Margaret Inman Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

I had my first consutation with Dr.Inman on March 18, 2002. She seems to be a very caring doctor that put me at ease right away. My sister had surgery with her 2 years before and also liked her very well. The staff at the bariatric center at St. Vincent arranged the first consultion and were very helpful in getting things started. Dr Inman was very good about pointing out the risks involved and the aftercare that is required. She pointed out that the surgery is a tool to help with weight loss and follow up support is very important. All her patients are required to meet with a physiciatrist once for an evaluation to see if you are a good candidate for surgery. On May the 7th, the surgery coordinator called and told me that my insurance had approved the surgery and gave me my surgery date and scheduled my pre op testing. She was very nice and led me through what I needed to do to set up part of the testing. I hope things go as smooth with the surgery.

Kim at the Bariatric Center was very helpful on the phone. The office staff was very nice and answered all my questions.

It's 11/5 and my letter was just sent today! Colleen, from Dr. Inman's office said she was months behind in sending them out!!!!!

It is 12/5 now and apparently the insurance company has all the information they need now thanks to Lisa at the Bariatric Center. She provided them with the last piece of information they needed. Colleen at Dr. Inman's office has not been very helpful. She hasn't been very friendly either. Now I am dealing with Vicky, she is very down to the point but much friendlier than Colleen.

Dr. Inman is the greatest. She is very down to earth, caring and helpful.

04/22/02 So far, Dr. Inman has been great. Her entire staff has been helpful in getting my surgery approved. I didn't have to do any of the footwork that I have heard of others doing. Dr. Inman is straight forward and goes straight to the point. There's no sugar coating when she speaks. I can respect that! During my counsultation, she was quick yet percise. She has a very structured aftercare program that is manditory for 1 year. I will see the nutriousist and attend group (all cost included in the cost of surgery). I will keep posting with each interaction.

(The following information is my personal impression regarding my own experiences and should not be used by anyone for their own decision about weight loss surgeryor their own health.): Dr. Margaret Inman is my surgeon. I have met with her once at my initial consultation. I am very impressed with her self-confidence, knowledge,caring attitude and overall spirit. She is a very caring and detailed educator in the initial consult. All risks and surgery information was covered in a group setting and then I met with her one to one (Only a few minutes). I would rate her a 9 out of 10(only because I have not had the surgery yet). Her attitude is very positive(good for a surgeon) and she explained everything in detail. She is in the St. Vincent Bariatric Weight Loss Center in Carmel, IN. The Hospital is very nice and all the Bariatric staff are helpful and sensitive to large people.The before and after care program is very structured and required for you to become a potential patient. Which is really important to me because I want a program that has follow through. They have group support meetings once a week.I have been to 3 so far and they are great! And mandatory follow up with nutricianists, group support meetings,Doctor appointments and lab work-ups after surgery. I really like this approach because it will just mean more support for me in using this surgery "tool" successfully. And be able to maintain the weight loss in the long run. The chairs in the waiting room are big with chair arms!! I have not had the surgery yet but I feel I have an excellent surgeon in Dr. Inman.

Very professional, knows her subject well!
Somewhat standoffish at first. Respect her and her abilities. Very caring toward her surgery patients. Office staff helpful and they try to process info in a timely manner,
although this can become difficult with the amount of people wanting this surgery.
Future patients should expect a very long process from calling for consult to actual surgery date. As stated before Dr. Inman is very good and many want surgery. The aftercare with Dr. Inman is excellant follow
ups at different stages as well as if anything seems out of the ordinary a patient can contact the office and get quick result if a problem seems relevant. The aftercare is very structured along with seeing Dr. Inman for follow up you see a dietician the same day.
The risks involved with surgery were presented in a understandable manner. No holds barred you might say. Her track record was also given.
I rate her excellant from what I have observed and learned the past year. I expect to find out soon myself when I have my surgery.
A fully rounded surgeon is best in my book. although they may have a somewhat dry bedside manner, competency in their work will make for a quicker recovery.

First impression-to the point and very informative and honest. I personally have only met her the one time at the consult visit so I can't really give much more of an impression. I do believe her knowledge and skill is what led me to her and impressed with it. The office staff are very friendly and helpful. Though I called to request an appeal letter and they say they already sent everything they have. They did advise me to call the BTC and request a denial packet, which I did and they sent it to me. She is very thorough in regards to the surgery as far as what to expect before, during and after. She meets with you in a group setting to discuss all of these things then individually for personal questions. She is with the BTC at St.Vincent in Carmel,In. They have a very structured aftercare, exercise and support group program. I don't think at this point I am qualified to rate her other than surgical competence and knowledge at which she appears to be superior at. I would definitely recommend her to others.

I like Dr.Inman as sshe was very straight forward, which I like in a Doctor. She answer all questions completely.I do wish that you spent more time with the Dr. as more questions pop in your mind as time(which is plenty) passes as you are waiting for surgery.Her staff was helpful and did try to answer what questions they could.I like the fact that Dr. Inman let you know up front that there was risks but then there is risks being morbidly obese too.I would rate Dr. Inman on a scale of 10.

I was very impressed with Dr. Inman and her entire staff. I felt that she was genuinely interested in helping those in the meeting to reach their goals of weight loss through surgery.

The staff did not assume they could take charge of you, they asked questions, were very friendly, did not look down or talk down to those folks who had come seeking a miracle for their lives.

Dr. Inman does emphasize that there will have to be a change in our habits and thinking and that we have to work to make the program successful.

She addressed the risks of surgery and the preventives we can start now to minimize those risks before surgery is scheduled, such as increasing walking and other activities to increase our cardiovascular function.

Overall, I would rate Dr. Inman as very positive, very honest but dedicated to the task of helping morbidly obese people to have hope of longer life. Currently we can expect to live 20 years less than normal people, but by following her directions and suggestions, we can increase not only the length of life, but the quality.

The waiting room was extremely full of future patients and others who were there for follow up meetings with nutritionists and though my appointment was scheduled for 1:30, and I arrived before 1:00 to ensure I'd be on time.....I realized also she could be delayed if there was an emergency....however it was still after 3:00 pm before we were all ushered into a conference room for the presentation. This was the only negative about the entire meeting, however, I was willing to endure this because of the need.

I am one who must have a great bedside manner and be able to approach my physicians with questions, but would relinquish that requirement for surgical competence. If you get both, that would be a great plus. I feel that they are both offered with Dr. Inman and her staff.

Dr. Inman was very upfront about everything regarding the surgical procedure and explained it in great detail. I liked her immediately and feel no apprehension about having her as my doctor. I haven't had much contact with the staff so far, but so far they have been very understanding and helpful. The only negative thing I can say is that it takes so long to actually get a surgery date scheduled. I had my initial evaluation in December 2001, and was approved the end of January 2002, but my surgery could not be put on the schedule until the end of July - so far away. I don't know a whole lot about the aftercare program yet but I'm sure I will know by the time I meet with the nutritionist in June. I feel Dr. Inman is an excellent surgeon; she was very nice during the evaluation process and explained the procedure in detail during the informational portion of the meeting. I have heard that Dr. Inman has a good bedside manner, which after this type of procedure is a great asset for her. I guess I'll find out for myself in about 5 months.

Very intelligent and informative. Very busy office a little impersonal, but they get the job done. Insurance follow through was excellent. Dr. Inman does a large group discussion and then normally meets one on one too. But I didn't meet with her because she was rushed so I met with another Dr. who was pleasant but seemed less experienced telling me to ask her later, But unfortunately I have no meetings with her directly, just her staff and support meetings. I feel pretty well informed about aftercare and risks from the lecture. My surgery is not until 09/04/2002 and I initially contacted for appointment with their office in 11/2001 so expect a wait. Also, no one in their surgeon group does laparoscopic. Only one surgeon in Indiana does, he is at Wishard and doesn't do anyone over 350.