Robert Brolin Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S.

my first impression of Dr. Brolin,
I was very impressed. I was a little afraid,
because when he first walked by the room where
my husband and i were sitting, he took a
double look at me, asked if i had enough
weight..I said yes Pleeeese. It must have
been the outfit I had on... (lol)
his office staff was very engaged in their
duties...what you should know, is that this
is not a quick road. I had my consultation
on 4/19/12...was given a date from my (hmo)
of 10/24/02...but turned out to be a dummy
date...so now Dr.Brolin's office has given
me a month of dec. but no date, but that's
o.k. also..because I know it's coming...I
have been attending the support groups since
3/02...I never know too much..I learn some-
thing every time I go...I only missed may
and august because of two new grandchildren
I'm looking forward to the aftercare
program...also I attened the patients-
education semiars, which really wowed me.
chocked full of info...(the risk) this is
the first surgery I'm going into with my eyes
wide open and informed..happily waiting, fern

My first impression of Dr Brolin, was from seeing him speak at a support group meeting in September 2001. He seems very quiet, but thoroughly knowledgeble( a big understatement) in his field.
I had gone to another of his support group meetings in March of 2002, right before my consult. My impression was that this was a different Dr. Brolin. He seemed much more open, less shy, and even cracked a joke or two. When I met him at my consult, he actually remembered me! I was shocked to say the least, because there had to be over 100 people at his meeting! That alone, was the deciding factor for me. I had met with another surgeon a week prior, but after hearing Dr Brolin speak to me during my consult, both my mother and I were impressed.
Dr. Brolin's office staff is excellent! They follow up with you even sometimes when it's your responsibility to do so.Dr Brolin does emphasize aftercare, and his support group meets once a month and also is online. He addressed all the risks of surgery and goes over ever step of the surgery with you.
There is a long wait to get in and see Dr. Brolin. But that speaks for itself~ he has over 20 years experience in doing this surgery. But if you're willing to wait to let the best operate on you, then Dr Brolin is your surgeon!

Very dry, but hes there to do his job, not to be your best friend.

He is the shining star in my sky. I thank god every day for him.

Love them all, they are so great.

Not a thing!

Listen to what his says, he knows what hes talking about.

100%, wouldnt be here if he didnt

Yes.

Explained everything in detail, not only to me but my mom too!!!!!

10000000%

both

Dr Brolin is great my first impression of him was that he is very professional.
My impression has not changed he is very professional and mater of fact.
The office staff is great helpful kind and knowlagable
He is very busy but he don't take your care for granted
Dr brolin is the best in the field.
Dr brolin very strongly emphasized after care as the tool to keep the weight off.
Dr. Brolin has a after care program I just wish the nutrision piece was better.
Br brolin make you well aware of the risk of surgery.
a 9.5
surigical competence is his best asset

I met with Dr. Brolin and I was very impressed with his professionalism. He even cracked a joke. The man is very detailed and he knows his stuff. If you're a very sensitivity person, needing a lot of personal hand holding, then you'll be disappointed. But if you're like me (wanting professionalism and quality) you'll love his office. Overall I would reccomend him to anyone interested in having this surgery. He's someone who's been in the business and knows how to get results. I will say though, that his office is very, very busy so if you're looking to have your surgery in the 2-3 months you'll probably need to find another surgeon.

my first impression of the prvdr himself is very good. he seems to know his stuff and is very clear in his explainations. i have a problem w/his staff. it seems like the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing. now i just want to state that this is my own experience w/this and i personally know people who have had the operation done by him and have nothing but wonderful things to say about him. my problem was this: there was no communication between the office and myself. when i would call to find out how things were going or to update my file i was told that everything was fine and that any changes to the file would have to be done thru the mail. i was told that my operation was going to be scheduled for august 2002 and that was the last i heard. then 2 days ago i get a denial letter from my insurance due to insuffient info from my prvdr and that the surgery was scheduled for november 2002. i think this was something that my prvdr should have told me before i received this letter. like i stated before, people rave about this prvdr, but i am looking for a new prvdr.

OK, so he has the personality of a shoelace. I am not asking him to sit and chat over coffee!! He saves my life, he's my new best friend!

Office staff very professional. Worst thing is the long wait for an appointment/surgery. Aftercare is a BIG deal, they have a support group (in person and online).

He is wonderful. I dont' care about the bedside manner, he's a GREAT surgeon!!

3/22/02 Having gotten to know Dr Brolin better over the past year, I have to say he is truly a warm and caring person. He genuinely cares about his patients. And he DOES have a sense of humor! OK, it's very dry, but he can be downright funny at times. I have recommended him to many people and will continue to do so. He saved my life. He GAVE me back my life.

Overall, a nice man and very knowledgeable. When you go for your initial consult, you must be prepared and have your questions ready. He explained the entire procedure extremely well, so most of my questions were already answered by the time he was done. Dr. Brolin was very concise and the consultation was very brief.

I'll write more after the surgery.

Went to Dr Brolin's office for appt at 1:30p on 3/8/02. Wow, what a busy office. The office is actually in St Peters University Hospital, where the surgery will take place.

I guess I am used to smaller Dr practices because I was not comfortable with the amount of people and the loooong wait. I had to wait to register, then go back and wait to get my vitals taken, then go back and wait to talk to the dietician who just asked me questions that were already in my pre op questionnaire, then go sit in an office and wait to talk to Dr. Brolins co-surgeon. The co-surgeon is the one who explained the procedure, talked to me about the risks, and answered my questions. He answered most of my questions but he made me feel like I had to rush to find the questions on my list that I wanted. I ended up cracking under the pressure and not asking all my questions. He also turned me off when he said at one point that I didnt need to worry about 'stuff like that'. I had asked him about the tubes that I would have and breathing exercises and other questions about the hospital stay and that was his answer. I said 'yea I know, but I'm a worrier so humor me.' Then I had to wait after he left to FINALLY see Dr Brolin. NOT impressed at all. He never even looked at me until he was all the way through a monotone schpeal that sounded so robotic and rehearsed. I figured I would finish my list of questions with him but again the vibes given off said 'hurry up i've got things to do'. I was already so nervous about this appt that him sitting there staring at me impatiently while I searched my list for questions that werent answered yet was too much so before I could even finish saying "i think thats all i have.." he was practically out the door. Thats how it seemed to me anyway.

Anyway he said I am considered a borderline candidate and may not be easy to get insurance approval for. He also said Cigna isnt one of the easiest to get approval from and that my family history doesnt mean anything.

I left feeling quite depressed and sad. Then I decided to keep my chin up. I'll fight it with an appeal if I'm denied. And I do have comorbities so its possible I will still get approved.

I am trying hoping that Dr Brolins 20plus years of experience will more than make up for his lack of bedside manner and that he is a great surgeon despite. He is considered by many in the area to be a GURU in this field according to his co-surgeon who talked about him like he was God. lol.

I should probably start looking for a different surgeon though. I was not crazy about the location of the Hospital either. And while in the waiting room I was talking to a couple of women who had their surgery recently and they were talking about how bad the hospital staff was on certain floors during their stay. Part of me wants to find someone else but part of me thinks this is going to be the same no matter where I go. WHen I had surgery at Princeton Medical Center last year I was not happy with the hospital either. So maybe thats just something you have to deal with. I dont know what to do but I guess I'll just wait to see if I'm approved. If so I can always switch the approval to a diff doc.

Hopefully my experience with this office will improve as we go along.

He was very professional and made me feel at ease. He even smiled a few times which is rare I hear.Dr Brolin has a very kind and caring staff. They are also very busy. The only thing I can trully say I didn't like was the parking situation. I would recommend Dr. Brolin to any and everyone. Aftercare was spoken about but not at great lenghts. The Drs aftercare program is not something I know very much about at this point in time. All risks of my surgery were addressed and I was given the pros and cons of everything. Dr. Brolin and his staff get a 10 in my book,,,wonderful people and super nice.In my opinion Dr.Brolin has both surgical competence and nice a bedside. Two thumbs up!!!One other thing,,,the wat can be long so take a book and make sure you are not pressed for time.