Samir Patel Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

I LOVE DR. PATEL!!!!! I HIGHLY recommend him to anyone!!!

He was very nice, informative, answered every question that I had, even some I didn't think of. He warned me of every possible risk, but also gave me hope for a great outcome. He has a sense of humor, easy to talk to. His staff is nice, but one lady who answers the phone when you call sometimes doesn't seem to know what she's talking about, maybe she's new.. I don't know. But the girl at the front desk and the girl in charge of the authorizations were very nice to deal with. One thing I didn't like though is that he doesn't have a very convenient office schedule.
There honestly wasn't anything that I didn't like about Dr Patel himself, if there was, I wouldn't have used him. He gives you a detailed list of everything you need to do prior to your surgery. There is no guesswork.
My husband was away for work when I had my surgery, so my mother went with me. She even liked him and his sense of humor.
Overall, in a scale of 1-10, I would rate him an 11, but I would rate the office an 8.
Dr Patel was an excellent surgeon and also had great bedside manner. I would highly recommend him to anyone!

I've been happy with Dr. Patel so far. Very down to earth and takes time with you.

I ATTENDED A SEMINAR HE GAVE. HE SAID HE NEVER HAD A COMPLICATION. MY FRIEND UNDERWENT THE BAND. HE OPERATED ON HER WHILE SHE HAD AN INFECTION. SHE WENT HOME, CAME BACK AND DEVELOPED WORSE INFECTION. SHE JUST DIED. I AM ATTENDING HIS NEXT SEMINAR TO ASK WHY HE OPERATED ON HER. I ATTENDED ANOTHER SURGEON'S LECTURE. I FOUND DR. PATEL TAKES THE PATIENTS THIS SURGEON TURNS DOWN BECAUSE THEY ARE HIGH RISK.

In my opinion, Dr. Patel is a right to the point guy. He seems very competant and I've gotten good reports about him from past patients.I'm very happy with him!

i'm not happy about outcome. make sure your surgeon is experienced, make sure hes board certified, wonder why he is only doing the band now and not band & bypass. then doin't get the bypass if they arent good at it.

I found Dr. Patel to be nice,and very sincere, and to be a bit honest, he was kinda cocky LOL (did I also mention that he is young LOL)I really liked the fact that when he spoke to me, he looked directly at me and called me by name, not muttering into his paper as he checked things off.

Describe his office staff. It started off odd. They gave me an office apt, after about a week, I went to the apt and I was told that before I could see the Dr. I had to go through the "Bariatric Seminar". A call to let me know this was an error never came so that was a week wasted and then it was another two weeks before the next Seminar. They did apoligize but still, they do this for a living!
Also, I have a bit of mixed feeling about the office staff. I spent a lot of time back n forth with his office staff and the office staff of my primary care Dr; about who's job it was to write out what! They deal will this issue on a regular basis and I feel some of them should be better prepaired and or informed on insurance issues. They were always nice, some even indifferent, but never rude and that's what counts for me.

There was nothing I didn't like about Dr. Patel, I found him to be very friendly, and informative when need be, and very aproachable.

What should future patients know about him? On your first apt he will give you a guideline/list on the Dr.s you will need to see and be cleared by before your surgery can happen. I was told it was mearly a guideline of types of Dr's you need to see and what you might expect needs done or requested to be done from that particular Dr.
On that list he does list certain Dr's. These are people he commenly uses. He told me that if I had Dr's that I know of or have already used before that is was fine to use my own. Now when I say my own, I only used Dr's that were approved of by my insurance company. Out of pocket expenses is not somthing I wanted especially looking down the road at the time off and pay loss for recovery time.

Never was there anything said or spoken, nothing that I signed, legal or otherwise at the Dr's or the Seminar, saying that I would only use the people offered by this program.Nor did they offer any such paperwork requiring me to exclusively use only the names they provided.

I only bring this up because when I went to those Dr's, I used a Psychologist approved of by my insurance, not the one they (the list) offered at a rate of $250.00 not covered by my insurance.
When I saw the Pulmonogist, my evaluation stated that I was not a canidate for sleep apnea, so I was not required to have the "sleep study", where I have heard from others that they were forced to have the sleep study, weither they needed it or not.
I also used my own Dietician approved of by my insurance. They(the list) offer a 6 week preop and 12 week postop program for (only) $480.00! (also not covered by my insurance)Plaaa..ease! All I ever paid out of pocket so far was my $5.00 co-pay.

Elective surgery or not.. it is a medical problem that is covered by most insurances. It is a very difficult decision to have to make and then to compound it with a possible wait so that you can save up months if not years to pay for out-of-pocket expenses that can most likely be covered if worked out withing you insurance coverages Sorry, I chose to work with my insurance and it has worked out very well for me in the end. Know your rights!

Your aftercare if explained to you in full at what is called the "Bariatric Boot Camp" and it is mandatory.It is a class at the hospital you will be staying in. They will go through everything from how to use the bed to what to expect from the minute you arrive to the minute you go home. It is well worth your time and you will meet others just like you and may also be in the hospital at the same time as you. I very much evjoyed it and made many friends there. It is extremely structured.

If you do not live close by try to scheduel your Boot camp the same day as your PAT(pre adm testing) it makes things so much easier.
One thing though I just wanted to share, and this is my opinion only so you may have a different take on things and hey, thats fine...right! I was told at my PAT (By the chairwoman of this program)that they had noticed that I didn't use all the people or programs offered on that list and she also said that it was a requirement, and that I should consider myself fortunate, that she had in the past canceled other surgerys for not using them. I understand where she is commin from and that this program is her baby,and that she is very proud of this program (and it is a wonderful program) but but please, get over yourself. Legally, they don't have a leg to stand on, because at no time did I sign any legal papers promising to exclusivly use/or have to use certin persons from that list provided to me by my Dr.
Second, they are not the only people doing this type of work now a days. They could make an effort to coorinate information with you Dr's under your current insurance provider, so as not to incure unnecessary out-of-pocket expenses. There are so many programs, so many Dr's, so many Hospitals to choose from.
Third, they did not cancel my surgery because they new that they couldn't without the threat of a any possible legal suits against them. And believe me there would have been had they done so.

I tell you all this because this is my experience, not everyones will be the same and you really should be armed with as much information as possible when doing something as personal as this.

Over all I give this surgery experience rating a 95 (well sorry but nothing is perfect but this/and he(Dr. patel is very close!)

Hi surgical competence is 110%, as well his bed side manner. I couldn't have asked for a more competent surgeon. My surgery took place with no complications what-so-ever. I am very pleased with my decision to use him.

Good Luck to all of you who make the choice to have this surgery. All that I have stated herein is all my own opinion and last I looked; we are still allowed to have them! LOL

Best Wishes!

When I first called Dr. Patel, I had an appointment within a week, that alone was exciting! I was very impressed with him, he's young and very nice personality and made me feel very comfortable about my decsion. He's got a list of things that have to be done and that makes life easier. He takes my insurance and so far this hasn't cost me a thing! He has a very structured program and spoke to me about all the risks, his seminar was very informative. I can't speak about after-care yet, but i'll let you know later. His office staff at first, had me holding forever, but that has gotten better. The girls are very helpful and nice. Honestly, haven't had a whole lot of dealing with the staff. Stefanie, who takes care of the scheduling has been great and competent. Will up-date the after-care. I've had a slight problem with my wound opening up, and I must say that Dr. Patel has been very compassionate and caring and concerned, and he's doing the best for me! His nurse Liz, well, she is just a Blessing right from Heaven:-)