Tri State Bariatrics Bariatric Center

I had Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy with Dr. Jaime Cepeda from Tri-State Bariatrics on January 27, 2015. They have a great, complete program. In the period leading up to my surgery, they carefully managed my progress against the requirements of my insurance company, sharing the checklist with me at each visit. They have a full support program, including psychiatric assessment, regular check-ins before and after surgery, and multiple available support groups every week. They made sure I was fully educated on the procedure and their program before the surgery. I had a very smooth recovery, and got to my goal weight in about 9 months and have been maintaining since. I had one episode of pain a few months after my surgery, on a Sunday, called their hotline and had the nurse calling me back within 10 minutes. They are always available. I would strongly recommend this practice.

BE CAREFUL!!!! - I was a patient of Tri-State Bariatrics. I did not have Dr. Kwon. My surgeon was Dr. Ostrowitz. My experience was not that great. I had only met the surgeon twice before my surgery. About a month after my surgery I started having a lot of nausea. When I called the office, I always had to deal with the nurse practitioner (never my surgeon). When I told her the issues I was having, she just changed my reflux medication. The nausea ended up getting worse over the next 2 weeks, so I called back. At this point I was not eating at all, or even drinking any water. I explained this to her. She just changed my reflux medication again. So a few days later I decided to go to the emergency room because I knew I was dehydrated. They took blood, and ended up hospitalizing me for pancreatitis. The doctor that admitted me requested that my surgeon come see me. My surgeon came in the next morning. He asked me what was going on, and I explained to him everything I wrote above. Then he said "OK. I will see you in a few weeks", and he left! If I hadn't taken myself to the ER, who knows how bad I would have gotten. They never thought to have me come in or do blood work or anything to see why I was having so much problems. So now, I am looking for a new office to go to.

Very happy with Dr. Weiss !! Did an excellent job and would definitely recommend

I cannot say enough about Dr. Kwon and his staff at the Middletown, NY office. I was petrified to take the first step after considering weight loss surgery, but they made me feel so comfortable. They have prerequisites for surgery, so you have to have an endoscopy, bloodwork, attend support groups, meet with the staff psychiatrist, etc. I was nervous making the phone call to attend the initial seminar, but the moment I walked into the door, everyone was SO nice and made me feel welcome and like I'm not alone in my journey. They answer any/all of my questions, and follow through with everything (insurance, phone calls, etc.) Dr. Kwon can be a little strict, yes, but I feel he genuinely cares and has good intentions. He takes his time and makes sure he has answered all of my questions and made me feel at ease with my decision. The entire office is so nice, and very productive. I haven't had to wait longer than 2-3 minutes in the waiting room to see ANYONE, and I've been there 10+ times so far!

Dr. Kwon and his staff are INCREDIBLE! I had a great hospital/ pre op/ and surgery experience!

So far, my experience with Dr.Kwon has been minimal, but he I walked away very impressed with him. He is very friendly and understanding of my needs and his staff is top notch. I have never meet a better group of people in a medical office before. They are very caring and compassionate and understand exactly what you are going through as some of them have had the procedures themselves.

My first impression of Doctor Cepeda .......
Respectful kind and concern. His staff help me with all my questions before and still after the surgery. You should know Dr cepeda is a general surgen which i found a little scarey but don't worry he knows what he's doing. He is very encouraging and always pushes support group. Over all i don't think you would be disappointed with Dr Cepeda or his staff.

I really love everyone at Dr. Kwon's office. I had actually looked into bypass surgery about 3 years ago at Columbia University in New York City. Although Columbia is a large and nationally known hospital, I feel much better with Dr. Kwon and his people. I learned a lot more pre-surgery than I did at Columbia. Dr. Kwon is very kind. He's excellent at outlining details, and he's great at encouraging his patients. He hs a very professional, knowledgeable, and kind staff in his office. I don't, at this point, have anything "negative" to say. I've been very happy with my care.

I found the reviews for Dr. Rivera, while searching for his new phone number (he recently moved his office to Suffer, NY and is opening an office in New City) and had to add to the already positive reviews. I had my surgery in Aug. 2007. I originally was going to have bypass surgery the year before, but put it off. When I decided it was time and went back to Dr. Rivera, he convinced me to switch to the lap band. He laid out his reasons and thoroughly explained why and I ultimately followed his recommendation and was glad I did.rnrnAside from being a compete professional, Dr. Rivera is patient, supportive and communicates with the patient in a way that one can understand. Even when I went through a period of slight weight gain, he has always made a point of focusing on the positives, while suggesting ways to get back on track. I strongly recommend him.

I first went to Dr. Kown's office on April 2nd, 2009, but I will actually be meeting this Monday, June 1st, for the first time. We will schedule my surgery date at that time.

In his practice, Tri-State Bariatrics, you have to go through all the pre-surgical testing, and all the results have to be in the office before you meet the surgeon. Dr. Kwon is very strict about his patients following the program-losing the pre-op weight, quitting smoking, etc. It's only for the benefit of the patient, so I personally would rather work with a strict Dr. than one who might be more lax about things. Dr. Kwon currently performs both Lap-Band and LapRNY procedures. I believe he also does revisions.

There is an extensive and knowledgeable staff in the practice, and they've all been really nice, and helpful. As yet, I don't have anything negative to say about anything or anyone I've seen, although I kinda would have liked to have met Dr. Kwon by now. No big deal I guess.

They currently run 3 support groups per week (there are 2 others each week in another office I believe) which are open to both pre-and post-op patients. The staff definitely stresses the importance of aftercare and support, and pretty much seems to be just a phone call away.

I met Dr. Kwon today and got my surgery date (6/17/09)!! My first impression of him was very good. I think we hit it off well. He listened to everything I had to say, answered all my questions, was very clear about all aspects of the surgery and what he expects as far as post-op care. He was very encouraging, telling me that what I've accomplished in the last 2 months really puts me in a good place for the surgery and if I keep doing what I've been doing, I should do very well.