Ramesh C. Ramanathan Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.R.C.S.

All I have to say about this....is I have \"NO\" fear of surgery. I have The utmost faith in Dr. Ramanathan. I know he is the best of the best and located in pittsburgh, where half the country travels to for medical attention.... Not to mention he has the most caring smile I have ever seen....asak any of his patients.... they will all say the same thing.

He is soft spoken and draws you a picture of what he intends to do. He also explains all the risks and benefits. He also told me of the risk of gallbladder problems, even though I have gallstones, he is not taking out my gallbladder. I was very comfortable with him. His office staff are not always easy to get on the phone, but they do call you back within a day. The staff are very compassoniate and caring. They have a teaching seminar 2 weeks before your surgery to reinforce what \"you\". the patient need to do to be successful. They encourage questions and participation in every aspect of your care. All risks were discussed. I'm not sure I want to know about all of them. I would rate him a 9 on the care before hand. Although, I only met with him once. You can attend as many informative meetings that you want. I think competency and bedside manner are both needed. If you can't relate to your surgeon, I feel you lose some confidence in the surgeon.

I had my surgery on the 23rd of October of 2006. I had no problems at all and still have not had any I have lost 54lbs in 2 1/2 months from a size 24 to a size 16/14. It is so exciting I can paint my toenails and cross my legs, tie my own shoes and bend over and touch the floor. But most of all my diabetes is gone. I don't take high blood pressure meds anymore either. This journey has been really good so far. My first impression of Dr. Ramanathan was that he was very knowledgeable and very thorough in answering questions. I still think he is a great surgeon. The staff at the Bariatrics department in Magee is the best staff I have ever incountered in a hospital. He has a typical surgeons bedside manner which is just a little short. That he is a wonderful surgeon ans has one of the best if not the best mortality rate of all the ones I looked into. Which at the time of my surgery was 0.rnHe places a lot of emphasis on aftercare and yes they have a good program for aftercare and his PA is wonderful. HE explained the risks and drawbacks thoroughly. I would rate him a 10. Surgical compentence was great and his bedside manner was good. I was more interested in his competence. The nurses were great at the bedside.rn

DR Ramanathan is a wonderful surgeon. Had my surgery without incident. I have not seen him since surgery. When you go back for follow up visits you see other office staff (residents, PA, nurses,ect). His office staff is very slow to take care of any paper work and they tend to lose what you gave them. Make sure you have copies of all paper work submitted to them.

I really liked Dr. Ramanathan from the first time I met him. During the screening process I just met with his PA, but I figured I would rather my surgeon spend more time in the OR \"practicing\" for MY surgery, than taking time out to meet with every patient during their screening process. rnrnI met Dr. Ramanathan during my pre-op appointment and he was very personable and took time to answer my questions. I even joked with me.rnrnHe did an excellent job with the surgery and came to see me each day that I was in the hospital. Everything with his office from beginning to end just flows like clockwork. I hit no bumps in the road from the get-go. rnrnSo far, the aftercare has been wonderful. They have a very structured aftercare program and everything is written down for you. They have tons of documentation to help and support to contact anytime with any questions. All of my phone calls have been returned promptly.rnrnDr. Ramanathan's entire team is very profession and you can tell that they have a lot of practice with this and know what works. I highly recommend this surgeon.rnrn

Dr Ramanathan was wonderful!! He talked to my family the day of surgery and asked them if they had any questions. He explained to them what was going to happen and what to expect. He was very compassionate and an excellent surgeon.

I have only met Dr. Ramanathan one time so far. In my initial group consultation his assistant Delaine explained the different types of surgery, insurance issues, the process, etc. The doctor came in at the end of the presentation to introduce himself and answer questions. He was very straight-forward, but very caring. I look forward to meeting him for my one-on-one consultation soon.

I first met Dr. Ramanathan at the workshop on 3/1/05 and was glad to find out he had "0" mortality rate. That was very comforting to me. And once he came in and spoke to the group,his friendly smile and willingness to answer all our questions was great. He never seems to rush you if you have questions. I was very happy when I woke up and had NO DRAINS....that was one of the things I was not looking forward to. All of my experiences with Dr Ramanathan and his staff have been positive ones.The only negative thing I would say would be that while in the hospital I saw his "Fellow" and didnt see him until the day he released me, but I wouldnt even say that was a bad thing I was taken care of very well in the hospital.

I've only seen Dr. Ramanathan once at my new patient workshop. I didn't get the chance to speak with him one-on-one, but from what I could tell, he's an extremely good surgeon. He was very honest about risks but he was also very encouraging. He seems to be extremely capable. He's done over 500 weight loss surgeries so he's no hack.

He is a very kind and compassionate Dr. They really educate you and instruct you before the surgery and give you all the bad things as well as the good. The office staff are nice but it is hard to get through on the phone and you really have to keep after them. I called once a week for 2 months to check on if my Insurance would cover the surgery. I was denied, but one of the girls in the office helped me get it approved. They check you at regular intervals and give you a lot of information and are very helpful. A lot of the girls in that office have had the surgery so that helps also. He is a very competent surgeon and I felt very safe and in good hands with him. The only down side was the office staff answering the phone or getting an appointment over the phone. You just have to keep after them.