UPMC Hamot Hospital

I thought the staff was very attentive to my needs. I did find them a bit noisy at night, but with all the pain medicine, I slept easily. As far as the hospital being serviceable to overweight patients I thought that was good, except the shower could have been larger and more user-friendly for us.

I was really pleased with my first visit with him. He answered all of the questions I had asked and was very polite and not in a rush and I could understand every thing he explained.

wonderful. Myrna is very cool and nice so is Kuda.
I like him

he is the 2nd best surgeon in the US for WLS

very well

yes

very well

100% knows what he is doing

Both were very great

My only problems were with specific personnel. My stay in general was excellent. I would go there again.

Dr. Ali has pre-op support group meetings once a month and he comes to all of them.
He is very informative and answers all the questions (there are a lot).
When I had my appointment with him he was very thorough and nice.
I appreciated the information that he gave me and informed me of all the risk of staying obese and having the surgery.
He is a pleasant man, with good manners.
I have to loose 10lbs. before my next visit and then hopefully will have a date set.
He emphasizes before and aftercare very strongly. You have to go to the support group meetings both pre and post, you have to meet with the dietitian and Psychologist.
You have a lot of lab work and procedures if he see it necessary.
You also deal closely with the billing office to make sure that the insurance company is or is not covering the surgery.
So far, I would rate Dr. Ali a 7 (hasn't done surgery on me yet).

I had my first appointment with Dr. Ali on November 15th. I had made this appt almost 1 1/2 months before hand. I got to the office and they could NOT find my appt anywhere. I couldnt believe it! Lacy and Kristen helped me a lot and told the Surgical Office that I had driven from Branson MO and they would have to work me in. Im not used to a big city office and I was a bit overwhelmed when we got there. It was VERY busy (not all Dr. Ali's patients) and I was escourtd back to a room around 9:30. I finally got to meet with Dr. Ali around 11:45. It was a very long wait. I kept hearing his staff say she hasnt filled out her paperwork all morning. I finally realized they were talking about ME! I had all my paperwork done. I overheard Dr. Ali ask for my chart and the residents gave him the run around about how they couldnt find it. It seemed to me he was not happy about this at all because he said find it! Well soon after two different people came in and measured me and went over my bloodwork/tests that I had brought with me also. Meanwhile during this waiting period I got to listen to the various problems regarding different patients and realized that Dr. Ali was a very *organized* Doctor. His residents/nurses? (not sure) would tell him things before he entered the room so he was fully prepared for each person. I also got nosey and walked across the hall and met a nice lady that had just had surgery two weeks prior. She really calmed all my fears and we exchanged email address's. I didnt hear anything but good about Dr. Ali from her and that helped me out a lot! The time I did get to spend with the Doctor seemed very rushed to me but then again I was being *worked* in and he had asked for my chart several times. I think he was just as frustrated as me. But he did answer my questions that I wanted answer for the first meeting and I liked that. I'll be looking forward to one of the group meetings and see more how he interacts with more patients. He seems very nice and has a great reputation that procedes him!



Well I went to my first group support meeting on December 10th. It was GREAT to meet real people instead of just Internet people! lol If that makes any sense! I got to listen to some post ops and lots of questions/fears of pre ops! I was also glad to hear that Dr. Ali has lost only one patient in 2 years of preforming this surgery. He said the lady was in her 60's with heart/lung complications before she even went in the surgery. I could tell even now he was very upset about it and it was hard for him to talk about. I really like Dr. Ali more and more as I listen and learn his way of doing things. Still waiting on insurance approval but I do have a couple of more tests that I will be completeing this month. Sooo that's my update as of right now! :) liz

11-22-03 It's been almost a whole years journey for me to get this surgery. November 5th, 2003 is my new birthday! I had a lot of humps to get over. I had to quit smoking and loose weight per Dr. Ali. I cried when Dr. Ali refused to do the surgery on me until I lost weight. I now know this was a blessing in disguise! I lost 33 pounds before my surgery and I was able to have it LAP instead of OPEN. I know the Good Lord has lead me down this path! It's been a long path but I'm going to make it! I wonder what I'll be like a year from now?? It's a scary thought but also exciting!! I told Dr. Ali I made a lifetime commitment to him and the program. I plan on attending group support meetings, following his plan and doing blood work for the rest of my life. I want this to WORK for me! I have a lot of respect for Dr. Ali and his staff. Good luck to all the new pre-ops and post op people!! {{HUGS}} liz

My first impressions of Dr Ali's office was on the over all very negative
my impressions of dr Ali , i honestly didnt get a chance to form one till my final pre surgical appointment , he is a wonderful dr, and very concerned about the health problems the m.o. causes , he is approachable and generally just a very nice man.
i would and have reccomended him to others
hes very concerned about his patients, its just up till right before surgury, i think he is very rushed , his practice has literally exploded, he is a very busy man , and beacause he is one of the surgical teachers, he seems to take that end of his responsiblity very seriously as well
i know, one of my residents ( student dr's) showed me his notes from dr ali , and they definately show the dr's concerns about our feelings both as patients and as people
on a scale of 1-10
i would rank dr ali at about an 8.5 ( i would rank higher, but honestly, i think the only lack i felt was his lack of time , due to high patient volume)
surgical competence, well, i had my surgery laproscopicly, i went under at 8 am , at 11 30 am , the dr was out talking to my finacee...
hows that for competence!
bedside, hes very solicitious, i am extremely pleased so far with Dr Ali

I met Dr. Ali yesterday(9-9) at one of his required support group meetings. He was very warm and informative. He seemed genuinely interested in my comments/concerns and took the time to address them.

I first met Dr. Ali at a required WLS support group that he holds at Truman medical center and my very first impression was what a warm person he is. He took his time and answered all of my questions thoroughly in a context that was easy to understand. I trust him totally to do my surgery, and I have not had a bit of anxiety so far about having it done because on my last visit, he sit down by me and went over concerns I had even before I had a chance to ASK them! What totally impressed me the most though, besides his obvious knowledge, was the way he approaches his patients (bedside manner). I was able to watch him interact with a couple of other people, who were extremely obese, and he exuded the same, unbias, warmth and compassion that he did with me.
His program at Truman Medical Center is a pretty structured program because of his AWESOME team of staff. The only things that I would possibly address are the nurses returning phone calls. I've tried for 3+ weeks so far, and Myrna still has not called me back, and the required support group meetings. Pre-op and Post-op are mixed together, and the meetings are wayyy large. I think once they are able to sort all of that out, it will be much better. It is also difficult only having one a month, because it is just not feasable for everyone to make it at that time ... especially when they live several hours away.
I've only had one appointment that was kind of long, but I honestly did not mind the wait ... To have him as my surgeon is worth the wait.

MY FIRST IMPRESSION OF DR. ALI WAS HE HAD A WONDERFUL BED SIDE MANNER. I USUALLY WILL NOT EVEN SEE A MALE DOCTOR, SO I WAS A LITTLE UNEASY AT FIRST, BUT THAT SOON CHANGED WITHIN THE FIRST 5 MINUTES. I WAS SEEN AT THE PAVILLION OFFICE AND THE FIRST VISIT WAS FAST AND PAINLESS, BUT THE SECOND ONE WAS A LITTLE LONGER THAN I EXPECTED, BUT HE EXPLAINED TO ME THAT HE HAD OVERBOOKED FOR THAT DAY. I DON'T THINK THERE IS ANYTHING THAT I DON'T LIKE ABOUT DR. ALI EXCEPT IT TOOK HIM FOREVER AND I MEAN FOREVER TO WRITE MY LETTER FOR MY INSURANCE. ONE WORD OF ADVICE IF YOU SEE HIM, JUST BE PATIENT. HE IS A VERY BUSY MAN. HE AND HIS STAFF ARE VERY BIG ON AFTERCARE; SUPPORT GROUPS; AND THE RISKS OF THE SURGERY. THERE IS A QUIZ THAT MUST TAKEN AND PASSED, IF YOU DON'T THEY WILL DRILL THE INFORMATION INTO YOUR HEAD UNTIL YOU FULLY UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING. I WOULD RATE DR. ALI A 10 IN SURGICAL COMPETENCE AND BEDSIDE MANNER.

Dr Ali is a very humble man performing this surgery to help people get their life back. I trust him with my life, and i think he is a wonderful surgeon, he really takes the time to make sure you know what is going on in all aspects of your journey to and after weight loss surgery. He attends every weight loss meeting every month and just gives a lot of great support.His office staff is wonderful and helpful. He emphasizes aftercare and he has a structured aftercare program wich includes a dietician. Dr Ali addressed the risks of surgery very honestly as with any surgery there can be complications and risks. There is nothing i dislike about Dr Ali, and my impression of him is as always he is a great Dr and person. I think surgical competence is most important , and bedside manner is great too i'm lucky because Dr Ali has both. The only bad experience i had with my weight loss surgery is my spleen had to be removed and i had to have a blood transfusion but all was taken care of very professionally and i'm doing great.