Michael A. Snyder Bariatric Surgeon MD, FACS, FASMBS

What is there not to say about Dr. Snyder. The main thing I can tell you is that the two times I did have to page him (and I hated to do that) he returned the call inside a minute..no joke, I didn't even think the page would get to him that quickly..the man CARES!! He is your surgeon, cheerleader and friend. Is there anything I could say that isn't so good..well, the only thing I could possibly say is that I think he has just a little drill seargant in him! LOL
I wouldn't have used anyone else..He's great

May 23 2001--- I met with Dr. Snyder today and he is a wonderful Dr. Though I think the scale in his office is a little outta wack. Ha Ha I am looking forward to having my surgery with him for my Dr. Very nice, kind and considerate man. Kinda skinny though. lol:)October 22, 2001 Dr Synder is such a wonderful surgeon, I owe him so much. I can not say enough great things about him. If you want the best Bariatric surgeon around, go to Dr. Snyder:)

He was very friendly to my daughter and I. Everyone at suport group and his office is very nice & very informed about everything that I've asked about. He went over all the info with me. My surgery is Monday Oct. 8th 2001. I've heard nothing but good info from the other patients about him and his manner of dealing with his patients.

2-21-01 I went to a meeting with Dr. Snyder and was quite impressed. He seems very passionate about the plight of the obese. When I got there they weigh (me 246lbs) and take your height (me5'6"). Everyone was great. Dr. Snyder is starting his WLS practice here after being in Oregon & Virginia. His first Colorado surgery will be March 7th. I met the 2 lucky patients. They were soooo excited. Good luck to them. I will update more later.

3-8-01 I have my first consult with Dr. Snyder on wednesday 3-13-01. Wish me luck. I'm lopoking forward to meeting him in his office.

3-14-01I had my appt with Dr. Snyder today. Things went well. I really like him. He made me feel very comfortable.

4-19-01 I had my pre-op with Dr. Snyder yesterday. He has done nothing to make me feel uncomfortable. He is the GREATEST!!!!
4 more days.

5-2-01 When Dr. Snyder was finished with my surgery and was testing my new pouch for leaks he realized it was too big. He could have left it like that and all would have been fine. But he decided because I put all of my faith in him he spent another hour and a half making it the right size. He went that extra step for me. I appreciate him more than he'll ever know. He is really committed to his work. THANK YOU! DR. SNYDER

7-02-01 Dr Snyders follow-up care is incredible. I have heard alot of bad things about post-op care with other Dr's. I feel very fortunate and thankful to have Dr. Snyder as my Dr. He has become a big part of my life.

8-15-01 Everything Dr Snyder has told me has been on the up and up. He hasn't led me astray in the slightest. I've never felt lost or forgotten. I have no fear for my health when it comes to Dr. S....

Our first impression of Dr. Snyder was one of professionalism and compassion. We learned very quickly one of the best ways to speak with him was via email. He is really good about responding to email.
Dr. Snyder's office staff is friendly and informative and they have been cheering us on from the very 1st phone call.
Future patients should know that Dr. Snyder is very thorough and he does not cut corners or take any chances with his patients care. Don't try to get him to short cut his system he JUST WON'T DO IT.
Dr. Snyder is very concerned with Aftercare.
He is developing a support group and he schedules regular return visits for life.
He says once you are his patient you are his patient for Life!
Dr. Snyder does not sugar coat anything he answers all questions and is honest about the risks of surgery.
We Rate Him as THE BEST.
We can't say which is better surgical competence, bedside etc but so far we think he is great.

7-15-01
I wanted to update you on our surgeon.
All that was written above was written prior to surgery.
I wanted to tell you a little about him at the hospital and after surgery.
In the hospital we saw Dr. Snyder everyday as well as his team of North Denver Pulmonary who checked on us as well.
Dr. Snyder was very available if we needed him. He provided us with beeper number and made sure the nurses knew there was no concern to small to have him contacted about.
He was very sure to keep our pain management a priority.
As for after care we have worked with Dr. Snyder to start a support group and it is growing rapidly. We are anticipating speakers with special expertise in Exercise, behavior modification, Wound care, and nutrition as well as members of other support groups in the area to speak about their experience.
He is always available for questions and concerns.

My first impression of Dr. Snyder was good. He is extemely thorough in his delivery at the seminar my husband and I attended. He speaks very very fast and admits to it, but is willing to try to slow down and he does answer all your questions. He has actually written a small booklet about this surgery and before the surgery you are tested, via a written test, to make sure you understand what you are getting into. I was impressed with this. The items you miss, he goes over with you and makes you initial that you understand the correct answer. (He is probably covering his back as well with this, but I appreciated this creative idea). He has a structured aftercare program and strongly emphasises aftercare. He has a group of patients starting their own support group of which I will attend the first one this week. Fortuantely, I have attended classes and support group of a much larger scope in Denver which have been extremely helpful. Dr. Snyder recomended this group foremost. After the surgery, I will expound more on his bedside manner.

Dr. Snyder was a good doctor. He is a very busy man but will give you the time you need, you just need to ask. He actually emailed me and asked me to go on obesityhelp.com and continue my information on him and my progress with the results of the surgery. That impressed me.

A group of Dr. Snyder's patients have formed quite a large support group. At the last meeting there were probably 25+ postop and preop patients. I learned a lot at the support group, especially about wound care. I have been fortunate in that so far I have not had any problems with an infection.

Dr. Snyder's staff is very professional. They went out of their way to make you feel welcomed and cared for.

I feel Dr. Snyder's surgical competence was better than his bedside manner. But according to people in the support group that had problems, he was great to work with through the problems. I just have not had any problems requiring this type of attention yet.

Met with Dr. Snyder on the 22 of March. His staff-Brenda in particular was wonderful in scheduling all my appointments with the pulmonary and psch all on one day so I would not have to make several trips as I live out of state. I found Dr. Snyder very fast paced. My husband was very imopressed with both Dr. Snyder and his lecture. He was also very surprised as to the number of people who attended his seminar. The worst possible thing about Dr. Snyder is you feel as if you have been run over by a train as he is non stop. He is very determined about after care and stresses that highly. Do not know at this point what his bedside manner is. Overall I would say he is an excellent Dr. Have found Dr. S. to be an excellent doctor and would recommend him to anyone giving serious thought to this operation. Would also strongly advise anyone considering this surgury to attend his seminars and to gather as much information as possible by net, person, lit. etc. He is very strong on after care and does not stint on talking to you when every YOU need to speak with him. He is avaible most of the time and has immense patience with his patients. He addressed all the risks of the surgury including some you would not think of. Overall I rate him par excellence and has a great bedside manner. His is also willing to go to bat for his patients when they are not treated right in the hospital. As long as you are open and honest with him he is willing to give his best shot for you. WARNING WARNING he is the roadrunner and YOU are the wily coyote!!!!

6/16
I have been taking some of the necessary test for the surgery. Brenda is so cool!
She works very hard to get me appointments.
Pat is also cool. I like the fact that the
staff have experience in some way, with this
surgery.
6/26
I have been to a seminar and today I met with Dr. Snyder. He was wonderful. I still don't have a date yet and I was depressed about it. I am a teacher and I have to have enough healing time before school. However, my school begins the 3rd week in August so I only have the first two weeks which is not enough time to get ready for 6 and 7 year olds. When I first came into the office Brenda began talking with me about maybe having to put the surgery off until August. Bless her heart!! She and Pat are so very helpful and work so hard. I embarrassed myself by almost crying and letting them know that I could not have the surgery if it had to be in August. Brenda was so sweet trying to think of other options. I enjoyed my talk with Dr. Snyder. He is very sympathetic about your needs. I used to be a scrub nurse and assisted in the earlier operations of this type so I really understand what they are going to do and how it works etc. so we spent a lot of time going over my tests results. I feel bad about causing so much trouble.

I met with Dr. Snyder on Monday the 28th of May. I have been to several of his seminars and have been very impressed. He is so commited to this and to making this a success for you too. Brenda, his right arm, is there for you also. He lets you know what to expect and what he expects from you. The after care is routed out so that there is no confusion as to what you need to do.
I am excited to get moving on the procedure and get on with my new life. I am so looking forward to tying my shoes and hiking/walking with out it being something that I remembered doing once upon a time.

My first impression of Dr. Snyder was that he was a kind, caring, gentle person, who I truly believe for whatever reason, really cares about the quality of life and injustice that bariatric patients endure. My impression over the last two months has been confirmed through my interactions with Dr. Snyder! He is great to talk to. After meeting him for the first time, I felt very comfortable with him (and we all know how important that is!) He is very responsive through the use of email. I believe as a new office staff, there are some challenges to work out and some opportunity for growth, but that will definately come in time. I think future patients should be aware that this is not an overnight process, however I believe that if you are proactive in your approval process that not only will it go quicker for you, but you also feel some sense of control. Dr. Snyder is a great person as well as surgeon. He will not cut corners for anyone...so don't even ask! He emphasizes aftercare a lot. Not really one conversation has happened where he has not mentioned after care. Dr. Snyder has a structured aftercare program in place and he has developed (with the assistance of his awesome team) a support group structure that is wonderful! Dr. Snyder addressed the reality of the risks of surgery as well as encouraging patients to express concerns and suggestions of the risks during his lectures! Nothing is hidden. Everything is discussed openly and honestly. My philosophy is that "Knowledge is Power" and I believe Dr. S feels the same way. I would rate him overall as a competent surgeon, who gets things and processes done! Without his assistance, I surely would still be waiting! I think surgical competence is very important, however if the surgeon doesn't have the bedside manner or the ability to be kind and caring, what good would his skills be...if no one came to him! Both are extremely important! However these comments were just my personal impressions of my own personal experience and I am making no statements about what other people may experience.