ECU Physicians Bariatric Center

Dr DeMaria is a wonderful surgeon! He has a great 'chairside' manner and made me feel at ease immediately. He was professional and to the point. There were no surprises for me before or after my surgery. The surgery and its possible complications were clearly explained and any questions I had were addressed immediately.

Dr DeMaria's staff is wonderful, too! They are businesslike and friendly, too! In my experience, they treat you as any caring professional should treat all of his/her patients. :)

The after-care for Dr DeMaria is unequalled. To Dr D and his staff, each patient is considered a 'patient for life' by him and all of his staff. They encourage everyone to call them with any question either before or after surgery. I loved that I have never felt alone or like any questions I would ask would be considered 'stupid'.

Dr DeMaria's medical expertise is unequalled as well. He is one of the pioneers for the perfection of laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery and his credentials speak for themselves.

The negative things that I can say was that after I had the inital consult, it was 5 months before my actual surgery date. Also, one other thing; the educational meeting you have before the surgery could have explained about the 'hard to do' personal hygiene things that required help in some way. (keeping yourself clean after using the bathroom, showers, etc.) The pain from the incision on my left side prevented me from keeping myself as clean for the first two weeks as much as I would normally like.

This statement is my own personal experience and opinions. I had no surgical complications at all and feel very lucky to have not had any to date. I realize this is not true of everyone, but my own personal experience and 'normal' for me.

from what i have read about him i can say i am going into this feeling safe and aware of the pros and cons of having this surgery. i can't wait to meet him personally on feb 5. after that i hope i get a surgery date soon after. i'm really excited about this. so far the staff have been very helpful in helping me get all of my paperwork together. i think both surgical competence and bedside manner are important. I finally met with my doc and consider myself blessed to have such a great doctor. He informed me about everything that will be happening to me. He decided that since I have so many medical problems going into this that I have a few test to be done. He decided that the lap would be best for me and since I have major anxietys, I would be scheduled first thing in the morning. I really feel safe with him and his staff. I have my phyc apt on 2/16/04. I am so excited about this that it feels like the birth of one of my children. I hope the test are done fast and I can get going on the sugery. I can't wait to find the new me.

My Dr is Dr Eric DeMaria @ MCV in Richmond Va. Ive heard over and over that he is the best on the East Coast.
I meet Dr Eric DeMaria on Jan 22, 2004 at my first consult. I really liked him. He was very interested in what I had to say. I didnt have to ask any questions, he answered them all before I had time to ask. I love this place because when they tell you about how many people get sick, die, or have problems with the surgery they arent getting the numbers out of a book. Its the number from people they have done surgery one.
I think this is a wonderful Dr.. I would recommend him.
He made me feel very welcome in his office and I was never ever rushed. That meant alot to me.
He took his time and explained it all to me.
Over all I would rate him a 10.
And I found all at the hospital very helpful. When I would get this look on my face that Im lost.. lol... Someone who worked there would stop and ask if they could help me. And if they were going my way they would invite me along.
That counts to me.
Sometimes it takes a small effort to make someone feel good.

Met Dr. DeMaria on Sept.25,2003. He was very nice and pleasant to talk to. Answered many questions for me and my husband. Staff seems very nice although could have more communacations with each other and patient. Took awhile to get info sent to ins. company. Had to constantly call to check on this. Heard he is one of the best in the country with great after care.

Right off the start... I thought he was "brainy" and a bit sterile. But he immediately opened up and became very caring and helpful. He did an excellant job on a person my size during surgery. I was so thrilled to have lap RNY. I was very concerned that I might need open RNY. Thank God... I didn't. I've gone back and seen him a few times since my surgery and he has always been very kind. His associate, Dr. Poochie... is excellant as well ... with an outstanding bed side manner and witty charm. His practice totally prepared me for the surgery via bypass class. I can call anytime and will have my questions always answered. I feel he has given me this tool (the operation itself) which has greatly impacted my life. And he has given me the knowledge to take care of my new anatomy and myself for the rest all time. I'd highly recommend him... to anyone who is looking for a good, talented and caring surgeon... and who is considering gastric bypass. Going out of state to have him as my doctor was the best decision I made about this whole experience.

Dr. DeMaria is very gifted. The best.

I have a hearing loss and I found it difficult to lipread. Otherwise Dr. DeMaria was very professional and seemed interested in the questions that my husband and I had regarding the surgery.
The last time I saw him was right before they put me under in the operating room. He did not make an appearance while I was recuperating. His student/fellow was available and very helpful with the questions I had post-op.
The office staff is very, very, very cordial and supportive. They are willing to listen and give you pointers as well as help you with any concerns you may have. The pre-op waiting is a bit long and though they have it down to a science I feel that spending all day for a few hours of testing.
The aftercare is very rigidous and just about mandantory. They acknowledge that the surgery is a TOOL not a endall/cure-all and require you to follow up. I really like being able to contact the Nurse on staff (JILL) with any questions at any time and know that she will get back to me. I give the whole clinic and Dr. DeMaria a 10 out of 10. My husband and I were really impressed and pleased with the whole program.
I feel surgical competence is more important then the bedside manner, after all if the surgeon is not good,,,there wouldn't be anyone in the bed!

Dr. DeMaria is very quiet! But a great surgeon. I would recomend him for any surgery at any time.

He is very caring and wants all his patients to be successful. If you are honest and admit to not exercising or eating some sweets - he will nicely repremand you for doing so.

He and his staff are great and are very good about giving full information. In all my appointments I have left feeling fully informed on what to expect and what to do.

Being at a teaching hospital I did not see Dr. DeMaria while in the hospital after surgery. That follow up and care were taken care of by his residents who were very competent! I did get to see him prior to going in when they were preping me. He made a point to come talk with me. He and his staff were very good about keeping my family updated during and just after surgery!

I can't say enough good about this experence!
Below this site asks about anything negative, and I honestly can not think of anything negative - or anything that bothered me. Granted there may have been things that would have bothered someone else. The only thing I'd change right now would be to advise them to update the video they show on the first appointment.

My first impression of Dr.DeMaria was he was very busy. When i finally got to talk with him longer than 5mins he was very sweet and reaccuring and informative. The only thing that bugged me was he was so busy. His nurse Jill Meador was AWESOME!!! If anyone is concidering picking him as there surgeon will be taken care of completely. I trusted him totally. He made sure i understood all the risk of this surgery. Overall i am so glad he was my surgeon.

Dr. DeMaria seems like a very caring physician. He answered all of my questions, and when I later had a problem getting my surgery scheduled I emailed him, and not only did he respond, but he took care of the situation right away.
His office staff is WONDERFUL! Everyone there has been very nice and extremely helpful.
I have no doubt that he is a very competent and talented surgeon and am sure I made the right decision is choosing him to do my surgery.