William O'Malley Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

I met Dr.O'Malley during a group session and for a personal consultation in May 2004. His group session was very informative and professional. He did not beat around the bush about the surgery, the risks, the benefits, the success rates, etc. I think some of the potential patients with a very large amount of weight may have been discouraged at the honesty Dr.O'Malley portrayed in terms of them reaching their goal weight. I personally thought his honesty was admirable. He isn't going to give unrealistic expectations.
He very much emphasize's aftercare which I think is the best thing he could do. So many people think this is a few appointments, surgery, then you are done. I am a believer in long term care after a surgery such as this, and so apparently is Dr.O'Malley.
His office staff is great and I have had contact with them for quite a few reasons with great response time for returned calls, patience with my questions etc. They were also very accomodating in terms of scheduling appointments together to avoid excessive travelling (I'm travelling from Canada).
Overall, I am so far rating them a 10. I will update after my surgery (July 28) and let you know if that changes. But I'm betting it won't. I highly recommend Dr.O'Malley (and HAVE recommended him, I am thinking I should be getting a finders fee HAHA).

My impression of Dr. O'Malley is that he is very busy and has little time for becoming personally acquainted with his patients. I am not one who really cares about personal connections but if someone else is and wants to be able to sit and talk I don't know if he has time for that anymore. He has recently taken on a partner because they are so in demand. The longest I saw of him was in his group seminar where he addresses 50 or so of us. My 1:1 with him lasted barely 5 minutes. I had a 3:30 appointment and never got called back until 4:45 and was in my car by 5:00. The next time I saw him was in the holding room and our conversation lasted 1-2 minutes and again covered just some basic information. He did visit me 3 times while I was post-op and his troop of residents visited me several times also. My follow-up was conducted by his office PA and that is who I will probably end up seeing from now on.
His office staff seem efficient and knowledgeable. Dr. O'Malley has done over 1,200 lapRNYs so they are very well acquainted with what needs to be done insurance and care wise.
Dr. O states right up front that aftercare is required for this surgery - from the first 3 visits within 6 months to continual annual visits after that. He does a good job of explaining surgery, complications, and risks in his monthly group presentations. He is a very good, competent doctor - very experienced and knowledgeable with over 1,200 surgeries and 0 deaths from surgery. If competence is more important than bedside manner - he is a great choice. Not that he isn't personable or have a good bedside manner - he's just too busy to devote a lot of individual time to his patients. If you need a doctor that has the time to 'hold your hand' throughout the processes pre and post surgery, you might want to look at some of the other local doctors (although they only do open at this time) or his new partner Dr. Boss who is still building his patient list and you can get a faster surgery date.

Dr. O'Malley was featured on Oprah and has done thousands of these surgeries. People come from all over to see him. I have only met him twice. Once at the seminar he gives before a consultation with him, and then again at the consultation. My consult with him was very brief. His staff outlines the surgery so well in there informational sheets, as well as dietary issues, risks, benefits, etc., that by the time you see him you already have all the information you need.

My first impression of him was that he knew his stuff, was no nonsense, and interested not only in the short term but also the long term success of his patients. He is big on preop education, post op follow up, and gives lots of information abut support online and in groups right up front. It took just about a year from my first phone call till my surgery date to get through the waiting list and jump through all the hoops, but I wanted the most experienced surgeon so it was worth waiting.
My first appointment with him did not seem to go well. It had been rescheduled to late in the day at the last minute, because he had surgery that morning. I thought maybe he was tired after a long day, so I tried to shrug it off. He seemed to challenge everything I said; I felt like I was being sized up, not like a typical dr/patient dialogue. I was somewhat flustered and felt intimidated. But in the end, he 'approved' me, and gave me a surgery date.
After I got going a couple months to a support group with others, I learned that is just how he is: his bedside manner leaves a lot to be desired. As one blunt young lady put it,
"I hired him to cut me, and he's the best there is. Who cares if he holds my hand or not?"

When I first met Doctor O'Malley for my one on one I also had waited forever in the waiting room for a 3 minute visit. Not a big deal except for the hour drive. His NP Kim is the best and I love seeing her. Plus Diane was a HUGE help through the whole process. Since the procedure and my discharge I deal mostly with his NP and that is fine with me. I think Dr. O'malley is very busy and does a huge service to the obese community. He has never been anything but friendly and patient with me and other patients. I would say that he is very compatent and would recommend him to anyone interested in this procedure. And I do. :)

I will meet Dr OMalley on June 24th 2004. I have read alot of posts about the Dr. and I would have to agree with everyone that says they would prefer a competent surgeon over a "warm and fuzzy" personality. I am a tough cookie with a high tolerance for pain 2 kids 8lbs 13 ozs no pain meds!! so I just pray to god that he takes me through this surgery and lets me wake up. I can handle the work it will take from that point on. Just let me survive the surgery and I will be the poster patient for bariatric surgery. I am soooo ready both mentally and physically for this new tool to be part of my life
Diane, the nurse in Dr. O Malley's office could use some more help everytime I call I feel like I caught her at a bad time she is very busy so I try not to call for dumb questions I will call one more time before I leave to ask her if there are any last minute instructions before I travel to Rochester, and I promise not again!! All of us Canadians are bombarding Dr O's office because we have heard nothing bad come out of his practice. The post-op reviews definitely confirm what I have heard.

my surgery took only 1 hr 15 mins so it was quick! I saw Dr Omalley just prior to the surgery and then I did not see Dr omally until the next day at like 5pm, after i went to his office to ask why i had not seen him! he was there for literaly 1-2 mins i kid you not! i have heard that some paitents have seen him several times after the surgery! i was not so lucky! I did see lots of "residents" but they did not operate on me and i wanted to see "MY" Dr. not some student! I was very taken aback by this! I saw him one more time right before i was checked out so he could approve that. again 2-3 mins! My thought is i know he is busy but spend a few mins with some one you just sliced and diced! Make sure that they do not have any questions or any thing to talk to u about! As it was the day i was discharged he had woken me up so i was kind of in a daze, I did not get my bearings until he left!

i thought dr.o was very personable he has a large informational meeting before you meet him one on one and i thought he was great he made jokes and explained everything very well. and the best thing was when someone asked "what do you say to someone that says your taking the easy way out"? he got so irritated he said well why don't you have those people to wake up with you in recovery and stay with you in the hospital and live with you and eat what you eat for a year and then ask them if they think this is the easy way out. you could tell he thought we were all very brave for what we were about to do and i thought that was awesome! his staff is great too! very helpful. you see him 5 times the first year and he emphasizes after care ie.(support groups). overall i think dr.o is a 10! i would recommmend him to anyone.

He is very professional and knowledeable. I only grew more comfortable with him over time. The office staff was helpful and informative and easily accessible. He is a younger more attractive dr so it may not have been the most comfortable situation for me. Aftercare was emphasized but not too much pressure is given. It's more about making the patient comfortable about all the current changes that are happening. There is a structured aftercare program. The risks of surgery were made very clear with facts and numbers to go along with it. Overall I would rate Dr. O'Malley very highly and suggest him to anyone considering this proceedure. I think that surgical competence would be the most important thing. Bedside manner is also very comforting but I would rather have a doctor be skilled.

He was a wonderful and caring young surgeon. I researched him very carefully and everyone that I asked his reputaion, told me he was the BEST man for the job. His staff is ok, his office is right at the Hospital and on the same floor as the OR recovery. He doesn't pull any punches. He tells you exactly what is expected of you, what to expect and he's behind you 100 percent.

The Hospital staff post op was awesome. Very understanding to specific needs and such. I'd give Dr O'Malley on a scale of 1-10 an 11!!!

Surgically and after care are great