Philip Schauer Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S.

I first met Dr. Schauer at the group meeting in late October 2001. He seemed like a very caring and competent physician. I have been waiting for approval since that time. I received my approval April 3rd and am now waiting on a surgery date. Karen Dubois was absolutely fabulous!! She had to fax papers to my insurance more than once because they "lost" them. She tolerated all my calls with patience and kindness. She was just wonderful.
5-20-02: I changed to Dr. Adolph in Groveport near Columbus due to the extreme amount of time it takes to have the surgery through Dr. Schauer's office.
7-8-02: I am now 2 weeks post op through Dr. Adolph and Bariatric Treatment Centers. I still have not heard from Dr. Schauer's office.

All I can say is Dr. Schauer is the best! If you make up your mind to have this surgery why not go with the best? He is well worth the wait. I waited a little over 1 year and I did get frustrated at times. He spent a while with me for my pre-op consult & I didn't feel rushed. He answered any questions I had. He also came into the pre-op area on the day of surgery to answer any final questions. Which made me feel so much more at ease. Any time I had to call him with questions or a problem even on weekends. He returned my call promptly. He has a great bedside manner & is a very caring individual. I felt he understood where I was coming from. I was given very good after care instructions. He made sure to address all of the risks. His after care program is wonderful. He has a group meeting the first Weds. of every month for both pre & post-op patients. His meetings are very informative. To date 2 months post-op I've lost a little under 50 lbs. On a scale of 1-10 I would rate Dr. Schauer at 30+++. I can't say enough good things about him. I feel truly blessed to have this opportuninty to have my life back. It's the best thing I've done yet in my life!

Dr. Schauer is a very kind and personable doctor. He is truley interested in helping obese people have a healthy;happy life.
He is EXTREMLY busy and over worked however he is working on brining some other surgeons into his practice. I had to wait for about three hours to meet with him but I didn't mind because he was in surgery and he is the best surgeon on the East coast.
His office staff is kind and caring but they too have too much of a work load. I think they got a little perturbed with me calling for a surgery date several times.
Everything was thoroughly explained to myself and my husband from pre-op bowel prep to what to expect in the hospital and afterward at home. The risks were emphasized many times. I would recommend Dr. Schauer to anyone and everyone!

I want to update my comments since I am now post-op. Dr. Schauer and associates were absolutely wonderful. I had my surgery December 17, 2001, and it went very smoothly. I cannot say enough positive things about the staff at UPMC-Presbyterian or about Dr. Schauer. Others have said that they didn't meet or see Dr. Schauer prior to surgery. I had two appointments with him before my surgery, and he came into the pre-op area and talked with me right before the procedure. I had a rather long wait in pre-op, and Dr. Schauer personally came to alleviate my fears and to explain what the delay was. He also came to see me both in recovery and in my room following surgery and promptly and personally returned phone calls I made after I went home. There is no question that he is the very best in both surgical skills and "bedside" manner. The man truly cares about his patients. There is also no question that one needs to be totally dedicated to having Dr. Schauer as a surgeon and to be assertive (maybe even aggressive) with the office staff. I waited six months for my consult and another five months for surgery. Others have waited longer than I did. If you make a definite decision to have surgery with Dr. Schauer. make up your mind to persevere and to not panic or get depressed when there is a setback in the process. You can't do better than Dr. Schauer -- however, you have to be prepared for the wait and changes, both in dates for consults/surgery and for appointments when you go to clinic. I simply did not let that upset me. I went prepared to wait and with plenty of reading material. I do not for one second regret waiting to have Dr. Schauer do my surgery. Today I am free from diabetes and from the cane with which I used to walk. I am only three months post op, and I've lost over 70 pounds. I still have a long way to go, but I know that Dr. Schauer and his staff will be with me every step of the way.

Dr. Schauer is awesome. His bedside manner is wonderful and he gleems with confidence. You can tell he really loves and want to help people. His staff is very helpful.
In the beginning, you get annoyed with his staff while you are trying to get approved because you think they are not paying attention to you....but stop and think how many patients they are dealing with at the same time...it it worth the wait and patience.
I think Dr. Schauer is not only the best gatric bypass surgeon in Pittsburgh, PA, I think he is one of the best in the world!

My first impression of Dr. Schauer was that he was a very caring person who truely wants to help people overcome the problems involved with obesity. I want everyone to know that Dr. Schauer has a very long waiting list I filled out my paper work in Feb 2001 had my first appt(group appt) in June 2001 and Surgery was originally scheduled for Nov 5,2001 but had to be cancelled due to a UTI it took me 5 weeks to get re-scheduled I was not real happy about that but I did have my surgery December 11,2001 at Shadyside Hospital. I did have a complication the day after and had to go back into surgery but all turned out well. I feel that Dr Schauer is well worth the wait he is one of the best surgeons in the country (the best in my opinion) I was in the hospital for 7 days and was taken care of by on of the nicest residents working under Dr Schauer,Dr Costa was there night and day looking in on me and was always in contact with Dr. S regarding my situation.
Cheryl Greico (one of Dr Schauers bariatric nurses)who had surgery herself is just the nicest person,she called me at home the night before my surgery to wish me luck and was also the one who removed my JP drains she is the greatest! Laura is also one of the bariatric nurses who had surgery she is very nice and is very helpful with questions. When you go for your first visit 1 month pre op you will see one of the bariatric nurses where you you will be weighed and asked some questions and have the oppertunity to ask questions you will see Dr.Schauer on your 6 month check up so don't get upset if you dont see him on appt #1. Dr. Schauer is so busy I don't know how he has time for his wife and 4 kids, I had to page him on a saturday after I accidentally pulled on one of my tubes and had some pain and he called me right back from home and talked to me for 10 min while his kids were running and playing in the background. I give the whole staff a 10

My first impression was that he was friendly and warm but we were all crammed together in one room and discussed our issues as a group. Staff has been nice but it has taken over a year to get to my surgery date from my initial contact. It is hard to talk to a real person. I had requested one specific hospital as he works at two and am now scheduled for the one I did not request. I will not say anything as I have waited this long and don't want to be put back in the pool to wait. I will be able to say more after I have the surgery.

Dr. Schauer fills you with confidence in him. He is kind and compassionate. He has an office staff that has three nurses who have undergone the surgery. He is very thorough in every aspect of the procedure. If you don't get good care, that is probably your own fault. He answers even what seem to be the "dumbest" questions. He takes time to talk to you. The worst part of having him is the wait you must endure. He is so busy and so requested you must wait months to get in to see him. The office visits are also time consuming. But, take a good book with you and the time passes by quicker. I believe the wait is well worth his expertise. He pulls no punches about the risks of the surgery. He has prepared a very complete packet of material to educate you to all of the aspects you will endure before/during/and after surgery. I didn't see him after the surgery. He has a number of internists who are studying under him. They were very knowledgeable and good. I feel that if I had experienced the slightest problem, I could have been put in direct contact with Dr. Schauer. He has a tremendous personality and will take time to talk to you even when he is obviously exhausted. I give him a four thumbs up.

very nice doctor..hate going to the office..too crowded andappts. overbooked..long offic waits!!! He was very suportive and took his time with me. My only complaint has been poor postop followup care and direction.

So far I like the surgeon. I will report back after my pre-op visit