Chestnut Hill Hospital Hospital

My first impression was that this doctor was great. I saw him at a seminar, and he was informative, personable, and quite pleasant. When I met with him one on one, I was surprised that he did not talk very much. His staff was great, especially his assistant. The thing I liked least was the fact that he did not explain things in detail, things that only pertained to me. For example, I had a hernia that he was going to repair during my wls. He never told me what a hernia was, where it may have come from, or anything else about it. Future patients should know that he's strict, but good. He did not emphasize aftercare very much, and I'm not aware of an aftercare program. The risks of the wls were outlined for me. My overall rating would be a 7. Even though his surgical competence was most important to me, (I know he is a good surgeon) a good bedside manner would have helped me to overcome my fears post surgery. These statements are just my personal impressions based on my personal experience.

DR. MEILAHN WAS VERY NICE, INFORMATIVE AND TO THE POINT, IN WHICH I LIKED THAT. HIS OFFICE STAFF WAS VERY COURTEOUS, AND FRIENDLY AND NYEESHA EXPLAINED EVERYTHING IN DETAIL. THERE WASN'T ANYTHING THAT I WAS REALLY DISPLEASED ABOUT HIS OFFICE OR STAFF. DR.MEILAHN DEFINATELY EMPHASIZED ON BEFORE AND AFTER CARE BUT HE DID TELL ME THAT THIS SURGERY WAS A SERIOUS AND MAJOR SURGERY AND THAT THERE WAS GOING TO BE ALOT OF WORK FROM MY END BUT IF I WASN'T READY MEANING THE NEXT TIME I COME IN HIS OFFICE AND I HAVE GAIN ABOUT 30 POUNDS HE WOULD NOT OPERATE ON ME BECAUSE IT WILL BE A WASTE OF TIME. HE EXPLAINED ALL THE RISKS TO THE SURGERY AND THEY SOUND PRETTY SCARY BUT I KNOW GOD IS ON MY SIDE, I WILL BE OK. I WOULD RATE HIM OVERALL AS A PHYSICIAN.........EXCELLENT!! SURGICAL COMPETENCE & BEDSIDE MANNER IS BOTH VERY IMPORTANT.

My first impression of Doc M was a little scary, he was so straight forward and honest about everything. My impression changed when I went to sign the papers confirming my surgery, he sat down next to me on the table and I thought that was cool. His staff is great especially nurse Laurie! He is REALLY strict and militant, he doesn't wanna hear whining and crying, that doesn't cut the mustard for him. All I can say is, I am 9 months post op and 120lbs lighter, He is my dude...

Love him. Great surgeon, his reputation was enough for me to sign up to have him operate on me. rnTemple has a fantastic before and after care program that just nailed the deal for me. rnI liked Dr Meilahn, he has a nice dry surgeon sense of humor and is very well respected/feared by the nursing staff so his patients get wonderful care (I have this from a friend who is also a nurse and he operated on her 4 years ago)rnI have no doubt I have chosen one of the best bariatric surgeons in all of Philadelphia.

1/11/07 --Last night we attended the pre-appointment seminar. Dr. Meilahn seemed very mannerly and kind, and there was no impression that anyone was making a \"hard sell\", which I found to be a relief. The office staff seemed genuine and kind, and the waiting area was accomodating for my 360+ pound self but I thought some of the chairs *might* be small for anyone significantly larger. He more than adequately explained the available procedures (although I did notice he blew past the duodenal switch-- looks like they are leaning towards the other laparoscopic surgeries). Personal responsibility and aftercare were very much stressed. Risks were explained very openly and thoroughly. I look forward to my appointment in February.rnPOST SURGERY- Out of respect for both myself and Dr. Meilahn, I decided to lose as much as I could pre-op, which turned out to be 68 pounds, bringing my BMI from 62 down to 50. Dr. Meilahn, in return, did his part well, despite my *still* having a very large liver. He's been kind and considerate, ordered me a visiting nurse and physical therapist (much needed!) and has stayed in constant contact by phone and email as I suffer the tribulations of impacted bowels, and hematomas in my belly that seemingly won't heal. The gastric functioning-- my ability to eat, etc.---are as good as you can expect, and 5 weeks out I have had no vomiting, foaming or dumping. I think this is a testimony to the excellent surgical care I recieved with Dr. M. and Laurie White.

HE AND HIS TEAM ARE EXCELENTrnMY IMPRESSION OF MY DR. AND HIS TEAM HAVEN'T CHANGED THEY ARE VERY GOOD.rnOFFICE STAFF ARE POLITE AND VERY HELPFULrnTHERE IS NOTHING I LIKED LEAST ABOUT THEM,THERE IS NO REASON TOO.rnTHEY ARE VERY GOOD SURGEONS TAKE TIME AND GIVE HELPFUL ANSWERS,I HIGHLY RECOMMEND MY WLS DR.AND HIS TEAM.rnAFTER IS EXCELLENT,THEY GIVE YOU MUCH INFORMATION,AND ALSO CALLS TO MAKE SURE THINGS ARE GOING OK.rn

Dr. Meilahn is very caring and competent. My impression did not change. He has a terrific staff and assistant who took the time to cut away scar tissue from a previous surgery so that I could have laparoscopic surgery. There is not one thing that I disliked about him. He is VERY concerned about his patients aftercare and stressed this all throughout the process. There is a structured aftercare program to follow in regards to diet and exercise. They offer a support group and an exercise program with a personal trainer for those who wish to be a part of this. Although the results of Dr. Meilahn's surgerys have been very positive and have resulted in 0 deaths, he explains the possible risks at the initial visit, during the presentation all patients are required to attend, and at the pre-op visit.rnOn a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate him an 11!rnSurgical Competence is most important but I found both in Dr. Meilahn and his surgical assistant, Laurie. rn

* What was your first impression of him/her?rnVery knowlegable, friendly, and blunt.rnrn * How did your impression change over time?rnAll my inital impressions held true, but his surgical compentence far exceeds his bedside manner.rnrn * How would you describe his/her office staff?rnOffice staff is great. The only complaint is that you can sometimes wait for over 2 hours for your scheduled appointment.rnrn * What did you like least about him/her?rnHis bedside manner and technical post op communication left a lot to be desired. I got more information out of the nurse about my surgery than I did from him.rnrn * What should future patients know about him/her?rnHe's a great surgeon, but the aftercare is pretty basic, nothing to write home about. Definitely not worth the 2 hour waiting time for each appointment visit.rnrn * How much does he/she emphasize aftercare?rnPretty much just the normal post op appointments at set intervals.rnrn * How did he/she address the risks of surgery?rnVery bluntly and thoroughly, which I appreciated.rnrn * How would you rate him/her overall?rnI'd give him a 10 for surgical skills, and a 6 for bedside manner.rnrn * Which is better, surgical competence, bedside manner, or are both great?rnHe excells in surgical competence, not bedside manner, but that's the only thing I considered important anyway.rnrnNote, these are just my personal opinions and everyone who has the surgery looks for different things in a doctor. I'd say Dr. Meilahn is a good doctor if like me you're looking for the best surgical skills over the best personality.

Dr. Meilahn, Laurie White, Nyesha and the entire Temple Staff are beyond outstanding! They are all very kind, considerate and very compassionate. They made my entire experience a good one.rnrn

My first impression was that he was very knowledgeable of the surgery and he was very confident of himself and his staff. rnrnHis staff was pretty much on point, no kind of problems what so ever. rnrnThe one thing that I didn't like was that he didn't respect the way that I was feeling right after the surgery. I didn't stay on the morphine, due to an allergic reaction so the pain had a chance to kick in, and boy did I feel it !rnrnFuture patients should know that he is no joke and he is serious about his job. So, if you like to lolly gag around with your recovery, then he's not the doctor for you.rnrnI would rate him at a 8.5 His bedside manners where the best. Also, surgical competence is very important ,of course.