Michael Schwartz Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

My first impression of Dr. Schwartz was very comforting. He was very sure of himself and that made me feel like I was in very good hands. I just felt comfortable around him and his staff. They are very friendly and kind people. I have heard nothing but great things about him!

I met with Dr. Schwartz yesterday and found him to be a nice and gentle man. He was sensitive about my concerns and answered all of my questions very knowledgeably. Plus, he said I was pretty, so I couldn't have been there based on just cosmetic concerns (that did it right there!haha).
The office staff seem to enjoy working there, lots of levity in the air. I got off to a slow start earlier this year with them because the letter they write requesting authorization from my healthplan was delayed a bit so the process took a little longer than I would have preferred, then I had to appeal a denial so that didn't help matters either. With that I also realize that they are tremendously busy and I just needed to wait my turn in line. I would suggest anyone preparing for this make sure you do your homework and fill out all the paperwork very thoroughly, keep copies, dates submitted, etc. (in case you have to do battle with your insurance company) and follow up with reasonably spaced phone calls to check on the progress of your case, because scheduling cancellations can happen and your anticipated consult/surgery dates may be changed if the need arises there at the office. It's best to just be patient and roll with it but stay in touch so they know you're still out there and serious about your intentions to have surgery (do as much of your own leg work as you possibly can to ensure they have all of the information necessary to move your case along), after meeting with them today I believe its worth the wait. They do have an ongoing WLS support group which he highly recommended I attend, they also expect you to do followup visits for the rest of your life to monitor your health and progress. Overall my partner and I both left the consult feeling a little more comfortable and reassured that he had the right kind of experience in doing this procedure. I feel a lot more calm and at peace with my decision to go through with this now. I'm confident he'll do a good job.

I have not actually met Dr Swartz yet. Ihave my consultation 1-3-02. I orginally started with Dr. Baker. They were all very nice there but I could not loose the 25 lbs that they required for me. When I went to get all my records after I switched to Dr. Drew/Schwartz, Dr. Baker's office was not very friendly anymore. In fact they were rude. Anyway, I started all of this back in October 2001. I started to go to the meeting, the psycologist. I quit smoking. I got approved from the insurance company, but I could not take off the weight. So, Teresa, a woman that I work with from time to time suggested that I try to get in with Dr. Drew and Schwartz. I started all over again. I did not have to have the psc eval done again, but I had to go to the meetings. I had to send in all the paperwork to the insurance company again. I am now scheduled for surgery Feb 13, 2002. I am really excited. I just had my EKG and chest x-ray done. This morning I went in to have my gallbladder checked. I will find out monday. I do however have an enlarged heart and I have to go in to have an echocardiogram done. We need to find out if my heart is inlarged because of my weight or is it is something else. So, I am a little nevous about that. I just keep pray. I have batteled my way to here, so I can't stop now. I will let you know.

He is a GOD!!!

<b>6-14-01</b>
Today I met Dr Schwartz. He is the nicest guy! He listened to all my questions my boyfriend and I asked and he answered each one.. He is very informative and is calm and relaxed guy who I would reccommend him to everyone... He has a very busy office but he totaly takes his time and explains everything to his patients... so if anyone is confused on who to see as a Dr... Pick him he's great!
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<b>4-20-01</b>
Well today I met Judy Schwartz R.N., Dr.Schwartz's wife. She was soooo nice and I had a great time in the informational seminar. Everyone was so nice and understanding. I filled out all my paper work for Judy, Now I have to finish with my pysc eval and have them fax the results to Judy, which will be completed on 4-27, Then Judy will write the letter to my insurence company and wait for my approvel letter...
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<b>5-23-01</b>
Well I have gotten aproved for my surgery on 5-09-01.
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<b>8-19-01</b>
*~*I had my surgery on 7-31-01, Dr Schwartz's was wonderful. Him and his assistant did a wonderful job on me... he was able to do it lap--- instead of open! He is a kind and wonderful man!

Thus far I have been very pleased with Dr. Schwartz. He has a wonderful personality and a great bedside manner. The staff which he surrounds himself with are wonderful, caring, and sincere. He has an active support group, which as you know is very important. When I call with various questions, I always receive a call back within 24 hours. They have strict rules regarding follow-up appointments and are considered mandatory to attend. All questions can and are answered during the surgical consult, and they determine whether you are a candidate for laparoscopic or open at that time. My father attended my surgical consult, and had grave concerns regarding the surgery. Afterwards, my father shook hands with Dr. Schwartz and with a tear in his eye said I trust you with my only child (for my brother passed away just a year ago from cancer). Dr. Schwartz and his team are experienced, honest, and sincere. I would recommend them to anyone.

He seemed nice, only meet once at the consult. He was straight forward and matter of fact about the info. Asked if my husband or I had questions. He joked around a little to try to break the ice. I need more time with him to be more acurate on what I think of him. He did say that his concern is doing the job right and had no problems opening me up versus the lap if it became necessary. It sounds to me he is one of the top docs in his field. His office staff have been very helpful and curtious over the phone, seemed nice and friendly in person. They recognized my name from all the phone calls I had made and made a joke about finally seeing the face behind the name.

He has a structured aftercare program and wants all his patients to keep in contact for life. This is to maintain how things are going for them as well as keeping stats on long term affects of this surgery. He filled me in on all the risks of surgery. At this point I feel he is a competent doc, a straight shooter who wants to do the best job he can. I'm not sure on his bedside manor yet, since I'v only met him once.

Had my surgery Oct 3rd-lap RNY. Dr. Schwartz's was real nice and understanding. He took the time to visit with me and my family during pre-op. He is very thorough. He made me feel comfortable before surgery. I feel pretty good, tired and a little sore, otherwise all is going well. I would highly recomend Dr. Schwartz. Most excellent work and care.

My first impression of Dr. Schwartz was very
positive. He is non-threatening, profes-
sional, competent and quite understanding.

Dr. Schwartz's staff is first rate. He and
Dr. Drew do open and lap RNY procedures and
Dr. Schwartz's wife, Judy (an RN), does a
lot of patient education and acts as a liason
with insurance carriers. She sort of runs
the show.

I think Dr. Schwartz and staff do an excel-
lent job of pre-op education and they know
how to get the job done relative to insurance
approval.

Surgical risks were well explained and I felt
very safe.

There was a lot of dietary coaching, but some
questions I still had revolved around exactly
how slowly to eat, exactly how long it takes
for stomach contents to clear so you know at
what rate to eat, and what kind and what
amount of pain is normal post-surgery. I'm
having more pain than I expected and find the
darvocet prescribed for home use is not in
the same league with morphine at the hospi-
tal. I felt great when I was discharged last
night, but at 4 this morning, I found out
how painful this business could be.

I am writing this 48 hours after my open RNY
procedure and still feel Dr. Schwartz, Judy
Schwartz, their staff and the staff at
Abbott Northwestern Hospital were the gold
standard.

Dr. Vance Rawlings
St. Paul

I will be meeting Dr. Schwartz at my consultation on July 12th, 2001. Never mind, my consult got moved to August 23rd, 2001. I met with Dr. Schwartz on Thursday, August 23rd. His office is extremely busy, and he was running about 45 minutes behind. It was worth it though. He was very nice, answered all our (me & DH) questions and didn't rush us at all. He was kind of funny sometimes, and his wife Judy is a nurse there so they were joking around together too. I felt very comfortable with everyone. I think Dr. Schwartz really knows what he is doing - between him and his partner Dr. Drew they have done almost 3500 LAP RNY's and Open RNY's. About 3000 Open and 400 + LAP's. They do about 10 each week. He was very reasurring that with my young age and my health, that everything should go great and that if I work at it, I will see great results. Post-op nutrition he was a bit vague on, just saying you can eat what you want in small amounts and you will see a dietician post op in the hospital. Good thing I already know so much from this great website! I will update more after my surgery which is on September 21st. 9/24/01 Dr. Schwartz was great, there were no complications. He checked on me the next day and said I have the cutest little stomach : ) I would not have wanted any other surgeon, he was excellent!

Dr. Schwartz was very reassuring. My initial impression was "kind." He seems to have a sense of humor, which I appreciate in anyone, and which put me at ease. That did not color his professional demeanor in any way. When discussing the surgery, risks, etc., he was all business. His staff has been great, also. I was originally scheduled for surgery on November 26th and they called me last week and moved it to October 16th. Hope it stays there!