Michael Jay Nusbaum Bariatric Surgeon MD, FACS, FASMBS

'Dr. Nusbaum gives the impression that he is completely confident and will be in absolute control from the first steps all the way through for as long as you need him. He describes the procedure fairly matter of fact

Dr. Nusbaum is the greatest. Originally, I wanted an appointment with Dr. Nusbaum but he didn't take my insurance. Then, I had an appointment with his junior partner Dr. Bilof because he took my insurance. Then, a few days before the appointment I found out that he's no longer accepting my insurance either. Well damn. If I've got to pay some out of pocket then I aint gunna go to the junior guy. I may as well get the best and see they guy who started it all and trained the other one. So, I swithced my appointment and went to see Dr. Nusbaum.
Now, I don't just do things without thinking about them. I did alot of research before I even thought about going for the surgery. I have several girlfriends who have had the surgery, all by different surgeons too. One went to Morristown and nearly died after three operations and four months in intensive care with tubes coming out all over the place. Another went to Hackensack and got a hack job that left her with a scar from top to bottom and two hernia repairs that both failed and a ton of pain. Two of my friends went to Dr. Nusbaum. One had the surgery a year ago and the other had it over five years ago. Both of them not only did terrific but also said that they loved their surgeon. That was good enough for me.
My attitude is: if you're going to make a major step like this then go to the best. That's Dr. Nusbaum and that's why I'm scheduled to have my surgery with him. He's a 10/10!

I put alot of work into finding a surgoen to do my operation. I looked at qualifications, number of surgeries performed, complication rate and certainly mortality rate. I narrowed downed my list based on these four things. I was very happy when I came across Dr. Nusbaum. He was one of the few surgeons who have completed over 1000 surgeries with zero deaths and very low complication rate. My first impression of him was oh my he is young. I didn't mind at all, because from what I understand younger doctors are trained on lap equiptments in med school. He was very informative and a really nice person. After the first 5 minutes of my consultation I was 100% sure I wouldn't have anyone else perform my surgery. He is very detailed and easy to talk to. I cannot think of anything that I don't like about him, he was patient and did not rush through the session and answered every single question that I had with a big smile.! I am still pre-op but I am looking forward to working with him. I didn't care too much for the office staff, well except Wanda. She is very friendly and helpful.

As a Registered Nurse, I made sure that I did my homework before choosing a surgeon. The more I looked into the surgery, the more I heard about all the horror stories and negative comments about some of the surgeons. That is, until I heard about Dr. Nusbaum. Every RN that I ran into, that knew of him, only had high praise for his skill, compassion and attention to detail. Armed with the positive reviews, I scheduled a consultation with Dr. Nusbaum. All I can say is that they were all correct. I went into the consultation very nervous about the procedure and with significant doubts. I can not clearly explain it, except to say that he put me at ease. The day of the surgery I was a nervous wreck- I probably knew too much. Dr. Nusbaum saw me in the SDS area prior to going to the OR and his calm, compasionate and reassuring nature immediately put me at ease.
After the surgery, I was amazed to find that I had very little pain. I knew that Dr. Nusbaum took the time to anesthatize each of my incisions- but WOW I barely felt like I had an operation. I went home after the Roux-en-Y after the second night in the hospital. I lost 38 lbs in the first month and I am cruising along.
All I can say is: investigate your surgeon, ask lots of people about your surgeon- and you'll probably end up doing what I did and going to the best, most compasionate and most technically superior Bariatric Surgeon there is- Dr. Nusbaum. He's a 10/10 in my book and I can't say that about many of the surgeons I have known in my long career as an RN!

May 2005 - I feel like one of the luckiest (healthiest) people on earth! I'm nearly 10 months post op and I'm down to a fit 135 lbs. My body feels lean and strong and I no longer have any problems or medications from my scary pre-surgery co-morbidities.

Dr. Nusbaum is an angel. How wonderful to find a very talented, conscientious surgeon with nice people skills!

I had surgery in July 2004 and felt just fine the next day. I spent hours walking around the mall just a few days post-surgery and haven't stopped since. No complications. No regrets.

Bariatric surgery was the best thing I ever did for myself. I will be forever grateful to Dr. Nusbaum and his lovely office staff for giving me the tool to help myself out of what felt like a prison.

Good luck. Enjoy the journey!

Dr Nusbaum was very nice and informative. He took his time explaing everything. Now I just hope my insurace will aprove me . I have been told cigna is hard to get approved by. Dr Nusbaums office staff has been very helpfull letting me know what to expect.

I just wanted to update my profile, since I have not done so in many, many months. I'm over a year after my new life began and I'm so, so, so happy. I can't believe how much differnt my life has become. I look back at the pictures of me before the surgery and I can not believe that it was me. I'm not sure how I got there. I do know how I got where I am today, and I owe it all to the skill and caring of Dr. Nusbaum. If anyone reads this and is unsure about the surgery, please Email me. I feel like I need to give back for the gift that I have received.
So far, the staff and Dr. Nusbaum have been so wonderful. I have switched metabolic doctors, however, because I did not care for Dr. Buchwald. I am now seeing Dr. Rothkopf and he has been very professional and actually does something for me- as opposed to just staring at me and giving me no instruction. Fortunately, I didn't need much from him and the gift that Dr. Nusbaum gave me has been more than enough. Thank you so much Dr. Nusbaum for your skill, compassion and healing touch.

Hi,

My story with obesity is probably the same as yours so I will not dwell on it. I read the testimonials about Dr. Nusbaum prior to surgery to find out whether or not he was a good surgeon, and if his patients were satified with the outcome of their surgeries. Also I was curious as to whether or not they survived the procedure without complications.

So here's the skinny on my experience with the good doctor, and his office staff. My first consultation was on December 29, 2004, and I was approved for surgery by my insurance company with the first letter on January 26, 2005. My surgery was two weeks later on February 10th.

I was impressed that Dr. Nusbaum was young enough to master the cutting edge technology that is required for Laparascopic WLS. Unlike his older counterparts, he did not have to unlearn bad habits. He is of the generation that is raised on computer technology and it's benefits for medical treatment.

He has great concern for the comfort and safety of his patients. He and his office staff work well together and are very thorough. They make sure they left no stone unturned.

Dr. Nusbaum, extended the same concern to my family and loved ones. He went out of his way during surgery to inform my family of my condition and he came out to speak to them personally afterwards. He even showed my family pictures of my stomach before and after surgery. He made sure that they had proof that there were no dangerous leaks, that could lead to a serious infection.

Post Op, Dr. Nusbaum came to see me every day and made sure that any degree of pain or discomfort was immediately handled by the St. Barnabas staff. The hospital staff was very responsive to me, not only because they were dedicated healthcare professionals, but because of the great degree of respect they have for the quality of Dr. Nusbaum's work. All of the healthcare professionals that I encountered were very complimentary of Dr. Nusbaum.

One week after surgery, during my first Post Op visit, I received the same attention that I received prior to and during surgery. Throughout the process, I did not feel that I was just a number.

Incidentally, I have nothing negative to say, because it's the truth. Apparently, the moderators of this website feel that "Completely 100 % positive previews are generally less informative and even suspect." They've never met Dr. Nusbaum.

Dr. Nusbaum is the greatest. My sister just raved to me about him after she had her surgery. I hadn't seen her is several months and when I did... wow! I was so impressed with him. He took the time to explain everything in detail. He has a very thorough program and stressed that after care is very important. He takes extra precautions to make sure that you are ok before he finishes. I had gone to see a doctor down here by me who worked out of RWJ but when I asked some of the nurses there, they told me about all the problems. I also saw some guy in Newark who only did them open and tried to convince me that it was safer- ha! That scared me and I decided not to have the surgery at all. When I heard my sister was going to have it, I called her up and told her she was crazy. I heard all these bad things. She told me not to worry and told me that her surgeon had operated on several of the nurses and they all loved him. It wasn't until I saw her after her surgery that I knew he could help me. I had the surgery in December and was sent home with my new Christmas present. I like to say I was born again on that day. I'm now four years out from the surgery, I have had two children since then and have kept the weight off. I was over 350 lbs before the surgery and now I'm 155 lbs. I also used to be 5'7" but I must have shrunk during my pregnancies since I'm only 5'6 1/2" now. I think that Dr. Nusbaum is the greatest and I would give him a 10/10 for bedisde manner, a 12/10 for personality and a 20/10 for skills.

He was extreemly professional and very personable. No, he became not only my surgeon but a friend. The staff was terrific. Nothing he was the greatest. He is very sensitive and very caring about all his patients. He understands what we are going through and knows that he can help us. He strongly emphasizes after care. He did back in 2000 but not as structured of an aftercare program that he has now. He spent the last five years building the program at Saint Barnabus and had developed an wonderfull and comprehensive program. He explained all the risks very clearly and explained what he does to avoid the risks. I came through the surgery with flying colors and have sent my two sisters, my cousin, my two neighbors and four co-workers to him. THey all did great and they all love him too. Both are great. He is extremely competent- I think he's the best in the country. His bedside manner is very warm and caring and you know that he is genuinely concerned about your well being. I think he's the greatest. I continue to follow up with him annually. He tells all his patients that he will take care of you for the rest of your life and he means it. I look forward to each and evey annual visit- He's the most caring doctor I have ever known. Before the surgery in 2000 I weighed 384 Lbs (with my shoes off :). Now I'm at 136 but my weight fluctuates from 132 to 140- based on the time of month. Dr. Nusbaum gave me my life back and I can't begin to thank him enough.