Mount Sinai Weight Loss Surgery Program Bariatric Center

Dr. Herron is an excellent surgeon,
highly recommended.
The doctor and all of his staff were
extremely professional.
The doctor was very competent and had a
very good personality.
I had the laparoscopic roux-en-Y 1/29/01
with a BMI of 60 (6'2" 470lbs.).

By reputation I've learned that he's fantastic. After my initial consult, I can personally say I thought is energy, thoughtful answers to questions and skill were evident. I feel I'm in great hands. After two years of dedication to this surgical procedure, he's never lost a patient, and I'm certainly not planning on being his first!

Dr Herron is a very nice Man, very skilled surgeon,and a great bedside manner. His office Staff is well lets say disoranized :), not that they are rude or un plesant just hard getting who you need to talk to or getting dates screwed up that type of thing

What a difference with Dr. Herron than my 1st surgeon. Sat down, took the time to explain at great length what he does and why. Tried for early March but wants a full day as I'll be his only surgery on April 11th. Surgery should take about 6 hrs. as I actually have 3 procedures that day. Since I was the first appt. and done early they even called and scheduled my psych. and nutritist meeting. Luckily it could be done today and I didn't have to go back. The entire team works so well together and was great!!! I didn't experience any craziness with the paperwork or anything. I feel so comfortable with this decision and it feels wonderful. All my risks were explained in full.

3/14/01
I feel so blessed that Dr. Herron is my surgeon. He called tonight to discuss changing from RNY to BPD and why. Explained that I have greater risks for leaking/bleeding(which I knew)by undoing the surgery from Aug. He feels that if we do the BPD than I have less risks/complications. I will still lose weight and all. He answered my questions and referred me to lots of sites(not only theirs)to make an informed decision. Call in a few days to let him know so he can submit to insurance. Well, I read everything and I know tonight that this is okay. How can I argue with a Dr. who's trying to prevent less complications in the long run? So, I love the fact that HE called me personally and no pressure to decide. Gosh, I just can't believe how lucky I am to be with a program like this!

4/2/01
Dr. Herron is incredible!! He stayed in touch via e-mail(not always same day but it wasn't urgent)and kept reassuring me all was going to be alright. When my denial came he was "don't panic" and lets hold on. Daryl's working things out. He personally spoke with the Dr. at Aetna to fully explain why I can't have the RNY which is what they want to pay for. He explained fully my need for BPD/DS. I can't believe he got the approval. I am in awe to the extent of his involvment for me to have this surgery! I truly am at a quality program. When you have someone like this going to bat for you before surgery it makes you very comfortable during the procedure. I personally feel he runs a quality program. Daryl has been great. The day ins. requested a pre-determination Daryl got them one that day! He reassured me, called when necessary and kept me up to date during these last few crazy days! He even called with the good news. Daryl arranged for the Dr. at Aetna's schedule to work with Dr. Herrons so they could speak about what needed to be done. He did everything in his power for me to be approved. There were a few days when he didn't return the calls but he didn't know anything at that time.

4/19/01
There aren't enough words to describe my utmost confidence in Dr. Herron as my surgeon!!While outside of OR waiting he came and advised me of everything that would be happening and why. He felt we needed to change to an "open" BPD/Ds but that it would be only a small incision and the healing time very similar to LAP. Not a problem. Even before surgery we were laughing and all. He was right there when I woke up in recovery and I even cracked a joke. He reminded me about the next day and I said I remembered. His bedside manner is great. Made sure I knew who was covering for him for the weekend,what to expect and all. I would rate him on a scale of 1-10/well above a 10. He has been that great. He went to bat for me to have this surgery and he did great. He has a structured aftercare and I see him again on 5/3. I expect all will be fine. It almost seems to hard to be true to find a Dr. that is quality from my experiences from consult,surgery,follow-up but I have truly found one. I have nothing negative at this time. Not even the slightest complaint~

I met with Dr Herron on 2/8/01. He was very nice and friendly. He took time to explain both procedures and helped me narrow it down to Lap RNY. We decided on a surgery date of 4/9/01. Diana and Evette were great. What a staff!! So far I feel that I made the right choice and can't wait to have the surgery.
Dr Herron also assured me that the insurance should not be a problem. He said that as long as my BMI was over 40 they will approve it. I hope and pray he is right. He seemed so confident.
UPDATE: I have changed my mind and am now seeking the Lap BPD/DS instead of the Lap RNY
Many nights of research has brought me to this decision.
Dr Herron actually called me on 3/12/01 & 3/14/01 to discuss both surgies in full again. He is WONDERFUL!! We spoke for about 25 minutes and he did not rush me or try to get rid of me. He agrees with me about the BPD/DS and on 4/9/01 he will "switch" me!!!
4-4-01 UPDATE: Last week Diana Gee from Dr Herron's office called me and asked me if I would like to move my date up to 4*6*01 and of course I said, "YES"!! So I am 48 hours away from being switched and I am so excited
If it wasn't for Diana Gee and my own leg work I would not be having the BPD/DS because Daryl in the ins dept DID NOT submit the correct code and it was almost too late. I found out YESTERDAY that I was approved for the BPD/DS when I should have known at least 2 weeks ago. It was sheer torment waiting to see which surgery you are having and not knowing until the very last minute!!
I really appreciate Diana Gee and I am very disappointed at the treatment that I rec'd from Daryl. Take matters into your own hands like I did and get the surgery you truly want!!!!!! GOD BLESS!!!!!
UPDATE: DR HERRON IS THE BEST SKILLED SURGEON IN THE WORLD!!! I AM HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL ONE DAY AND I FEEL GREAT. HE PERFORMED THE LAP BPD/DS WITH SUCH PRECISION THAT I AM EATING AND DRINKING AND TAKING MY PILLS WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS. HE IS TOPS!!!!!

Although surgery scheduled for 3/27/01 - original consultation to be on 3/1. Haven't met but did send email to which he replied the next day! While office staff didn't originally return my call, once I got to speak with Yvette, she was terrific and helped with scheduling and understanding pre-op tests/consultations.

3/22 - Surgery date was changed to one day sooner - great! Met Dr. Herron and I liked him very much, along with PA Diana. I had so many questions written, but I asked only the ones I could think of quickly. The rest I sent to him via email and, I love this part - he responded to every one 24 hrs later! For an I.T. person, this is just wonderful.

4/4 - The surgery went well and Dr. Herron was able to do lap RNY even tho I was almost at the top limit of his being able to. He visited each day in the hosptial, and always with a smile for me. Both surgical competence and bedside manner are wonderful. I am so far very pleased with this choice. My only criticism would be in the delay in getting letter written and sent with other tests/letters to the insurance company. But I do realize that the timeline was very tight and consider myself fortunate to have had everything fall into place. I took it as a sign that this was meant to be.

Dr Inabnet was a little late to our first consultation (through no fault of his own).
But this was ok. He was very personable, soft spoken, and very willing to explain the pros and cons and risks and benefits of surgery.
He dealt very well and very diplomatically with my neurotic: "I'm a health care professional and I know too much"
routine.
In the hospital, he was wonderful to me pre-op. As I had predicted, I turned into a frightened sobbing heap...and he was wonderful. My last physical memory as I went under, and I was shaking and crying and pleading to God, was him, standing over me and saying in a soft voice that I would be ok, and don't cry, and he touched my face.
The office staff were a little disorganized, which got on my nerves a little, but very personable and friendly...especially Nicole Gordon.
They all emphasized to me the importance of life long follow up care.
I highly recommend Dr. Inabnet. I found him to be clinically brilliant, competant, and had excellent and sensitive bedside manner.

When I first met Dr. Herron I found him and his office staff to be extremely helpful and patient. Dr. Herron answered many questions (even by email) and was pleasant. He has a great disposition and is such a friendly person with a wonderful sense of humor. He explained what the surgery would require of my mind and my body. I felt comfortable with him right away and never had an ounce of doubt about him. I felt I was becoming more paranoid the closer I came to surgery and I'm sure I hounded his office staff to death with questions! They were more than helpful and never once did I feel that they were annoyed with me for bothering them. P.A. Diana G called me back at home when she was off for a few days to answer question which was an added plus in my book! I highly recommend him. My surgery actually took longer than expected since we ran into a slight problem. Afterwards he met with my family members and explained the entire procedure. My family found him to be honest, direct and friendly and my mom thought he was good looking!

I was extremely happy with the care I received from Dr. Herron. He is a compassionate and skilled surgeon who is a great advocate for his morbidly obese patients. Dr. Herron took a great deal of time discussing different surgeries with me and explaining in great detail the risks of WLS. I was scheduled to have a lap BPD/DS but ended up having an open BPD/DS that took 7 hours to complete because of an enormous amount of adhesions from a prior gallbladder surgery. My recovery went well without any complications. My follow up care was excellent. The office staff at Dr. Herron's has improved over the last 6 months. When I first went to them, I think they were overwhelmed with the amount of patients and how quickly the practice was growing. There have been a few staff changes recently and I find the current staff to be very responsive to my questions and requests. I highly recommend Dr. Herron to anyone interested in having WLS. He is my hero! Surgery: September 22, 2000

03/01/01 - UPDATE - I have elected to switch doctors since it will be August or September before he could schedule me. I met with Dr. Daniel Herron in NYC. He is fantastic. I am scheduled for surgery April 10th.

02/16/00 - Still waiting for Dr. Smith to mail the LOMN. It is two weeks past when he said that he would send it. I have also found it difficult to get through to his staff and they have not returned any of my calls.

01/31/01 - I met with Dr. Smith today and think he is great. He spent a lot of time educating a group of patients with a powerpoint presentation answering basic questions. He then met with each of us individually and answered our individual questions. He is going to craft a LOMN to mail to the insurance company. I hope he does this expeditiously. His staff was friendly and competent.