Michelle Toder Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

I liked Dr. Toder at the very beginning. She wasopen, honest, direct and listened. She was great at the hospital---great bedside manner. She was great at my first follow up too. My understanding is that some folks have not liked her because she is fairly blunt. I happen to like and respect that in her because I am also a blunt, direct woman.

The office staff was also very helpful--liked the environment very much.

Again Dr. Toder is a wonderful surgeon and is highly skilled. Of course, I tend to like more up to date techniques and only wanted the lap surgery. I have enough scaring on my stomach and did not want or need another 5 inch scar.

Dr. Toder puts the responsibility for success on the patient--where it should be. She discusses aftercare, exercise and how to eat and then it is up to the patient. Again, this is not a miracle cure---but a lifestyle change and Dr. Toder discusses that upfront.

On a 1 - 10 scale I would give both her bedside manner and more important to me her surgical competance a 15!!!!

Dr. Toder fit my personality--and I emphasize MY PERSONALITY.

Dr. Toder had been a guest speaker at 2 of the support group meetings I went to in Bangor when I was considering the Open RNY.
She was pleasant and answered questions.

I had my Surgeon Consult with her on 11/11/03 one on one. She is very professional and stressed dropping bad habits (like drinking soda) before surgery. She feels if you won't do it before, then you won't do it after surgery either. She said if 10-15 lbs were gained before the time of surgery, she wouldn't do it. She want's to do surgery on people who she believes will be successful.(I have held my weight by the way) She wants to make sure there is a structured eating schedule, exercise plan, and knowledge of surgery. She informed me of the risks, etc. She didn't rush the time with me and answered all my questions as best possible. I guess I consulted with her about 35 minutes or so. She is very thorough, and I feel very confident that I will be in good hands when the time finally gets here.

She is booked solid through the end of the year, so more than likely I will have to wait until 2004 for my surgery. Will update when I have more info.

03/05/03. It was great to finally meet with Dr. Toder. She made me feel quite comfortable, and she had no problem at all in me having my mother there with me. Dr. Toder reviewed the surgery, the risks associated with the surgery, during & after surgery. She was very informative. Dr. Toder stated that if everything goes well with the insurance company, I could for a surgery date of April or May.

Dr. Toder is straight forward in speaking.
She got REALLY excited about how well my surgery went. Office and staff are fine. She seems tobe in a hurry. Not a lot of time for chatting. Follow her directions!

Aftercare is pretty well structured and really should be followed. She laid it out on the line and made sure I knew exactly what I was getting into. Overall I'm satisfied with Dr. Toder and I know I can ask her any questions. I think that her surgical competence is slightly better than the bedside manner. But she is great at both.

My first impression with Dr. Toder was that she was very friendly and down to earth. My impression of her has not changed at all. The office staff is extremely friendly. My biggest disappointment with Dr. Toder is that she went on vacation the day after my surgery. Not that I wasn't left in the hands of a wonderful Dr., it was just a personal disappointment. Dr. Toder puts alot of emphasis on after care, even requiring visits with a dieticiian every few months. As far as the risks of surgery go she was very up front about everything, even telling me that she had lost one patient doing this type of surgery. The patient had died before actually being operated on, while on the table from a blood clot, but I really appreciated her honesty.