Pinnacle Surgical Group, PLLC Bariatric Center

Having spent months researching
both the procedures
available and the doctors who performed
them, I selected Dr. Elariny. I was very
concerned by what I read on the internet
about the fact that DR. Elariny's office
had a staff of one - namely Shantee, who,
according to internet reports, was so
overworked things tended to fall thru
the cracks. As a person who lives in
the most efficient and effective manner
possible, I was concerned that even the
best surgeon in the world can have problems
if his/her support staff wasn't up to par.

In April, 2001 I called Shantee and scheduled
an appointment for my initial consult. In May,
2001, I met the Dr. for the first time, as
well as a few other prospective patients.
Dr. E. explained to the 7 of us there all
of the choices and which he performed. He
explained the advantages and disadvantages
and risks for each procedure. Next he met
with each of us in private and discussed
what was right for each of us.

I left Dr. E's office VERY disappointed as I
had gone in with the intention of having the
BPD/DS and he felt the risks for doing the
complete 2-part operation was too risky for
someone over 350 - 380 Lbs., so he told me
he'd do the BPD this year and the DS next
year after I lost weight and was below the
350 lbs. mark. I went home crying (me, a
grown man, crying) as I knew what I needed
and what I wanted, plus I knew I'd never
consult to 2 operations - too much risk,
pain and problems in my life to even
consider as a viable alternative.

Dr. Elariny impressed me at first as a nice,
caring and competent person. My impression
of him has only increased as our relationship
has developed in the last 3 or 4 months. I
have a great deal of respect from him and
because he gives so much to his patients, I
feel sorry (and a bit guilty) for his wife
and children, as the time he devotes to us
is time taken from them. He is honestly a
great and caring man.

Not accepting Dr. E's recommendation and
not being one to give up without a fight, I
set out to "prove" to Dr. E. that I was not
the typical fat, out-of-shape, lazy person
many automatically assume obese people are.
In fact, I had pride in the facts that I
ate the right foods (most of the time) and
was in good health (except for the weight),
so my risks were lower than other people my
size.

I next attended a support group meeting at
which the Dr. was in attendance. I brought
with me my medical records for the last 20
years (I always keep a copy), plus the results
of a blood and urine test, as well as an
abdominal scan study and comprehensive cardiac
risk factor study I went and had done since
I saw him a couple of weeks earlier. In addition,
I brought with me information from a consult
I did with the hospital's most conservative
anestegologist, which supported my claim
that risks for me for a 5+ hour operation
were low.

Luckily, when I presented all of this information,
a clinical coordinator from the hospital was there
and confirmed I had spoken to a very conservative
anestegologist. As a result, Dr. E. compromised
and said he'd do the BPD lap and the DS open,
if he could get a 2nd surgeon to assist, as
he expected the operation to be long and difficult.
I agreed and went home happy.

I continued working out as often as I could and
continued watching what I ate, losing 2 lbs.
per week here and there. I went from 450 to
432 then down to 422, back to 433, and finally
down to 426.

My first scheduled surgery date was just before
the doctor was going on a long and well-deserved
vacation overseas. The Dr.'s office had by this
time added 1 more full-time
and 1 more part-time person to the staff, so things were
running smoother, but a mistake in scheduling caused
DR. E and I some frantic minutes and phone calls,
while he worked to accomodate my schedule and
still be able to get his vacation in. Dr. E. went out of
his way to accomodate me, adding me in after a long day
in surgery, staying away from his
family even more. (Now, I was guilty). As God
says in the Bible, things are not done on our
time, they are done on His, when He feels it
is right, so while my surgery was scheduled
for 1630, it kept getting bumped back further
into the night, when finally, the Dr. came and
told my family and I that it was scrubbed and I
had to wait another month to reschedule. I was
very upset for a number of reasons, none of which
were being mad at Dr. E, al of which had to do
with costs I incurred in getting ready for that
surgery date, and now wasted. Not to mention time
lost from my job and that of my wife - all for nothing.

God finally decided I was going for surgery on 7 SEP,
(there was some debate about 8 SEP versus 7 SEP, but
the Dr.'s staff clarified the situation and 7 SEP
it was.)

7 SEP came and Dr. E came in early and started surgery
earlier than I was scheduled, thanks to an opening
in the OR. Less than 3 hrs. later, I was in recovery
and the BPD/DS was complete. Dr. Elariny told
me everything went much, much better than he
expected and that my body was like that he'd
expect to find on a 150 lbs. person (the
exercise, healthy diet and intense prayers
by me, my family and friends paid off).

The remaining evening (7 SEP), I was in pain
and bed-ridden. It was not until I forced myself
to get out of bed and do two laps of the hospital
floor late evening on 8 SEP, that I left my bed.
While walking past the nurse's station, I was
given a thumbs up and some encourging words
by a male nurse (Bob) who tended to my room.
That made me feel great!

After some more walking the next morning. on
9 SEP 01, I WALKED out of the hospital that
afternoon.

Last night (9 SEP) was a bit rough as I had
a tough time sleeping in my own bed. I should
have rented a hospital bed, because I normally
sleep on my stomach and now can't. Whereas in
the hospital, I slept comfortable on my back
with the bed's head and feet upward. Can't do
that feat on my flat bed at home. As a result
I'm tired today. I did some walking today (just
short of 1/2 mile), so hopefully, tonight I
will be able to sleep better tonight, despite
the pain.

I HIGHLY recommend Dr. Elariny - he is a very
skilled surgeon and nice, caring person. His
office staff (Shantee, Tasha and 2 part-timers)
are much better in preventing things from falling
through the cracks. In fact, except for a scheduling
mistake, I've had no negative experiences with them
at all. They, too are great people, but still
overworked (they paid me to say that - ha).

First Impression was extremely good. He is very empathetic to the plight of the Obese individual. He is very thorough in his Consultation. He took the time to explain the history of all WLS out there, and then discussed with each of us privately what type we believed was the right one for our lives, and our eating habits.

<br> His Office Staff is very professional, very courteous. I was impressed that they also were empathetic to the obese as well.

<br> He emphasizes aftercare very strongly.
I am not sure if he has an aftercare program in place, but I do know that he requires follow up with him specifically for the first year.

<br> He addressed all risks/possible regain/possible complications with me very well. Altho I had done plenty of research, I learned a bit more that night.

<br> the other questions I will answer later, once it is all over.

My first meeting with Dr. Elariny was on Jan. 22. He was 2 hours late to the appt. but his office manager/nurse Shauntae was very helpful and friendly. She even bought everyone waiting snacks to pass the time. Dr. E was really nice and very informative. He explained every kind of surgery out there and explained the pros and cons of each one. That really helped in making my decision to have the DS surgery. He has only done about 7 of them-but it is a fairly new surgery and I feel comfortable enough with him to let him preform it. I can't say enough good things about Shauntae-24 hours after I saw Dr. E for the first time-she had my approval from my insurance company. I have read how alot of people get the run around-but Aetna really came through. Right now I am just waiting on an open date for the surgery-Dr. E is booked for Feb-so I'm looking at Mid March. I will keep you all posted!

My first impression of Dr E. was that of deep compassion. He took time to get on the phone with me and answer questions for over 45 minutes. No other surgeon or their office for that matter would give me the time of day. I was just calling to get info on the surgeries, the dangers of the DS, etc. He was very patient and answered all my questions.

He seemed a bit unorganized at the consult, but compassionate and extremely knowledgable. And frankly I don't care how scatterbrained someone is, if they know what they are doing and have a decent bedside manner that's all I care about.

I chose Dr. E. over any other surgeon in the country. There is nobody who does the DS in the Chicago area so I had to find one that did. Out of all the doctors who do the surgery, I couldn't be happier with my decision.

The office staff you have to hound at times. They are dealing with a rapidly growing practice, new staff members etc. they are understanding and sympathetic, but sometimes you have to keep reminding them.

Aftercare is extremely important. I already have my vitamin list, and my post op instructions, and he tells us to mentally prepare for the changes our body's will endure as much as dealing with the physical changes.

i had my first appointment with dr elariny yesterday.and i was impressed with him.there were four of us there and he spent time explaining all the different types of weight loss surgery that he does.i had done my homework before i made my appointment and was pretty sure that i wanted the d/s which is why i made my appointment with him. his office is more then three hours away from my home. but he is the only doctor in virginia that offers the switch so i wanted to talk with him before i made my up my mind . after his group discussion he took each of us back for a quick exam and for me he perscribed the pre-op test that i would need and told me that i could get them done at home and the infomation could be sent to him but the best part for me is he can do laparoscopic surgery . i had my gallblader out when i was 19 before laparoscopics time so i have a really large scare i also had a c-section a few years latter and was afraid that there would be too much scar tissue but he said that he thought it would be fine so that really made me happy. so the hospital time should only be two days if all goes well. before i left i was told to call his office next week to find out about insurance. all in all i feel that dr elariny was all that i had heard he is a fine doctor. he has preformed about 70 d/s laparoscopic surgerys so he has the experince that i feel comfortable with and he is also very personable and easy to talk to but you should not go to his office for first visit pressed for time, my appointment was at nine am and i did not leave his office until close to two pm. he is therough

Dr. Elariny is very genuine in his approach to bariatric patients. I feel he has a heart for the morbidly obese patient. He was very thourough with his explanations and reasonings. I have the complicated issue of recently being diagnosed with Celiac Disease (severe allergy to wheat and gluten), while I was being evaluated by another surgeon for WLS. I felt as if I had been given the death sentence when my first surgery was cancelled the day before it was scheduled because the previous surgeon didn't feel comfortable doing the surgery knowing my diagnosis of Celiac Disease. Dr. Elariny, however agreed to do whatever surgery my gastroenterologist recommended based on my special needs regarding Celiac Disease. My GI doctor gave me the go ahead to have whatever surgery I chose to have and I chose to have the DS laproscopically. I can't tell you how I appreciated Dr. Elariny's willingness to base his decision on the expertise of another physician who has the in-depth knowledge of this uncommon disorder and not summarily dismiss me because he did not. I have worked for 28 years in the medical field with doctors of all types which is why I can honestly recommend Dr. Elariny. He is approachable and I truly feel he has a heart for changing the lives of those of us who are trapped in these bodies of ours and need a way out. Thumbs up for the surgeon.

My first impression of Dr. Elarny is that he is very knowledgeable, very experienced and extremely compassionate in helping others. He took the time to sit down with me and talk with me for some time, even called another physician regarding a question about a possible obesity related problem that needs to be taken care of before surgery.

I had my DS surgery on 4-30-01...I am very happy with my results so far and I feel great. I think Dr. E is a great surgeon and knows what he is doing. I traveled over 4 hours to see him. He had about 20 or so great comments about him but because of 1 person who was pissed that he dropped her as a patient ( see below) and bad mouthed him on here, they were all erased....it's a shame because he truly is great and I felt totally comfortable with trusting him with my life....

I had my consult with Dr. Elariny on March 23. He does a group consult initially where he has several drawings of the different procedures that he is trained to do and offers his patients.
Then you meet with him individually to decide what is best for you. I found him to be very competent and not afraid of questions.

His staff, especially Shauntae has been very helpful in obtaining insurance approval for me.

I had my surgery on June 18 and I was so thrilled with Dr. Elariny. He spent some time with me before the surgery going over everything again, and I felt reassured that I had made the right decision.

He is trained and specalizes in laproscopic procedures and does very good work.
He offers a monthly support group meeting which he attends and he takes as his time to answer whatever questions we have.

I thought his bedside manner was great, I couldn't have asked for more, I highly recommend him.
His name is becoming well known and he is getting patients from all over the United States now.

I found Dr. Elariny (his name is spelled wrong in the directory) to be very informative. He explains each type of surgery in great detail with all of the pros and cons. Then he follows up with questions to make sure you understand and can pick the surgery that is best for you. I have been to other doctors in the area and found that I like Dr. E the best. Shauntae is very friendly and helpful. My info was sent the insurance company on 5/9 and is still under review. Cigna says that I will have an answer in 10-15 business days. Wed 5/30, will be 15 business days...pray for me!!