Raul Rosenthal Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

Before you get enticed into this group ask for EVERYTHING in writing. I made the mistake of trusting the doctor and this office staff on the first visit when they said I had to have X doctors visit done and X tests done and then I could call for a surgery date. Now 4 months later, almost all the tests and visits completed they change the rules and are asking for upfront money of 300.00 for a dietician that I was told I didn't need to have an appointment with to get the surgery date. So far this place has billed my insurance around 6,000 and I have gotten nothing except attitude from their office staff. They changed there policy in August and never bothered to tell me and this is after I just put out 150.00 out of pocket for a in house psychologist that still hasn't written a report but had no prob cashing my check ASAP.
Also you have all these tests done and never get a call or your calls answered with the results. They didn't even have my bloodwork in the folder for the office visit for the endocrinologist and then they didn't order the blood test I needed so I had to go back and get this done again. Very disorganized but I should have known when on my initial visit I was sitting waiting for Rosenthal to come in and he never did so I ended up meeting with his assistant. When I came out of the room they had forgotten I was even in there and said the DR had gone to lunch.

I had my first appointmrnt with DR. Rosenthal in April,@ clevelend clinic, He was very nice and informative. The first visit was very short. But he did answered all the questions I had.

In these past months, my experience with his office staff is concerning, they never return calls, when you finally get them on the phone after weeks of trying, they rush you off that you forget to ask them all the questions you had.

The hospital is great, the hospital staff is the best I have ever experienced, they treat you with respect, kindness and are very attentive. the building is beutiful, and the rooms even better.

I will recommend the doctor to any body, I have not had surgery yet, but had all my test and procedures done here.

They do have an aftercare program, meetings, website.

Dr. Rosenthal and Szomstein, have a great bedside manner and are both great.

Dr. Rosenthal is a very nice man. I really don't have any complaints about him in specific. My main complaint is with the office staff at Cleveland Clinic (the WLS section). They don't follow up, don't follow through and are sometimes rude on the phone. I highly suggest either replacing their office staff or adding additional staff to the office. If this doen't happen, more and more patients will be going somewhere else to get the surgery done. That would be a pretty sad thing considering Dr. Rosenthal has such a wonderful gift and reputation.

A complete professional who inspires confidence. Not a hand-holder or a talker, but clearly committed to being at the top of his profession and to seeing that his patients get the best care and long term outcome - i.e. the really important things. No sense of commercialism or production line mentality. Associates and nurses and office staff are generally excellent.

6-2-03: Met Dr. Rosenthal and some of his staff at his information meeting today. The initial impression is one who is passionate about his work and more concerned with follow-up care than the nuumber of surgeries he completes. He spent a lot of time discussing the pros and cons of the surgery being quite specific about the risks. Even though he reassured us that he has had no deaths in over 700 surgeries, he was quick to state that many fine doctors from excellent practices have lost patients and he could not make any guarantees. I sensed that this is a very busy practice at a busy facility and that "time" with staff was going to come at a premium. It was a very detailed and concise overview of both the VGB and RNY preformed both open and lap (although almost 99% of his surgeries are performed lap). I am looking forward to my consult on June 6th.

I went to visit Dr Rosenthal at the Cleveland Clinic on June 3rd 2003. When I saw him I said to myself this man is going to save my life.. We had orientation in the morning which he stayed and answered all questions asked. He seems very caring and also very straight forward to make sure you know what you are doing. His staff such as Karen the nurse and his Assistant ( I never got his name right) were very helpful. I have done all the test completed by 6-23-03, and I have an appointment with Michelle the nutrionist on 7-9-03 which is cool to see her early.. So now its the waiting game to see when my surgery will be done. Still waiting on the call from the secretary for surgery date. Man I hate waiting. But its worth it.

I met with Dr. Rosenthal last month. And I absolutely love him and his staff. I have gotten all of the required tests done and am now just waiting on the schedule date and then he is going to go ahead and submit the request into the insurance. I am so excited. I have an appointment with his nutrionist Emily on 8/25 and that should be the last step.

I met with Doctor Rosenthal briefly.
He was friendly and acknowledge I was making the right decision regarding my surgery.
His nursing/office staff was very helpful and very friendly.
At the orientation, Dr. Rosenthal put great emphasis on aftercare, the risks of surgery, and the risk of obesity. It was very informative.
6/3/03

First impression - group info meeting. Ok, informative. A bit arogant.
Second impression was zilch. 5 minutes (billed insurance $375), patronizing, not impressed at all.
His nurse was super nice. The reception, billing and schedule people are twits.
I will up date more as I learn more. This is just me experience and opinions. Your mileag may vary.
All tests complete and met with all of office staff, due to issues with what tests are needed. One nurse was refusing to return calls. Office appears to be too busy. It took a major blow up to get attention and to move my file along. Bedside manner of the office is poor. Again - this thus far is my experience and your mileage may vary.
3/31/03
Major improvement. The receptionist called me! and announced I have been approved. She confirmed my appointments with the Dr. and the anetheisiologist.
5/10/03
Post op visit. Staff was pleasant and DR was corgial. I just think he has very little for personality. Nutricianist came in and was helpful. Overall a good visit.

Was originally to have Samuel Szomstein as my surgeon, but when I called to get my surgery date, they said Dr. Rosental would be performing the surgery. I haven't met him yet, hope to meet him soon! Met with Dr. Rosenthal on 02/14/03. He told me that he does all the surgeries on larger persons because he has more experience than Dr. Szomstein. The visit was brief, but he answered all my questions and was confident of the success that I would achieve.

A post-surgery note: Dr. Rosenthal is awesome. He completed my surgery in about 1.5 hours, everything went smoothly. He and his staff and the Cleveland Clinic made my stay very comfortable and they did not rush me home until I was really feeling recovered. Thank you Dr. Rosenthal for saving my life and giving me a second chance to LIVE!

On the last Monday of each month, Dr. Rosenthal holds a support meeting at 6:00pm for WLS. He is almost always there in person to answer questions and discuss this life saving surgery.