Joseph Colella Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S.

My initial consult with Dr. Colella was scheduled for March 11th, and I got a phone call in Feb from Brenda telling me they had to change my appt date and my heart sank, thinking it was going to be pushed back into mid summer. When she said can you come in Feb 11? I fell over!!! Got to the office for my 2:30 appt and waited almost 4 hrs to finally see Dr.Joe. Irritated at the wait, I had worked myself into a nice little "tude". The very first thing he said to me was, I am so so very sorry that you had to wait so long. The "tude" melted away. I have waited hours and hours with all the medical procedures I've gone through in my life and never once had a Dr apologize for his timing. He spent as much time with me as I required, answering questions, explaining risks, discussing the process. I realized that my wait was because he is thorough and complete with all of his patients and doesn't just wisk you in and out of his office. Each time I have called and left a message for Brenda since my initial visit, I have gotten a response within 24 hours, most of the time within a few hours. That's impressive!

I thank God every day for giving Dr. Colella the wisdom and the steady hands to do this surgery. He is truly blessed.

When I go for my office visits, I never get the impression that I'm being rushed in and out of his office. He is very kind, patient and understanding and is always willing to give you little bits of information on how you can help your weight loss go better. He always leaves you with a very positive attitude about him as well as yourself. He is a very encouraging person. Always smiling that wonderful smile of his. Thank you Dr. Colella, for everything.

Dr. Colella seems very honest and straightforward. I asked several complicated questions, and he took the time to answer them thoroughly.

My first experience with Dr. Colella’s office was dealing with Brenda who coordinates his surgeries. She was awesome and patiently answered many questions both on the phone and at the office. After meeting with Brenda, my husband and I met with Dr. Colella who answered what few questions we had left. Dr. Colella requires that we attend a class of his that details the surgery itself, pre-op testing requirements, post-op care, and an open forum for questions and answers. I was very impressed that he spoke candidly of complications some of his patients had experienced – and what measures they had taken to ensure they did not happen again. Three days following my office visit, I received word that my insurance company had approved me for the Roux en Y.

My first impression of Dr. Colella was he was a no straight forward man. Very pointed with his question and gave pointed -truthful answers (having searched the internet about surgery.
Dr Colellas' staff was very helpful, Brenda who was a helpful aid in getting my surgery approved the first time a proposal was made). Brenda too was very direct, questioning me about past diets, medications, the amount of weight lost/regained over differnt periods of my life, and/or programs I had participated in to lose weight over the years.
Future patients should know that Dr. Colella's and his staff were very explicited on the happenings of the surgery, both pre,and post. I also liked the fact a video was viewed duringa class and then given to all his patients, which has enabled me to view it time and time again. Aftercare was stressed as being vitally important (because within this phase of my life, lies the results of my weight loss an my life eating changes. We spoke about: Tests needed prior to surgery and the importance of getting them done there at the hospital where the surgery will be preformed (so there is no cause for a delay of ones surgery). The night before surgery medications that needed to be taken and the importance of those. We talked about time spent in surgery,time spent in the hospital. The function of the newly created pouch and what it could hold and the amounts of liquids, vitamins required etc. Different stages of reincorporating food and drinking of fluids back into my habits.
Both Dr Colella and his staff spoke clearly on the risks and the percentage of people affected by the risks.
Thus far, I am pleased and would rate both he and his staff highly.
Which is better, surgical competence, beside manner or both? Both are equally important, of course everyone wants a competent surgeon (who has a track record showing his or her success and the success of his patients). Bedside manner is very critical, considering the state of the one who has just had surgery and various sitautions, concern that arise out of the circumstance.

My initial impression of Dr. Colella is favorable. He took his time and explained everything to me. I checked him out with others in the medical profession who sang praises of his surgical abilities. Dr. Colella even gave me a long and personal answer to what lead him to perform this surgery in the first place.
Brenda, his office manager, is extremely competant. She submitted and got my insurace approval right away.
At the pre-op class we had the oppurtunity to ask any questions of Dr. Colella and Brenda. Afterward I felt ready for surgery.

At the consult i talked to Dr. Williams. My impression was he really didnt want to be there doing consults. But other then that he answered all my questions in detail. So another words he wouldnt be a person id like to hang with, but in the medical field he was an A+.

His staff ESP. BRENDA OMG she is the best.. she makes up for their (the dr.s) lack of humor and friendliness..:)

The aftercare... geeze its ALOT of traveling.. every 2 weeks for the 1st 3 months.. then once a month for 6months.. and then every other month for the next 3 and then 2 times a year for a year then its once a year after that.

Id have to say he (dr wiliiams)(didnt meet dr corella yet) is way ahead of the game on surgical comp.. but down low in the valley on bedside manner...i hope dr corella has more humor .


WELLL ... dr colella did my surgery .. he is great,,, down to earth kind and omg hot!!..lol his beside manor was wonderful and that smile made you relax and know everything was just fine!!!

I've met with Dr. Colella only once, but that was enough to know I really like him. He's very professional, sweet, nice and very straight forward with information. He asked me if I had any questions about the surgery and tried to prepare me for what is to come.
He went over the risks and some of the problems I might face down the road.

Dr. Colella's staff are excellent!! Brenda is fantastic!! They will be helping me with the insurance approval and are very supportive. I am awaiting a call for a date for my pre-op class.

I couldn't find anything negative to report, but like I said - this was my first visit to him. I work in a clinic setting and am used to dealing with rude MD's who do not inform and educate their patients, but give them orders and hope they will follow them, so my experience in the Doctor's office was a great relief!

My first impression of him was that he was a nice man that cared about his patients. My impression of him did not change over time.....I really do believe that he cares about his patients and he takes the time to listen to you. Brenda was very nice and helpful to me and treated with respect. Future patients should know that he is really understanding and considerate. He really cares about you before and after the surgery. He explained to me everything that could go wrong and basically said that it was up to me. On a scale of 1-10 I would give him a 9.5!

Actually my original physician was Dr. Kenneth Williams. He and Dr. Colella are in the same office. Well, Dr. Williams is leaving Alleghen General, Pittsburgh this month and I got Dr. Colella by default. I have not met him yet buy I am confident in his work because I know someone else who had him and that guys' surgery went very will. He is almost at goal weight. He's got a loss of over 200lbs thusfar. He sings praises of Dr. Colella, so I'm not apprehensive about being his patient.
The office staff has been just wonderful. All the folks there are very pleasant and treat you like a friend. I know there is a rigid aftercare program but I don't know if his is any different than Dr. Williams' was. Surgical competence and bedside manner mean a lot to me. I like a person, no matter how much education they have, who can talk to people on any level of intelligence.