Donald Hess Bariatric Surgeon MD, FACS

'Dr. Hess is a really nice man

My first impression of Dr. Hess was that he seemed to genuinely care about me as a person and not just another patient.

The staff was wonderful and they all make sure you are completely aware of what to expect before and after surgery.

So far everything has been excellent. I have just received approval from my insurance company so I am waiting for a surgery date.

Dr. Hess is kind and considerate I had full confidence in him after one visit!

Now that I've had surgery let me add He is also a skilled surgeon. I highly reccomend him to anyone considering surgery.

Dr. Hess has a wonderful disposition and a great bed-side manner!!! So much so that I forgot I was over-weight for a second when I was meeting with him.. hehe. His staff was very friendly which greatly eased my nerves (which were high) before meeting with him. He discussed everything about the surgery to me in easy to understand terms and told me about the risks involved and precations he and his team takes. He really made me feel at ease about this whole process.

My first impression was that Dr. Hess was very knowledgable and friendly. I felt comfortable immediately, which is unusual for me when it comes to Doctors. I felt like Dr. Hess cares about the community he serves and pays attention to your questions and feelings. His staff is very professional and friendly. Pamela and Ellen in Quincy were very nice and put up with my many phone calls. Adriane in Boston was absolutely the best! She knows her job and does it well. She also put up with my many phone calls and questions and never got annoyed with me. She handled my insurance approval, which I got in less than 24 hours. Natalie seems to care so much about her groups and the people she counsels on Nutrition. She sacrifices her personal time to help her patients. She was the person I felt most comfortable with, as I saw her in the group meetings every month as well as one on one appointments. Over all the staff and the surgeon made me feel safe in their hands. I was well informed and prepaired. I knew the risks, nothing was glossed over. In the hopsital, Dr. Hess's personal attention was great. His med students were friendly and helpful (especially Jennifer). I felt like someone was checking in with me all day long! My surgery was without complications or hold ups. Over all an excellent experience. Thank you.

OK, my first impression of Dr. Hess was that he was a very soft spoken man. That was very soothing and he was easy to talk to. He was not the physician that I began with and I didn't know what to expect but he was just as assuring as Dr. Forse and just as personal. He also made me feel like he was talking to me. Over time, I became much more confident about my surgery because I became much more confident about him. His office staff was excellent. The clinic was not new to me because I had been there for nutrition and weight loss years before so I know some of the people. His personal staff, his nurse, secretary, etc. were very accommondating and friendly and they made it easy to laugh when I came in. Which was great because I was getting very nervous towards the end. When I was waiting for my approval his staff didn't act impatient when I called and were very assuring and helpful. They seemed to do things in a timely manner so that there was not a lot of waiting. I really can't say that there was anything I didn't like about Dr. Hess. If you are considering being a patient I think it is very important that you be honest. Don't be afraid that he will turn you down he is really fair. I will admit I liked to drink and he could have made me wait a whole year before doing my surgery but he asked me to stop for 3 months and even though it was not easy I did. He did the surgery about 2 and a half months after our discussion and I felt much safer because he knew all about my past and just what to expect and follow up on. So always be brutally honest with your doctor. This is not a situation where you don't want the person taking a knife to you to know everything about your body. As far as aftercare, don't expect to get away with anything. He doesn't allow shortcuts and neither does his staff. They know it's hard at first but they also know what's best. I am in my 5th week and they have not altered from the program no matter how much I moaned and groaned about my diet. I think that is why I feel so good now. I have only had one episode of dumping and I did that because I didn't listen and put salt (which is not powdered seasoning) on my eggs. It was not a good experience. If you listen you won't dump. Even something that your stomach does not like won't make you dump if you just take very small portions and wait before taking more. At least that's my experience. I would feel some pain and nausea but I did not dump. I was taking water aerobics and as much as I would like to get back in the water they just won't allow it. Although I feel much better and I am all healed on the outside his nurse won't give me permission to do even that much stomach exercise "I mean water aerobics" until at least 10 weeks out. They don't take chances. I have been allowed to do the arthritis water class though. Although I can't do the hoola with them (ha..ha).

I first met with his collegue, and how kind and caring he was. Then in came Dr. Hess, he has such a wonderful outlook on everything. Could put even the most nervous person at ease. Very knid, soft spoken, and informative. I now know that I have the right surgeon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dr. Hess rocks my socks. He is SO cool, and so understanding and has a great sense of humor. He was very careful to explain everything to me in terminology that I could easily understand. He invited my questions, and cleared up a lot of things that I was pretty sure that I knew, but wasn't *that* sure.

After surgery, I got the most wonderful visits from him. His bedside manner is fabulous, and he stopped by to just chat or say hi a couple of times, in addition to his rounds. :) He's fabulous. FABULOUS.

Aftercare has been difficult because of scheduling problems, but Dr. Hess straightened that all up immediately upon finding out the problems.

I cannot say enough good things about this man...besides just being "good people", this Doctor saved my life. He is kind and giving, funny and friendly, compassionate and caring.

Everybody should have a Dr. Hess in their life. I luv me my doctor.

Dr. Hess is a very kind and thorough doctor in my opinion. He knows his stuff! I have only grown to appreciate what he does for us more and more every day - he truly is a life saver! His office staff is great as well - Maria in his office goes well above and beyond what her normal duties are I am sure of it. There is nothing I don't like about him. Heck, he even took me an hour early for my last appointment - how many doctors do that? ;-) Dr. Hess is very intelligent yet also has a sense of humor and knows how to calm any nerves you may have. When you ask him a question he will answer you and not sugar coat it. Plus he REMEMBERS you! He remembers all of his patients so well it is scary at times. His aftercare program is top notch, and if you ever need to see him or someone on his staff of interns, you will get in no problem. He did advise of the risks of the surgery, but also the risks of NOT having the surgery. Overall I would rate him a 20 out of 1 to 10. He has incredible surgical competence, bedaside manner, and stamina - my gawd - he will do two operations and still make rounds and stop and talk with every singl patient of his in the hospital - he is a walking miracle man! ;-)

WHEN I FIRST DECIDED TO HAVE THE SURGURY I WAS TERRIFIED. WHEN I MET DR. HESS HE MADE ME FEEL SO CALM. WHEN I LEFT THE OFFICE I WAS EXITED.
NONE WHAT SO EVER. HE IS WONDERFUL.
MARIA, IS ON TOP OF EVERYTHING AND SO NICE,AND SHE WILL HELP WITH ANY PROBLEMS YOU HAVE.
THERE WAS NOTHING NOT TO LIKE.
HDR. HESS WILL NOT RUSH YOU,OR TREAT YOU LIKE A NUMBER.
CONSTANTLY.


YES.
HE EXPLAINS THE RISK,AND ABOUT YOUR OWN HEALTH PROBLEMS AND THEIR RISKS.

ON A SCALE OF 1-10 ABSOLUTELY A 10.

BOTH GREAT