Brigham and Women's Center for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Hospital

- Very professional, friendly, and made me feel really comfortable with the process.rn- The staff have been wonderful!!! Assistant Susan is a sweetheart and super accomodating.rn- I have only met with him once.. my next appointment is Feb. 27th to schedule my surgery. I will give more feedback then!rn- HE IS WONDERFUL!!! So nice and super acomodating, I told him I wanted to do this as soon as possible so he moved things around to schedule me on March 20th... as opposed to April. I LOVE HIM! :-)

I have met Dr Tavakkoli twice already and found him to be friendly, and willing to take the time to explain things to you. His office staff, especially Susan has been fantastic in answering those questions that pop up from time to time and never seems bothered. Susan was great in setting up appointments for other tests and over all coordinating the whole process. My surgery is set for 1/31/2008, it exciting, but at the same time anxiety provoking.

My first impression of Dr. Scott Shikora was that of personal excellence. He's what one would refer to as a doctor's doctor. He is professional, courteous, well-rounded in personality, very talented, and wasn't afraid to laugh (he showed he was sensitive to his patients). Most importantly, he made and continues to make himself available to his patients. Dr. Shikora listens! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND him. The Bariatric program he and his team have put in place at Tufts New England Medical Center is outstanding and in the forefront of the field.

My very first impression of my surgeon was wow he is kind! I felt very afraid at first while drivng to meet with him for the very first time.This was to get weighed and speak about surgery .rnrnI got a little lost getting to the office due to my own felt,but once greeted by his staff I felt the at ease.When Dr.Tavakkolizadeh came in to meet me he was very straight forwarded in a caring way.Wanted myself to know of all the option never made me feel this is what I have to at all ,and that really helped.rnrnI am a mother of two young children and I want my life with them to be made each day to the fullest,at this moment I feel like I am making the right choice for myself.rnI must tell you I did not have anything I did not like about him ,just was concerned about his young appearance.rnI actually mentioned that to him as well as his staff.After leaving my visit I flew home with such a bright uplifting feeling but still I wanted to check his records to make sure there is not any medical history gone bad on him ..As mentioned it is my life and I do have two little kids but I already had known he be the one because we connected as Doctor /Patient right away..Surely let me say his life in getting his medical license really amazed me.rnMy big day will be January 10th.I am looking forwarded to a much healthier life and a new me inside and out.rnI feel as though this is met for myself ,and I hope you all who may read this will meet with him.rnrnI will keep you posted .rnrnMelissa

Everyone who works there much be either very well paid or in some way other really enjoying their jobs, because everyone was very, very friendly and helpful. I didn't see any frowning or crabby employees at all!

My first experience with Dr. Shikora was hearing speak at conference on obesity found it to be informative and found him easy to approach and discuss the issues/questions. rnWhen I met with him for my surgical consult I found that he spent the time with me to answer my concerns and questions thoroughly and did not dismiss my questions when I wanted further clarification or did not understand something. He was very clear it explaining the medical procedures.rnI found the office staff generally very pleasant and helpful scheduling appointments, My real concern was I had to make numerous trips in some weeks to see different disciplines, it was difficult to have some appointments on the same day. Also was difficult when they canceled appointments in getting them rescheduled either on the same day or close together to prevent having to make multiple trips to the center . I think piece of advice I would share is you have be strong advocate for yourself but in positive manner to get across your individual needs and what your outcome would like to be. To be open to sharing your true feelings ,fears, insecurities, it helped me a lot through this process. One of the reasons I went with this program was after being involved for Weight Watchers and workout program for 3 years and loosing over 105+ I had some difficulty maintaining myself and regained back 30lbs, I had to come to the realization that I needed another tool so after speaking with PCP we discussed the OCC with Dr Shikora, and I felt at first I had failed but in time I came to realize I needed this and another tool to aid in my weight loss on permanent basis. this program assisted me to that realization and that it was not failure but addition to what I had already been doing. The after care program is key to the success of the individual they have expectation you will maintain participation in all medical appointments and support groups in order to have long term success.They reviewed all the risks of surgery from the orientation program, video broadcast of the surgery, surgical consult and answered any questions at other times if I had them.I think it has been difficult for me to express my anxiety and fearfulness of the upcoming surgery and really not having place to express it they limit the counseling sessions to 2 visits, but I have advocated for myself for referral to therapist specializing in weight loss. It is something I feel I need right now. I think my overall rating is good/excellent in most of the areas of the surgeon and the program, I still think individuals need to self advocate for themselves when their needs are not being met or do not feel satisfied with the level of service they are getting I requested additional appointments with the psychologist and they responded by providing me the time to meet with her but also my insurance allowed extra visits.I would prefer the surgeon have competence in both surgery / bedside manner but I really prefer an experienced surgeon with the credentials and expertise in his field. But able to take the time with people to hear their concerns and questions. I am the type of person I will ask for nothing less than what I think I should get from this type of surgery. I feel I have been able to obtain that from the OCC and from Dr. Shikora, I do not have a lot negative interactions with center for the most part been very positive, through the first part of my journey.

My first impression of Dr. Vernon was that she was very knowledgeable, had great bedside mannor, and was empathetic to weight loss patients. My impressions of her have only gotten better over my past few meetings with her. She has always taken the time to answer any questions that myself or my family may have.

I could not have dreamed of a better expirience !! The staff was friendly and kind. All my needs were met promptly. The recovery nurse apologized several times due to the weight to go up to my room. They treated my husband wonderfully. I actually had fun during my stay.

Dr. Shikora was amazing from the get-go. As the head of the Tufts-New England Medical Center Obesity Consult Center, I knew that I was in good hands, but after meeting with him, any lingering questions or doubts were instantly removed. Competent, confident, funny, sarcastic....he was everything I'd ever want in a surgeon! His pre-op visit settled my nerves and he visited me both days of my hospital stay. All in all, I made the right choice and would recommend him to anyone in a heartbeat!

I liked Dr.Vernon from the first day I met her. However I didn't see her before the surgery or even after the surgery. She sent her \"Surgical Team\" to check on my day 1 and day 2 post op. I didn't see her once my entire time in the hospital! That seems kind of strange to me. I would have liked to have seen her once but oh well. Her staff was nice. I feel I didn't get enough post op info but there are ways I can get in touch with her or her staff. When I did meet with her before the surgery she knew what she was talking about. I would just mention that you would like to see her before or after the surgery. In hindsight maybe I should have done that.