Joseph Caruana Bariatric Surgeon MD, FACS

Dr. Caruana is a nice guy. Although, it's kind of hard to remember, because I haven't seen him since my surgery. Since then I have only seen his PA Marc, who is very nice, and I think, too good looking (LOL). Dr. Caruana did an excellent job with my surgery. My scar is not too big and I was very happy that he determined that I didn't need any drains put in. I also did not wake up and have an NG tube, as I have read some other profiles on here and I was not looking forward to that. Too date I have had no complications whatsoever. While Dr. Caruana is a great surgeon, I do think he lacks knowledge on aftercare and nutrition. He doesn't prescribe any supplements after surgery as some other drs do (i.e. Trinsicon for Iron, or B12). He's more of a check your labs a couple times a year and wait and see if a problem develops type of dr. That is...I assume that's his position...again, I have only seen his PA after my surgery and that is what he told me.

I have just met the surgeon for the first
time on Friday. My first impression was that
he was honest and forthright-pretty no nonsense
My primary care doctor told me that he considered him
an excellent surgeon. He told me that when
his wife needed surgery, he sent him to Dr.
Caruana. He told me that he had lost three
patients out of about 250. He told me that
he and his assistant had gone through training
to become personal trainers to help me with
excercise after the surgery.
His office staff was nice.
That's about all I can offer at this time but I will
add as time goes by and I interact with the
office more.

DR CARUANA WAS WARM AND VERY NICE HE TOOK THE TIME TO EXPLAIN THE SURGERY AS WELL AS THE RICK (S) INVOLVED. MY IMPRESSION DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO CHANGE I METT HIM ON 03-05-2002 AND HAD MY SURGERY DATE 04-04-2002. OFFICE STAFF IS WONDERFUL. LEAST NO TIME TO TELL. FURTURE PATIENTS SHOULD KNOW DR CARAUNA IS DOING THIS SURGERY ONLY AND HAS HAD THE SAME PARTNER FOR ALL SURGERY AND A WARD AT THE HOSPITAL THAT IS ONLY TAKING CARE OF HIS PATIENTS. AFTERCARE IS EMPHASIZED IN EVERY CALL AT THE ONSET OF THE FRIST CALL FOR INFORMATION AND HAS CONTINUED TO BE SPOKEN OF EVERY TIME I CALL. STRUCTURE AFTERCARE IN THE OFFICE FOR BLOOD WORK EXERCISE PROGRAM AND NURT. RISK OF SURGERY WAS SPOKE OF AS IT CAN AND HAS HAPPEN AS IN ALL SURGERY THERE IS A RISK YOU TAKE HOWEVER THERE ARE SOME STEPS WE TAKE TO HELP PREVENT BLOT CLOTS AND COMPLICATIONS. OVERALL DR CARUANA IS VERY NICE, CONCERNED FOR HIS PATIENTS, UNDERSTANDING AND WILLING TO HELP IN MANY WAYSSURGICAL COMPETENCE IS WONDERFUL AS FOR THE REST I HAVE TO HAVE THE EXPERIENCE FIRST TO RATE HIM. FROM WHAT I SEE THUS FAR DR CARUANA IS A CARING AND UNDERSTANDING DOCTOR HE IS WILLING TO HELP IN ANY WAY AND HE AND HIS PARTNER ARE BOTH CERTIFIED TRAINERS TO DISCUSS THE WORK OUT PROGRAM TO FOLLOW YOUR SURGERY.

DR. CARUANA AND HIS STAFF ARE NUMBER 1, THEY HAVE BEEN VERY HELPFULL IN GETTING ME READY FOR SURGERY. DR. CARUANA WILL ANSWERED ALL OF YOUR QUESTION AND TELL YOU ABOUT ALL THE COMPLICATIONS.

I had my initial consultation on Friday March 15, 2002. My first impression was very good. The two receptionists greeted me as if they had known me for years! They talked to me about all of the ins and outs of insurance approval. I was a half an hour early for my appointment and I got right in! Dr. Caruana examined me and went over my paperwork in about fifteen minutes,then we moved to his office. He was very thorough in describing the surgery. My husband was very pleased with his explanation of everything and felt much more at ease after seeing Dr. Caruana. First impression - THUMBS UP! I'll keep you posted on the rest of the story...to be continued...

Competant,had time for me,had time to answer all my and my husbands questions. Office well organized. They have a support group and encourage all to go prior to scheduling the surgery and before going to the office visit. They also have a 2 session dietary and exercise class that has been scheduled. He showed us graphs with results. Talked about complications etc and did not seem pushy. As an RN I work with surgeons at another facility and he was much more laid back. He and his PA seemed to know all his established patients as they came into the office. I fell that surgical competance is most imporatnt. However in bariatric surgery , teh physician and all his staff needs to be compassionate.

Dr. Caruana was very nice. I was in the office for about 1 hour and spoke with him for about half an hour. He answered all my questions and gave me a lot of information. He has a program befor surgery to get you ready. I have spoken with other patients of his and they all say he is wonderful.

My first impression of Dr. Caruana was a good one. He came in and sat down and talked with me before he did the initial exam which was nice. He was very informative and told me everything I needed to know. He also allowed time for me to ask any questions that I might have. His office staff was very friendly. Dr. Caruana has a special nutritional program that he does for his patients and he himself and some of the office staff have become personal trainers to better serve their clients. So far so good.

I first met Dr Caruana in 2001 and he performed a lap chole. (gallbladder) No recovery time needed. It was great and so was he. Has a nice PA Marc, and Rhonda, the office manager is terrific. Both very informative and helpful, not to mention kind and VERY pleasant! Dr Caruana has a great bedside manner. None of that surgeon machismo stuff. Pleasant, easy to talk to, compassionate and does a great subq closure (BEAUTIFUL incision, none of those nasty staples!) I would and have recommended him to others for general surgery and WLS. Simply put, he's the complete package--highly competent surgeon, pleasant, and kind.

I saw dr. Carauana on december 10th, my mom came with me and sat in the room while i was examined, i thought it was great that he allowed her to be in the room, she was very hesitent about the surgery at first and couldnt qiute understand why i was doing this. Dr. Carauana answered every question that she had and there were many....he is a very patient and caring man. His staff however are the people with the real answers..insurance issues are numerous and they waited for me to get my insurance straight and where willing to offer me solutions if i couldnt obtain insurance. they have been great