Chestnut Hill Hospital Hospital

Dr. Meilahn made an immediate impression upon me when he replied the same evening to an e-mail I sent to him inquiring about surgery. I called for an appointment soon thereafter. At my consultation he went over every detail of what I was to expect, including the possible side effects and complications. He visited me in the prep room just before surgery to go over a few things again and to apologize that he was running late with the first case. He also wanted to know if I had any more questions. After I came out of anesthesia, he immediately let me know that he had to perform an open procedure. On a funny note, he wanted me to walk the day I was going home. The gown they had given me was missing the ties in the back so my butt was hanging out. Dr. Meilahn grabbed a roll of surgical tape and taped me shut. It was hysterical. He called me the day after I went home to make sure everything was OK. Dr. Meilahn is very patient oriented.

Dr. Meilahn is a great doctor. He explained everything to me (good and bad) before I had my surgery. I felt very comfortable the day of surgery, and I have no complaints whatsoever! His staff was very informative and accomodating, both before and after surgery. I attended his support group before surgery and plan to continue going to his support groups for aftercare.

Had my first appt. on 4/7/3006. Dr. Meilahn was knowledgeable and empathetic. The office staff was very helpful. What impressed me the most is something that happened after i left the office. I had to wait in the hospital lobby for my ride to pick me up and was there when Dr. meilahn was leaving for the day. He saw me there and made a point of comig over and acknowledging me. I was shocked that he remembered who i was, especially since he had just met me only that day. That one small gesture made me even more confident about my decision. Step ne done, bring on the rest.

I met with Dr. Meilahn yesterday (3/25/06) and I found him to be an extremely inteligent man. I thought he was kind and very thourough. He was very detailed about the types of pre-operative testing and he was very good at emphasising what a tool this surgery is.

Temple's bariatric surgery program seems very good. They have support groups in place and the aftercare program seems outstanding.

I also want to mention that his staff made me feel welcome, a fact that can make or break my opinion of any doctor's office. One is only as good as one's staff, after all.

Doctor Meilahn is awesome. From the start he was all business yet understanding and empathic. His staff is very knowledgable and accomadating. Vicky is top notch and Niesha is a gem. I have nothing but praise for the entire experience.

I can't say enough about my surgeon. I was impressed with him from day one and my respect and admiration for him and his staff has only grown. Every single person in his office is caring and considerate. He is a perfectionist and his record proves it as he as done close to 600 surgeries and has not lost 1 patient. He visited me in the hospital twice each day and his concern is genuine. He is a stickler about smoking. He absolutely will not operate on anyone if they currently smoke. HE also puts you through a LOT of pre cert testing (which I was grateful for). He and his staff are very big on aftercare. He called me the day after I came home from the hospital and saw me one week after the surgery. I have numerous ways to get hold of him and I have never had a phone call not returned within hours. I recommend him highly and would do it again in a second.

Well, my first impression was made before I even met Dr. Meilahn. Let me tell you, I learned to not let someone elses opinion influence my feelings. My oldest son has a friend who had her surgery by Dr. John
Meilahn. She praised him to the highest, except she said he is "cocky". I was so nervous before I met him thinking I am not gonna like him (because I had this impression of this young cocky Dr. who thinks he is the S***) and I have to not even think about that because I definitely want Dr. Meilahn to do my surgery if I am approved. He is the best in his field and I can't let opinions get in my way of a safe and healthy outcome.
Okay, to make a long story short. I met Dr. John Meilahn on June 24, 2005 at Temple Hospital in Philadelphia for my initial consult. I was so impressed by him, and his staff are excellent! Everyone so far are just so professionally serious about the gastric surgery.
(Unlike the first consult I had at Crozer Hospital in Chester, that's another story not worth talking about.)

And you know what I have concluded? Dr. John Meilahn is the S*** !!!

He is very serious about the surgery, very thorough, so confident, and his attitude is NOT cocky. What I saw was a man who is an expert in his surgical abilities who displays such a serious, positive confident demeanor. He makes no jokes. This is my life and I felt very sure of him right away. Everywhere I have been since my consult everyone is talking about this man. He is THE BEST! He is also the director of bariatric surgery at Temple. As of 6/24/05 Dr. Meilahn had done 513 surgeries with not one fatality. I've been hearing the death rate is 1 in 200. It seems to me Dr. Meilahn has exceeded the statistics, by more than double.
So I must say since I have met him I have no doubts and not a worry about the success of my surgery. I feel very priveledged and blessed to have Dr. Meilahn as my surgeon.
Thank you God.
And thank you Dina for finding him.

Dr. Meilahn was wonderful, he really cares about his patients, and treats you like a human being.

He was very informative and seemed knowledgable about wls.

His staff was nice as could be.

He insisted that even when I was at goal, I still make my appointments for bloodwork and checkups.

He told me flat out the risks of the surgery.

The only thing I wish I could have had more help with, is the nutrition part.

I have nothing but good things to say about Dr. Meilahn and the members of his staff. From the first appointment through now (10 days post-op), he and his entire staff were caring and competent professionals. They are all very personable and answer questions as best they can and even tell you when they can't. Dr. Meilahn and Dr. Laurie White operated on me. I met them at the first appointment in February and saw them again at my pre-op appointment 5 days before surgery. While I was waiting to be taken in for surgery, both of them came in to see me. When I was wheeled into the operating room, the first one to greet me was Dr. White with her reassuring voice.

After surgery, there were a few disputes between Dr. Meilahn and staff at Temple Hospital. In each one, Dr. Meilahn (and his staff) came down on the side of my comfort.

I was operated on a Monday and discharged on Wednesday. On Saturday, Dr. Meilahn called me at home to make sure I was doing okay and asking specific questions about what I was feeling, blood sugars, etc.

Vicki Frain, Dr. Meilahn's nurse practitioner, is nothing short of marvelous. She helped me get preauth from my insurance company for the pre-op tests. She visited me in the recovery room and every day I was in the hospital. When I went in for my one week post-op appointment and she saw me, she gave a big smile and a thumbs-up, saying "you've made it through the first week, way to go!"

The doctor's office arranged the pre-authorization for the surgery from my insurance company. I didn't have to do anything but get the pre-op stuff to Dr. Meilahn.

The absolutely only negative thing I can say is that the phone system that Temple provides Vicki is one line. If she is on the phone, your call goes immediately to voice-mail. The system does not let Vicki know she has voice-mail so it could be the end of the day before she gets back to you if you aren't lucky enough to get her on the phone.

I would recommend Dr. Meilahn's office highly to anyone considering the surgery.

Dr. John Meilahn reminds me of Dr Kildare, if any of you are old enough to remember him. He was very thorough and I could tell he is the best....as I have been told by many. The one question he forgot to ask me but found me, in the waiting room, was did I smoke. I was not going to lie....to much depends on this so I explained I had just quit. He looked me stright in the eyes and repeated twice," I do no nor will I ever operate on anyone who smokes" And you could tell by eye expression and tone of voice he means business. IF I can not thank Dr. M for anything else...he pushed me over the edge,, kind of how bad do you want this..... I haven't picked up a cigerate since. I will tell you all more once I am post op.

Yeh!!!! Dr. M is the bomb...I have had no problems and doing great thanks to The Temple Team and Dr John Meilahn's brillance..lol