Pinnacle Surgical Group, PLLC Bariatric Center
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Dr. Elariny is a very experienced surgeon. I was primarily interested in the duodenal switch procedure, though he does most of the bariatric surgeries. When I saw him, he had done over 300 laparascopic duodenal switch procedures, and I believe, at this date in early 2003, he has done over 400. This was important to me, as there is no substitute for experience. I chose him because of his experience and because after talking with many of his patients by email, I never heard a word against him by any of his patients. I also wanted a surgeon experienced with laparascopic procedures to aid in reducing recovery time.
He has a $400 program fee and requires that patients attend an information session prior to their appointment with him. He is quite knowledgeable. As a physician, I feel better able to evaluate this than most. He has a nutritionist on his staff. He requires post op laboratory evaluation at 3 months.
Due to his ever-expanding practice, his office is not the best organized and it will be up to the patient to make sure that all of the preop testing is received. Some people have had to send in things more than once.It can be frustrating trying to get surgery scheduled, but again, this is because of his increasing popularity.
He accepted my insurance as payment in full and I was one of the last people to get in before his program fee, so I only had to pay for travel and hotel costs. He requires that patients stay in the area for one week following surgery. Many of his patients stay in the hospital only one night, but I stayed 3 as I was quite fatigued after surgery.
I really recommend him highly. My recovery was uneventful, but I know of other patients who had difficulties and know that Dr. Elariny was right there for them. I really have spent very little time talking with him, but I don't mind that, as it is only appropriate that he spend his time with those who need it. whenever I have had a question, I have only to email him and I get an answer within a couple of days.
Dr. Elariny is one of the most knowledgeable doctors I've ever met. He truly cares about the work he's doing to help people better their lives.
One of the great things is the support system set up by the doctor. There is a pre-operative discussion group that is required for new patients, where he describes the different types of surgeries available and which option might be best for you, depending on your lifestyle, habits, etc. The other is a monthly support meeting. Out of this monthly meeting have come several local, less formal support meetings that meet once a week. These have been invaluable to me as a pre-op. I don't know what I would do without my support network.
I have 110% confidence in his abilities and skills as a WL surgeon.
His office has gone thru alot of staff changes in the past couple of months. But the staff that is there now has been much better about calling people back and getting the information that needed.
1/28/03-
Dr. Elariny spoke to a group of future patients about each WLS. He wanted to make sure that everyone knew the pros and cons of each. Also, he wanted to make sure we look at our eating habits and make an educated decision on what surgery will be the best for us.
*I will not meet Dr E. one-on-one until the end of February. Pleased to say that everyone speaks highly of him personally and professionally.
My first impression of Dr. E was he is so young. He was very very informative about every type of wls available. He told us about each including complications and let us choose, no trying to get us to use a specific one. I was very impressed with his knowledge and had good vibes about him as a surgeon. I would recommend him to anyone wanting wls. He is so friendly. I still dote on him after over a year.
I first met Dr. Elariny at his mandatory information session. He clearly and in great detail described all the procedures that he performs, delineating the pros adn cons of each. He also discussed basic eating types, adn we were encouraged to determine our eating patterns to understand which surgery would be best suited to our individual needs.<P>
I had a consult the next evening - the wait was long but I expected that and gained lots of useful info. form other pre adn post ops in the waiting room. Dr. Elariny asked me which surgery I wanted adn why - he wants us to have done our research and be able to defend our choice. I chose the DS.<P>Aftercare will be through email adn phone, with a one per year in person visit, as I am out of state.<P>I am extremely please with Dr. Elariny. I feel (and admittedly I am biased!) that his skill is among the best - it is a bonus that he is caring adn compassionate as well. He saved my life!
Dr. Elariny was teasingly called "Doogie Howser" during his residency, because he looked so young and was so very smart and skilled. When he smiles, he literally beams from ear-to-ear, his pearly teeth contrasting with his jet-black beard. He is so skilled with laparoscopic surgery (he has performed in the neightborhood of 400 lap WLS as of early 2003), that I only half-jokingly say that he could probably floss your teeth laparoscopically. He has had zero mortality, and in the few close calls (mainly pulmonary emboli), he has worked tirelessly and expertly to cheat the Grim Reaper--note that he takes on even the very high-risk 600-pounders. (His office of record, by the way, is in Arlington, VA, not Alexandria, VA). I trusted him with my life when he did my DS, and I am sending my 36-year-old son to him to see if Dr. E. can do a Nissen Fundoplication to cure his chronic gastric acid reflux (Dr. E has done lap Nissen wraps on a number of fellow patients during the WLS). I never regretted the trust that I have placed in his surgical skills and in his caring for his patients.
On the down side, his office is sometimes a total disaster: understaffed and disorganized. A prospective patient sometimes, but not all the time, has to gently bird-dog the staff to make sure that everything is moving along and that all pre-op tests, etc. are properly accounted for. His staff are generally and genuinely nice people, but every time he hires more people and tried to get ahead of the curve, demand for his services continues to skyrocket and swamp the capacity of his staff to serve everybody in the manner that they would expect. So, as I already wrote, the burden falls on the patient to be his/her own advocate. Fortunately, there is an extremely helpful Yahoo group (DS_Elariny at http://www.groups,yahoo.com), and we do our best to support and counsel newbies through the obstacle course, even meeting some of them at the airport and helping them with local transportation when we can. We also make sure that out-of-towners who are here alone are visited in the hospital.
Dr. E. has begun to charge a modest $400 up front for pre- and after-care, mainly for a MANDATORY 2-to-3-hour group orientation session at which he explains ALL the weight loss surgery alternatives and reveals the risks of WLS in detail, a professional nutritionist (who is superb) and for monthly support groups.
Aftercare immediately post-op is OK, and those with problems are well attended. But, for long-term after-care, I recommend that patients educate their PCPs about the WLS and its demands and get aftercare through their PCPs. If any problem crops up, Dr. E can coordinate with the PCP. I have my PCP do all my ;ab work and then FAX the results to Dr. E's office, fearing that the busy pace in Dr. E's office could result in my lab work's getting lost in the shuffle.
So, to sum it all up MY PERSONAL IMPRESSIONS, BASED ON MY OWN EXPERIENCES AND WHAT I READ ABOUT FELLOW PATIENTS FROM THE YAHOO SUPPORT GROUP LIST, ARE: I do not believe that you could find a better weight loss surgeon (Dr. Elariny does ALL of the surgeries except for the Mini-Gastric-Bypass and the Fobi Pouch), but the office is the downside. If you can keep your wits about you and navigate the office shortcomings, you should be more than satisfied. But, if you are looking for the kind of pampering that you'd expect from a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, look elsewhere for your WLS.
my impression of Dr.Elariny is he is a very informative very serious about his patients and their lives .I would describe his office and staff are like many doctors offices I've been in busy yes ,very managable .I have no dislikes .He has a very structured after care program ,he does explain all the risks of all surgeries he performs . as for the last two questions I'll answer those after my consult with him on Friday .Have a nice day Kristy Melson
08/07/02
Ahh...August 7th finally arrived. Dr. Elariny was just as polite in person as he was at the seminar. Him and his office staff were busy busy busy but took the time with everyone there and I didnt feel rushed. I was given a list of test that needed to be completed and I have already completed the scheduling of those. My biggest fear is insurance denial. Hopefully in 4-6 weeks I will get my answer to that. I will keep ya posted on any new and excited news.
1/21/03
Well, I had my surgery on December 31st. Everything went really smooth. I only stayed one day and even had to ask Dr. E. if he really did something to me. I felt pretty much the same just maybe a little sore around the incision sites. The scars are minimal...very thin like paper cuts. I would recommend Dr. E. to everyone. He is the best!!
I meet with Dr. Elariny for the first time on 1/23/03. I made my appointment over two months ago, so I'm really getting anxious for this appointment. I went to Dr. Elariny's mandatory Discussion group in December and had an appointment with his nutritionist last week. The discussion group was incredibly helpful, it really helped to clear up any questions folks had, and Dr. Elariny laid out his expectations as well. It's nice to know what's expected of you prior to the initial consult. Thus far I have nothing but positive comments for Dr. Elariny and his staff. Jennifer, the nutritionist was great. My visit with her was very thorough and we talked a lot about after care. I think it's great to start thinking about all of those issue so far in advance too, the less shock later on the better.