Samuel Szomstein Bariatric Surgeon M.D.
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I liked Dr. Szomstein the at my first meeting with him. He was confident and told me right away that I was a good candidate for WLS.
I did not see Dr. Szomstein for my pre-op visit but did see another member of the staff at Cleveland Clinic.
My stay in the hospital was the most trying of this ordeal. The Cleveland Clinic is understaffed for nurses and nurse assistants. If it were not for my brother who came to help me from Texas and my friend Nanci, I would probably still be in the hospital trying to get into or out of the bathroom. The bed was awful, you had to put the bed into an upright position to get into and out of the bed (try doing that in the middle of the night by yourself because no nurse would come to help). Plus you had to unhook yourself from the leg machine (for clotting), unhook the oxygen I was using because the line was not long enough to get to the bathroom, drag the IV machine to the bathroom (the cord was only long enough to fit outside the door and you had to stretch to get to the toilet).
I attended a support group for post-surgery one week after getting out of the hospital. It was well-organized and run by the doctors and nutritionists at Cleveland Clinic who are part of the WLS program.
I was very happy with Dr. Szomstein, Dr. Rosenthal and the other physicians but not happy with the hospital stay. The only nurse that took any time with me was Mrs. Cosman, RN. She was wonderful and very attentive to my needs. I know it is not the fault of the nurses that the hospital is understaffed and they were doing the best they could under the circumstances. I do appreciate everything that was done for me during my hospital stay.
My first impression of Dr. Szomstein was great; he came into the room smiling, sat down, and began to load me with information. All, which I was eager to hear and learn about. I also had a list of questions myself which he answered all of them to where I understood the answer and didn't make me feel he was in a rush. I felt I had his undivided attention for as long as I wanted it. He does have a structured aftercare program, which is mostly talked about with the dietitian. We went over the risks of surgery and he explained it all. I would have to say he has a great surgical competence, bedside manner, and made me feel like I was his only patient. After meeting him, I realize I had made a good decision :)
The staff was great, they are all apart of a team and it really shows. They work well together to get the job done in a proficient and professional manner. Everyone of them were very informative.
My first impression of Dr.Szomstein was very comforting. My husband and I saw him as a very caring and informative surgeon. His eyes showed us first that of a caring person behind the knowledgeable MD/Surgeon title. To have both of these together meant a lot to me. He explained all of the procedure in detail, and answered all of our questions and I want to say he was very patient in doing so. It has now been almost 10 months for me, and I still have the same opinion of him. If not more so, as they do not except my Insurance any longer. But when I saw him at our monthly meeting, I shared with him that the Ins. was not accepted anymore, he reasured me that we are still apart of the family (as he calls it.) and they are only a phone call away.
The office staff seemed to be always to busy to help and at times were not responsive and often times very short tempered. Hopefully, its because they need more employees to help with the load.
My overall experience with the surgery was great and I give them a 9 on a scale of 1-10. Ten being the highest.
Dr Szomstein and his staff are amazing. They were very kind and I knew the way he spoke to me that I was finally making the right decision.
What was your first impression of him/her?WAS SO SWEET CARING AND UNDERSTANDING<CUTE TOO>
How did your impression change over time?IT DIDNT I ONLY MET HIM ONCE!
How would you describe his/her office staff?THEY WERE THE BEST!
What did you like least about him/her?WOULD HAVE LIKED TO SEE MORE OF HIM!
What should future patients know about him/her?HE WILL ANSWER ANYTHING GO AHEAD DONT BE SHY ITS FOR YOUR HEALTH!
How much does he/she emphasize aftercare?NOT THERE YET!
Does he/she have a structured aftercare program?I HOPE SO!
How did he/she address the risks of surgery?TOLD ME ALL ABOUT THEM!
How would you rate him/her overall?110%
Which is better, surgical competence, bedside
manner, or both great?HE IS JUST A GREAT GUY ALL AROUND! WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN POST OP OF THE OTHERS!
THIS WAS JUST MY OPINION NICE PLACE TO BE VERY CLEAN CALLS WERE RETURNED RIGHT AWAY AND TRUST ME I AM WORLDS BIGGEST COMPLAINER I WILL CALL TO COMPLAIN ABOUT ANYTHING! THESE ARE GOOD PEOPLE! IM LUCKY TO HAVE HIM THIS IS PRE-OP THOUGHT!
Dr. Szomstein was very helpful and also quite funny. At first I was confused about the surgery, but after my first visit i was very exicted about surgery. The office staff is not so friendly, sometimes I guess due to the large number of patients their workload is also very heavy. Anita in auth is very helpful and also very patient. So i said to myself at least someone in the office is pleasant.
Dr. Szomstein performed a revision of my gastric band in May of 2003. My band had erroded through my stomach, after 15 years inside me, with no proper follow up to it. My first impression of him was that of a caring, professional, knowledgable doctor who took each case as an individual. I never had to deal with any of the issues of acceptance for billing or anything else to deal with anyone other than the nurses and Dr Szomstein, Dr. Rosenthal and Dr. Podkameni.
There care, their compassion and their work saved my life and stopped the pain and suffering i was going through. Im on my own now, and as much as I love them, I hope i never have to see them for any more gastric surgery. I am on my own now, I have to watch everything I eat and change my lifestyle, as I have no more band or anything to prohibit weight gain.
I rate them 200%!
There is not a single negitive thing i have to say about them.
I've met with Dr. Szomstein once, so far, for the initial evaluation. He struck me as a very kind, caring person, with a lot going on behind his eyes. I was very confident in his knowledge after discussing my options & the surgery with him. I have since done research & confirmed he has not had any lawsuits filed against him, he has never had his surgical permissions removed, and he is board certified. I am driving down to Weston from Orlando, Florida. I feel it is worth the 3.5 hour trip.
In regards to the office staff, I would recommend that you document all of your call dates, who you spoke with & what they said. And call often, to make sure your needs are being addressed. I was initially not excited about the slightly rushed attitudes I sometimes encountered, but as I have talked to these women, I have learned that they are just really over loaded, but are genuinely interested in helping. The best advice I can give would be help them to help you. Stay on top of your insurance carrier; make sure that records get where they need to go, etc. Work together to make things happen.
I had my lap banding surgery on Feb 7, 2003 with Dr Szomstein. Before surgery I was very anexious and my blood pressure was going up very high. Dr Szomstein, came in to see me and just sat down next to me and told me to relax that everything would be fine. He was and is very compassionate..He spoke to husband and then I was off to the OR. Once I was out of surgery and in my room. Dr S came to visit me and tell me how everything went. I was feeling pretty good. Just a little discomfort. He came in to see once more before he left for the day. The next day I went home. And with 4-5 days I was pretty much doing everything. I went for my 10 day post op appt and had lost 15 pounds..I have not had any complications so far. I have had very little discomfort. I have had two fills. Dr Szomstein was wonderful each time I have went in for one a fill..As of today almost six months post op I have lost 47 pounds.. And feel so much better.. I can not say enough wonderful things about Dr Szomstein and his staff... Dr Szomstein is a very compassionate, personable and caring physician. I am so happy with the choice I made and most of all my choice in choosing Dr Szomstein. I wish everyone the best!! And if I can be of any help to anyone please email me.