John Kelly, M.D. Bariatrics Bariatric Center

Dr. Kelley is the best gastric bypass surgeon in town. I was very lucky to have him. He is always very professional, patient and kind. Dr. Kelley has the best staff in town. He always has a team of surgical residents who are in the o.r. during your surgery and check on you numerous times a day during your hospital stay. Dr. Kelley is quick in responding to your needs and questions post-op too if problems arise. I would give Dr. Kelley, his residents and staff an A+++ in all aspects of surgical competance, bedside care, and post-op care. The only thing that was frustrating at times was the waiting period for your initial group meeting at UMASS/MEMORIAL to your day of surgery. (It was 18 months of waiting for me.)

Dr. Cherniach was trained by Dr. John Kelly, UMass Medical Center. Dr. Cherniach was a very thorough, caring surgeon. He has a good bedside manner, as well as being a very good surgeon. I had a few complications and he was right there for me, and I never worried that I wasn't in the best hands possible. Dr. Cherniach's manner (and Dr. Kelly's too) is very "un-surgeon like". They take as much time with patients as the patient needs, and on the times I have called the office, I get a return call from the surgeon within 1-2 hours even if my call is not urgent.

Dr. Kelly of UMASS Memorial Campus (Worcester, Massachusetts) was a small frame man with a gentle sounding voice when I first met him. Although I traveled almost an hour away to see him, I had done my research. He had performed thousands of gastric bypass operations using the laproscopic method.
When I finally had my one-to-one consultation with Dr. Kelly e was very thorough in his explanation of what was to come. His staff was also very helpful and supportive and they too reviewed the procedure with me. The nutrition class was very helpful and the 4 sessions with Dr. Kaplan about the psycological effects of eating was excellent. Dr. Kelly made it very clear who succeeds and who does not. Exercise MUST be part of your life and walking just doesn't cut it. The treadmill and more aerobic activity, especially in the first 18 months are very important to successful weight loss. This is a critical time period. He said I have to take responsibility for eating and exercising for total health.
The only problem with the whole procedure was that the expected 6-12 month estimate for this surgery with Dr. Kelly ended up to be 17 months from the time my name went on the list at my second group seminar until surgery date. This was mostly due to the growing list of patients, but there were several administrative errors and delays. Someone had cancelled my first appointment by accident and I had to wait another 3 weeks to get one. The required 4 week class with Dr. Kaplan atarted at the beginning of each month and I had to wait 6 weeks to get into the next class.
Dr Kelly visited me several times while in the hospital and the doctor who assists him visited me each day. "Nicole", which she likes to be called, examined the incisions, changed dressings and removed the drain on discharge day. She was also very supportive emotionally. Dr. Kelly returned my husband's cell phone call after getting out of surgery and left a very detailed message. A genuine doctor with surgical competence with great bedside manner!

I thought he was wonderful the first time I heard him speak. He always attends monthly informational meetings and very oftens stays late to continue answering questions. His program is very intensive and all the departments really work together to provide you with the best support pre and post-op. It is a longer program than some but it is well worth it because of the incredible support that is given. He has always been available when I had questions and he never made me feel hurried. He is a very good listener and doesn't talk down to you wich is very important to me. I don't usually have a good relationship with doctors but he is very much an exception. He really makes sure you understand completely what you are getting into and will not proceed with the surgery until he feels you are ready mentally for it. He is soft spoken and makes you feel instantly at ease and secure. The office staff was always very pleasent and tried their best to accomidate. I couldn't possibly say enough good things about Dr. Kelly, I was very lucky to have had him for a surgeon. I have tried but I really cannot say anything negative about Dr. Kelly. The only negative that I have is with the other departments such as Nutrition and Behavoiral Medicine. Those problems, such as long waits between visits and delayed paperwork, were strictly due to inadequate staffing and not competence. They did try their best to be fair with everyone and patience is needed. It took me one year to get through the program but to me it really didn't seem that long. I have no regrets and would not have gone anywhere else even if they told me I could have had it done much sooner.

Dr. Kelly is by far the best choice for those looking into Bariatric Surgery in Massachusetts. Top of his field in skill & understanding of how this surgery will change a person's entire life. Also, his nurses are exceptional! I find that a doctor's staff is just as important -- especially when most questions & concerns will be answered by them! I could not be more pleased with his entire office!

My first impression was that Dr. Kelly was a kind and gentle man. My first visit with him was fairly brief, but his nurse practitioner, Robin, had given me all the details prior to him entering the exam room. I understand he's busy and possibly just came from the hospital seeing one of his post-op patients (which will be me soon!). I work for a surgeon and understand the time constraints they are under. My second visit I set up to actually see Robin and discuss the surgery again (while we were waiting for the insurance approval), but the day before my visit Gloria called me with a surgical date so the next day I had a pre-op visit with Dr. Kelly. He spent 30-40 minutes answering my questions and never made me feel rushed or that he had heard the same questions 400 times! I give him an A+!

I like Doctor Kelley when I met him, he seemed to be very helpful. His office staff was wonderful. The only thing I was not happy about was the fact that I did not see him on my follow up appt. However when I was in the hospital he did come see me on his day off. And when I was home I made a call to his office and he was on vacation, I expected the Doctor on duty to call me back, but Doctor Kelley did, and that impressed me. I think his bed side manner was just as good as his surgical competence.

Very impressed with his honest approach.So far it has not changed.Excellent office staff.He is very busy,so I did not see much of him in office. Saw him every day in the hospital, however.You must follow his program.He emphsizes aftercare a lot. Yes,Program in place. He adressed it openly and honestly.Rate-Excellent.Surgical competence is essential due to risks.

Liked him right off, seemed to care, haven't had an appointment yet. On a waiting list.

I met with Dr. Kelly only once for a short visit. Spent most of the time talking with his PA and other members of his staff. I haven't really formed any impressions about Dr. Kelly or his staff. However, I have a surgery date of 3/26/03. I'm sure I will interact with all of them more between now and then. Dr. Kelly was highly recommended to me by both my family practioner and my obgyn physician. This is good enough for me. We spoke briefly about the risks but I have done extensive research and am well informed about and prepared for the risks of the surgery.
Finally, it is better to have surgical competence than bedside manner. However, a comfortable blend of both would be preferred.