Chestnut Hill Hospital Hospital

I met with Dr. Meilahn on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, 2003. It was truly the best gift of love I could have given myself! My appointment was at 1:00 PM. I met with Dr. Meilahn around 1:45 after filling out paperwork.My first impression of him was that he is a very gentle and very concerned Dr., who truly cares about his patients. When he first came into the room we talked for a few minutes and then Dr. Meilahn sat next to me on the examining table.We continued talking about all my concerns and questions I had about the surgery, especially because I have Lupus. He is very honest and straight shooter and did not suger coat any of his anwsers as well as addressing the risks of surgery. I greatly appreciated how he took his time in explaining the surgery in great detail. He even drew a picture on the examining table paper of how the surgery would be done. His bedside manner is warm and friendly. After 31/2 years of my researching GBP surgery, I know that Dr. Meilahn not only is a highly competent surgeon, but has a great bedside manner as well. My meeting with Dr. Meilahn lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Neisha, What can I say about Niesha who is Dr. Meilahn's assistant. I guess apples don't fall far from their trees. She is the BEST. Neisha is well informed on everything concerning the surgery as well as knowledgable on all the paperwork needed. I had to contact her several times via E-Mail and always recieved a prompt response. As busy as the office was the times that I've been there, she always takes her time with all Dr. Meilahn's patients. I also met with Kay the Diet nurse who is as equally as nice, well informed and knowledgable in her position as Neisha is in her position. I know that I am in the hands of a great team of professionals and can't wait until I get my surgery date.
My only concern at this time is my hospital stay and after surgery care at Temple University Hospital. I've heard many hospital horror stories of the lack of care and concern patients have recieved from the nursing staff and general hospital staff. I talked this over with my husband, so we are considering getting a private duty nurse while I am in the hospital.

My first impression was that he was very dry and to the point. He knows his information and he does make you very aware of all the side affect. He is definatly very thorough and makes sure that you are able to handle the surgery. He takes his time with all pre-op testing and makes sure all your levels are where they should be. I am waiting to get bloos work this week to make sure my iron levels are okay since he will not operate until all your blood counts are PERFECT!

His secretary Nyeesha is very professional and does her best to make everyone comfortable. She is always available for any questions you have. She is wonderful!!

I'm hoping that Dr. Meilahn will be as wonderful with me as he was with his other patients that i know who actually changed my mind about having surgery at Temple.

I am very excited and confident that i made the right descision. I will let you know how is bedside manner is when i get back from surgery. Which with a little prayer will be in April 2003.

Good luck to everyone! God Bless!!!

My first impression of Dr. Meilhan was that he was very nice looking. He was very nice and he told me exactly how it is. They staff was very friendly.Dr meilhan is a sweet and easy to talk to man. Any question you have just ask and he will tell you everything about it and more.He will answer any questions you have befor you can even ask.

i had a good impression of dr. meilahn. he was very honest and sincere. his assistant nyeesha was very prompt on returning my e mails and answering all my questions. aftercare is very important to him and there is a wonderful support group in place for after surgery and an informational 2 hr class before surgery. he was very serious about the risks of surgery which scared me a bit, but it is good because it IS a life changing surgery.

My impression of Dr. Meilahn is that he is extremely nice, concerned about his patients well being, and concerned with their current knowledge of the surgery as well as supplying them with the most needed information about various types of surgeries. Dr. Meilahn explained the pros and cons of the surgery (in addition to possible long term complications) and even drew diagrams on the table paper:)
Overall, I had a great inital impression of Dr. Meilahn. Very nice, provides a comfortable atmosphere for questions, and above all informative and up front.

My first impression of Dr. M was that he was very comfortable and confident with his business of WLS. This impression did not change as he spent nearly 45 minutes with my wife and I discussing the various surgeries , their pros and cons and answering all of our questions. The office staff in his office are great. In particular Nyeesha Miller, Dr. M's assistant is very dedicated to her job. She takes care of all of the paper work associated with insurance approvals, ect. From the very beginning the office helped with a problem since I arrived without a referral, which I was told by my primary care physician was not needed. Dr. Meilhan has performed over 100 RNY procedures at Temple. He requires all of his patients to attend a 3 hour seminar prior to surgery. Another nice touch is that the office gave me a list of Dr. M's patients who have already had surgery. The list was varried and included patients who had surgery a year ago up until a few weeks ago. Temple is a major medical institution in Philadelphia, with the capabilities of caring for any possible complication. They do majororgan transplant operations and have an extensive dept. of surgery. This is a teaching hospital and Dr. M is associate professor of surgery. i would give Dr. M a rating of 9.5. He seems to have the proper mix of surgical competence and bedside manner.

I have to honestly say that my first impression of Dr.Meilahn ws that he was ok. I waited a year before seeing him again, but I was getthing all my appointments scheduled, and because I am a student I had to work around my class schedule. My second time seeing him I thought he was very arrogant and rushed the visit after amking me wait an hour to see him. My mom totally did not like his demeanor at all, she was crying and very upset. However, I have heard from other doctors that he is an excelelnt surgeon, and the commentary on this page has been very helpful. I guess I just have to warm up to him, everyone else on the site has had nothing to say but good things about him. My surgery is scheduled for Feb 2oth, and I have not heard back from the insurance company as of et. Hoping to hear tsomething this week. He was very serious about explaing the risks involved with the procedure, and even popped some new information on me that I ws not prepared for which was these drainging tubes. I am not comfortable with these, but I am starting to hear some surgeons do them and some surgeons do not. I guess mine is one who does. I am confident in my surgeons abilities and even more confident that the Lord will direct his hands and scalpel-I am in good hands because I am in God's hands. Very nervous and anxiouly waiting approval from the insurance company

I've only had intial consult from Dr. Meilahn but he seems very knowledgable and concerned that you know exactly what you're getting into. First visit full of info on the surgeries, risk and benefits. Decent bedside manner, for a surgeon... :) Put me at ease.
Feb 2, 02 Now that I'm post-op I can honestly say that Dr. Meilahn is tops! He is so meticulous and so caring, not to mention very obviously competent that I can't imagine a better surgeon for this procedure.
Explains everything, visits personally, no issue is too minor. He's the BEST!

Dr. Meilahn is just great. He explains things so that you have a clear understanding; he even draws you diagrams! His follow-up care has been the best. You just know that he really cares. The longer I am in his care the more personable he seems. I would highly recommend him!

I have my first consult scheduled with Dr. Meilahn for Feb 5th. Though the wait for an appointment seemed legnthy (4 months), I feel it has given me the time needed to completely research the surgery and surgeon I should choose. I have had nothing but great reviews from prior patients of Dr. Meilahn (Nancy K., Bernie, Sherry L) who I have either met in person or talked with through email. I have also emailed Dr. Meilahn once or twice and received an response extremely quickly. I look forward to finally meeting Dr. Meilahn and discussing my options for surgery, and will be sure to update once I get to the next step.