James A. Sapala Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S., F.A.S.M.B.S.

I haven't met with him yet but after all then research I have done, I believe he is one of the best in the field, I have talked to his office many times and they are all real nice and informative.

My first impression of Dr. Sapala was that he genuinely cared about my feelings and my
desire to have the bariatric surgery. I have only met with him one time at the initial consultation. I felt very comfortable with him and he answered all the questions that I had and did not seem the least bit in a hurry to get finished. The office staff were really great and made me
feel very comfortable. They were always more than happy to answer any questions I had over the phone. I like the fact that I will always have a place to go for aftercare, and they stress that to you. All the risks of the surgery were explained to me thoroughly. Dr. Sapala has a lot of experience doing this type of surgery and I have a great deal of confidence in him.

I have met Dr. Sapala in 1991 and he is a saint and definately a life saver!

Anyone who is interested in this surgery need not "apply" if they are not going to take it seriously! This is a major surgery and you can be your worst enemy (trust me, I know from experience).

Just remember that this is not a cure but a tool that requires 100% commitment from you.

Dr. Sapala is a personable Doctor and will always listen to your concerns and will always give you the god's honest truth.

LISTEN TO HIM.

i meet with him last week he was a very nice man. He answered all my questions and made me feel better

my first impression of dr sapala was he is very profesional. the way he explained everthing to you in a way that you can understand. he just seems to me to be the perfect doctor for my surgery. dr. sapala's staff is just as wonderful as he. ny surgery isnt until the march 20th, but i would recommend dr. sapala to anyone.

I had my first consultation with Dr.Sapala on Febuary28,2003,and I was very impressed with him.He explained how he and his father came up with micropouch,and the advantages of having th micropouch.His staff was very nice and informative.He stress a great deal on how important after care is and that you'll be with him for the rest of your life.I rate him a 10 all the way.

Dr Jim, seem to be able to aways tell you in a very fast, careing way, about the surgery. My impression, is he is a very busy man. 100% Dr Jim, I trust completely, and if anyone needs this surgery I would tell them, go to him. He is a good person, Best surgical team, Staff is great, Any time you call, they make sure you get what you need. Aftercare is ok. But I am more concern about the support afterwords. The meetings, they are only in Warren,MI. Wk nights in the evenings, And most of us live 3 hrs or more away from this area. Or out of State, So we can't do these.Unless we take 2 day off from work, get a motel, and spend the night monthly. I have chatted with many with this concern.This is my personal impression I get from everyone. We get a news letter, but nothing on it to work with. Just topic they will talk about. But not details on this topic. This is the just my personal impression of this. But its very inportant to me to have this support.

Dr. Toussaint is an attractive well-dressed black woman in her late 30s - early 40s. Very business-like and speaks a mile a minute. When we told her to slow down, she smiled and explained there would be more time after for questions (basically time is money when you're a surgeon and I fully understand this). And yes, there was time after the initial spiel to ask all sorts of questions. She answered all questions directly and satisfactorily. Don't ask an open-ended question, but state it so she must give a specific answer i.e. ask,"Do you have availability in March? instead of, "When is your next available opening?"
Risks and reasons for negative outcome are fully explained. It helped that I work in a medical setting and understand the explanations and terminology, though she takes the time to explain everything. She answered queries about her education and how many bariatric surgeries she has performed.

The aftercare programs are addressed, and are standard for BCA.

Office and staff are very pleasant and welcoming.

I am not sure that Dr. Toussaint would necessarily be "warm and fuzzy" as far as bedside manner - though I don't know this for certain - and that may be too bad in a sense, for those who really want that. However, since I do work in a hospital I do prefer having confidence in my surgeon above all.

Overall - quite satisfactory. I went to my consultation with two other people, both MDs, and they were also happy with the session.

my frist impression of DR. Sapala was very impressive I feel very sure and comfortable with him he seems to be a careing and well knowledgable DR. I felt like a special and important patient the very frist time I met him that means a lot to me he work out of two offices the jackson office has beengreat knowing a nurse name barb have been super great I have ask her a thousand question and she as answared every one gladly dr.sapala has performed over 5000 surgery that makes me feel confident he emphasize after care highly he has an after care program for life Dr. Sapala expland the risked of surgery clearly my rateing for Dr. Sapala excellent afthe I meet with Dr. Sapala I came Home and told my husband all about ma visted with Dr Sapala I also told him he would like him very much

I went w/ a friend of mine to her consult w/ Dr. Sapala and I got to meet him and his staff. Includ. his twin brother,John the nutritionist. Everyone was very friendly and they knew I was there for support for my friend as well as doing research for myself. They spoke to both of us, explaining every step of the proceedure. They were the nicest office staff that I'd ever met. Dr. Sapala was also very forward about the risks of the surgery. I thought he wa very professional and nice. I can't wait to get the ball rolling. Oh, and even though my ins. co. requires pre-approval through my pcp's office, they gave me their card and said that Deb, ins. specialist would help my pcp's office in any way to help with ins. approval. What a nice group! I would reccomend them to anyone. Also, they do the micropouch. What a revolution!