Bruce Schirmer Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S.

My first impression was wonderful,He has done this surgery alot! My impression hasn't changed a bit. He is a wonderful surgeon,I had no major pain after my surgery, which is a miracle, because I have had 7 surgeries and the pain was terrible with all of them, except this one!
The staff is great,friendly
Nothing


He is a good doctor and i highly recomend him


He is far from me


Dont know yet havent been back for my post op.

Yes he did,and went over them, He also kept asking me if Ihad any questions
I would rate him as the best surgeon I HAVE SEEN IN MY LIFETIME
His surgical competence ia excellent,and so is his bed side manner! plus University of Virginia is the best hospital for pain control I HAVE EVER SEEN,I have trouble with finding my veins for ivs and they numbed my hand and arm before putting in iv!

DR. SCHIRMER IS VERY FRIENDLY AND KNOWLEDGEABLE. HE ANSWERED EVERY QUESTION I HAD AND EXPLAINED THE PROCEDURES I WILL BE GOING THROUGH. HIS OFFICE STAFF, ALL THOUGH THEY CAN BE SOMEWHAT FORGETFUL AND NOT RETURN CALLS, ARE JUST AS GREAT. I REALIZE THEY ARE VERY BUSY AND I AM NOT THE ONLY PATIENT IN THE AREA. I WOULD RECCOMMEND ANYONE IN THE WESTERN VA. AREA TO DR. SCHIRMER.I WORK WITH OTHER NURSES AND NUTRITIONISTS WHO KNOW HIM AND THEY ALL HAVE GOOD THINGS TO SAY ABOUT HIM.

I was only able to meet with Dr. Schirmer twice before my surgery was scheduled. He was patient in answering my many questions, and gave detailed answers. He drew a diagram of the surgery for me, as he described the procedure.As I visited other parts of the hospital for my preliminary tests, I found that nurses,doctors,residents and technicians voluntarily told me what a wonderful and skilled surgeon he is. This was very reassuring. Dr.Schirmer stresses after care and requires that you be seen yearly for life.He went over the risks of surgery and gave numerical percentages for each risk.His staff was congenial and efficient. I came away with a surgery date, feeling well cared for.

I have met with Dr. Schirmer once for my initial visit. He was polite,compassionate,and eager to explain things, even taking time to draw a partial diagram of the surgery.
His office staff had been cooperative and helpful.
After care is emphasized, and patients are required to return every year for life.
Risks of surgery were only discussed briefly at this initial meeting.
I am looking forward to finding out more good things about Dr. Schirmer as my appointments progress.

Months before my visit I was sent a booklet explaining everything involved in this surgery. I found that to be very helpful and it answered a lot of questions I wanted to ask as well as one I had never thought to ask. I was so excited about my visit I was an hour early for my appointment. His nurse, Anna Miller, was delightful, helpful, and informative. I met with an intern before meeting with Dr. Schrimer. The intern asked all the questions concerning my health and entire well being. He consulted with Dr. Schrimer and then they both came back into the room. I am glad my appointment was early in the morning because the waiting room was packed full waiting to see him. He asked very little questions but I am guessing because he had consulted with the intern. He told me things would be finished up with in a week and he would send out all the info to Cigna then. I asked Dr. Schrimer if he thought there would be any reason I could be denied and he said no since VA has laws now protecting obese people against insurance companies. After four weeks and no word I called and spoke with Dr. Schrimer's secretary. The first time I had spoken with her she was nice and let me know that the paperwork had not been sent yet. She was somewhat rude to me during the second call when I was trying to get the denial info faxed to my doctor (PCP). During that call she was a little short with me. I wasn't sure if she had had a bad day so I was polite even though she was rude to me. I hope it was just a bad day and she doesn't speak to all patients like that. I asked that she fax the info to my PCP and she flat out refused. She told me that they had the info and she wasn't going to send it again. I asked her what number she was sending the info to and it was the wrong number. She said that she would call his office and tell them that the info would be on it's way. Of course she did not. She did however locate the correct number and sent it to my PCP.(UPDATE: Since then, Dr. Schrimer's secretary has been wonderful to speak with. I am glad that we are now on better terms.) It has taken alot to get things where they need to be. Dr. Schrimer has a three to four month wait for the surgery since he is the only doctor who is able to do this surgery in my area. After getting approved I will have to wait months before having my surgery. I did email Dr.Schrimer and let him know that I was fighting this and would be seeing him soon. He emailed me back to wish me good luck. That made an impression on me since he's such a busy man. I am thankful that in the very near future Dr. Schrimer will be the one person who can help me lead a healthier life.

12/21/01
During these last six months I have gotten to know a whole new "family" at my doctor's office. After our Xmas party last week it was wonderful to see how much Dr. S changes the lives of some many people. I am so glad that my PCP, Dr. Slawson, was so wonderful to me and cared so much about my health that he helped me to get this surgery done. 2002 I will have a whole new outlook on life because of some very kind doctors and their staff members who are helping to change the life of so many obese people. Thank you all!!!!

Dr. Schirmer is a no nonsense person. He really cares about his patients and its not just about surgery. He takes his time answering even the dumbest questions. He is very interested in his patients in the long term and requires a yearly visit with him after the first year. In the first year you will see him at 2 weeks, 8 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year. His office staff is pretty reasonable too. His nurse Anna Miller is very kind and makes you feel really special. She held my hand when I was nervous about a test I needed to take. She is wonderful. I would recommend Dr. Schirmer to anyone looking into this surgery. My incision by the way looks wonderful, like a plastic surgeon put me back together

Dr Schirmer, was very kind and helpful on our first meeting. I will be seeing him again when i go through my pre-op procedures. He answered every question I ask and his interns are very informative. The office staff are very kind and help as much as they can with all of your questions. I will add more as i know more.
I have now seen Dr Schirmer 3 times and my surgery is scheduled for Auguast 27, 2001. Dr Schirmer has a great bed side manner. He answers all the questions you ask him and explains the procedures you do not understand. His staff are all very helpful and you feel very important each time you are seen in his office. Even though it is a very busy office.

Only meeting Dr. Schirmer and his staff last Monday, I was very impressed with their professionalism and organization. Dr. Schirmer was very easy to speak wwith, answered any questions and spent as much time with me as I needed. I was invited to attend the support group which was meeting that day, but needed to get to work.
I am very excited about the whole process, and the beginning of my new life.
Dr. Schirmer was very honest when I asked him about the surgical risks and the mortality risks.More will be added as my surgical date approaches. I'm scheduled to have the psych. evaluation AOn May 2.

I was impressed with Dr. Schirmer on my first visit, he seemed interested in helping me and was very willing to answer my questions as well as the people supporting me. My impression is still that he is a caring, but very busy man and sometimes unavailable when complications arise. Anna Miller is his nurse and Amy Radigan is his Nutritionist, both are excellent and would do anything for you if they thought it was going to benefit you. I don't enjoy the residents and interns changing every month and since you see them on every visit, you somewhat have to start at the beginning and tell them everything. They offer a support group and hand out a package of information in the beginning to help prepare you for after the surgery. All the risks of surgery were well presented except the possible need for a feeding tube, which did happen to me, but knowing this ahead of time would not have changed my mind. I do not regret the surgery at all. I would receommend Dr. Schirmer and his staff very highly, his surgical competence is excellent and his bedside manner is good.

i thought dr. schirmer and all of his staff were wonderful. they answered all of my questions and i was surprised to find out that the dr. himself sometimes comes to the support meetings. the only advice i would give to anyone going to see him is to take a book. there seems to be an hour or two delay in appointments. his office is very busy. i'm not upset by this fact, but several people in the waiting area seemed to be surprised at the wait.(my husband brought a gameboy to keep from getting bored ;) )