Physicians East Surgical Weight Loss Center Bariatric Center

When I first met Dr. MacDonald, he seemed nice enough. I was confident in his surgical abilities from all the people who spoke so highly of him at the Group Support meetings. There was a lot of testing before the surgery, but it seems to me that afterwards, the "care" was minimal. I developed acid reflux, but was told by a nurse in the meetings that this surgery would correct any problems with that. I had to have my anastomosis stretched because it had started to grow together. I was told this was not uncommon and the endoscopy was not painful at all. I was concerned that I was still having pain and had been reporting this, but Dr. MacDonald didn't even know about it for 2 weeks! I am now about 10 weeks out and am still having pain. It's lessened somewhat, but it's still there and I don't think something is quite right. I will be glad to talk with anyone who is considering the surgery with this group, or may have experienced the same/similar problems as me.
Overall, I am disappointed with the "aftercare program". I think aftercare is so important and I have so many questions. I WOuld love to chat with [email protected].

DR. MACDONALD IS A LIFE SAVER! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND HIM TO ANYONE. MY IMPRESSION OF HIM NEVER CHANGED ONCE DURING THE ENTIRE PROCESS. HIS OFFICE STAFF ARE VERY PROFESSIONAL, AND HELPFUL WHEN NEEDED. HIS SUPPORT GROUPS ARE VERY INFORMATIVE AND MEET ONCE A MONTH. BOBBIELOU AND NATALIE HIS HEAD NURSES LEAD OUR SUPPORT GROUPS, THEY MAKE AGREAT TEAM. FUTURE PATIENTS OF DR. MACDONAL AND DR. CHAPMAN SHOULD KNOW THAT THEY ARE IN GOOD HANDS!

DR. MAC IS A GREAT GUY. HE COMES ACROSS A LITTLE BRISK, BUT THAT IS BECAUSE HE WILL ALWAYS BE HONEST WITH YOU. AFTER MEETING HIM I WAS CONFIDENT I HAD MADE THE RIGHT DECISION AS HE BROKE MY FUTURE DOWN FOR ME IF I DIDN'T HAVE THIS SURGERY.

HE HAS THE SWEETEST NURSES. THEY ARE ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO HELP YOU NIGHT OR DAY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR FIELD ANY PROBLEMS.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO VISIT HIS OFFICE BE PREPARED TO STAY AT LEAST 3-4 HOURS PAST YOUR APPT. HE IS A VERY BUSY MAN AND VERY VERY GOOD AT THIS PROCEDURE. HE HAS A 1 YR WAITING LIST.

HE IS A STRONG BELIEVER IN WORKING OUT AND WILL STRESS IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN ALONG WITH NUTRITION.

THEY SEND YOU HOME WITH DIET PLANS AND SUBSTITUTIONS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO YOU IF YOU CAN NOT TOLERATE SOMETHING.

I WAS NEVER KEPT IN THE DARK CONCERNING THE RISKS OF THIS SURGERY. FROM THE PEER MEETINGS AT A HEALTH CENTER TO EACH TIME I VISITED THE DR. I WAS TOLD AND QUESTIONED ABOUT THE RISKS. THIS IS NOT A SURGERY TO ENTER INTO LIGHTLY. UNLIKE MARRIAGE, ITS FOR LIFE.

OVERALL, I WOULD SAY DR. MAC SAVED MY LIFE. FOR SUCH A SMALL MAN HE HAS A HUGE HEART TO DO WHAT HE DOES DAY IN AND DAY OUT. HE TAKES SOMEONE WITH LOW SELF ESTEEM AND DISMAL PHYSICAL COMPETANCY AND SLOWLY MOLDS THEM IN TO A WORKING NORMAL PHYSICALLY ABLE BODY.

I WOULD SAY I WAS DOROTHY AND HE WAS MY WIZARD! I NEVER REALIZED HOW MUCH OF LIFE I WAS MISSING TILL DR. MAC OPENED UP MY STOMACH AND OPENED UP THE WORLD. THANKS.

Dr. MacDonald is a wonderful doctor! During my initial visit, he addressed all of the possible complications associated with this surgery. He made it very clear how important it is to follow all of his instructions. Dr. MacDonald and his staff are very professional. Natlie and Bobbie Lou and always answered any questions I have had. If they are not available at the time I call, they always returned my call. I just had my surgery 7 weeks ago, so it is hard to give but so much evaluation at this time. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to have met Dr. MacDonald and his staff. At this time, I would rate him a 10!

He is someone who can get the job done.
My impression has only improved.
His office staff is wonderful-everyone very helpful in getting me what I need.
Unfortunatly the thing I least liked about him was thet wait to get in to see him but that just reasured me he is the best.
I beleive he is worth the wait.
You must be willing to put in 100% in aftercare.
My surgery is not until 10/24/02 but I feel it will be as structured as the pre-op care.
His staff mostly went over those issues... he asked if I had any questions but his staff answered everything I needed to know. Also the support group meeting that his staff heads up is very informative.
On a scale from 1-10 / 10 being the best 9.5
To me his job is not to pat my broken ego but to help me correct my problem so that I can work on getting myself in a better place. His staff over compensates for any lack of bedside manner he may have. I had much rather he be the best in his surgical competence. That will stay with me the longest.

I met with Dr MacDonald on Sept. 18. He was very nice and patient. He had his nurse, Natalie, explain the surgery to 3 of the potential surgery candidates together. I was a little turned off by that . Would have preferred one on one but I realize they need to do it that way in the interest of time. After a brief exam, Dr MacD. said I was a good candidate for the surgery and I would not need to see him again until the actual date of the surgery.

Loved Dr. D! He's a quick moving little guy but when you ask questions he stops and answers them no matter how long it takes.His nurses will be trying to
hurry him along but he just says "hold my
Calls and sits down. He is very no nonsense and not a surgeon for someone who is namby pamby about what they want.
He expects you to have done your homework!

He is brutal about the risks involved especially to those who seem to not
realize excatly what his is allabout. He will allow no illusions about the work involved after surgery either.

the after care program is very structured
and written well. I really needed that since I am quite far away from the dr.
He also maintains contact with your PCP for different issues.

Overall he was fabulous! 9 points out of 10

Dr. MacDonald is very professional in his office...The staff have been super nice to me and my husband and eagerly answer all my questions. I waited from January 2001 till July 2001 for my first appointment. It is now January 2002 and my paperwork has just been sent to my insurance. I am enthusiastically waiting approval from my insurance, but have been told by my Primary Care Physician and Dr. MacDonald not to be concerned. He has insisted on Aftercare and strictly following his program. I am optimistic that I will be able to comply.
****Hooray****My insurance approved my surgery in just nine days...Dr. MacDonald was right when he told me not to worry...My surgery day is March 22, 2002. Wish me luck!!!!!

Dr. MacDonald and his staff have been super nice since surgery. They are always eager to answer any questions and help anyway they can. They call themselves my second family!

I was thrilled somebody was finally going to help me. I felt toward him that he was a "SAINT", and actually felt weepy seeing him after the surgery as I was rapidly losing weight. His nurse lead a support group where we met monthly before and after surgery. I found the group to be very helpful as members shared their experiences and I was given an idea of what to expect. I felt I was given excellent care and he did a fabulous job as I had no negative complications.
Now that 9 years has passed and I've had more difficulty keeping weight off, I haven't found him to be as helpful. He would not be willing to perform a revision nor is there any other surgical procedure that would help unless I gained back ALL of the weight. Therefore, I think he feels his work is done and while I may need further guidance in nutrition,etc., I'm on my own there.

I had my first appointment with Dr. MacDonald February 13th, 2002. It was short and sweet. I did not get to see the Dr. because he was called away to do something else. I had to talk with his assistant's and they said that they would relay the information back to the doctor and that he should feel the same way that they did, so here goes: They said that I could have the surgery which is great. They do expect you to do the aftercare and I am willing to do that because they feel that it will help you to be successful in this and that is what I want. They told me the risk of the surgery and that the process in which I would have to go through is a long one because they want to make sure that you have had enough time to think about the decision that you have made and to know that this is what you want. The information book that they gave me said that you can expect a surgery date within 4-6 months from the first appointmen date. So my surgery should be between June 13th and August 13th. I will let you know.
Well they have already sent me my appointment dates to take my pre-op testing and I have to go see the pulmonologist(sp?) and get my labwork done on March 6th. So far so good they have really done what they said they will do. I will update when I know some more.