Patricia Choban Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

My surgeon will be Patricia Choban, I was very nervous about meeting her as my own PCP had referred me to the BTC. Just the thought of meeting a surgeon scared me to death! I have never had any kind of surgery in my life. After meeting and talking with Dr.Choban for about an hour I was fine! She is very kind,patient & polite, she could tell I was nervous and she assured me I was doing the best thing for myself - for once, I was thinking about myself and not my job,car,home or any one but ME. I have not seen her again since my 1st consultation that I had back in Dec 2001, it is now Feb 2002 and I have many other questions for her, I know she will answer them with honesty as she did before. The office staff were all kind & pleasant. Dr Choban even drew on her grease board what all would happen in surgery and afterwards how the stomach would be and explained why its referred to RNY, she spoke of after care, and said she would go over more after surgery as she did not want to over load me with too much information. She is wonderful and I recommened her to anyone in OHIO or any other state for that matter.
**UPDATE** I went for my P.A.T. yesterday and most of the testing I had done a couple of months ago so that has helped out, as they now have confirmed the surgery date on April 22, 2002 - which is just 20 days away! I am getting more terrified! The day of testing took FOREVER! I cant say I was impressed with that part of it, nor was I impressed with the "greeter" at BTC/Ohio,she was not very friendly nor did she seem to know anything....but I guess she was the wrong person to ask in the first place. Any how I have survived all that. The RN,pulmonary tech,& dietician were all nice. The Dr that I seen there seemed odd to me, I had to ask him to repeat a few of his questions as he would mumble.... I wish I could of seen Dr Choban instead of him.
Thats all for now. I will keep updating as much as possible.

She was very professional.
My impression did not change.
The office staff was professional and friendly.
I found nothing to dislike about the physician.
She emphasized that there is an aftercare program but did not offer any details except to tell me about the need for follow-up visits.
She addressed the risks of surgery but in not as much detail as I would have liked. As a nurse myself, I tend to be more concerned about this than the average person. I've done my own research.
Overall, I liked her a lot but I also had the impression that she does alot of these "meet and greet" appointments.
I prefer surgical competence over bedside manner. I don't need to have my hand held. It's nice to get that "warm fuzzy" feeling but I'd rather the surgeon know what he or she is doing than be the most personable person in the world. I've known some pretty incompetent "nice" doctors.

I have only met Dr. Choban once at this point, and formed a very favorable impression of her. She seems to have an appropriate level of concern about my long-term health, in terms of nutrition as well as weight.
Nor did she become defensive or angry at the sheer number of questions I asked, particularly those that begin with the words, "I saw Dr. Douglas Hess speak about the advantages of the BPD/DS, and he said..."
She seems to have a reasonably compassionate bedside manner, but the usual briskness of the surgeon. Mind you, her bedside manner would be immaterial if I did not believe her to be one of the more experienced and competent surgeons doing this procedure.
She spoke of the risks of surgery, but portrayed them in such a way as minimize the risks to me personally. (No promises that I wouldn't be the 1% to die, but she said I don't have any pre-existing conditions, lots of current medications, etc. that might cause her concern, and that I am "little" compared to many having this surgery.)
Gotta admit, after a lifetime of being big, it's hard not to like a woman who calls me little.
Bariatric Treatment Center has a well-structured aftercare program, from my understanding, so I doubt I will be having much to do with Dr. Choban following the surgery aside from occasional visits. I will likely have more contact with the nutritionists, counselors, etc. from a frequency standpoint.
Time will tell...

My first impression of Dr. Choban was a very good one. She met me eye to eye and that is important to me. My impression over her has only been improved since my surgery. She has been there for me for any thing.
Her office staff has always been very friendly and very helpful to me. I could never say anything bad about Dr. choban she has been there for me from the start.
Dr. choban and her staff was so imformative, she left little thought for questions because she covered everything. My follow up visits have been wonderful and Dr. Choban has been so encouraging.
If I had to rate Dr. choban on a scale of 1 to 10 I would give her 110. She is wonderful, from her surgery skills to her bedside manner. Patients first. always.
Norma J. Miller

I really liked Dr. Choban, she was informative and caring. I don't fault her for the BTC office set up. I don't agree with their practice of every dept. being in a differant place, some even in another state. I spent more time trying to find out who I needed to talk to. I would encourge others to seek the surgery, but not at the BTC. Not until their office organizational practices improve.
I tried to reach the Dr. for a problem 3 weeks post op, and never got a return call. When i finally saw her (6 weeks post op) all they could tell me was, that was the time frame they changed phone services. I have to say the Dr. is part of the BTC, and therefore part of my complaint, but she has been informative when I could actually get to her.

I had seen Dr. Choban approx 1 year ago, and I had a re-visit with her. I feel very confident in her abilities. She is wonderful & made me feel at ease. Risks were explained. The office staff could not have been more welcoming. I felt respected, not looked down upon. The Bariatric Treatment Center is a comprehensive program which you will be a part of for the rest of your life, for support and guidence.

I liked Dr. Choban right away. She answered all my questions and was very encouraging. Her office staff were great. Several of them had undergone the surgery.

Dr Choban was very friendly, she answered all of our questions as well as inform us of all of the risks involved and the benefits of surgery too. Her staff was very friendly and nice, and it seemed that everyone I spoke to there had the surgery done and everyone carries their pictures with them to show. That was very nice.

While in the hospital, she came in every morning to see how I was doing and she always never rushed me or made me feel that I was stupid for asking questions.

I would really recommend her to anyone and the trip from Cleveland to Columbus (2 1/2 hrs) is well worth the trip.

What can I say about this woman? She's a GODDESS!! She should be sainted. Not ONCE did I EVER feel as though I was in anything but the absolute BEST of care and treatment with Dr. Choban - and the rest of the staff at the Bariatric Treatment Center of Ohio in Columbus. She is compassionate, caring, interested in the patient as a PERSON, not just another # on the op list. I wouldn't have felt in better hands if a member of my own family was taking care of my surgery... KUDOS to all you guys.!! I'm looking forward to seeing her again at my two-week follow up appointment. AMOS asks that you post any negative comments along with these reviews - so that anyone reading them can get an honest, clear picture of the surgeon in question. I've racked my brain and can't think of but one negative thing - she could have done it for FREE!! I think that's the ONLY way my experience could have been any better at the hands of this woman!

I was very much impressed with Dr. Choban
at our first consult. She was very informative and
answered all my questions. She is very down to
earth and has a great bedside manner! :-)