND THAT HE TRULY LOVES IT I AM SO GLAD I DROVE THE 350 MILES
TO BECOME HIS PATIENT NOW I JUST HAVE THE
PRE-OP TESTING THEN I WAIT FOR A DATE IM
SO HAPPY!!!!!

What was your first impression of him/her?WAS SO SWEET CARING AND UNDERSTANDING<CUTE TOO>

How did your impression change over time?IT DIDNT I ONLY MET HIM ONCE!

How would you describe his/her office staff?THEY WERE THE BEST!

What did you like least about him/her?WOULD HAVE LIKED TO SEE MORE OF HIM!

What should future patients know about him/her?HE WILL ANSWER ANYTHING GO AHEAD DONT BE SHY ITS FOR YOUR HEALTH!

How much does he/she emphasize aftercare?NOT THERE YET!

Does he/she have a structured aftercare program?I HOPE SO!

How did he/she address the risks of surgery?TOLD ME ALL ABOUT THEM!

How would you rate him/her overall?110%

Which is better, surgical competence, bedside
manner, or both great?HE IS JUST A GREAT GUY ALL AROUND! WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN POST OP OF THE OTHERS!
THIS WAS JUST MY OPINION NICE PLACE TO BE VERY CLEAN CALLS WERE RETURNED RIGHT AWAY AND TRUST ME I AM WORLDS BIGGEST COMPLAINER I WILL CALL TO COMPLAIN ABOUT ANYTHING! THESE ARE GOOD PEOPLE! IM LUCKY TO HAVE HIM THIS IS PRE-OP THOUGHT!

Dr. Szomstein was very helpful and also quite funny. At first I was confused about the surgery, but after my first visit i was very exicted about surgery. The office staff is not so friendly, sometimes I guess due to the large number of patients their workload is also very heavy. Anita in auth is very helpful and also very patient. So i said to myself at least someone in the office is pleasant.

Before you get enticed into this group ask for EVERYTHING in writing. I made the mistake of trusting the doctor and this office staff on the first visit when they said I had to have X doctors visit done and X tests done and then I could call for a surgery date. Now 4 months later, almost all the tests and visits completed they change the rules and are asking for upfront money of 300.00 for a dietician that I was told I didn't need to have an appointment with to get the surgery date. So far this place has billed my insurance around 6,000 and I have gotten nothing except attitude from their office staff. They changed there policy in August and never bothered to tell me and this is after I just put out 150.00 out of pocket for a in house psychologist that still hasn't written a report but had no prob cashing my check ASAP.
Also you have all these tests done and never get a call or your calls answered with the results. They didn't even have my bloodwork in the folder for the office visit for the endocrinologist and then they didn't order the blood test I needed so I had to go back and get this done again. Very disorganized but I should have known when on my initial visit I was sitting waiting for Rosenthal to come in and he never did so I ended up meeting with his assistant. When I came out of the room they had forgotten I was even in there and said the DR had gone to lunch.

Dr. Szomstein performed a revision of my gastric band in May of 2003. My band had erroded through my stomach, after 15 years inside me, with no proper follow up to it. My first impression of him was that of a caring, professional, knowledgable doctor who took each case as an individual. I never had to deal with any of the issues of acceptance for billing or anything else to deal with anyone other than the nurses and Dr Szomstein, Dr. Rosenthal and Dr. Podkameni.
There care, their compassion and their work saved my life and stopped the pain and suffering i was going through. Im on my own now, and as much as I love them, I hope i never have to see them for any more gastric surgery. I am on my own now, I have to watch everything I eat and change my lifestyle, as I have no more band or anything to prohibit weight gain.
I rate them 200%!
There is not a single negitive thing i have to say about them.

I had my first appointmrnt with DR. Rosenthal in April,@ clevelend clinic, He was very nice and informative. The first visit was very short. But he did answered all the questions I had.

In these past months, my experience with his office staff is concerning, they never return calls, when you finally get them on the phone after weeks of trying, they rush you off that you forget to ask them all the questions you had.

The hospital is great, the hospital staff is the best I have ever experienced, they treat you with respect, kindness and are very attentive. the building is beutiful, and the rooms even better.

I will recommend the doctor to any body, I have not had surgery yet, but had all my test and procedures done here.

They do have an aftercare program, meetings, website.

Dr. Rosenthal and Szomstein, have a great bedside manner and are both great.

I've met with Dr. Szomstein once, so far, for the initial evaluation. He struck me as a very kind, caring person, with a lot going on behind his eyes. I was very confident in his knowledge after discussing my options & the surgery with him. I have since done research & confirmed he has not had any lawsuits filed against him, he has never had his surgical permissions removed, and he is board certified. I am driving down to Weston from Orlando, Florida. I feel it is worth the 3.5 hour trip.
In regards to the office staff, I would recommend that you document all of your call dates, who you spoke with & what they said. And call often, to make sure your needs are being addressed. I was initially not excited about the slightly rushed attitudes I sometimes encountered, but as I have talked to these women, I have learned that they are just really over loaded, but are genuinely interested in helping. The best advice I can give would be help them to help you. Stay on top of your insurance carrier; make sure that records get where they need to go, etc. Work together to make things happen.