Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program Bariatric Center

I immediately had a good impression of him. He seems very passionate about the surgery and has a strong commitment to his patients. He is very personable and is a skilled laproscopic surgeon-- I have the utmost confidence in him. He was very candid about the risks and benefits of surgery...In fact the first half of your initial consultation is spent in a one hour orientation regarding the procedure,nutrition,risks and other concerns. Since I am now post op I have more to say about the office staff of my surgeon. As a post op it has been very frustrating dealing with them. They do not return phone calls, I have been placed on hold for fifteen minutes at a time and in the end I am told to call back later, they never called with the results of bloodwork- I had to ask the lab to fax them to me....Don't get me wrong I love my surgeon he is great but his office staff needs alot of improvement-especially since I have been post-op.

Well I had my consultation yesterday. 9/23/02 Dr. Williams was very polite. I waited about an hour and a half to see him, but I am glad I did,and I would do it again. The meeting was brief, but he explained exactly what he was going to do. He made a diagram and everything. Then he felt around on my stomach, asked if I have ever had surgery on my stomach before. I said no and I guess that meant that lap procedure was a thumbs up. He asked what my time frame was for surgery. I said the sooner the better! So upon approval, the surgery will be hopefully in early November. We will see! Good luck to everyone else!

Very mild-mannered. Listened attentatively. Ask questions and really listened to what you had to say. I felt very comfortable with him.

His office staff was pleasant and friendly.

Great surgeon! I am so thankful for him.

My first impression was that he was a young doctor, but if he studied at Pennsylvania Hospital, he will be good.

Well, I was going to go with a doctor who has known me all my life, because my dad works in the O.R. with him, however, his techniques from what I heard were a little bit behind the times, so I decided to stay with Dr. Wernsing.

Office staff is very together, being that the program just started at Underwood, the staff should really become more knowledgable of the procedure, hence I recommended this website to them.

Since I havent had the surgery yet, I will have to answer the other questions at a later date. :)

Dr. Alan Schuricht is wonderful, he took the time to explain the procedure in detail.Great bedside manner.I would definitely recommend others to go to him.
He also took the time to explain how and what to eat for the next 4 to 6 weeks.
I only problem I have encountered with the Dr. office is the staff does not return phone calls, or respond to my employer for disability pay.

I had my first consultation with Dr. Williams on 9/9/02. I was very impressed with him. He explained everything to me in detailed. He even drew me a diagram on the procedure. He answered all of my questions. He was very nice. The office staff was nice. Only problem I had is that it was a 2 1/2 hours wait. But it was worth it. I met with Rachel the nutritionist and she shedule a nutritional and psyc evaluation for 10/2. The psych and nutrition appointment will cost me $400. I do not think Atena will pay for this. But that is okay. I know they will pay for the surgery so I am not complaining. Rachel also stated thata packet will arrive in the mail before my appointment. Dr. Williams told me to just sit back and wait for the approval. He advise me not to do anything because his office will handle everything with Aetna.

Well I guess it is time to tell how good my Dr. Schuricht is! I had my surgery and complications came with it. I never thought it would happen to me, I was so well informed and not that much overweight. Through all the ups and downs my surgeon was there for me, nurses kept on telling me they had never seen anyone beeen treated so aggresevely by their doctor how lucky I was to have him. Well I respect and love my doctor very much, he is one of a kind, he gives me strength and he always returns my calls and makes me feel special. I believe he is the most caring doctor I have ever had. I am glad that he is my surgeon and I thank him for all the pep talks and all encouragement he gives me, we know I have a long road ahead of me but I will get there soon. I rate my doctor a 20, if there is such a rating, his staff is great. My doctors bedside manners are the best I have ever seen. He is just the best!

Very young, but very informative and concerned for my current condition.

Would like him to have talk with me more prior to surgery.

Very considerate and accomatable, but seem to need more help at times when busy.

The fact that they did not call after surgery.

He is an excellent surgeon and does a very good incision.

Very good doctor for first time weight loss surgery patients.

Most of the after care was given to me by my nutritionnist which she was appointed to me by Dr. Wersning.

Not at this time, they are still working on getting together some aftercare support groups, which I think will be greatly helpful.

Overall I think my surgeon would receive a 8 out of 10 being outstanding.

Surgical Copetence was wonderful, would like to have seen the doctor with co-assocites rather then co-associates only at times.

All of these answers are of my sole oppinion of myself and family and I feel very good about the whole experience.

DR. WERNSING IS GREAT. I WAS SUPRISED AT HOW YOUNG HE IS!!!! HE SPENT AN HOUR WITH ME, TALKING ABOUT THE SURGERY AND ANSWERING ALL MY QUESTIONS. HE LOOKED ME IN THE EYE AND REALLY PAID ATTENTION TO WHAT I WAS SAYING!
HIS OFFICE STAFF IS GREAT!!! THEY WERE NICE AND FUNNY AND THEY WERE VERY SUPPORTIVE OF MY DECISION TO HAVE THE SURGERY.
I DON'T THINK THERE IS A TOPIC THAT HE DIDN'T DISCUSS WITH ME ABOUT THE SURGERY. WE TALKED ABOUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES(INCLUDING THE ONE HE WOULD BE PERFORMING), THE BENEFITS, THE RISKS AND WHAT TO EXPECT PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY AFTER SURGERY!!!
I FEEL SO COMFORTABLE IN MY CHOICE OF SURGEONS!!!!
THE ONLY THING THAT I DIDN'T LIKE WAS THAT I HAD TO TRAVEL OVER TWO HOURS TO HIS OFFICE. I WAS ALSO THE YOUNGEST PATIENT IN THAT CROWDED WAITING ROOM BY ABOUT 40 YEARS..I FELT A LITTLE OUT OF PLACE AT FIRST

I had my initial consultation with Dr. Matthew Kirkland in Philadelphia on 9/3/02. He spent about an hour and a half talking to me and 5 other patients. What we heard were truthful and detailed answers to all of our questions. He calmed my mind and put me at ease with his information. He is very experienced in this type of surgery, and seems to take a very "safety first" approach including pre-op visits to a cardiologist, pulmonary specialist, and support groups.
His office staff is very helpful and caring. They are doing all of the legwork re: insurance approval, pre-op testing, etc.
I should be having my surgery by the end of October - AND I CAN'T WAIT to take the next step on my journey.