Johns Hopkins Obesity Surgery Center Bariatric Center
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I will meet my surgeon on April 25, 2007. I am hoping that will be my day to change my life forever! I will keep you posted. rnrnrnrnrn04/25/07rnToday I met my surgeon, what a wonderful man!! He was very kind and gentle. He went over the steps of the surgery and took his time. He did not rush thorough anything. It was a great experiernce. He was an ANGEL!!! rnrnrn1/31/08 I am so pleased that I chose Dr. Magnuson. He is a great person.
My first impression of Dr. Schweitzer was he looks so young (so I questioned whether he had enough experience). And then I did some more research on the guy. His resume in the medical field is outstanding. I encourage anyone who is considering weight loss surgery to compare Dr. Schweitzer's leak rate to that of any other surgeon. This was especially important to me as my real fear with this surgery was \"what if something REALLY went wrong and I died and left my small children motherless.\" After asking him about the risks and researching his practice, I knew if I was going to have surgery it had to be with Dr. Schweitzer. So on that note, the only negative comment is Dr. Schweitzer inserts a drain as he is finishing up surgery that has to be removed several days after. This again in one more redundant attempt to protect the patient from a leak. Removing the drain is fast, but it is no picnic - when I asked him about it at my one month follow-up - he chuckled and said, \"why do you think I have one of my Residents remove it.\" Besides being a brilliant surgeon, the guy even has a bit of a sense of humor. To me, his talent has changed my life - I am so grateful. I'm 16 weeks out of a vertical sleeve gastrectomy and I'm down 48lbs. Thank you Dr. Schweitzer!
10/16/07rnDr. Schweitzer in my opinion is simply THE BEST! My surgery went very well. I had contacted him by e-mail 4 days prior to surgery and sked \"if I was found to have a hiatel herinia would he also repair it while he was in there?\" (I was never diagnosed with one, however, I suspected I had one). He e-mailed me back and said we would discuss on day of surgery. Morning of surgery he saw me pre-op and already had it on his papers to fix the hernia. I was very fortunate, recovery was not bad (roommates sucked! but not Dr.'s fault) I stopped pain medication day after surgery...just didn't need it (did take it to induce sleep and also one dose to calm me before the drain was removed) Drain removal was not painful....just a very different feeling...something never experienced before.rnrnrnMy first impression was that Dr. Schweitzer is confident in his abilities, he set me at ease immediately, answered all my questions in a straightforward manner. It took me only a couple of minutes to have 100% trust/confidence in him. There was no doubt that he is the surgeon I wanted.rnrnI will know more about him and his bedside manner on 16 August when he does my lap Rouen Y.
Iniitial consultation June 11, 2007; insurance approval August 20, 2007; surgery October 9, 2007. My initial impression of Dr. S was (1) he values patients who've made the effort to learn about the surgery and come into the process not needing a lot of hand-holding, and (2) he has a very reserved manner of dealing with people. Despite some of the reviews I've read here, I did not perceive him as arrogant or cool, just a very busy man who expects patients not to want to be coddled. And as an adult, I can deal with that. During the intervening months between my initial consultation and my surgery date, I also found that he has an on-the-ball office and medical staff. The doctor I met again the morning of my surgery was a great deal less reserved than the doctor I met at the initial consult. Though business-like, he was warmer, reassuring, remembered specific details about me (indeed, which disc in my spine caused me trouble), and had quite the repartee with the terrific anesthesia team. It was when I had suspected complications, though, that I was happiest with my choice. He was there for me in a way that went above and beyond what one would expect of a \"great technical surgeon.\" He came up to see me in my room and explained what they would be doing. Every decision about my care went seemed to go through him. I am 100% happy with the way he dealt with my situation.
I thought that Dr. S. was a very confident surgeon. I respect him for the compassion and time that he and Pat his NP spent with me. They really make sure you are making an educated decision. I would reccomend them to anyone considering having this surgery.
My initial impression of him was that he knows and is very capable of doing this surgery but he seemed to have a very dry sense of humor. Will fill in more as I get to know him better and have more appointments. rnrnMy surgery went very well. I had to be at the hospital at 6am Aug 28 and I was a nervous wreck. I went into the \"holding\" room and had an IV put in, asked questions, met the ansthieologist, the nurse that was going to be in OR with me, then Dr. Schweitzer came in. He was likeable and nice, actually even smiled once I think. They rolled me into the OR, I asked if all the tools on the little table were going to be used on me and they said most of them and POOF that was the last thing I remember till I woke up in my room. They said the surgery lasted about 2 1/2 hours, they ran into some adhesions on my left side from previous c sections and he also saw a hernia which he could not get to. So I was a little more sore on my left side. I have five small incisions on my belly, about 1/2 inch long. They are starting to itch which I would guess that means they are healing. I ended up staying in ICU the whole time at the hospital because they did not have any beds available on the floor I was supposed to be on. Which was fine with me because, I had my own room and my nurse was there alot. My only issue was, I had an IV that went bad and they tried to find a new vein to use and that was not successful. I was stuck over 20 times including once in top of my foot. They talked about putting a central line in but that did not happen because I the next morning, I would not have needed the IV anyway. So I just went without. Which was FINE by me. So needless to say, I am one big bruise on both arms. The most tender spot was by my knuckle on my finger, that hurt for awhile. rnrnI was released Thursday afternoon and I have been having 60 cc (about 4 oz) of stuff. I have had unsweetened applesauce, s.f. pudding, whey protein drink with 1% milk (ick to mixing with water), s.f. crystal light, s.f hawaiian punch, eggbeaters. Oh, I also have had the meat stew(pureed) and I did chicken and gravy, pureed. They were not bad tasting...just different. I think the hardest thing to get used to is chewing my food carefully. Also, having to drink 30 minutes after a meal is hard to get used to. But, it is all a lifestyle change, one that I am ready for and am getting used to. Will write more later.
I am happy to say that Dr. Michael Schweitzer is my surgeon. I first met Dr. Schweitzer on July 2, 2007 at my consult with him. Even before I met him, I had done so much research I knew that I could not be in better hands. I found him to be easy to talk with. What I liked the most about him was the direct eye contact he made as he spoke to me. It gave me a real sense of confidence and that he was truely connecting with me as an individual. My impression of Dr. Schweitzer only got better over time. His office staff were extremely helpful and cooperative. Pat Jordan is outstanding as his NP and Alice as his surgical scheduler always had time for what I needed. In addition, the staff at his Green Spring office location were top notch. I never had to wait. Dr. Schweitzer was extremely concerned that each of his patients understood the risks of all the different types of weight loss surgery. It is important to him and to Pat that you be an informed consumer of this gigantic step you are about to take. To do this, there is an excellent web site associated with Dr. Schweitzer as well as the entire bariatric program at Bayview that gives you a vast amount of pertinent information. Over all I would rate Dr. Schweitzer as outstanding. I would trust him with my life anytime just as I did this time. My outcome speaks for itself. A 2 nite stay for DS Lap with no complications!
My first impression of Dr. Schweitzer was he was very friendly and answered all my questions. I was a little disappointed when he said my insurance company may not cover the VSG but he asssured me he would try; that made me feel better. His staff so far has been very kind and have answered all my questions with great patience. Alice, whom I have not the opportunity to meet yet, has been very kind to me on the telephone with different concerns & questions about insurance coverage.rnAfter surgery, I will update the whole situation.
During my consultation in May, Dr. Schweitzer was very hurried and I spent most of my time with Pat who was very nice. Unfortunately, because we were so hurried I did not fully grasp that I needed to make my psych eval and nutrition appts immediately. For some odd reason, I was under the impression that I was to wait until insurance gave its approval. In retrospect I don't know what I was thinking, but now 2 months later I am only getting started with my necessary appointments. I am disappointed and my only comment would be to the staff: it is important that patients understand what their responsibilities are as they leave the office. The explanations via packet of information is not enough. There should be a clear clarification of next steps, which I did not feel I had. We will see how things go from here. I am confident in the physician's capabilities, but disappointed in the process to date.