NYU Langone Weight Management Program Bariatric Center
I met with Dr. Christine Ren on October 3, 2001 at her New York University Office. Prior to meeting with her, I met her Nurse Practioner, Gio, short for Giovanni. He does the Physical Assessment and Dr. Ren took me through the various surgery types. My impression of both Dr. Ren and Gio is positive. They both spent an inordinate amount of time with me. Dr. Ren spent almost 2 hours discussing the pros and cons of each. She stressed in an emphatic manner the need to be diligent about post-op visits, the need to follow the the eating regimen and exercise.
Prior to meeting with Dr. Ren, I met with another Physican on Long Island who shall remain nameless. I will not recommend him or his office staff to anyone. I had also tried Dr. Gagner at Mt. Sinai, but his schedule is quite full. Dr. Gagner's office seems short on staff as you are placed on hold for lengthy periods and no one returns your call.
I have a consultation scheduled with Dr. Ren on July 11th. After speaking to many post-ops online, have gotten the impression that Dr. Ren is a compassionate person and a great surgeon. So far my interaction with her office staff has been minimal. I have only spoken with her receptionist who was pleasant. I do recommend that if you are coming from out of town, be sure to schedule an appointment with the nutritionist and psychologist for the same day. Also, if you would like to have endoscopy with the gastroenterologist that Dr. Ren recommends, schedule that the same day as well. I am just beginning this journey, so I will keep updating as I go along.
7/12/01: I met with Dr. Ren yesterday and have a surgery date for Aug 2nd. She and her staff made me feel comfortable. Dr. Ren went through every aspect of the surgery and made sure I understood the possibility of complications and death. It started making me nervous, but I also felt assured that she would do everything possible to make sure that I came through safely. I had the endoscopy with Dr. Sherman and the Psych eval with Dr. Huberman. So, all I have to do is wait for insurance approval.
8/2/01: I had a phone interview with Dr. Ren's nutritionist, Barry, a week ago over the phone. She was very helpful and answered all my questions. I was having trouble with finding out if my insurance claim had been submitted, so I emailed Dr. Ren. She responded the very next day to tell me that it was being looked into and late that afternoon, I was told that I had been approved!
At first I was surprised at how young she is
but once we began speaking to one another
I was completely at ease. She is a
compassionate, caring individual who went
out of her way to assure that I could have
the surgery. Her staff match her temperament
and concern and they all go the extra mile
for their patients well being. There was
nothing that I dislike about Dr. Ren.
Her aftercare includes follow up visits
not only with her but with her nutritionist,
social worker, nurse practitioner and support
groups all as needed! Dr. Ren is up front
and completely honest about the risks of
surgery and absolutely frank with answers to
any and all questions. She is extremely
patient and devotes all the time you need
to speak with you. As far as I am concerned,
her bedside manner matches her excellent
surgical skills and as far as I am concerned
I really lucked out when I found her!
When i first saw Dr. Ren i knew she would be the one to do my surgery, she is very sweet and a very caring person.When ever i would email her i would have a response within one day, and her office staff is very courteous.Dr. Ren explains every aspect of the surgery and actually she explains all of the different types , benefits and complications of the different proceedures.Her nurse gio is great , sweet and caring they really take time to listen to you and to comfort you if you start to cry ( like i did)!
6/30/01-I have had my consultation with Dr. Ren and met most of the staff already. Everyone seemed very professional and considerate of my feelings and understanding. I have made all of my appts. for the surgery.
My appointment with Dr. Ren was encouraging and she was straight up front with me which I want. She has been very supportive through email which is very important to me to have a doctor to patient contact, one on one contact because this is a major decision.
She is very sweet and confident in what she does so you feel comfortable too. Her staff was also very supportive. Gio, the nurse was kind, goofy, and sweet all at the same time but was very exact as well. Barrie the nutritionist has encouraged me to try to eat some new things and worked with me with the things I did. And Lisa, the secretary, was always so sweet when I called with a question although she is always so busy trying to get things done for us campers. She got me approved within 2-3days with my insurance, so I am very thankful.
Dr. Ren has this really great energy. I just got this impression that she and her staff work well together and that they all enjoy what they are doing.
My history and general physical was taken by Dr. Ren's nurse Gio (Giovanni). He is terrific. He could tell I was nervous and kept assuring me that everything would be okay.
Dr. Ren took me through the procedures and explained the possible complications. She answered all my questions. I have since contacted her by e-mail with an issue and she responded very quickly.
my first impression was great. she as well as her assistant, giovanni, made me feel very comfortable. they talked to me as a friend, used medical terms as i would be able to understand. i have only had 1 visit with her so far, and all i can say is so far, so good! i also spoke to 2 of her patients that i saw in the waiting room and they are just so pleased with her and her stakk. one guy came in and just hugged the staff and made himself at home! he had surgery in december and is down 100+lbs! he told my friend and i (we are scheduled together for surgery, same day!) that it is the best thing he has ever done. he also said he met with 2 other drs and wasnt as happy with them as dr. ren.she was also very forward. she told us point blank, this is major surgery and could die from it. she was very up front with mortality rates as well as things that could go wrong. i was very scared, but very happy that she wasnt trying to cover up the bad with the good. she also made it very clear that it is going to take a lot on my part also. overall, so far i give her and her stakk a 10+++!
Everyone at Dr. Ren's office is GREAT! At my initial consultation I spent about an hour thoroughly discussing my medical and dieting history with Gio, Dr. Ren's nurse practitioner. He was very patient and kind. He made it a point to put my mind at ease. After meeting with Gio I met with Dr. Ren for over 1/2 an hour. My frist impression was that she is a confident, down to earth physician. I felt that she really knew her stuff. After explaining the BPD/DS in great detail - both the good and bad outcomes - she answered all of my questions. I was very comfortable with both Dr. Ren, Gio, and the office staff. I am very glad that I found Dr. Ren before going with someone else.