Richard Stahl Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

I have only had my initial consult with him, but will be having the gastric bypass on 2-5-01. Dr Stahl was young, informative, and honest. He was very patient with me (and my screaming child). He took the time to answer all my questions, and explain the procedure to my husband. He was wonderful.

For the most part his office staff has been wonderful. Susie has been rude to me a few times over the phone, but we all have our bad days, right?

I would recommend Dr Stahl to anyone. He's so caring, and makes certain you know that this is no quick fix, it's lifestyle change to aid in weight loss.

I will add more to this after surgery.

I was very impressed with Dr. Richard Stahl and his entire staff.
My opion of Dr. Stahl has not changed. He seems to care a great deal for his patients.
The entire office staff seems to care a great deal. Answering questions and helping in anyway they can.
So far there is nothing about his practice that I haven't liked.
Any future patients looking for a surgeon should consider Dr. Stahl as their first choice. His bedside and office manner is above any I have come into contact with in years.
Aftercare is greatly stressed for the greatest outcome after surgery.
Aftercare visits are planned and carried out with alot of emphasis on getting the patient well and on a planned exercise and diet program as soon as possible after surgery.
ALL of the risks of the surgery were explained to me and my husband during out first visit to see if I was eligible for the surgery and again the day before surgery.
Overall I would say that Dr. Stahl is a execellent surgeon and seemed to be a very caring, conserded person.
I think anyone can study to be a surgeon and be fairly good at it but it takes a special person to have a warm, caring bedside manner and I think that Dr. Stahl has both.

I was very impressed with Dr. Stahl from the very beginning. I had read a lot of good things about him and I have to say that he definitely lives up to them. Firt of all he did not have a room full of patients all sitting around impatiently. He seemed to have his patients scheduled so they had enough quality time with him. Once I had filled out the paperwork I may have waited 15 minutes at the most although I had arrived 20 minutes early for the appointment. He was very warm and put me at ease right away. I had several questions that he took plenty of time to answer. He was very candid about the risks involved and was sure to emphasize that the surgery was merely a tool to aid you with weight lose. He stressed that I would have to adhere to a sensible diet as well as exercise if I wanted to reach my goal. I was very impressed that he was not put off by the fact that I had worked in the medical field and that I was fluent in the terminology. I have had doctors in the past that were mortified by this as if they had to stay on guard and not make a mistake. I had asked him if he did the RNY lap and he was honest and said that he was not trained in this yet but was planning on getting the training later in the year. He also told me that even when he had the training he did not know if he would ever preform this procedure laparocopicly because he didn't feel that this was the safest way to do this surgery. His staff and the staff at the hospital where I went for my pre-admission testing were very knowledgable and friendly a fact that made me sure that this was the right choice for me.

P.S. The only drawback to the whole visit was the fact that the chairs in the waiting room all had arms that did not allow for someone that was very wide in the hips to sit comfortably.

dr. RICHARD STAHL was my surgeon, he explained the procedure in full detail.he seemed concerned with my health. i was well pleased with this professional manner and concern for my health, i would reccomend this dr. to anyone who want,s to have this type of surgery. he is one of the best....he has a great follow up program for after surgery, as for his staff he has the best staff i have ever had the privalage of being involved with. from the nurses to office staff, and his receptionist JAN is the best bar none, always with a smile and friendly ways she as well as the others in the office make you feel at home and one of the family. i would rate dr stahl as a real careing dr. who cares about his patients as well as his profession. he has a great after surgery program.

He was the most caring and understanding person i had meet.He answered anything i wanted to know. He was straight forward with me on it. The staff was great as well they are the most kindes people i have meet. I have not found anything about him i disagree with. He is great and i would recommend him to anyone that would like to use him and his staff they are terrific people. They strongly recommend that you do what he tells you so that you will not have any problems because it is for your best interest. He tells you what to do and how to do it after surgery and i feel you really need to do what he tells you for your own good. He is doing it for you not him. He explainded the risk to me and my husband very carefully and made sure that we understood all that was involved in the surgery and answered anything we wanted to know about it. HE IS GREAT AND I WOULD DO IT AGAIN AND USE HIM AGAIN FOR ANYTHING I NEED DONE. He had great bedside manners and there is nothing i found i was not happy with the staff at Shelby Baptist Hospital was great i was very happy with the way they all treated me and my family during my surgery and after my surgery. I recommend Dr.Stalh's to anyone who would like to use him.

Dr.Stahl was avery kind and understanding.He was very professional he knew his work very well.He answered my ?'s very well and to the point. I ti would be there all day. but after the paper work i was took back within 10 min.His staff was very kind,i would recommend him to any one cosidering this surgey,he doesn't judge you ,he is there to help you.He was quick to tell me the risk,the aftercare,and what follows ups was nessary.I just loved every thing about my visit.Now all i have to do is wait for the insurance comp.

I was favorably impressed with Dr. Stahl when I met him at my initial consultation. He seems to be competent and thorough. We did not discuss post-op diet or support groups -- probably because I forgot to ask about them!

He was very personable, shook my hand when he introduced himself, apologized for running so late. He smiled often, was very relaxed & did not rush me through my appointment, although I knew I was the last patient of the day.
My impression changed a little after I got home & realized he had basically "glossed over" the complications I could have because I have lupus. He did say I could continue taking my present Celebrex & Plaquenil after the surgery. I should have asked him about the absorption problems, or if there will be any change after. That was my fault. He DID say there should be no problems with my particular type of lupus.
I met Jan, his Insurance Lady (?), first, when I went into the office. I had called her the day before to tell her I might be a few minutes late & to see if that was o.k. She asked if I wanted to reshedule & I said no. Then, when I WAS 15 min. late, she very POINTEDLY mentioned it when I got the forms to fill out. I looked at the 3 people still not marked off on his sign-in sheet & thought it really didn't matter, as he was clearly running late. Didn't say anything, though. She never smiled the whole time I was there that made me feel guilty, like I was messing her up because I got there late. I had to apologize twice!
Dr. Stahl introduced the staff after we left the exam room. The office manager was extremely courtious & friendly and so was his nurse that weighed & measured me.
I don't know about aftercare. It wasn't mentioned too much & not in detail or I don't remember it, if it was. That could be better. I don't know, for instance, if there is a support group of his patients, whether he has a strict diet (he said a dietician would visit me in the hospital after surgery) or the schedule of office visits for aftercare. I WAS CONCERNED HE WILL NOT REMOVE THE GALLBLADDER UNLESS IT IS INFLAMED OR HAS EVIDENCE OF STONES, ETC. I had read there is a study where over over 1/3 of WLS patients develop gallstones after the surgery & it has to be taken out later. My insurance says that no other procedures will be covered/paid for if it is a result of the WLS. Hopefully it will be taken out. I do not want to have to pay to have it taken out later out of my own pocket. He also does not do the panniculectomy (surgery to remove the excess skin & fat some poeple get around the lower stomach after weight loss (Also called "an apron removal". He said he did do these for a while but there were good plastic surgeons he could recommend. Overall, so far, I am pleased with the 1st visit. I have my pre-tests & blood work coming up on 10-16-00.
The only real trouble I had was with my insurance approval & some misunderstanding with Jan on that. I have military Tricare Standard & I don't have to go through a lot
of the steps some others do. Jan called in advance to get a pre-approval (although I had told her she did not need to do that)& was told it was not a covered procedure. She then called me & told me I had been turned down. After crying & throwing things, I calmed down & started calling. I had to call the same number, only to find out the paperwork was still in *Stage One*, which ment they didn't even have the doctor's paperwork yet, just the basic form. After my call, I got my Primary Care Doctor to fax my DX of Diabetes, hypertension & sleep apnea to Tricare. The paperwork from Dr. Stahl's office got there & it was sent to Stage Two, where approval/disallow happens. It was approved within 24 hrs. Jan called me back the next day after the fiasco of the 1st call & we started all over with a fresh slate. She was much nicer after that.
Dr. Stahl listed the risks some but stressed it was A TOOL to weight loss, not A MAGIC CURE, that I would have to do my share by following the diet, exercising & drinking lots of water.
Overall, so far I am pleased & would recommed him. I will update this again after my bloodwork Mon.

I was very impressed with Dr. Stahl. He took as much time as I needed for him to answer all my questions regarding my surgery.
He is very knowledgeable and I trust him completely. His office staff is very nice and helpful. Jan, the one who files the insurance, told me that my insurance would approve within a week after I completed 3 requirements for Blue Cross/Blue Shield of AL insurance. One was an EKG, then a Thyroid Profile, and finally, a psychiatric evaluation. I jumped through all those hoops and within a week's time Jan called me to tell me that I had been approved. Dr. Stahl addressed all the risks of surgery but the benefits outweigh the risks. He has a structured aftercare program and he emphasized the aftercare program.

My first impression of Dr. Stahl was a good one, in my opinion he seemed very professional and very concerned. I did not have many dealings with his office staff yet, but so far they have been nice.Dr. Stahl really does emphasize aftercare. He lets you know right up front that he is not going to cure you, he is going to give you a tool so you can cure yourself. At this point I would reccomend Dr. Stahl to anyone.