Jonathan Aranow Bariatric Surgeon MD, FACS

My first impression of Dr. Aranow was quick intelligence, confidence and competence. He has not disappointed. Extremely competent, my surgery went smoothly, healing was quick, uneventful and successful.

My only complaint overall is getting time with him. He has many patients and scheduling a routine appointment means a six week wait at least. I expect to wait at least a half hour before I'm seen. He has proven to me though, that when I need his time, he is more than willing to give it.

I want to add that I do not doubt that I could see Dr. Aranow immediately should the situation require it. The staff seems geared to addressing needs as quickly as possible and I know he is committed to the best care he can provide.

Office staff are competent, caring, thorough. Lois is the best! Period.

Overall, it is encouraging and reassuring to have a structured support program for weight loss pre and post op, with a nutritionist, a psychologist, support groups and a hospital dedicated to WLS.

I rate Dr. Aranow as top of the line, caring, competent, direct. You can't ask for more than what he and his staff provide, which is excellence. More time with him would be great but he's only one man. I'm grateful to be one of the patients of such a brilliant surgeon.

My first impression of Dr. Aranow was that he was 12 years old. I guess that was both good (because he has boyish good looks)and bad (how can a 12 year old do what he does and been doing it well for so long?) My impression of Dr. Aranow hasn't changed -- he still looks 12, but I now know he is incredibly confident and good at what he does. He has surrounded himself with a process of selection and support that lend themselves to success. I cannot say I dislike anything about either Dr. Aranow or any members of his team. The day of my surgery was EXTREMELY comfortable both in the way I was treated emotionally and physically. Future patients should really understand that Dr. Aranow is NOT a miracle worker, nor is the procedure. It is how YOU, the patient pay attention and follow direction and care for yourself that will lead to success. Aranow and his staff are only \"tour guides,\" providing advice about the best possible route. Any divergent paths are your responsibility. I would say that future patients should have done their \"homework,\" before they consider any kind of WLS. I was appalled to hear a support group member comment that maybe she should start exercising -- MAYBE!? Support Group Meetings are held 4-5 times a month -- in general, they seem well attended and it is helpful that there is a leader to keep things general, as there is always someone who wants to make it all about them. Dr. Aranow addresses risks of surgery in the general meeting held 1x month. He has such a high rate of success,though, I have only heard about complications from support group members who had their initial surgery elsewhere and are with Aranow for correction. I would rate Dr. Aranow and his team as extremely personable and professional. I have NEVER had a bad experience--I always leave his office with my dignity intact -- despite the fact that I get weighed each time :~p One of the prompts for writing this is, \"Which is better, surgical competence, bedside manner, or are both great?\" Yep, he's got the whole package and LOTS of success stories to back him up. Thank you, Dr. Aranow and your entire team.

When I went to the seminar I found that he was very informed of everything. I also like the fact that he didn't make me feel like I would be just a number to him and that I was a person. He also made me feel that he understood what I was going through with my weight. I can't wait to have my consultation with him this month.rnrnSince WLS I needed to have my gall bladder removed. I went back to Dr. A. no questions asked. He was great then too and very considerate to my feelings.rnrnThe only problem is having to wait at the office to see him. Surgeries run late so then he does too. I understand that but it is still frustrating to wait over an hour to see him.

Dr. Aranow has a busy comprehensive practice. He is knowledgeable and professional, and his information session is great. The care I have received both pre-op and post-op has been excellent; the only complaint I have is that there are a lot of appointments and the office is almost always running late, and I have had to wait -- sometimes hours -- for scheduled appointments. I am very glad I had the surgery with Dr. Aranow, and Middlesex Hospital was top-notch.

I'm just beginning my journey in the bariatric process. My physician has a very well established practice that is very successful. He offers monthly general information sessions at the local hospital in Middletown, CT. Both my sister and I went. She has decided to have the Realize Band and I am having RNY Bypass. We also had to attend group sessions with a dietitian and psychologist, a lap band group, and a bypass group. We've met with the doctor. She's a little bit ahead of me, but I still need my independent first meeting with the dietitian, psychologist, gallbladder ultrasound, and a barium test for GEERD (?). I think he is very thorough which explains why he has a very low complication rate. If he is not sure you are not a good candidate, he will not operate on you. He also has a very good aftercare program, too. rnrnI haven't experienced anything negative, yet. So far, so good!

Ist Appointment June 10th. I am a canidate but the Health Insurance is excluded.. Put me in a real DepressionrnI found him to be very honest and genually upset that the coverage is not there for people like myself. Perhaps when I get thru this I might want to get involved with his push to make it manditory for all health plansrnrn11/10 Boss informed me that the new Healthcare provder covers WLS rnrn11/24 Nutritionist 1st meeting on a 1500 Calorie Diet rnrn11/25 Psychologist 1st Meeting rnrn11/26 Gastroenterologist I have 2 Hernias

I just love Dr. Aranow - I just had my first fill. He was so nice and understanding about my nervousness - put me totally at ease. Of course he was right, nothing to it!

WOW! I didn't have Collin as my surgeon for my RNY as I live in CT. but I do know him!!!! Back in the early 90's he was a trauma surgeon at Cooper Hospital in Camden, NJ, where I worked for 4 years as an RN in the Trauma Unit. He left and I never knew what happened to him! He was pretty much the favorite of all the nurses because he was kind, competent, caring, soft-spoken (love his accent!), a great surgeon, just an all-around nice guy. If I had known this is where he ended up, I may have made the trek to come to him instead, although I do love my surgeon and he did a great job.rnrnIf any of you see Collin soon, tell him Heidi from Cooper says HI! I am glad he found his niche. All you people made a good choice. He is great.

I chose the office because it felt like a team. The nutritionist, counselor, and surgeon all played a big part in helping me get ready. His follow up visits have felt brief, but it might be because I was doing well. I am only in the beginning stages of the recovery process. I am very focused on the steps I need to take and am willing to do what I have to be part of a team approach.

Here are my impressions about Dr. Aranow and his program -- any other person's experiences might certainly be different.rnrnI had attended the information sessions of a couple of other surgeons and was impressed by the way that Dr. Aranow seemed to have a whole-patient program and fact-based justifications for decisions like which procedure to do and open vs. laproscopic. He seemed sharp when we met one-on-one and the program dietician and psychologist I worked with were both first rate. (Unfortunately the dietician has moved on, and I haven't met the new person yet.)rnrnFor various (entirely appropriate) reasons, it took me about a year and a half to go from first my meeting with him to my surgery (Open RNY) about three weeks ago as I write this. So there is plenty of history to write about, but I would like to focus on the most important thing. It appears he executed the surgery not just without complication but seemingly without my body even noticing much, and things are going great.rnrnI had been mentally prepared for many challenges that have not yet materialized: severe pain, extreme hunger, eating difficulties, serious complications. While it is still early, I believe Dr. Aranow's surgical experience is the main reason these problems have not occurred for me and I would strongly recommend him on that basis.rnrnOnce I was home, I did have an issue with some mild fever and dehydration, and they were (and continue to be) addressed very personally and cautiously by Dr. Aranow.rnrnThe staff at Middlesex hospital was kind and competent and I enjoyed my recuperation there. Similarly, the ER staff was great the day Dr. Aranow sent me in for my dehydration and fever.rnrnI am going to nitpick at Dr. Aranow's office staff a bit now, but some perspective is important here: they executed well on what really mattered, which was getting insurance approval for the surgery and remitting paperwork for my Short Term Disability claim. There were no \"complications\", it was all transparent to me. Great job.rnrnThe nits are (1) there seemed to be a problem with faxes being lost which led to frustrating re-work with other providers, and (2) sometimes they seemed a little reluctant/unable to fulfill requests to send information, or confirm the status of something in progress. It isn't the most important thing, but over a period of many months it started to chip away at my confidence in Dr. Aranow a bit. The staff are all nice people, clearly working hard, have been nice to me, and as I said they made the important things go smoothly, so I do feel a little bad mentioning this here. Also, please note that this is just a point in time.rnrnI'm glad I stuck with my gut feeling that Dr. Aranow would be an outstanding surgeon, because I think my results are bearing that instinct out. I rate him very highly. rnrnrn