Sayeed Ikramuddin Bariatric Surgeon M.D.
I have not met Dr. Ikramuddin yet. I had a consult with Dr. Buchwald Sept. 19th. He asked if I was interested in lap, as Ikramuddin was coming in Oct. YES, I was interested. He said I'd even get in sooner. It's taken over 3 months for approval, So I'll finally get to meet my surgeon Jan 31st. Surgery is Feb. 6th at the U of M.
What was your first impression of him/her?
(he's great - he was late joining the seminar and fairly rushed on our one on one consult, BUT I immediately liked him - he was just having a very busy day - in our short visit, I found him to be very sincere, caring, reassuring, and confident)<br><br>
How would you describe his/her office staff?
(called to make an appt - pleasant over the phone, although long wait for information class and appointment - further contacts with his office have been "fine" - I'm not overly impressed, but I have no complaints either - I'm sure they are very busy and field tons of calls per day - I have not needed to call often and have been to the office once - have talked to the staff several more times over the phone - I *am* impressed - in fact, I think they are wonderful and patient - very busy, but also helpful in any way possible)<br><br>
What should future patients know about him/her? (IMO, he's a nice caring person and surgeon - I believe he loves what he does and takes great pride in his job - I felt completely at ease with him and was relieved he was willing to talk to me, not at me)<br><br>
How did he/she address the risks of surgery? (bluntly, accurately, honestly - just as they should of been addressed)<br><br>
How would you rate him/her overall?
(TEN! LOL - I'm hoping he won't be so rushed on our next encounter, but really don't have a complaint)<br><br>
Which is better, surgical competence, bedside
manner, or both great? (while I feel surgical competence out weighs bedside manner, I feel Dr. Ikramuddin covers both exceptionally)
What was your first impression of him/her?
He seemed very nice, knowledgable, open, direct and apathetic.
How did your impression change over time? Not really.
How would you describe his/her office staff? Very accommodating and oh so willing to answer questions.
What did you like least about him/her?
Really can't say at this point. Too early to tell.
What should future patients know about him/her?
He is really busy. Which I think is a good thing. But I never got the rushed feeling. In fact, I find it interesting that many have talked about him being late. He was a little early for the orientation and popped in a few times to see if the dietician was done her schpeal. The dietician then had to go hunt him down at his office for him to come back.
How much does he/she emphasize aftercare?
He and his staff where clear that this is no fly-by-night procedure and that a patient will need at-home aftercare. So, I would plan on it. I spoke to a couple people who had the surgery and said it is a must!
Does he/she have a structured aftercare program?
Yes. In fact, it is covered in a brochure style booklet that list the basics. More to follow both before and after the surgery from the staff.
How did he/she address the risks of surgery?
I felt they were thorough. Dr. Ikramuddin made a list of them and explained each risk factor individually. The entire session from soupd to nuts took 2-3 hours.
How would you rate him/her overall?
For right now...7...10 being awesome. He seemed to know his stuff. But I am sure there is always need for improvement somewhere. I would say they need to get the scheduling thing down a bit better.
Which is better, surgical competence, bedside
manner, or both great?
If I had to choose, I would say competence, definitely. My hand surgeon didn't have the best bedside manner, but he was the best in the Mid-west according to my insurance company and a friend at work. After the surgery I am glad I went with competence. The way I feel, someone can be the nicest person but have the intelligence of a sponge cake. I feel blessed that Dr. Ikramuddin seems to be very competent and sincere, all wrapped up in one person.
Dr. Ikramuddin is now working for the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis at the Fairview Clinic. I was very nervous about the surgery until meeting him. He is a compassionate and intelligent man who was straight forward in his explanation of the surgery, its benefits and its possible dangers. He put me at ease.
dr ikramuddin was the 2nd surgeon i met with and i ended up having my surgery performed by him on 12-5-1 at the university of minnesota... best surgeon according to my opinion in the best hospital in the whole world...donna his nurse is incredible, and dr ikramuddin has the incredible combination of being extremely experienced medically with actually having a personality that makes you feel at ease... i have never seen with all the research i did with bariatric surgeons office a practice that has so much going for them and that are willing to go the extra mile to answer questions and make patients educated and feel at ease... its truly our gain in minnesota that dr ikramuddin moved to minnesota... to that i am royally grateful.. if you think i am overexaggerting i am not, i still cannot get over the care i have received from this office, it has been outstanding!!!!!
The above was written 6 days post op on 12-11-2001. It is now 9 1/2 years since my rny, but I also ended upneeding to be reversed by Dr Ikramuddin, after complications progressive getting worse the last 6 1/2 years. So he does do straight reversals as well, as I did not revise to another procedure. My reversal was 10 months ago on 9-7-2010. Even though I was a rare reversal patient, being so far post op, and one of the few post ops who required a reversal even with a large weight gain, Dr Ikramuddin never shamed me about my weight issues, knowing that I was struggling physically with a lot of severe pain by then and emotionally that wasn't weight related While patients don't see a lot of him at times, he keeps fully abreast of all his patients. I ended up seeing him almost dozen times alone last year. Donna his nurse practioner was saving grace for me last year, as well He still does his own endoscopies on patients, when he can. I have not been an easy patient for him, while I wasn't a perfect patient, my problems weren't all my fault either.Most surgeons do not have the combination of both incredible surgical skill as well as having empathy,like Dr Ikramuddin does. The only issue I have with the U of M, is that it is a teaching hospital which does lead you if you end up with problems having to deal with Bariatric Surgical Residents a lot who rotate. They aren't a lot of fun for the most part to have to deal with. The nurses for the most part have always been awesome.I've managed only having to see him one time for an endoscopy this year, I am trying my hardest to stay out of that hospital and to spare him from having to have to deal with me for as long as possible, but I do have some peace of mind knowing that if I do have any problems he will do his best, to see me through that. That's really an amazing thing given the social media network contacts I have now, nationally who's surgeons will not take any responsibility whatsoever. That's why I felt the need to update this. He is most deserving of the recognition he gets....
Dr. Ikramuddin was wonderful. I had the distinction of being his first consultation in Minnesota. After a brief physical exam we decided to delay my surgery 1 week. He felt that my case is a little more involved with a possible hernia repair and he would like to have some experience working with his new team before tackling my case. He was very informative and non-judgmental. I would recommend him to anyone considering Lap WLS.
Dr. Ikramuddin was originally not the dr that was going to do my surgery. His partner Dr Shauer was. When I had my pre-op they told me then that Dr Ikramuddin had accepted a new position at the University of Minnesota! He told himself that he came back for a week to help out. Which is how I got a date so quickly. It was luck.
My first impression was that he was a very personable surgeon. He encouraged me to ask every question I could possibly think of.
He stopped by the hospital room the Saturday after the surgery to check on me. Prior to that, two of the assistants checked in on me and made sure everything was going smoothly.
I had no fears about the surgery itself, I knew I was in good hands and in an excellent hospital. My fears stemed from what I've heard about complications. Dr Ikrammudin addressed those with me and put a lot of my fears at ease.
How would I rate Dr Ikrammudin? As one of the best surgeons that you can have operate on you. Not only does he have tremendous skill but his people skills are exceptionally sharp.
My initial appointment was with Dr. Buchwald with Dr. Ikramuddin sitting in on the consultation. Both are very knowledgable with many years of experience. I was confident that I had made the correct choice.
The office staff is very busy and the conversations are short and to the point. I researched Dr. Ikramuddin and found him to be an excellent physician. He was top of his class and in charge of surgery in Philly.
I have not had one on one with him yet, but will be doing so on November 1, 2001. I will update at that time.
Will be meeting them at the informational meeting on April 16. Needed to wait 6 weeks for an appointment.
3/30/01
Had first group info meeting. RN Judith Schwartz knows her stuff, but VERY overworked. Will take up to 30 days for approval once all the paperwork is sent in.
Then they schedule the surgery, right now it's 2 months out for surgery date.
4/13/01 These guys are great, but because so many people use them, my recommendatation is to follow up on everything. They were waiting for my psych eval, but it was already sitting in my file.
9/15/01 -
On the waiting list for surgery. Hope for February or March of 2002. They are very busy, but very friendly at this surgeons office.