Anita Courcoulas Bariatric Surgeon M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.S.

Very intelligent women that kows what she's doing.

She is very skillful at what she does and tells you the truth of what to expect.

Very busy, but very heplful, espically Karen.

That is is so busy, she can not do all her own rounds at the hospital. If you want to see her in the office your appt. must be on a Mon., That's the only day she is there.

She is a very busy person and is very confident.

Aftercare, is what makes you succesed.

I do not know if she had a structed aftercare, even if is does I live so far away it probably wouldn't benefit me.

She does address the risks of surgery. Everyone is at a different risk depending upon their weight and other factors.

I would rate Dr. Courcoulas excellent. She is skilled at her job.

Both are great. I would take surgical competence first though. She has both, at least to me. She talked about my children when she sat on my bed. Smiled and told me what was normal to be feeling at that time. She is personable as well as professional, which I liked very much. I am sure others might have a different opinion, this is just how I feel about her as my surgeon.

Dr. C is absolutely fantastic. I am so happy that she was my surgeon. When we were searching for a doctor, we used the internet more than anything else and that is how we found her. I had no prior information about her but chose her out of about a half dozen doctors on the website at the time. I think it was one of the best decisions that we made.
My consulation with Dr. C. went very well. I was very impressed with her. She is a very nice person to meet and she is knowledgable and confident. She made me feel much better about this surgery. What I liked the most was that she was upfront about her track record with these operations. She didn't try to explain away the patients who didn't make it. She accepted those the same as she did the successes. She was not afraid to be honest and say how many had not made it. I respected that.
She explained the procedure well and answered any questions I had.
I am post op so I can speak about aftercare also. She visited me in my room nearly every day after the surgery until I was released. Since being released, her office has been very helpful with any questions I have had.
Overall I would give Dr. C. the highest rating in every catagory. I really don't have anything negative to say about her or her staff.

Dr.Courcoulas Is a very nice person, she listens to what you have to say and will give you her opinion on things. she explains
everything to you in detail, what is going
to happen and what to expect from the surgery.Her staff is wonderful, they answer
any questions that you have,and seem to care about you as a person.
The only problem that I had was the wait
to see the doc. becuz' she is so busy, but it was worth the wait. Thanks To Dr.C & her
staff for being so kind and patient with so many of us. I would recommend anyone who is thinking about this surgery to you.

I gotta tell you, if first impressions are to be trusted, I shouldn't get this surgery with Dr.C.
My initial appt for "eval" was a ten minute disaster. I waited 4.5 hours (honestly) in the waiting room. I was seen by "Kelly", who I think is a PA or RN with Dr.C for 10 minutes. She asked me a few questions and said that I was appropriate for surgery...hmmmmm......
Dr. C NEVER came in to meet me or talk to me. I understand this was probably not a typical day, but geezzzzz.
The reason, the ONLY reason, I am still in this with Dr. C is because my reaseach has told me she is the BEST. I will endure the chaos in her office. I will gather my own info. I chose her for RNY not bedside manners...
Lets hope I am right!

My surgeon is Dr. Anita Courcoulas. I was only in her office once for my consultation. I know 3 people that she has performed Rny on. Before my consultation just like most of you i did a lot of research on my surgery. I was frightened a bit, because i am only 19 and there are some things that i was worried about. As soon as i went into the dr. office. I just felt like everything was going to be alright. The staff is WONDERFUL and so helpful. Then theres Dr. C who is just the sweatest person. She discribed the pro's and con's and then let my family ask any questions that they had.(my mom, aunt, and boyfriend went with me to my consultation) She sat there with us until we were all done asking questions.
I do have to advise you of one thing though. On Nov 8, 2002 when i called to schedule my consultation i never got an appointment until March 24, 2003. But after that i scheduled my pre-op testing and was done on April 30, 2003. After I called to tell them that I was done, I had an approval 5 days later. My surgery was scheduled for Jan 2004. But I am graduating school in Oct and could not wait to find a job and wait 6 mos to get insurance then have to go through the whole process again. So on a very rare ocasion she moved my surgery to July.
Her staff is wonderful! After surgery if I had any problems or stupid questions They were happy to help me, so I never felt to hesitate to call.
I do advise you to consider Dr. Courcoulas if you are in traveling range. Her and her staff are just the most wonderful people. and she has been doing bariatric surgery for over 10 years. so she is very experienced. Overall right now i giver her a 10!!!!

She was very timely. I was impressed that we did not have to wait there for hours on end. The nurse staff and office staff seem very nice and helpful. No one judged us for our weight, or made snide looks or remarks. The waiting room had chairs big enough for us to sit in as well.

My surgeon is Dr. Anita Courcoulas. I was only in her office once for my consultation. I know 3 people that she has performed Rny on. They all have had no complications. My aunt got her first dose of "dumping" about 2 mos after surgery. It was in the middle of the night and she called the office to ask the answering service to have someone call her back. Dr. courcoulas had called her back w/ in 5 min. My aunt was so impressed because she had called back her self and didn't have another doc call her back. The one thing that i really do like about her is that she has soooo many patients but she takes the time out to care for all of them.
Before my consultation just like most of you i did a lot of research on my surgery. I was frightened a bit, because i am only 19 and there are some things that i was worried about. As soon as i went into the doc office. I just felt like everything was going to be alright. The staff is WONDERFUL and so helpful. Then theres Doc. Courcoulas who is just the sweatest person. She discribed the pro's and con's and then let my family ask any questions that they had.(my mom, aunt, and boyfriend went with me to my consultation) She sat there with us until we were all done asking questions.
I do have to advise you of one thing though. On Nov 8, 2002 when i called to schedule my consultation i never got an appointment until March 24, 2003. But after that i scheduled my pre-op testing and was done on April 30, 2003. We had a problem with the psych. He wouldn't fax my evaluation over. But as soon as he faxed over my info. they had my folder faxed to the insurance company that day and I had an approval 5 days later. Her staff is wonderful like i said. I do advise you to consider Dr. Courcoulas if you are in traveling range. Her and her staff are just the most wonderful people. and she has been doing bariatric surgery for over 10 years. so she is very experienced. Overall right now i giver her a 10!!!!

I thought she was very confident.

My impression stayed the same. I think she will have good bedside manners.

Her staff has been very pleasant.

The only negative of my first office visit was they changed suites in the building and I wasn't notified.

She is very confident and could be portrayed as full of herself, but I didn't take her that way. You should know she is very good at what she does and probably the best in the area. Expect a long wait (5 months or more) for initial appt and another 5-7 for a surgery date. I think more serious cases should be taken first.

She emphasizes that the sugery is just a tool not a cure. Aftercare is extremely important.

She explained the risks very well and in detail.

On a scale from 1-10, ten being the highest, after this experience I would give her a 9.

Any good doctor, whether a PCP or a surgeon must have excellent surgical competence and bedise manner.

I have met with Dr. Courcoulas and I must say I have no fears. My consult was so great, she was upfront, stated risks and benefits, and was very positive about the outcome. Thank you for inspiring such confidence in your patients Dr. Courcoulas.

I was in the weight loss clinic at upmc shadyside. They referred me to my doctor.Her



and her staff are great. I just wish the wait for the surgery could have been a little sooner. But thats alright its coming fast. Two months until the big day. 5/6/03.