New York Bariatric Group Bariatric Center

My first impression of Dr.Garber was wondrful. he was such a nice man and he answered all of my questions even the silly ones. The only thing i disliked was the office wait.. omg i was there for 3 hours before i got to see him. but once i met him it was well worth the wait.

First impression of Dr. Shawn Garber was a good one, listened and made eye contact, which is always a plus! lol, very busy practice, but this does not take away from the time he spends with each patient.. I have gone to his monthly support groups, and he is always there, either running the group or having a guest speaker. Dr. Garber requires his patients to see 8 specialists before he will discuss a definite surgery date, which I feel is SO SO important, this is our life, so why not get every thing, big or little checked out before such a major surgery? We have every right to receive the best care possible, before, during and after, and this must begin with the proper surgeon. The office staff were accomadating, warm and just plain cool. I met with Dr. Garber again 7 weeks after the first meeting, when I finished all of the required visits to doctors, including a thaluim stress test at the cardiologist, endocronolgist, tons of blood work, endoscopy with follow up, gallbladder sono, nutritionist, 2 psych appts, and gastrologist, and pulmonary specialist. Maybe left something out~!! Learned I am basically a healthy person, quite muscular, with 2 major back surgeries, still causing great pain, most likely due to weight issue. I think Dr. Garber is warm, and will update you on his bedside manner after surgery! Thats a funny term, bedside manner!! Think you are letting someone know something totally unrelated to having surgery! lol....gotta bring some humor into this thing somewhere! Update again soon..

My fist impression of Dr. Garber was "I DON'T BELIEVE THIS MAN HAS MADE ME WAIT OVER 2 HOURS!" - I was pissed.
My impression did not change until I did additional research on Dr. Garber. Also when I came to the mental understanding that the rush is what got me in this condition in the first place.
His office staff is serious, but informative. . way to busy!
What did you like least about him?-
In all honesty I have not found anything to dislike. I cannot be upset because he is busy. BUSY EQUAL GOOD IN MY BOOK!
His team had a list of Docters to choose from when it came to the seven steps and they work well togethor.
What should future patients know about him?
Be prepared to wait!!!!! :(
How much does he/she emphasize aftercare?
He stresses the importance of the aftercare commitments with visit, support groups & vitamins.
He reviewed the risk of surgery.

I will opt to save the rateing until after my surgery date!

He seemed nice, competent, and very sure of himself.


I felt at ease when I left his office.

I really didn't have much to do with his office staff. I was fully prepared, all pretesting done, since I came from another surgeon.


We didn't dscuss aftercare.

I believe he has a very strict aftercare program.
He was aware that I already knew the risks.

I liked him a lot. He seemed very confident to me, which made me feel a little more comfortable.
I believe both are important. You want your surgeon to be competent, that is very important, but you also want to know that he will treat you like a person, not just an operating tool. I personally like a little niceties involved.

I found Dr. Garber to be very professional when I met him at my first appointment. He explained everything to me, and answered all of questions. Also, he discussed all of the risks. He gives you a list of the other types of doctors you need to see, to make sure your health is in check.
At the second visit, he gives you a quiz, to make sure you understand,and goes over your answers with you. He has a wonderful bedside manor. Jennifer, his office manager is wonderful. Jennifer and Lisa are always polite and "obese-freindly" to clients, in person and on the phone.
Dr. Garber makes sure his patients understand that they will have to have life-long medical management.
I found him to be very confident. Myself and my husband felt very comfortable with him. He spoke with me very down-to-earth, he smiles and is talkative, he is also a great listener.
Post-op, when I needed to call him, he called me back in ten minutes, no lie! He encouraged me to call for any questions, any time.
One thing I really liked is, it is just him, he has no other associates. So when you call him, he calls you, no one else. You always know who you will see in the office and hospital. The drawback, sometimes, if he has an emergency, people I have read, have had to wait, but I personally never waited really long.
Dr. Garber is very specific about how things are done in the hospital, for instance, my first night, I stayed all night in the recovery room. The staff at the hospital told me he has his patients stay in recovery for a low patient/nurse ratio, for better care. But I really feel that it makes better care for us patients that way.
I go to see him Monday for my 1 month post op visit. Bottom line is, I recommend him, if you want a great surgeon. Also, I had no complications.
He has both sugical competence and a great bedside manor.
Hope this helps.

My first impression of Dr. Garber was great. He fully explained to me what the procedure would involve and what I will have to do to prepare before the procedure.

> outstanding. young and knowledgable
> saw how professional he was and how willing he was to get back to me to answer questions
>GREAT..ask for lisa or jen
>had to wait long time in office at appts
>great surgeon, explains everything in detail including risks and what is expected of you
>important the follow up and runs support groups
>yes
>to the point..no pulled punches
>11 on a scale of 1-10
>surgical competence. the bed side manner is important to put someone at ease and assist the patient with assisting themselves to recover quickly

On 3/28/02-I had my consultation with Dr. Garber, I feel very confident, he answered whatever questions I had and I was not rushed through the consultation. I was at St Johns and felt the staff was competent also. I was a bit disappointed to find out due to a hernia on my belly button that I will have to have the open bypass surgery and not laproscoptic. I would love to hear from anyone who has had a similiar situation or who has had the open bypass. Today I will get on the ball and start making my appointments for my other doctors for clearance.

I just had my first visit (consultation) with Dr. Garber. He seemed nice enough and pretty informative, but seemed to be a little rushed. His office staff was very friendly and efficient. We didn't get into to deep of a discussion about the particulars because he requires that I see 8 specialists and we'll have more to talk about when he gets their reports back

I thought that Dr. Garber was definately the one for me. He answered all my questions, my boyfriends questions too. The staff is okay. Future patients should know that he is very busy and you will wait to see him, but so worth it. Aftercare is strictly provided. There is post op and pre op therapy sessions too. I am familiar with the risks as I did my homework before scheduling such a major surgery. I would rate him, so far, an 8.