Joseph Caruana Bariatric Surgeon MD, FACS

I have an appointment with Dr. Caruana on 10-21 for the informational meeting. I will let you know my thoughts after the meeting.


Had my appointment with Dr. Caruana and have to say the staff was extremely helpful and nice. Now it is just a matter of waiting for the insurance company. It's funny I knew that this is what I wanted but when I sat down the waiting room I was so nervous and at the end after talking to Dr. Caruana I cried. I am glad that Dr. Caruana will be my doctor I was very impressed.

MY FIRST IMPRESSION OF HIM- I LIKED HIM RIGHT OFF THE BAT..

OVER TIME I STILL LIKED HIM, HE GAVE ME MY LIFE BACK.

HIS OFFICE STAFF ARE WONDERFUL.

I LIKED EVERYTHING HE HAD TO OFFER ME.

HE IS A FAT FRIENDLY MAN..

HE WANTS TO KNOW HOW YOU ARE DOING AFTER THE SURGERY.

YES AND ITS A PLACE CALLED SYNERGY.

THE FIRST TIME YOU MEET WITH HIM, HE TELLS YOU UP FRONT..

HE IS GREAT..

I WOULD SAY BOTH. I TRUSTED HIM 100%. STILL DO..

I CAN HONESTLLY SAY I HAVE HAD NO NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES WITH HIM..

Dr. Caruana is extremely well organized with a very non-assuming aire about him. The first part of the journey was an informational meeting addressing all major questions. From there we were given appointments about two months out. After the consultation it was about one month before I got my insurance approval. From there it was another two months before surgery. Two weeks prior all patients must attend a nutritional class and an exercise program. Dr. Caruana has a beautiful facitlity with a small cafe and brand new exercise room. He and his assistant are certified trainers in addition to their medical backgrounds. He is a pleasant man of few words, that would be his only negative trait. I often felt as though I should know several of the answers to questions I was asking and he does not elaborate on issues. Other than that he is in my opinion an excellent surgeon with a reserved personality.

Dr. Caruana And his Partner Mark Are The best. Very Warm And Caring. They Both Do Their Best To Make you Feel Comfortable. The Office Is Wonderful And Everyone That Works There Is Very Friendly. I Couldn't Have Asked For A better Doctor And Staff.

I HAVE MET DR CARUANA ONLY ONCE AND HE SEEMS LIKE A VERY NICE PERSON.HE TOOK HIS TIME WITH ME WHEN ASKING QUESTIONS.HE HAD PICTURES OF THE SURGERY AND TALKED ABOUT THE RISK INVOLVED.AND MARC,( OHH VERY CUTE) HE DID MY EXAM AND THEY BOTH WERE VERY PLEASENT TO TALK TO.

Dr. Caruana is very warm, patient and has explained the surgery and its after effects in great detail. He encouraged me to talk to a recent post-surgical patient and that was a big help. His secretary is just great and answers everything I need.
Update 10/02 I am now working for my surgeon! I run his pre-op support group, do telephone counseling and create his bi-monthly newsletter. I recommend him highly to anyone in our area and outside of it. This is a truly caring man and a fine surgeon. I have lost 125 lbs and am having abdominoplasty 10/30/02. Wish me luck.
madeline

My first impression was possitive, they answered all my questions.
My impression has not changed.
Everyone in the office is very friendly & very informative.
There is nothing I did not like about them.
Aftercare is highly emphasized! Before surgery they require you to take a nutrition & exercize program. And after they have a gym type program right at the office. Very structured.
At my first appt. he told me about any risk.
Overall I would rate them a perfect 10.
Both surgical competence & bedside manner were great. The surgeon even taught our pre surgical exercize program.
I know it is almost unheard of that someone is 100% satisfied, but I am.

Well, I did it. Saw my PCP today and after MANY restatements of my desire to have surgery, and NOT to "give Xenical ONE more try" he finally agreed to put through the referral. I'm not very worried about insurance issues- I work for my health insurance carrier as a medical biller/coder, so I'm one step ahead of the game in that aspect. (Besides, one of the girls in Util Review owes me a favor ;)
I've already got a "reservation" for an informational meeting with Dr. Caruana (10/21/02), and I have to admit, I'm not very pleased with that step in the process. Patience is NOT one of my better virtues, and a 2 month wait just to be able to SCHEDULE an initial consult is borderline ridiculous. When I asked the woman I spoke with about the types of procedures Dr. C. performs, she dismissed me with "he covers all that at the meeting". I have no desire to waste my time, nor his- I will not undergo an open procedure, period, the end. I've already had an open appendectomy on an emergent basis, and I'd never electively endure another surgery. I'd rather know NOW, so I can look into surgeons elsewhere if need be, but the woman I spoke with was very reluctant to get into that with me. *sigh* Feeling frustrated already...

I WENT TO HIS INFO. MEETING AND MAN WAS IT GOOD ALOT OF INFO. WAS GIVEN AND HE ALSO ANSWERED A LOT QUESTIONS. THE STAFF AT HIS OFFICE WAS NICE BUT HAVING A PROBLEM WITH DISABLITY PAPERS. OVERALL I SAY HE IS A VERY GOOD/NICE DOCTOR BUT HE HASN'T DONE THE SURGERY YET.

I met him at his informative meeting, he seems to be a nice, caring, compassionate man, who really understands the struggles obese people go thru. More after my initial consult. Well I have had my initial visit with Dr.Caruana, first of all his office staff are wonderful, they answer all of your questions. I was in and out of there in like less than 45 minutes. The first thing I noticed was the waiting room, no arms on the chairs, and you know when you go to a regular doctor how everyone in the waiting room keeps to their selves and reads a magazine, well not here, everyone is talking to one another about what stage of the journey they are at, and about how great Dr.Caruana is. I met a few wonderful people there, one of his patients was just 3 months out and had lost 100lbs. Then I got weighed and my hieght was taken, 263.5 and 5"7. I went back to the waiting room for about 5 minutes and was called into the examining room, I was there just a few minutes and Mark came in, and yes everyone, he is gorgeous!!!, He asked me a few questions, then gave me a gown to put on, you get to keep your bra and panties on, and yes the gown is big enough, it was falling off of me, he came back in and examined my abdomen and looked at my legs and asked a few more questions. Then I got dressed and Dr.C came to get me and I went to his office. He looked over my paperwork, and said that my PCP wrote a very nice letter to him, he asked if I knew about the surgery, and I told him that I had been researching it for like 2 years now. He asked if I had any questions, and I had a few, he answered each and everyone for me, in a way that I would understand, not doctor talk!!! He told me I was a good candidate for the surgery and that I would have no problem getting approved. I feel so comfortable with him and his staff, I would recommend them to anyone who was serious about making a life changing decision such as this.