Eric J. DeMaria Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

My first impression of Dr. Demaria was a very good one. He was excited about the prospect of me having surgery due to my numerous medical problems. I have fibromyglia, rheumatoid arthritis, infertilty, have had 5 miscarriages/lost babies, and recently diagnosed with a neurological disorder called pseudotumor cerebri which is a build up of spinal fluid in the brain. Your brain thinks you have a "tumor" but you really don't. The effects of the disorder are blindness, headaches, nausea and is seen commonly in young white obese woman. My neurologist is the one who told me that losing weight would make my symptoms better and suggested the option of surgery. Dr. Demaria answered all my questions and encouraged me to have the surgery. Over time I have not been as happy with Dr. Demaria or his office. I find it very difficult to get in touch with any of them. I had a VERY VERY hard post op period. Instead of being in the hospital 3 or 4 days I was in the hospital for 6 weeks, yeah I said 6 weeks. I had terrible time with nausea, vomiting and abd. pain. My surgery was June 25, 2001. But I had to have a second surgery on July 10, 2001 because when the docs re routed my bowel, they "sutured me too tight" and had to go in and undo some sutures. I did not like having to see all the interns down at MCV. I know it is a teaching hospital but I had done about 6 months of research on Dr.Demaria and expected him to be very involved in my care especially since I had so many complications, and he wasn't, I rarely saw him (maybe 5 or 6 times in 6 weeks) and the rest of the time, I saw interns who told me a different prognasis each and every time. Before surgery, the whole office emphasizes aftercare, vitamins, exercise, good eating habits and all that stuff but since my surgery, I have been the one concerned. I am 6 months post op and still am unable to take any vitamins. They are too big for me to swallow and crushing them makes me vomit. I do give myself B12 injections once a month but that is it. I have had a terrible time with constipation (VERY VERY BAD) and can't get any more advice from my doctor. They did address the risks of surgery in a video during my pre op visit but to tell you the truth, every complication I had, not one of them was on the video. It wasn't until after I got the complications that the doctor's said "oh yea, that can happen too". I am very pleased with Dr.Demaria's surgical skille. My scars are healing very nicely and I could maybe wear a bikini if I wanted. His surgical competence was better than the bedside manner since I hardly ever saw him. Now when I did see him, he was very nice, but I just wish he was more involved in my care since I have been so sick. This was my personal experience but I feel in general that I picked the best surgeon in my area considering the amount of research I did on surgeons in my area. I only wanted a little more of the doctors time because I had spent so much time looking for the best surgeon.

11/27/01 - I should have added this sooner, but I want to give credit where credit is due. My surgeon worked with a wonderful doctor who was doing his fellowship (under my surgeon) by the name of Dr. Shanu Kothari. Dr. Kothari has since moved to LaCrosse, Wisconsin and is now performing bariatric surgery there. He is incredibly friendly, and ladies, he's a DREAM to look at. After speaking with him about my surgery and reading what I could find about him on the internet, I wouldn't hesitate referring ANYONE to him. Like Dr. Demaria, I can't say enough about Dr. Kothari.
8/1 - I've forgotten to update this part, but really, nothing has changed. I'm still convinced that Dr. DeMaria walks on water and that anyone in Virginia, or anywhere CLOSE to Virginia for that matter, should consider him. He's a gifted surgeon and a wonderful man.

3/6/00 - Met my surgeon, Dr. Eric DeMaria of MCV in Richmond,VA for the first time.
It took almost 2 months since I called for the consultation appointment to actually see him, but like they say, good things come to those who wait!
Dr. DeMaria is very compassionate and has a long list of wonderful credentials, to boot. He specializes in laparoscopic surgery, so I'll be having a Lap RNY.
He was very reassuring with my situation as far as my insurance coverage is concerned, stating that they generally get approval within 2 weeks and that they
tend to look at the long term benefits of WLS. (I have Trigon BC/BS-KeyCare). Dr. DeMaria has an extremely busy office, but his staff was VERY nice, despite the rush.
The program at MCV stresses aftercare and has a support group which meets once a month.
I'll update once I get an "official" date, but as of right now I'm thrilled to have Dr. DeMaria as a surgeon.

Although I had very little time with Dr. DeMaria so far, his credentials seem very good. He appeared understanding and very knowledgeable. Very open to questions. He seemed very busy and scheduling took a couple of months for an initial visit.

Dr.DeMaria is a laprascopic surgeon(bariatric specialty) at the Medical College of Virginia.I felt very comfortable at my appt. Everyone was very nice and answered all my questions.Dr.DeMaria even gave me a copy of their latest research results.I left feeling very confident and I can't wait to go back.

I'll come back to this.

Dr DeMaria was very nice, his staff was great too. Everyone was so friendly. We laughed a lot. They were all very easy going. He encourages the Lap procedure since it is less invasive and has a quicker turn around time. The aftercare program is very extensive, follow-up is never complete. Dr. DeMaria was friendly but not overly friendly and seems to care deeply about his patients.The only negative aspect is that he only has office hours on Mondays and he tends to run a little long on his appointments. My initial appointment was 3&1/2 hours long! Otherwise the visit was very pleasant.
Well I thought he was really great but I never saw him until I was being wheeled into the OR. He High-5ed me and asked why I was still awake. Also found out I was his 200th patient! After the surgery I never saw him again :( Couldn't really tell ya how his bedside manner was since I never saw it.....
Since it is a teaching hospital I did have an intern or a resident come in two or three times each day but I never saw him again. Very disapointing! He made up for it at the 2 wk check-up. He was his same, friendly self. He said I was doing so well that I did not have to meet w/ the nutritionist at all this visit!

I have only met with him one time, he was very caring and imformative, He does mostly laproscopic surgery, which I may be to large for therefore I may have to go with Dr. Harvey Sugarman whom I have not met yet, but have heard wonderful things about him.
Dr Demaria is a wonderful surgeon, I cannot say anything negative about him he has a wonderful bedside manner, and really cares about his patients. He took a chance on me and I am glad he did.
I would recommend him to anyone out there that is thinking about having weight loss surgery.

At first I was scheduled for surgery with Dr. Anez in Woodbridge, VA. I wasn't all too impressed with him. He was too quiet and really only supplied information for my direct questions, he didn't really expand on anything. I had read at this site, that many people thought he was very quiet in nature. When I asked him if he was going to see me in the hospital the day after my surgery, he said he would be "resting" that day -- my surgery with him was scheduled for the day before Thanksgiving.

I have been to a couple of Dr. Anez's Staple Club Support Group meetings here in Woodbridge. They are hosted by his nutritionist, Sally Meyer. She is very informative, and kind. I plan on continuing to attend these meetings, even though I'm going to see Dr. DeMaria.

After my surgery with Dr. Anez was scheduled, I started having second thoughts about the open surgery, and pursued getting a lap done instead. I've contacted Dr. DeMaria at Medical College of Virgina in Richmond. I've emailed him a few times and he has been very responsive. I've scheduled an appointment for a consultation with him, but the earliest they could schedule me was December 21.

The only thing that bothered me somewhat about Dr. DeMaria, was that in one of my emails to him, I asked him if he would provide me with the email addresses of some past patients so I could get their opinions, etc. He neglected to respond to this inquiry. I plan on asking his office for this again when I have my appointment.

These are only my personal opinions and others views and experiences may vary.

So far I am very pleased with every aspect of my surgery and care by Dr. DeMaria, his office staff, and the MCV staff. Everything went better than I expected.

Dr. E DeMaria, MCV Hospital Richmond, VA

He seemed to be very caring and supportive. Always has time for the smallest question. Never makes you well rushed. I was extremely impressed with his staff except for one person who was a bit tart over the phone.

He started a progrm where he mentors a doctor doing a Laproscropic Fellowish. I am extremely impressed with the Doctor doing the program with him.