Michel Murr Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

From a medical perspective I'd give Dr. Murr, Dr. Rodriguez, and Dr. Radeke along with all of the staff 5 huge stars without a question or doubt, but the Office Staff, Susan and crew, wouldn't get one star. The Post Op (30+ days) care would rate less than 2 stars. I am not a needy, pain intolerant person, so I was not needing to call them constantly. But I did have a set back (developed ulcers in and around my pouch) that took multiple phone calls to be addressed. My insurance authorizations were a mess. Despite being an extremely easy process, Susan and company made it an ordeal worthy of a weaker person just giving up and saying forget it.

My surgery 1-1/2 years later was a success. I lost 153 lbs, which that office doesn't know since I haven't seen them since I was 90 days out. I just let my Primary take over my care. I'm no longer diabetic, or having high blood pressure, bad cholesterol, or any of their tag along problems. I did trade them for a different set of concerns, I take 50,000 Vitamin D weekly, a B-12 injection about every 4 weeks, still can't eat most starch, meat, or anything greasy. But that's okay - those things got me in trouble to begin with - I take my multi vitamins and I feel better than I have in years.

Dr. Murr is a nice guy; however, there were some strange things surrounding my actual procedure. First, I was scheduled to have surgery at 11:00AM. I was knocked out at early in preparation for this time, but my surgery did not occur until around 1PM. There was someone scheduled before me so either there were complications or something else happened.

My care at TGH was good, but the IV tubing was way too short. I could not get up without cords and needles being yanked around. At my first visit post op Dr. Murr did not like the look of my wounds and had one of his assistance reopen one of my wounds in his office - with a scapulae, while I was awake and my wife looked on. Not fun. But, they claimed it was nothing to worry about. I remember thinking that someone has to have a screw loose to wake up in the morning and go to work happy that they get to cut into someone.

The reopened wound made me have to use the pain medication for longer than I wanted too. I suffered extreme cramping for about 8 months with nothing to help me until I found that Omeprazole worked.

Post care is really non-existent afterward. I think I saw Dr. Murr twice in 18 months.

I cannot eat anything that is bulky like bread, under cooked vegetables, large chunks of meat. If I do eat these things it just comes right back up. Also, there is no logic behind what foods cause dumping. Anything I eat can cause dumping, or not. The dumping manifests as think mucus that is heavy when it hits water. No food usually, just thick mucus. I have actually even dumped after a glass of water once or twice. Sugar, interestingly enough, is not as bad as I thought it would be.

Would I recommend Dr. Murr? Considering my experience with doctors I would say yes. Could you do better than Dr. Murr? Maybe. You can most definitely and most likely will do worse. I lived through it and have lost the weight. You can't argue with the results.

Also, I am not so sure this surgery is for the weak in stamina or constitution. It can really zap you. You need to be in good health before you have it. I was in good health before, but I can see how this surgery could hurt you more than help. I would not recommend it for women who want to have children afterward. Too much stress on the abdomen even lyposcopic. I am not sure I would recommend it for older people either.

He is a very nice guy, polite and very informative, he wanted to make sure you had all the information regarding your options. His staff was always nice and answered the phones on a consistent basis. I found him to be very good at what he does, his office makes the insurance approval process painless, although it will cost you a pretty penny ($750).

Dr. Murr has always been calm and low-key and reassuring, explaining everything completely including risks (both in written and verbal formats) and he inspired my trust. His office staff is generally helpful and professional, and the only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 is the accessibility by phone. Usually I end up leaving a message for the nursing staff rather than speaking with someone, receiving a return call within 24 hours. Dr. Murr's office has always offered opportunities for support meetings (although they are not conveniently scheduled and located for me) and pre-surgery info meetings. Because he is so low-key, you need to make sure you remember to ask any questions that you might have. At this hospital, it is part of USF and so you meet with doctors who are still in their residency or learning time. You can always specify that you do not want one of the residents, however. I have had yearly followup visits with Dr. Murr since my surgery, and I have been pleased with how he has taken care of me. He's been very encouraging and willing to listen.

I was very excited to meet my doctor as I had heard such great things about him from a coworker,who was a patient of his. His first words to me when he walked into the room was " your weight has made you very ill and we are going to make you better". I felt undrestood for the first time about my weight. He has a team of doctors and staff whom are wonderful. I was well informed as to the procedure and post op. He had me run tests to insure I was ready for this life changeing procedure. But my opinion of the front office differs, I found that if you need your hand held though the process... The front office doesnt assist. On a scale of 1 to 5 . 5 being the best rating I could give my doctor and his incredible team. Then a 5 it is. Front office a 3 out of 5.

He is the best surgeon with an exceptional bedside manner.

having rny was the biggest mistake of my life. i am 8 yrs out and am in horrible shape.
before surgery nothing was said about some of the post op problems that i have encountered. i have a permenant neurological disease, constantly have to have iron infusions, need to take 50,000IU of Vitamin D every week.
his program had no form of postop support except for seeing him and then seeing him was only on rare occassions. when i would call with problems related to the surgery
i would be referred back to my primary care dr.
when i started to regain weight he sent me to a dr he works with where i was put on diet pills and a pwder supplement. this whole program was a joke-it was $75 a visit and your appointments lasted only 20 min and you started with weekly appointments and then went to every other week. of course the only place you could get the pills or the powder drink mix was at the office. it was a real scam going on. i quit going to that program when the gain cont. to happen. i wrote a letter to the dr in charge of the program and no one ever called or responded to it. I now weigh more then i weighed as a preop.
I WOULD NEVER REFER ANYONE TO DR MURR OR TO THE SPECTRA PROGRAM.



UPDATE 2/13/2003
I am now 10 months post-op with Dr Murr and loving every minute of it. I feel like I've been given a whole new life. I have lost almost 140 pounds, wearing clothes I never thought I could wear and finding out what fun means in life.
I cant belive that someone called Martha, his coordinator, a B---- and had the nerve to post it here. Things like that need to be said in private. Yes I have called her wacky but that doesnt make her any less of a professional. She always takes time before Support Group Meetings to chat with the post op patients who show up to help her with the group.
I cant wait for my one year appointment at the end of March to get an offical weight loss for a year. I'm excited.
A big THANK YOU to Dr Murr and his staff for giving me a new lease on life.


I liked his directness. I have only seen him once. His coordinator is a bit wacky, but very helpful.(6-25-02 Martha, his Coordinator. is a very professional person. My first impression was one of being wacky, but having worked with her now as both a pre-op and a post-op, I have come to realize thats just her personality. She is very quick to answer emails and always has something nice to say. Dr. Murr could not function without her.)

3-18-2002
Office staff doesnt always level with you where things are concerned. I have been actively seeking approval for 10 weeks now, or so I thought, only to find out my paperwork was not submitted until 2/18/02 unlike 1/9/02 as I had been told. His coordinator has been telling me all along that sometimes things take longer, but she knew the real truth. When I asked about it at a Support Group Meeting on Feb 26th, she did not mention anything even though she knew the papers had just been resubmitted.

I am sure there will be more to come.

3-22-02
Approval received today. I had called CIGNA on 3-21-02 and was told that they had NO INFORMATION on me. No file, no nothing. well apparently they were wrong since Dr Murrs coordinator called me today with my approval. we set my date for 4/9/02. OMG thats barely 2 weeks away.

4-4-02
Pre-op testing done today along with registration. Where do I start???? I arrived at Tampa General and went to get registered and the lady told me that I did not exist in the computer--sound familiar-talk about a nightmare. We found out that they had misspelled my last name in the computer-phewwww talk about a relief. the Pre-op Ctr at the hospital is nice--everything is in one place. It did not help that they had a huge plate of muffins and doughnuts in the waiting room. My only complaint was that I had to wait 1 1/2 hours to be seen by Dr Murrs resident. They had done all of my pre-op tests and evaluations, but the wait was horrible. I know I had to be seen by a member of his team, but to have to wait 1 1/2 hours in a freezing cold room was horrible.
Now the real countdown starts. I have such a list of things I have to do by Monday, but I will get them done.

4-23-02 2 WEEKS POST OP
They discovered I had a UTI during my pre-op testing the week before and I would have expected them to call me and start me on some anti-biotics instead of waiting until I am in the OR to tell me. What a way to start my surgery day.
Where do I start? I only saw Dr Murr once the whole 4 days I was in the hospital. I did not see him the day of surgery, I only saw him the next evening when I spiked a fever after the Leak Test and I guess he decided he needed to check up on me. He let all his residetns and med students do the rounds. I didnt even see him on discharge day. I'm sorry that I dont have anything really positive to say atthis time, but maybe later.
Feel free to email me if you desire more detailed information.

6-25-02 11 weeks Post Today
Wow, what a difference a few weeks can make in ones perspective. I'm down 62 pounds since discharge, back to work fulltime and my energy increases each and every day. My Diabetes Type 2 have disappeared, my GERD is a thing of the past and I feel like I have a whole new lease on life thanks to this surgery. I'm continuing to work on my eating and getting my protein in first and joining the gym at work next week. Now that I have the energy back, its time to put it to use on EXERCISE. We had support group tonight and before it started Martha and I had a chance to talk and she was able to better explain the "problems" I had experienced with my insurance. It ended up not really being a problem, it was more of my not being able to have surgery until after Easter that caused all of the delays. My only wish is that Dr Murr had a Support Group for Post Op patients.

Great bedside manner so far! I really liked him and his entire staff!

I chose Tampa General Hospital and Dr. Murr because I had a friend who initially had some complications with a different surgeon/practice that went on for months. Dr. Murr was able to fix those mistakes and she now praises him for saving her life. She had such wonderful things about him. After attending their monthly seminar I knew Dr. Murr was the best in the area and decided to go with him. My surgery was a success and I have had no complications still to this day. I feel he is the best and am very happy with my results. He was a very nice man for the 10 minutes I've spent with him and that was at my initial multi-disciplinary appt. I did not see him at my pre-op appt, nor the morning of my surgery. He didn't speak to my family after surgery, leaving them to wonder how everything went. Finally the evening of my surgery he did come to my room on his rounds. He stayed long enough to tell me everything went great and that was the last I've seen of him. I met with a \"very new\" resident for my post-op appt, which I wasn't thrilled with. I have great confidence in Dr. Murr as a surgeon, but he is not very accessible. This practice is EXTREMELY busy and it's difficult to get things done without having to ask more than once. I just want to be honest so those interested know what to expect. I feel they are very knowledgeable but the support system from the staff is not really there. They expect you to rely on fellow patient's to talk about your experiences. They are a Center of Excellence and highly respected, but if you need a lot of hand holding beware it's tough to get.

I've met with Dr. Murr once, and at that time he was very informative and cordial. I understand why most of his patients find him easy on the eyes! I can't really say much more about his 'bedside manner' as others have, since I haven't experienced it, but for all those out there that have dissed him for being too business-like, all I want to add is that I wasn't looking for the most friendly surgeon, I was looking for THE BEST QUALIFIED. I believe I have that in Dr. Murr, but only at post-op can I be sure. All I've heard from med professionals, friends and acquaintances that DO know him has been very positive. rnrnWell, here it is, five years post surgery. I can honestly say that Dr. Murr did fine by me, but since I have no experience with other bariatric surgeons, is he the best?? WHO KNOWS? I had problems. Pneumonia two days after surgery, but that's one of the risks. I was also given sugar in the hospital so had my first experience with dumping, which was AWFUL, but oh well, all I could do was complain about it, which I did. I do feel that Tampa General can do alot better as far as cleanliness goes. I found the bathrooms to be gross, especially when you have to share them. It was wonderful when they put me in ICU after developing pneumonia, because I had a room and bathroom all to myself and it was CLEAN. The nurses were mostly top notch. Dr. Murr's partner was not the nicest guy, but I can't even remember his name now, so it's not like it was that big of a deal. I do feel the Dr. Murr can make improvements with his follow-up care of patients not just weeks, but years after surgery. I went to him due to bone loss, and for whatever reason, it's as if he didn't care that I was having that trouble and that nothing I have now was caused by the surgery. He also will not bill insurance any other way than by saying it's for obesity, and if your insurance is like mine, it won't cover obesity visits, especially five years down the road. Wouldn't Dr. Murr want to follow his patients progress years down the road as a way to chart anything that might come up that's relative or shows a correlation to the surgery??? Maybe he doesn't think a certain problem is being caused by the surgery, but what about if he sees the same thing in 20% of his post-op patients 5, 10, 15 years later? Wouldn't he want to include that in his surgery information to anyone thinking about getting it done?