James Viglianco Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

I have had my initial consult with Dr. Vig. He seems very nice but very busy. My appointment was at 2:30 and I did not see him until 5:00 and then it was with another patient at first and then individually.

7/18/03 When I went for my stress test the cardioloigist asked who my surgeon was. When I told him he stated that I had nothing to worry about with Dr. Vig. that he is an amazing surgeon and I am in very good hands.

8/03 I agree with the cardioligst about Dr. Vig. He is wonderful!!! Very caring man and gives great hugs too. He also posed for a picture with me in the hospital. I think he is wonderful and I will always remeber him as the man who gave me my life back.

Dr. Vig is a very loving and caring surgeon.
One of the things that I love about him is that
he is a hugger! I had my 2 week visit and he
hugged me 3 or 4 times before I left him. He
truly cares about his patients and is so happy
when they have success with the weight lose.
BTC staff are wonderful too and can answer all
your questions. Since I live so far from the
BTC facility I don't use their aftercare programs
but I understand that they are good also. I
must say that I haven't had any problems with
the surgery or the incision so Doc did something
right! I think that bedside manner goes a long
way and am so glad that Dr. Vig has it. I would
reccomend him to anyone. There does seem to some
what of a problem in the processing of paper
work at BTC and that may be too many hands in
the pot. Most people have to make several calls
to get things processed through. But after those
hurdles the medical staff is good.

Dr. "Vig" - as everyone calls him - is an approchable, down-to-earth surgeon who gives frequent hugs. He takes time to listen and answer questions. He is good about patient education. I felt Vig changed my life and in appreciation gave him autographed copies of 2 of my books; Parenting Power in the Early Years and Parent School. He's a father and we talked about his son during my check-ups so I said I'd send him MY my bill :)
Surgically there were no complications. My incision was straight and minimal. Healing was rapid and now 9 months post-op my scar is looking smaller and fading. Sometimes I feel so great that I can't believe I had surgery. Eating protein gave me a quick recovery and energy.
The staff at BTC are nice but incredibly busy. I've been transferred to the wrong person on occasion or put on hold for several minutes. If anyone is planning to visit Vig or BTC, better take a book and be prepared to wait.

THE FIRST IMPRESSION I HAD OF DR VIG WAS, HE WAS A CARING MAN WHO ACTUALLY CARED ABOUT ME AS AN INDIVIDUAL, NOT JUST HOW I WAS GOING TO PAY FOR THE SURGERY, OR IF MY INSURANCE WAS GOING TO COVER IT. ON THE DAY OF MY SURGERY HE CAME TO SEE ME IN THE PREOP HOLDING AREA, GAVE ME A HUG AND TOLD ME THAT EVERYTHING WAS GOING TO BE FINE, AND WE WOULD GET STARTED MOMEMTARILY, HE REASSURED ME, AND THAT REALLY MADE ME FEEL GOOD. AFTER THE SURGERY WHEN HE CAME IN TO SEE ME, HE ALWAYS HAD A HUG FOR ME AND SOME WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT, THAT REALLY MADE ME FEEL LIKE I HAD MADE THE RIGHT DECISION IN SURGEONS AND THE FACILITY TO HAVE THE OPERATION AT. THE STAFF AT BTC WAS CARING AND SUPPORTIVE, I DON'T THINK I COULD HAVE GOTTEN THRU THE POST OP WITHOUT THERE SUPPORT. I CAN THINK OF ONE THING THAT I DISLIKED ABOUT DR VIG. OR HIS STAFF THEY WERE ALL WONDERFUL.

I have only met Dr. Viglianco once and that was at my first appointment. He was very nice and explained things well. Since then, although he did the surgery, I didn't see him and I had another doctor release me and yet another doctor for my first follow up. There is a very structured after-care program that I like. I really liked some members of the staff (Sheila in PAT, Diane in scheduling, and the techs that sat in with me for my first appointment and my follow up appointment), but of course there were some I didn't care for. All-in-all I think that BTC is a great place to have surgery and they certainly know what they are doing because this is ALL they do. My treatment, particularly post-op, was fabulous! They had everything ready in the showers and dried your legs and put your stockings back on, and made sure that you always had your slippers. My only complaint is that I feel things are not always very organized, phone calls aren't always returned, and at some points my frustration level was extremely high! I'll let you know any further information about Dr. Viglianco himself if I ever see him again! You should see my scar! I'm only 3 weeks post-op and you can barely see it! Everything is very clean.

First impression of Dr.Vig was good. He explained the process real well. Even drew out diagrams on dry erase board, just hope he is better surgeon than artist. LOL Staff is very knowlegable, if you have questions call and if you get a recording leave a message they are good at getting back to you. I am choosing BTC and Dr. Vig because they are specialist in WLS surgery, thats all they do, in their own hosp. Only wls patients there.

I have had one meeting with Bariatric Treatment Center in Groveport and was relatively comfortable with the situation. While there is a part of me that thinks this whole process is a little bit cookie cutter, everyone was kind and thoughtful.

I had my meeting on January 6, 2003 and in February called to be sure that the insurance info had been sent to Cigna. I was assured that the request form had been mailed on January 26 and that now what I needed to do was wait for approval. Yesterday, April 1, 2003, I called Cigna to see what was going on. The man I spoke to saw the request in the file but nothing had been done with it. He put the request on "urgent" status and told me to call back in 2 weeks. This whole thing is a study in frustration for me because I feel as though I have been incredibly patient but don't want to anger anyone by being overly aggressive!! I have read on this web-site that people receive approval after 3 days or 2 weeks and I have been waiting for approval or rejection for 3 months!! Hope that works in my favor!!

3/14/03 - Well so far everything has moved quickly. This was my first consult, after all info was taken, I talked with the counselour, which had also had RNY 5yrs ago. Then I met with Dr Vig. What can I say...He's great! Made me feel very comfortable, answered all questions honestly, went over all risks, during & after surgery, & what would be required on my part for the rest of my life! Ordered more tests to be done just to make sure everything will go right in surgery. That will take more time & money but, I've been like this for so many yrs, a couple more months isn't going to make a differnce, except the fact this shows he is thorough & has your surgery & recovery as #1 priority! This the first step of a long journey, have not dealt with ins yet, but is in the begining process. Staff was all very nice, informed, patient, knew exactly what they were doing! The best thing was, it didn't feel like a Dr Ofc. it was relaxed & easy to deal with all aspects of both the business & medical issues. At first receptionist seemed not too personable, My rating so far, is a "9".

I was led to consult Dr. Viglianco (Dr. V.) by the passion of another of his patients (Jackie P.) and she sure pointed me in the right direction! Dr. V has a caring, friendly way about him and a great sense of humor. He has just approved my taking motivational tapes into surgery with me; how awesome is that?

The office staff at Bariatric Treatment Centers of Ohio (Groveport, OH) are caring, supportive, upbeat folks who are sensitive to the needs of their clientele. I had begun my WL journey at OSU Hospital, but felt like I was pulling teeth to get to each succeeding step with them, and things just dragged on and on and on. I also NEVER felt the support and encouragement at OSU that I have from the first day with BTC.

BTC's staff thoroughly explained their procedure at our initial consultation, then, after receiving a date I was sched. for extensive preadmission testing where the procedure and aftercare was again explained thoroughly by several medical professionals.

On a scale of 1-10, I would rate BTC -- so far -- an 11!

Dr. Vig is absolutely wonderful!! I was very nervous when I first met with him and he put me completely at ease. After my surgery, I was sick for the first two days and he came in to check on me and to let me know that everything would be okay. He always had comforting and encouraging words...thanks to him, I am on my way to a healthier, happier life....