Elliot R. Goodman, M.D. Bariatric Center

Dr. Goodman is a very easy going individual who takes the time to explain all aspects of the surgery in detail with you. I did come prepared with my medical history and my families medical history in written form. His office hours are in the evening, and I recomend that you make your appointment early, since his office was overflowing with patients. He ran out of chairs. He seems knowledgable in his field and answered all of my questions. He was very confident about the surgery and explained that I would be under his care for the rest of my life. He takes blood work every three months to monitor your progression after surgery.Overall I would give his consultation review an A

Dr. Goodman is a very nice man. My first impression of him was that I felt he did care about you. I am amazed at his genuine personality. No matter what time you see him, like 12 midnight, he has a wonderful spirit around him. His staff is very helpful. Linda worked hard to get me approved for surgery.
His office has an aftercare program. I am just too far away to take advantage of it. It is very important to attend aftercare programs. This is so that you do not feel like you are in this by yourself.
Dr. Goodman is careful to inform you of any risk there are prior to surgery. If I had to rate him, he has an A+ in my book. He is surgically competent and I am pleased that he is my doctor.
The only problem that I have found is that I do not have a support group to attend near my home. I feel that Dr. Goodman should be able to provide me with names of other doctors or support/aftercare groups that I can attend near home.

Dr. Goodman is a very 'good' man. I honestly don't know how he keeps up with everything...I believe he has several offices and also does surgery out of several different hospitals. He has evening/night office hours, and when I was in the hospital, he did his rounds close to midnight or later! Does the man ever sleep?

I had a few minor issues after surgery and when I had to call the service he always quickly returned my call, was very re-assuring, and did not seem this least bit upset about being paged.

He's quiet, but very willing to discuss any questions you have, and does give you his full attention during your appointment. He thoroughly discussed the risks and benefits of the surgery and has a very good bedside manner. I felt very confident in his ability and comfortable putting my life/health in his hands.

All I can say is that it is very obvious that Dr. Goodman is very dedicated to his work, and must get a sense of great satisfaction knowing that he has helped so many people lead more healthy and happy lives. I'm thankful that God has given such skill to this surgeon, and gave him a sense of purpose to help others.

I met Dr. Goodman at the beginning of Oct. and I think he is a wonderful person. He was attentive and did not rush the appointment. He seems extremely comfortable working with obese people. His office staff is very helpful and are always available when I call with a question. I was able to meet some of his post-op patients and I haven't heard a single negative comment. His office hours are very accomodating for a work schedule. I am very immpressed so far and will update when I am post-op. The only negative thing I found was that the office I went to had only arm chairs, which can be very uncomforable for the obese person.
12/4/02-Well I had my surgery 2 weeks ago today...and I have to say Dr. Goodman and Dr. Halup are a Godsend. I feel wonderful and they did such a great job. No Complications. He has a great bedside manner and his skills are remarkable. I had open RNY and my scar is only 4 inches long. I will post more in the future.

As I already described in my profile, I found Dr. Goodman to be everything that his patients on this site say he is. He was professional, courteous, witty and endlessly patient with my many questions. I didn't have a lot of contact with his staff, but his assistant, Linda, called me today from home (she's recovering from surgery herself!) to schedule me and help me arrange for testing. I did notice that everyone in the office assumes that once you've come there, you've already made a decision to have WLS (and I definitely had not gotten there yet), but it's hard to criticize enthusiasm and respect for the program. I hope to be another one of his success stories.

As a post-op, I thought I'd add one important thing to this review: I had to call his service about a concern I had, late last night (nearly midnight). He called me within 10 minutes, and was not in the least annoyed or perturbed, but reassuring and encouraging me to call if I had any other concerns. It's nice to know that I'm not just a number, now that my insurance forms are in for payment.

Ok, I finally met with the wonderful Dr. Goodman. Over a year ago, I started to research the possibility of WLS. Dr Goodman, was a wonderful source of info, and very freindly through email. Due to my mothers concern, I thought about the procedure very carefully. Well, here it is a year and a half later, and I finally made an appointment. My aunt and I went together, and the office staff was wonderful. Dr Goodman actually remembered my original inquiries over a year ago which put me right at ease. He is very straight to the point about the risks, and the importance of aftercare. Vitamins, Vitamins, VITAMINS!!!!
They has a nutritionist there whom you can speak with, and a monthy support group. He is available through email to answer any questions. He has passion for his proffession, and love for his patients. He is my number one choice. Next step, Surgery date. :-)
Wait time for the Dr. was 20 min, and his seats were great for big butts!!! Very retro looking office.

He's really the greatest, always on top of things, will do anything for you to make the whole process a lot less stressful (especially dealing with the insurance co.- He does it all!) His secretary Linda is also really nice and always helpful.

today 8-21 i met Dr. Goodman, he shook my hand when he came into the office he seem very nice, and very attentive, first i saw a short video about the procedures. he asked me about my medical history and answered all my questions, i have to wait for the insurance to ok the surgery, get all the necessary papers from my pcp and so on, hopefully i get a date soon. when i was through with him he shook my hand again, til the next time.

Awesome doctor. Better than some of my other doctors.

Still the greatest.

Extremely helpful. Very accomating.

Nothing.

Great access and very supportive group.

Aftercare is VERY important. Otherwise why go through the trouble.

Yes

Yes

Off the rating scale. To impressed.

All of the above

These are the comments I have of this doctor (in his NJ office) so far, pre-op:
Prior to the consult., a thorough info. packet was sent to me to consider, so I learned quite alot before even seeing the doctor. My first encounter was with the office staff. Very nice and caring people, and the atmosphere is very happy! First thing they do at the initial consult. (after all the paperwork, of course) was to take me to the doctor's office to watch a video about the procedure and they gave me a notepad to write down any questions. Then the doctor arrived. From the start Dr. Goodman put me at ease with his sense of humor and easy-going personality. He was all so smiley! I guess he could tell that I was very nervous. Dr. Goodman appeared to be very energetic (at 9pm! I was practically dead!)! I sensed caring; that he is concerned for my health and well-being. He seems to be very committed to helping bariatric patients like myself. And he totally understands the suffering that the weight causes and the fears that we patients have about this major surgery. While speaking with Dr. Goodman, I could tell that he is highly knowledgeable, and I could see on the walls that he studied at one of the best schools in the world - Cambridge in England. My husband grew up in England, so we know that there is great competition to get into any college, never mind one of the best schools, so only the best people get in, and the best of the best gaduate! So we were very impressed by his education. Dr. Goodman discussed both the positive AND negative about the surgery so I go into it totally informed. He was totally honest and answered any question I asked. He didn't push the surgery; at no time did I feel coerced. Upon leaving, we were taken aback b/c the waiting room was packed & a few of the patients we spoke to just raved about him. So far, pre-op, I would rate Dr. Goodman as an A+++! Now on the negative side, at this first consult. appt. I had to wait 2 extra hours - from 7pm, my scheduled time, to 9pm. Although I must say, the office staff was very nice and offered me the choice to stay and wait or to reschedule. I decided to wait. And I'm really glad I did wait!! Anyway, if I recall, the reason for the Dr's lateness was b/c he was held up at the hospital. It was aggravating nontheless. But I easily disregarded that because overall, my experience was very good. Now to see about op & post-op. I expect it will also be good. I will update.

***6/2/01, Post-op***
OK. I really love this guy!!! I have yet to see him without that ear to ear smile on his face! Happiness just radiates from him! Oh, correction - in the hospital when Dr. G. came to check me and found out that they hadn't started me on my breathing exercise gadget, that smile dropped to a look of concern (and some annoyance). He straight away went to tell the nurse what he expected to be done. But otherwise, he's always smiley & humorous. Underneath that is a genius mind and a very compassionate & caring nature. Dr. Hollup, his partner, also assisted in my surgery and visited me frequently in the hospital. Haa--He cracked the whip and MADE me do my breathing exercises when I was getting lazy. He didn't leave until I finished them all under his watchfull eye! Dr. Hollup is also a great guy!