Osvaldo Anez Bariatric Surgeon MD, FACS, FICS

Jun 02- After requesting Cigna PPO approval in Jan, they required additional info. Final approval took approx 2 mths. Upon approval, a surgery date in July was the first available, so I was very disappointed. I hurried and had all of my pre-surgery tests completed quickly and was lucky that a surgery time opened up on May 6th and I could take it at a moments notice. My boss has been very supportive of my surgery and time off.

I am now 5 weeks post-op, and going back to work. I did have a couple of problems with pain and extreme nausea during the 2nd and 3rd weeks. Both times Maria, the Physician's Asst, responded quickly, saw me in the office, and then ordered tests to make sure there was no organ problems, strictures, ulcers, etc. No problems were found and all problems resolved themselves, but it was comforting to have the appropriate tests run to make sure. I have not seen Dr Anez since leaving the hospital because Maria is so competent. The whole office team is incredible together. I feel very comfortable trusting them with my health.

Jan 02-I met with Dr David Reines (Fairfax Hosp) and Dr. Anex (Fair Oaks Hosp. Opinion of Dr Reines was very low. He sent information to me in advance, but all was dated in 1998 (very outdated since so much has been happening with this surgery in the last few years) and all still had his previous hospital affiliation in Massachusetts on it. I had more current info on the surgery from web research than he provided. Dr Anez was very kind, softspoken and knowledgeable as all of his other patients have said. I chose him for my surgery.

I met with Dr. Anez on April 8, 2002. He explained the procedure, gave me a book with illustrations of the procedure, and told me if I have the surgery I will be his patient for life. I was very pleased with this first consultation.

Dr. Anez was just as others on this board have already said, quiet, calm and reserved. He was very self-assured which was comforting and proceeded to explain the surgery to me in great detail. He has a booklet that he gives you with all the information that you will need for pre- and post-op. He told me to read it many times and become "friends" with it. The session with him was not very long, but I felt comfortable with the procedure because of all I had read on the board, etc.

The office staff was very nice and supportive. They are quite busy, but that is something I can relate to.

While in my consultation with Dr. Anez, I got a little emotional at the end as I explained that my daughter's wedding was coming up soon and I didn't want to do surgery before that. I said I was disappointed that I would be so large for the wedding, but he reassured me that there would be other weddings and that sent me into tears as I agreed. He was very sensitive and reached over and took my hand and said,"Everything will be all right." I agreed and left.

He told me that aftercare was "for life" and what the schedule of visits with him would be for the rest of my life. That was good I thought. He also has a support group that meets in a couple of locations and encouraged me to get involved in that.

Dr. Anez did go over the risks of surgery with me and what would be the procedures taken if any of those things might happen. He also has this listed in his booklet with the percentages of it occurring with each.

I think Dr. Anez is a good doctor and surgeon. He has done so many of these surgeries and my primary physician approves of him highly. She has had several patients that are doing quite well following WLS.

Rating surgical competence and bedside manner, well . . . we will have to wait for that. I have already experienced good bedside manner in the initial consultation, so I am hopeful that will continue to be the case in the days and months and years to come.

So far this has been a very positive experience and I am hoping that my insurance will act quickly. I would like to have this done sometime this summer after my daughter's wedding.

During my initial consultataion with Dr. Anez he explained the surgery in detail and answered all my questions. His staff is busy, but never too busy to take my call and answer any questions I have. His Nutritionist, Sally Myers, is a big help in preparing for surgery and what to expect afterwards. Her handouts and the 2 hour class are excellent.
Maria (Dr. Anez's physician's assistant) is extremely helpful in answering questions and making sure everyone feels very comfortable with the decision to have surgery. She has had the surgery herself, so she speaks from experience and is an asset to the office.

I really liked Dr. Anez. I found him to be friendly, informative and I feel he will be very supportive. His office staff, Gabby, Maria (his assistant) and especially Marisol (insurance gal) were very friendly, encouraging and supportive as well. So far, I haven't found anything negative about Dr. Anez, since I only spoke to him once. He advised that after surgery, he would be in my life the rest of my life and as for aftercare structured program, I haven't discussed this with him as yet. He stressed that there are risks involved w/surgery and since I have read up on the risks (pros and cons) I still want to go forth with surgery. I would rate Dr. Anez as topnotch, as far as I can tell. I personally, like both bedside and surgical competence...we will see....! It is now 9 years later and I have maintained my weight loss of 200 lbs., mainly due to Dr. Anez and his staff always being encouraging at the beginning of my journey as this really made an impact on how me and I had decide at that time that I was never going to gain weight again and so far it has worked!!

I first met with Dr. Anez on January 14, 2002. He is a nice, quiet man who informed me of what exactly takes place with the surgery but did drill me with questions like I expected. I thought I would sit down and he would try to talk me out of the surgery or try to make me come up with some very good reasons why I thought I needed the surgery but he did not. He simply went on my BMI by itself which at 51 was probably reason enough. His office staff is very helpful and friendly and put up with a lot of my calls for questions to find out if I was approved. I have heard alot of good things about Dr. Anez but until I have the surgery I cannot tell you 100%. I will tell more post-op.

My first appointment is January 25,2002. I am excited and scared. My biggest concern is insurance, will it approve? I have Aetna and have heard several good things about it, so I am hopeful. I have also heard good things about Dr. Anez.

2/16/02- Had my second appointment yesterday. My surgery date is 4/10/02. Now I have all the testing to go thru. Must say the best thing about the doctor's office is talking to the people in the waiting room who have already gone thru the surgery. They are the best indicator of how good the doctor is. I've only heard good things about Dr. Anez.

I've worked with Dr. Anez in the OR for about 3 years. He is very professional and seems to care about each patient as an individual. Office staff is very personable and knowledgeable re: insurance and aftercare. Aftercare is very important to he and his partner - they consider you a patient for life! Risks of surgery were addressed in the first office visit. Overall, I would rate him as an excellent surgeon who is both surgically competent and has a great bedside manner.

HE was very nice, and friendly.

My impression has not changed as of yet.

Small and homey, very comfortable.

He did not close the door during the consult.

Nothing in perticular.

Not there yet.

Yes, and a structured before program.

Very honestly and openly, on the first visit.

10

No opinion until after surgery.

This information posted on my original profile page....

http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/profile.phtml?N=W980803253