Pinnacle Surgical Group, PLLC Bariatric Center

I thought he was really nice. Very helpful and friendly. His professionalism was very nice. I really liked the way he dealt with the lady before me. He seems to be kindhearted and caring.

Office staff were all nice and very helpful.

I liked him very much. His pre surgery meeting was very informative. The only thing I would have liked better was to get to see him in his office. I always was seen my his pa.

I live in FL and traveled to VA for the surgery so have not really experienced his real after care. His office staff is always prompt to answer e-mail questions promptly.

I have complete confidence in his surgical skills. I have had no problems.

Would have no problem recommending him to others.

My surgeon was very matter of fact. He wanted to be sure I had chosen the right procudure for myself. (He offers about 8 different surgical procedures). He questioned me throughly to be sure I understood what I was getting into and how the procedure I had chosen benefited me more than other procedures. He is not particulary personable, but I did not hire him to be. I wanted an excellent surgeon and I beleive I have chosen well.

The office staff was great to work with. I was very anxious to hear of the progress of pre-op testing and insurance approval, so I made the calls to the office for updates before they had a chance to.

I would recommend he and his staff to anyone seeking WLS.

My surgeon, Dr. Hazem Elariny is fantastic! I first met Dr. Elariny in September 2003 at his information seminar along with about 75-90 other pre-surgery candidates and their support person(s). My impression of Dr. E has only gotten more positive. Dr. E and his staff are very helpful and they are always there to answer your questions and will call to make sure that everything is followed up when necessary. Dr. E is currently to the best of my knowledge, the only surgeon in VA that performs the BPD/DS surgery and also he DOES perform revisions. Dr. Elariny is highly regarded in his field and you may wish to review some of his credentials at www.alagsa.com. Dr. E does have an aftercare program and has a great number of his post operative patients that attend. Dr. Elariny was and continues to be very thorough in explaining the risk of having WLS vs not having WLS. You are involved in the decision of the type of surgery you want and or need. I went to Dr. E because he was the only one in the metropolitan DC/MD/VA area that performed the DS and was able to do a revision from a previous failed VBG. When I contacted other bariatric surgeons in the area as well as further south (Richmond) all said "no" to performing a revision on a previous WLS. Since I had the VBG in 1985 in another state and that surgeon has since retired it wasn't like I was able to go back to him to fix what had happened. Additionally, if I had known in 1985 that the VBG had a significantly high failure rate, I suppose I would have still had the surgery only because it was the only one available to my knowledge at the time, however I would have probably been alot more careful with my eating habits. However, just being careful with that does not necessarily mean that the VBG will not fail. Everyone I know that has had the VBG have failed. I know people that had it along the same time with me and ones that have had it in the last 3-5 years and all are having the same problems as I did - weight regain, and them SLD.

My feelings about Dr. Elariny is that he is a highly competent, and intelligent surgeon. He is very down to earth, very busy, very humble and seems to really beam when he can see that he is truly a part of making improvements in peoples lives. He was probably reared by parents of ethical belief and integrity.

I would trust Dr. Elariny in a heartbeat with any of my family members and or friends that desired to have WLS. He is the best!

My first impression was that he's very knowledgeable.


I still feel the same









yes

yes

Dr. Elariny is okay, I suppose. To be honest, I've only interacted with him for about 5 mins. at my pre-op visit. The morning of my surgery I did not see him at all. He called me at the nurses station while he was parking his car and said that he would see me on the operating table (caught me way off guard, I was expecting to at least see him). The office staff, however, is wonderful. They have always been very kind and attentive. The thing I like least about Dr. Elariny is that he is not visible through the whole process at all. The aftercare is okay, I suppose, although I'm still pretty new to everything. Although the surgery was uneventful and all was well, bedside manner is pretty important to me so if I had it all to do over again, I would 100% without a doubt use another surgeon. I did not see my doctor the day of my surgery and haven't seen him since, not in the hospital period. Again, this is my own personal experience and could have been a one off type of thing...I do not know if anyone else experienced this, in all fairness to Dr. E, everywhere I went for pre-op testing said that he is the BEST.

What can I say about a guy whose so well known. He's cute, he's funny, he's a genius. It's all I can do to restrain myself from pressing his card into the palms of every morbidly obese person I know!

I started this process with the discussion group on June 8, 2004. Dr. Elariny and his staff provided information regarding pre and post operative surgical procedures, insurance, and the types of surgery.

So far, I have had no problems with the office staff. They did send me an email cancelling an appointment rather than calling. My computer was not functioning and I did not receive it. I went to the office at the appointed time and was seen.

In the sessions I've had (pre-op), aftercare has been emphasized. I was given a 10 page document explaining aftercare...office visits and diet. There is a structured aftercare program.

To be a patient of Dr Elariny's is an honor. You are in the VERY best hands!
I do want to say that you may feel that he is uncaring or standoffish. I did a bit. He really does not seem to have any personal relationships with his patients. He is all business. At first, this bothered me. I wanted to feel like this guy cared about me, and I just felt like he was always so hurried and unemotional. HOWEVER, once you get past that and realize that he is unbelievably busy for a reason..HE IS THE BEST AT WHAT HE DOES! He does what he does and does it well. And that for me, is really all that mattered!
His staff are all wonderful, and very caring. We can go to them for the more "personal" treatment and leave Dr E to do what he does best.

Also, I wanted to take a moment to SHOUT from the rooftops how wonderful my stay was at NORTHERN VIRGINIA COMMUNITY HOSPITAL. I was concerned with it being such a small hospital, and everyone seems to choose the larger. It is so clean and pretty there. It is so much more personal. ALL of the staff were WONDERFUL. The nurses were so caring and knowledgeable. I felt like I was in the best hands from the minute I got there, to the day I left. In fact, I wish I could have stayed longer!
There is a special angel there named Deb. She has had the surgery herself, and came to see me right before I went in. I was an emotional mess, scared and crying. She eased my fears, and I will be forever grateful. She looks fabulous, and her smileis contagious. You just know it is going to be allright. Although I was in and out after surgery, I do remember seeing her face again. I know she came to check on me, and I thought that was so sweet.
There were other nurses that morning, two in particular that I would love to thank for their caring. I do not know their names, given the circumstances. I only wish they could know how much their caring meant to me that day. It meant all the difference, and I will never forget it.

Young guy, but very confident of himself and his skills.

My impressions agreed with what he reflected I love him as my surgeon.

Staff are busy but caring.

His confidence.

His staff may seem busy but remember he has many patients all requiring his staff to do something for them. Do what you can to make their job easier and they will go out of their way to get their job done for you.

After care is very important to him and he has monthly support group meetings and a web forumn for patients.

Yes he has a structured aftercare program.
Very stright forward about all risks and want to be certain you inderstant them.

EXCELLENT surgeon
BOTH are excellent.