Highland Hospital Bariatrics Bariatric Center

Dr. O'Malley is young, and only 3 years in practice. He is personable, but tries very hard to show you all the negative sides of surgery, and almost gives the impression that he is trying to talk you out of it. He is extremely thorough in his explanation of his procedures (open gastric bypass with RNY only), and draws diagrams. While he speaks in layman's terms, he doesn't seem willing to use the professional lingo I have learned on this site. He shows graphically what the size of the stomach is now, and what it will be. He makes it clear what to expect from the incision site, size, complication possibilities, and He explains all the things that could go wrong, and the risks and the likelyhood of each individual to have complications, based on what he sees in the medical history. He is patient with questions, answers them fully, and doesn't hurry you. He really lets things progress at the patient's pace, but he does seem to dwell on the negatives, the percentages of people who have the surgery who fail to lose the weight or to keep it off, and I think that's just to keep you from thinking this is going to be a "magic" pill! Dr. O'Malley explained in detail exactly what aftercare consists of, from going into surgery, through the hospital stay, and then what to expect when you go home, up to a year after surgery. He emphasized repeatedly that this is not a cure, and the patient is on their own for achieving weight loss. He stated that his office will always be available for questions, and there is a support group available if you are interested.
His office staff are great people! The receptionist is encouraging, and extremely knowledgeable concerning the insurance requirements, timetables for gathering the data, and scheduling. She handles alot of it herself, and gives very clear instructions on what the patient must do to expedite things. They are flexible enough to schedule the surgery out 8 weeks, but can move it up if all the paperwork is ready, or push it out if not.
If I could only chose one characteristic for a surgeon, his competency or his bedside manner, I would take his skill over a nice conversation any day! From my initial meeting with him, which lasted about an hour and a half, I am comfortable with my decision to continue. I now have to get a letter from my PCP and from a shrink!
***11/24/99***UPDATE
Dr. O'Malley was a good surgeon, he was attentive, helpful, and did a nice job! My incision is not terribly long, (20 staples) and healing well. I found him to be like most surgeons, not tremendously 'chatty' - but he is careful and caring. He leaves the follow up to his P.A., who is more than qualified, and very helpful. I recommend him without reservation.

I went to see Dr. O'Malley on Friday, Oct. 8th. In my opinion, he is a very professional person. He is very straightforward and perhaps a little intimidating if you don't know what's coming. He definitely lets you know that the surgery is not a "cure" for obesity and that you will have to work to lose the weight. Even though he comes on strong, I believe he does so for your own good. No surprises. I would reccommend him to anyone I knew who wanted to have wls.

He was very thorough.He pulled no punches as to what the surgery involved.He answered all my husbands questions.His office staff is wonderful .They answer my questions when I call.

My first impression of Dr. O'Malley was that he was quite stand-offish. When I had my consultation it was as if he really didn't want to do the revision on me. However, by the time the appointment was over I realized that he just wants to make sure you know what you are getting yourself into.

My impression of him now is that he is a good doctor who doesn't want you to believe this is a miracle cure for obesity.

His office staff have been excellent. They did everything possible to get all the approvals done in time for my surgery date. They are also very cooperative on coordinating appointments preop so you don't have to make numerous trips there. This was a great asset for me since I live 100 miles away.

I think the think I liked least about him was that he would basically fly in and out of the room... he really doesn't spend a whole lot of time with you during the hospital visits.

Future patients should know that he is not out to save the obese world. There are surgeons out there, but Dr.O'Malley isn't one of those. He wants to be certain that you are a good candidate for this surgery and tells you all the ramifications of it.

He is very animate that you need to continue coming in at scheduled intervals for follow-up care and bloodwork. If you use Dr. O'Malley he's not going to do the surgery and then just cut you loose 6 weeks later.

There is a structured aftercare program including visits with the nurse practitioner and routine bloodwork to be certain that no deficiencies are occuring.

Dr. O'Malley is very blunt and to the point regarding the risks of surgery. If your surgery is a revision, he will go even further indepth as far as the risks go. It is not a low risk procedure but if you are really serious about it and are willing to follow all instructions you will be successful.

Overall I would rate him above average as a surgeon. He is a very caring person. That definitely comes through in all that he does.

I feel that his surgical competence is superb. His bedside manner is okay but he doesn't spend a whole lot of time with you on his morning rounds. He works in a team with a resident and medical student. You will spend more time with them; they in turn report back to him.

Easy to talk to and very professional.
Excellent office staff and his Physician
Assistant, Betty, had the procedure 19
years ago. She is a blessing, a great lady!

Had surgery 2-19-99. BMI 74.9%. Weight over 450.

I am a supersized woman. I had significant health problems going into surgery and both my primary care physician and I were worried about complications. On the morning of surgery (a Friday), I saw Dr. O'Malley and his assistants. He came to my room that night to make sure I was doing OK.

Each morning I was hospitalized I saw either Dr. O'Malley or his residents - usually both. I was released on Monday morning. The hospital staff were used to dealing with people my size.

There were no complications. The wound has healed cleanly. I chose Dr. O'Malley because of his experience working with supersized and high risk patients. For another reference, please read Tim's story -
http://www.buildmeapc.com/obesity.

I would recommend Dr. O'Malley without reserve. If you would like to ask questions or need more information, email me at [email protected].