Columbia University Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery Bariatric Center

My comment is not for the surgeon but more towards the coordinators. This process is difficult, and stressful. They were not only occasionally rude but they misguided me during this process. My experience was so bad that I ended up changing surgeons cause they refused to schedule my follow up appointment with him. Customer service is huge and they lack it. They made it harder on me than it had to be like this was a free service....extremely disappointing

Gio is a gem! He is non-judgmental, always positive, always helpful, always pro-active!! I can't say enough positive things about him. Your aftercare is in the BEST of hands if you are dealing with Gio. Your during-care is in the best of hands too for that matter. Love him!!!

He was a great doctor made me feel very comfortable answered all my questions talked about before and after treatmenst as well as risks involved and explained in great detai. My surgery was back in 2000 I have gained 25 pounds after the birth of my son so I might be looking into a revision .rnI was 315 and went to 165 pounds.rnI am now 190lbs.rnHis staff was fantastic they have a great support program but the traveling with a big commute for me.

I found Dr. Marc Besser to be very professional and knowledgeable. He seemed to warm-up and became more personable with each meeting. On the morning of the surgery he was smiling and patting my shoulder. Dr. Besser can be extremely busy, as the head of obesity surgery at a major NY hospital. He does have a great staff that follows up on all phone calls and takes time to answer all your questions. I would recommend him to others.

The above Dr. is spelled incorrectly. It should read Marc Bessler, not besser. Anyway, he is the absolute best surgeon there is. He preformed my surgery 3 years ago. Excellent!

I met Dr. Bessler for the 1st time recently. We spoke and went over the procedure and the possible complications. I felt very comfortable with him. His staff is great and all have been extremely helpful especially Nancy Colgan. They seem very interested in helping me get everything I needed to be approved for surgery. Unfortunately I didn't get this from Dr. Pomp's office staff and that is why I changed doctors. I would recommend Dr. Bessler and his staff to anyone looking to do this surgery.

My first impression of Dr. Bessler was that he was extremely professional and kind. The office staff was wonderful from day 1, always available to answer my calls and get back to me right away with any questions I had. Dr. Bessler isn't the warmest person but he is extremely through and informative that was really important to me. One of the things I liked most about Columbia and Dr. Bessler in pirticular is that they emphasize aftercare so much and really made me understand how important it was once I had the surgery to follow up with all visits. If I had to rate Dr. B from 1-10 I would definately give him a 10. He met with me before surgery and he was so calm and made me feel so comfortable. Overall my experience was truly amazing and if I had to do it all over again I would. I would recommend him to anyone.

He is the best surgeon ever! Great respect for how he went above and beyond to treat me!

Staff is super-great! Again, they went out of their way to assist me through the process.

Don't expect great BED-SIDE manner...he is straight foward. He is very sweet but gets to the point....very very smart!

They did emphasize after-care but I have moved to school and my after-care was good for first year. Feel a little lost now but not their fault!

Addressed the risks right from the start. Very straight-foward.

I would rate him a 100 on a scale of 1-10.

I think that the surgical competence is the most important. At his clinic you get the bedside manner from his staff. He is the smart one....and they are the sweet/wonderful ones!!!

My first impression of Dr. Bessler was that I thought he wasn't a doctor with a lot of time to spend w/me. My family went w/me the morning I met him. They had many questions for him and I did too; but he only wanted to hear from me. That was the only negative comment I had. Other than that he answered all my concerns very clearly.
The office staff was and still is 100%. They led me through the path towards surgery w/o a hitch.
What I liked least was I only saw him twice, the preop visit and once the following A.M. pastop at my bed side.
During my hospital stay I was cared for by a PA named Janice who was just wonderful and by very caring nurses.
Janice and the nurses explained everything I went through and why the walking I did so often was necessary.
I followed the aftercare as explained to me and my family w/o difficulty; and every day it got a little easier and less painful for me.
The risk of the surgery I had was explained to me in detail, and I was still determined to make this journey.
I'd rate Dr. Bessler, his staff and my hospital care a resounding 100%.
I'd say that it's best to have a good bedside manner and surgical competence too.

My first impression was that he was younger than I thought he would be. I don't know if he realized how nervous I was. He did answer all my questions and encouraged me to ask questions. He explained in detail the procedure and the risks. He saw me before the surgery and was very reassuring. He personally spoke to my family after the surgery. He could have had a resident talk to them but he did it personally. I appreciated it greately.My follow up visits were somewhat rushed but the entire experience was positive and perfect.