University of Minnesota Physicians Bariatric Center

My initial appointment was with Dr. Buchwald with Dr. Ikramuddin sitting in on the consultation. Both are very knowledgable with many years of experience. I was confident that I had made the correct choice.
The office staff is very busy and the conversations are short and to the point. I researched Dr. Ikramuddin and found him to be an excellent physician. He was top of his class and in charge of surgery in Philly.


I have not had one on one with him yet, but will be doing so on November 1, 2001. I will update at that time.

Will be meeting them at the informational meeting on April 16. Needed to wait 6 weeks for an appointment.


3/30/01
Had first group info meeting. RN Judith Schwartz knows her stuff, but VERY overworked. Will take up to 30 days for approval once all the paperwork is sent in.
Then they schedule the surgery, right now it's 2 months out for surgery date.


4/13/01 These guys are great, but because so many people use them, my recommendatation is to follow up on everything. They were waiting for my psych eval, but it was already sitting in my file.


9/15/01 -
On the waiting list for surgery. Hope for February or March of 2002. They are very busy, but very friendly at this surgeons office.

He seemed to do you great job. Getting incontact with him however is another story.

Dr. Ikramuddin was very professional and very easy to talk to during my initial consultation. Experience was the key for me. He and Dr. Schauer have done over 800 lap surgeries and have an excellent track record the whole way around! The only downside to this Dr. would be all the waiting that is involved from the time you first begin this process. They are extremely busy and you have to be willing to be very, very patient. I started my process at the end of Feb.,2001 and my surgery will be Sept. 12. If you are aware of this in the beginning, I think it will save you alot of aggravation. However you do need to be very persistant with your phone calls to the office to make sure everything continues to move along, otherwise it could be even a longer process than it already is!Overall, regarding my experience so far, I could not be more pleased with the way that I have been informed of all the benefits, risks and everything else involving the surgery pre and post-op. They have an excellent after care program also. However, the most important part of this process will remain to be seen. The surgery itself.

DrIkramuddin appeared to be very concerned about my care and felt I was an ideal candidate. He also indicated that if I was interested I could participate in a Workshop. I only saw Dr. Ikramuddin two times and each time he was very friendly and professional. the Staff are very helpful and knowledgeable. However, they are also overwhelmed. It's been my experience thus far that it is worth the wait. He was not the original surgeon I requested. However, the more I read on the WLS website, the more comfortable I became with his skills and ability to complete my procedure. He demands complete cooperation with the aftercare plan. He addressed all the risk of surgery with me. Both bedside manner and competence were excellent thus far. I haven't had the surgery yet.

I met with Dr. Saad Ikramuddin on Jan. 3,2001. I have all the faith in the world in him. He seems like a very compassionate caring person. He was willing to answer any question I had for him. I have met him at several of the support group meetings that he and Dr. Schauer sponsor every month and would feel comfortable with either one.

The office staff seem very friendly and professional. I met with him at Shadyside Hospital Clinic.

Yes he addressed the risk of the surgery to me and even answered alot of questions I asked on them.

I feel that surgical competence and beside manners are equally important from a physician. I work in a hospital and see drs. that are neither and wonder how the patients feel. Dr. Ikramuddin appears to have both. I will know more on these after my surgery of cours.

I am now 4 months post op. I am feeling alot better now. I had my 3 month visit with Dr. Ikramuddin. He is very caring and makes sure to answer any questions that I migh have.

Yes he does have a structured aftercare probram. I go to the monthly support group meetins when I can. It is a 2 hr drive so I have missed one or two. But you can always call the drs office if you have ANY questions
or problems. He and the office staff are always there day or night to answer questions and help with problems.

I would rate Dr. Ikramuddin a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best of the best. He is very caring and compassionate dr. I feel honored to have him for my srugeon.

I have only seen Dr. Ikramadeen once, for my initial consult. He was very nice
and encouraging. His office is very busy, and it seems as though I had to wait forever to hear anything or to even
get an appointment!
But they are just swamped with new patients.
The staff reviewed everything with me, and some of the staff there have had the surgery as well.

I first met Dr. Ikramuddin on January 29, 2001 - after waiting six months from the time my primary care physician set me up with the Bariatric Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Presbyterian.
Prior to this first meeting, I had been sent exhaustive reading materials, studies, research, etc. on bariatric weight loss surgery from Dr. Ikramiuddin. I had to fill out a lengthy application for consideration for surgery - and this application included a full medical and diet history. For me, the initial paper work was bothersome and tedious. After sending in the application in July, I did not have a scheduled appointment until the following January. Both Dr. Ikrammuddin and his associate Dr. Philip Schauer are booked up and scheduled well in advance for surgeries.
Dr. Ikrammudin was cordial, polite, sympathetic, and positive. It did not take him long to assure me that I was a candidate for the RNY gastric bypass procedure.

Since I am still dealing with Dr. Ikrammadin in post operative check ups, I cannot adequately answer if my impression of him changed over time. I know that when I was in the hospital before my surgery and after, I heard nothing but praise of his expertise and surgical talents from nurses and aides.

The office staff was "busy" - especially the receptionist who answered phone calls. I had no problems with the staff - all were helpful and efficient - and most of them were post operative weight loss surgery success stories. This was quite beneficial to someone like me who was anxious about taking such a large, life altering step as wls.

What I least like about most doctors
in general is that they are in demand by other patients as well as me - and since I tend to be selfish - I may expect more one on one communication.Most doctors
never seem to have enough time for meaningful, one on one consultation with the patient. It is difficult to find a doctor who makes one feel relaxed and comfortable - and not as though she is infringing on his time or busy schedule - or keeping him or her from some task or patient more important. This is not meant as a negative assessment - merely as an observation I have made over the years with many doctors, especially "good" doctors with heavy patient loads. Be prepared for visits so that the doctor's time is not wasted - they are feverishly busy - and my surgery lasted over four hours. I cannot imagine doing that kind of procedure several times a day, as do these surgeons. The lap procedure is time-consuming - and demands accuracy and care. I felt my surgeon earned his money.

Patients should be prepared to do their homework. Read thoroughly the packets of information he sends to you - make sure you write down specific questions to ask him. Be as prepared and forearmed as possible.

Aftercare is emphasized by Dr. Ikramuddin and his professionally trained staff. Pa-
tients are put on a strict regime of vitamins after the removal of their JP drains
which is then followed up with periodic blood testing to assure patient compliance to
vitamins and diet.

**Immediate follow-up care after the procedure - for me - involved a visiting nurse who tracked my progress to make sure I was progressing until I returned to Pittsburgh for post-operative visits.

The risks of surgery were addressed in the packet - all patients were required to read over these risks and sign off on each one of them individually. Since I had no pressing health risks - I was a good candidate for surgery.

I rate Dr. Ikramuddin excellent.

I have to rate both his bedside manner and his surgical competence highly. But one has to understand that I had my surgery at a university hospital - so I felt as if I was on an episode of ER when Dr. Ikramuddin would visit - he had his interns in tow. I was often visited by his interns - before and after surgery. This was the same for anesthesia - imaging - and so forth. Student interns carry a lot of the work load at the UPMC, with the supervision of their attending physicians, of course.

Excellent bedside manner-always warm and caring..
Helpful staff--but would like to add he does sometimes share an office with his associate
and the downside is--too many patients in one room-like a nightmare "a million pounds of flesh all scheduled at the same time-realizing the increase in this particular surgery-need to divide waiting room and better schedule their patients-I was discouraged when I entered the first time thinking there are 40 people ahead of me...
Very cordial-there's nothing not to like about him
I recomment him to all candidates
Very important-
A very structured pre and post care package is provided.
An extensive 4 hour seminar is provided to all scheduled candidates to discuss risk, address any concerns or questions,after care
questions, etc.
Excellent overall-very impressed
Equally important that they have the surgical skills and bedside manners

My first impression of Dr. Ikramuddin was that he appeared to be gentle, sincere and interested in the person he was talking to. He answered all the questions I had on my list and I did not feel like I was being rushed through the appointment. His office staff all seem very nice, although, perhaps overworked due the volume of patients they are dealing with.
Aftercare was very much emphasized. The need for lifelong medical care, vitamins and blood tests. I do not really know if there is a structured aftercare program. I was too nervous and excited to remember everything that was said.
I had a list of questions concerning the risks of the surgery and Dr.I answered each one and gave the statistics of potential problems.
Based on my initial meeting with him, I would rate him very high. I left the office feeling happy and confident in my decision for the surgery and the choice of surgeons.
Surgical competence is, of course, the best of the two options, however, bedside manner is important. You have to feel comfortable with the person who you choose to perform drastic, elective surgery on you. Had I had a negative first impression, I would've looked for someone else.