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

Dr. O'Malley was very nice - he spent about an hour and a half with me - he drew diagrams and explained everything fully. He described the actual surgical procedure and necessary follow up care. He answered all questions fully. His staff is also very helpful. I am having trouble with my primary MD and his letter - they helped me to get him to write a better letter. I was told I will be followed for a year following surgery. He told me to invest in a good food processor or blender, as I will be on a soft diet for about a month. He fully described al possible side effects and what he will do to try to prevent them. I feel confident in him, and look forward to surgery authorization and approval.

My first impression of Dr. O'Malley was that he was very informative! He made sure I knew everything, and answered my questions in full! I was very comfortable with him, and he made sure I knew all the risks of this surgery! He felt I was a good candidate for Lap RNY, so that is what I will have done! His office was very helpful! I didn't have to do much of anything! Once they received my pcp letter and my psychatric letter, they sent it down for approval! AND I GOT IT! In hours! I feel I have made the best decision to go with Dr. O'Malley! I will be in GOOD HANDS!

I liked Dr. O'Malley and his staff the moment I walked into their office.

He was very informative and spent ample
time with me to explain everything.

His staff has been great working with
my insurance company who denied my
first request.

Dr. O'Malley stressed the importance of aftercare and he explained all the surgical
risks.

Dr. O'Malley has a very structured aftercare program.

I rate Dr. O'Malley has very competent.

He had a great bedside manner and his surgical competence was wonderful

My husband and I met with Dr. O'Malley and we were both very pleased with him. He went over the procedure with us and explained everything so that we were very comfortable. He explained the upside as well as the downside of it all.

My surgeon was Dr. Wiliam O'Malley in Rochester, NY He was great but even better his office personal. His PA, was a woman who had the surgery 16 years ago. She really understands everything you go through and WILL be going through. He is a little pompous, but aren't most doctors? They in the office are very big on follow ups, which I feel IS the key to sucsess. Now, the hospuital stay was a different matter all together. I thought, go in on Friday, come home on Sunday go take the kids to swim lessons on Monday, WRONG!! Don't ever go tothe hospital vountarily on a Friday, because weekend help STINKS!!
After surgery, during a big down time for me was I felt that Dr. Omalley just hated all fat people and wanted to rid the world of them. I don't know if I got htat attitude from him, or it was just my own depression talking. Other that that, I didn't and don't have any complaints. They were imformative, very selective, and careful, made sure I went to a psyciatrist, helped with the letter writing to insurance. So far, I really don't have any complaints. All the complaints I do have is with the hospital itself.

My first impression of Dr. O'Malley was that he was surpridingly young. I found this site before I went for my first appointment, so I knew what other people had said and I found that their perceptions were right on the money! He is very straightforward about the risks and the realities of the surgery and he took the time to make sure that I had as much information as possible before making my decision. He also discussed, in detail, what I can expect after surgery. He didn't make this sound like a cure for obesity, but rather a tool to help me deal with the problem and control my weight.

The best thing about Dr. O'Malley is that he treated me like the intellegent human being that I know I am. Most people look at heavy people and treat us like we're sub-human and stupid - how would we have gotten to be so fat otherwise? Dr. O'Malley is clearly a very caring doctor.

As for his office staff, I only met his receptionist. When I first called for an appointment, I had a TON of questions about the surgery and she took the time to answer every one.

I am very impressed with Dr. O'Malley's practice although I am very nervous about the surgery.

I talked with some of the people in his waiting room and I have confidence in his surgical skill, if his personality is not all that warm and fuzzy. I don't mind the strictly clinical vibe though. All business is fine with me. I just want to know how he cuts, not necessarily how he feels.

I did get upset though when it took him almost 3 MONTHS to dictate his damn notes from my one office visit so that everything could be submitted to my insurance company. I mean 3 months? The best bariatric surgeons in the country don't take 3 months to submit. I know his is a new practice and he is busy, but if he is that busy maybe he needs some more help. This is just my opinion and experience, of course. Other people may have no problems what so ever.

I thought about going to another surgeon - one in NYC, but I need to get this done NOW for a variety of reasons. The expense of flying back and forth for office visits was also beyond my means.

I have been told my incision will be rather small and that I will only be in the hospital for 3 days, barring complicaitons, of course.

I will say more after my surgery.

6/22/00 - I am almost 4 months out now. I am entirely pleased with Dr. O'Malley, his staff and the hospital. I had a great experience at Highland and I would recommend it to anyone.

I had my surgery on a Friday and went home on Monday. I saw Dr. O every day in the hospital and he was very nice.

I think some of my pre-op whining was just me being impatient to have the whole thing over and done with. And man am I glad I did. I am down 70 lbs and feeling great. No complication, no new problems. Everything is wonderful.

Dr. O'Malley has begun doing Lap surgeries and my sister is have a Lap RNY on July 7th. I will stay with her in the hospital and hopefully get to tell some of the nurses, etc. how grateful I am for the care I received when it was my turn.

I will update this later

Dr. O'Malley was very clear and to the point. He made sure I was aware that this was only a tool. That once I met my goal it was up to me to to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

His staff was very pleasant and knowledgeable. He stresses coming to the follow up appointments. He aslo addressed every complication and answered all my questions and concerns. He is very confident. I trust him. I would recommend him to anyone in the Rochester, NY area.

Dr. O'Malley is young, and only 3 years in practice. He is personable, but tries very hard to show you all the negative sides of surgery, and almost gives the impression that he is trying to talk you out of it. He is extremely thorough in his explanation of his procedures (open gastric bypass with RNY only), and draws diagrams. While he speaks in layman's terms, he doesn't seem willing to use the professional lingo I have learned on this site. He shows graphically what the size of the stomach is now, and what it will be. He makes it clear what to expect from the incision site, size, complication possibilities, and He explains all the things that could go wrong, and the risks and the likelyhood of each individual to have complications, based on what he sees in the medical history. He is patient with questions, answers them fully, and doesn't hurry you. He really lets things progress at the patient's pace, but he does seem to dwell on the negatives, the percentages of people who have the surgery who fail to lose the weight or to keep it off, and I think that's just to keep you from thinking this is going to be a "magic" pill! Dr. O'Malley explained in detail exactly what aftercare consists of, from going into surgery, through the hospital stay, and then what to expect when you go home, up to a year after surgery. He emphasized repeatedly that this is not a cure, and the patient is on their own for achieving weight loss. He stated that his office will always be available for questions, and there is a support group available if you are interested.
His office staff are great people! The receptionist is encouraging, and extremely knowledgeable concerning the insurance requirements, timetables for gathering the data, and scheduling. She handles alot of it herself, and gives very clear instructions on what the patient must do to expedite things. They are flexible enough to schedule the surgery out 8 weeks, but can move it up if all the paperwork is ready, or push it out if not.
If I could only chose one characteristic for a surgeon, his competency or his bedside manner, I would take his skill over a nice conversation any day! From my initial meeting with him, which lasted about an hour and a half, I am comfortable with my decision to continue. I now have to get a letter from my PCP and from a shrink!
***11/24/99***UPDATE
Dr. O'Malley was a good surgeon, he was attentive, helpful, and did a nice job! My incision is not terribly long, (20 staples) and healing well. I found him to be like most surgeons, not tremendously 'chatty' - but he is careful and caring. He leaves the follow up to his P.A., who is more than qualified, and very helpful. I recommend him without reservation.