Thomas Geocaris Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S.

I thought Dr.Geocaris was informative, allowed plenty of time to answer any questions that I had. Fairly business-like but very reassuring. He seemed very confident and experienced. The office staff was very nice, they went out of their way to make me feel comfortable. The aftercare program is very developed. I live three hours away from Green Bay so some of these I won't be able to regularly participate in.

This Surgeon is WONDERFUL!!! ;) He's better than I anticipated! :) I liked him right from the start and he is more handsome in person than on the internet! :) I am so impressed with the entire program that they have been a part of. The office staff is excellent and perfect! :) Before you even get to the point of meeting the surgeon, you must meet all criteria from their Bariatric Program. This Program is the complete backbone of the entire process. Tamara Brown, FNP is exceptional in her ability to have put together such a phenomenal and sound, healthy program that really takes you where you need to be for the optimal success with this surgery, in all ways. The Dietician, the one I work with is Ann, is perfect for this job and I couldn't dream up a better person to be instructed and supported by. The staff at the Bariatric Program & Surgeon's office is incredibly helpful, supportive, respectful and make you feel so good about being there. I have thorougly researched the program and surgeons and the sucess rate is so high as well as the experience, the structured program and support and time they take with you. Awesome program to get you where you need to go for preparing to meet with the surgeon, to attend classes and for support aftercare. The program is no fail if you follow it and yet it isn't so restrictive that you hate it either. :) All was explained to me by Tamara Brown, the dietician, Dr. Tom Geocaris, etc. Here's the deal: It is more than performing an operation. It is the entire package by competent, organized, intelligent, warm, professional people with experience! I had all my questions answered! The PrePare program for setting up the surgery is done by a RN who is with you through everything: paperwork, lab work, radiology, ekg, informing you about pre-op, operation, post-op and what specific needs you have. Excellent hospital, rated in the top 100 of the country. I wasn't ready a year ago when I went to the program and I opted to counsel with someone before going through with the surgery. Once I was ready, the ball was rolling and I was in to see the surgeon in 3 weeks! :) I had knowledge of criteria needed in order for me to get this appt. Once I met the surgeon, I had an appt. date in one week which is typical of this surgeon and his partners. Again, if the surgeon doesn't have a pre-op and aftercare program, the staff can't get back to you or doesn't explain things to you/doesn't treat you well and the surgeon and staff don't have experience and time, go somewhere else. I am so blessed and lucky to have these great people so close to home. I am going in to this--although once the scariest thing I could think of to do--with confidence and excitement. :) They even helped me with my anxiety and fear of going under anesthesia. I will post after surgery to let you know how everything else went. :) Oh, Negative to say? Nope! Sorry. I hope I don't find anything either. The surgeon's pre-op instructions are clear and normal too. No running through hoops to get to the table, yet I know that I will be at my healthiest I can be for the surgery too. These liquid diets and specific diets and bowel cleanse programs before surgery are usually not necessary and can be barbaric. :O He doesn't make you do these things, but we do get guidelines on better ways to eat before surgery. :)

Dr. Tom was very imformative and understanding. I appreciated the explanations of the procedure he would be performing. He was very patient and made sure I understood what he was explaining to me. The office staff was very helpful. the program that the Geocaris' have with Bellin Hospital is very thourough right through to the after care stages. By the time you actually see Dr. Tom, what he is telling you is stuff that you may already know from the series of prepare appointments that you go to. Risks were discussed, as well as benefits of the surgery. I would rate Dr. Tom a 9 out of 10. I think that both competence and bedside manner play a very important part of the process and the recovery.
I have not yet had a bad experience with the Geocaris' or Bellin. Although I was denied the Laproscopic procedure. But that was not the Dr's fault.

My first impression on Dr. Geocaris was great. He was kind, informative and answered any questions I had.



My impression is still the same, the only thing is sometimes he seems so busy (he has many patients) that he doesn't have time for many questions.

His office staff is great! They are kind and supportive.


I liked that he's an experienced doctor who knows his stuff, again the only criticism I have is his lack of question time.


They should know that he is completely competant and knowledgeable in bariatric surgery. They she feel safe in his hands.

Yes, he has many follow up visits, as well as diet plans, and nutrition classes.

He told me all the risks, he was not afraid to tell them to me. He did also inform me that the risks did not outway the benefits.

I would rate him an 9 out of 10.

I would say surgical competence is better. Bedside manner is usually done by the nurses and my care was great.

My first impression of "Dr. Tom" was that he is very professional and a little soft spoken. That was fine with me. He does open up a little more the more you get to know him. His office staff are very professional and quick. They definitely know what they are doing and are very detail oriented. I was very pleased with them. The thing I liked least about Dr. Tom only was the fact that he does start a bit soft spoken. However I found out quickly that it doesn't matter. He is very kind and will take as much time as you need to answer any questions you have. He has a very solid aftercare program in place and makes sure that you are doing fine with all you are eating or any complications you may have. The aftercare program is very structured and he keeps up with what you are doing between visits. He made sure I knew about the risks of surgery. However I had a kinked bowel and had emergency surgery while I was recovering and I never heard of having a kinked bowel. The fact that he never waited a second to get me back in and kept up with me while I was having difficulty before emergency surgery makes me rate him as excellent. He never hesitated a second after he saw the CAT scan report and he never gave up on me while I was having trouble. His surgical competence and bedside were both excellent.

I felt immediate trust when Dr Tom Geocaris came into the room. He was very professional - yet made me feel comfortable. He even drew pictures of the surgery for me. I feel he addressed everything I needed to know about my surgery. And not just the positive and but also the negative things that could happen.

Of course I feel surgical competence is number one, but I wanted to look at the complete package when picking a surgeon. Dr Tom Geocaris, his office staff and Tamara and Kathy at the Bellin Bariatric Center ARE the total package.

His office staff was wonderful, Debbie was friendly on the phone before she even met me and treated me like an old friend when I arrived at the office. Patti was quick and efficent in scheduling my surgery on the very first choice of days I had set aside.

So far everything is falling into place perfectly.

My first impression of Dr. Tom was that he was confident in his ability in doing this surgery. That made me feel better because I don't know this man and Im paying him to cut me open. At first I thought that the office staff was rude but by the time that I left the office they changed my mind! Deb even offered my her supply of crackers in her desk. There is a very good aftercare program established but Dr. Tom really didnt say too much about it. After asking him about the mortality he did tell me.. its about 1 in 200 so like .5%. He said that one one person has died...but it wasn't in surgery it was like 6 weeks later...she had a heart attack. I would rate Dr. Tom a 10 and I trust him with me life. I think that if you dont rate your surgeon a 10 you should probably find a new one.

Dr. Tom is personable, answers your questions completely. He is not a warm fuzzy kind of guy, but he is very knowledgeable.

Office staff are not very friendly!! If I would have had my first visit without being told of this, I would have been very upset.

I would rather have Dr. Tom's surgical competence than a great bedside manner. Both would be nice though.

Dr. Starling seems to be a good man. He is a Dr. of quality. He is matter of fact about things and is professional when it comes to talking about his patients weight. My impression of him has not changed much over the past 9 months. He seems to be an excellent surgeon. He is the head of the Surgury Dept. at UW Madison Hospital. He is also the leading surgical professor at the University. He also goes to seminars and is a sought after speaker in his field. He only operates 1 day a week. This may have changed. All of these things will add to the time it takes to get into him for a surgery date. It can take up to a year if you are on Mediare. It seems to go more quickly if you have profesional insurance. He seems to care about people. It is effident that his office staff does. Also his surgical staff. They are all very competent. They take their time with you and help you to understand what is going on. After care is up to your primary care physican. He does tell you this and sends a letter back to your referral doctor telling him/her this also. It is all basically up to you and your personal doctor. He is very straight forward about this. He also tells yo of the risks of surgery. He is quite frank about it. There is no after care program with this hospital. I am a very informed patient and apprecitate that he is honest. Some people may be offeneded. He is not for the faint of heart. But his heart is very large. My panis (stomach) was very large and he did not want to do the by-pass until I had a panniculectomy done first. He sent me to the head of the Plastic Surgery Dept. for that. It was all taken care of by Dr. Bentz. He is AWESOME!!!! I will be seeing Dr. Bentz again after the WLS and I have done our jobs in regards the actual weight loss. Dr. Starling has the temperment of a well seasoned surgeon. He cares about what happens before, during and after.

His staff, espically Deb Burkhard is amazing. They (she) is very kind and has an awesome personality. She is very easy to talk to. His staff will help you as much as possible. The hospital staff is a whole other story.....

I can't say a whole lot about Dr. Tom exept that I know I made the right choice. Dr. Tom is a get right down to buisness type of guy if you see him and have questions you better write them down so he can answer them otherwise it's to the point. Dr. Tom is very compitant but doesn't stand around and chat. All that matters to me is that he did the job correctly without complications! The nursing staff at Bellin Hospital was absolutly awsome I couldn't have asked for a more caring bunch of nurses!!!!