Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Hospital

I strongly recommend Dr. Michael Schweitzer to anyone considering WLS. He is a gifted surgeon, and is dedicated to laparoscopy. His website, "www.smallscar.com", says it all. I found Dr. Schweitzer to be very accessible. He responds PERSONALLY to emails... I don't know many surgeons who do that. In addition to performing my RNY which was pretty straightforward, I have also seen Dr. Schweitzer handle a more complicated medical matter with my sister-in-law's lapband. She had been turned down by another prestigious hospital due to her large hiatal hernia. She was told that they could not perform the lapband or RNY due to the hernia. When she consulted with Dr. Schweitzer, he said "no problem". And, indeed, her surgery and its aftermath have been "no problem". For anyone considering this procedure, include Dr. Schweitzer on your lists of surgeons to research. He's the BEST!

He was cool. Friendly and fast. I had visited his website several times and read EVERYTHING. I also read the pages of others that had seen him here on this site so that was helpfull too. I had my questions all ready and he answered them all to my satisfaction.

My only complaint was the wait in the office. I arrived 15 minutes early for my appointment and still waited over an hour to see him for a 15 minute consultation. His staff forgot to inform me he was running behind even after I asked 2 times. It was not until my ex-husband got a little irate that they told us he was behind.

Other than that I have no complaints.

My first impression of Dr. Schweitzer was I felt rushed and he already had an operation in mind for me. Than again I was a few hours late, because I was sent to the wrong office.
Even though I was only interested in the Lap Band he seems to want me to have a Gastric because of my diet.
However he is willing to meet with me after I have my dietician consultation to "re-evaluate" my surgery.
Well see how the next visit goes.

I visited with Ashli Greenwald, his nutritionist and she was wonderful!!!!! Everything she informed me of made a lot of sense.... I am now looking forward to my follow up with Dr. Schweitzer next week.

Excellent, I was well cared for.

I was booked for surgery, they knew I was coming and didn't have a room for me so I was stuck in ICU for two days. It was a week before Christmas, the nurses station was outside my room, they had party after party after party all day and all night, food left and right, Chinese food brought in. They were loud and refused to pull the door shut. The nurses in general were very insensative to my needs.

Dr.Schweitzer is modest, soft-spoken, and no-nonsense. He makes no promises, only giving one options to think about. He encourages patients to learn as much as possible about WLS before making any decisions and honestly states whether or not he can meet the patient's expectations. His method of interaction remains unchanged in the followup appointments, tailoring his comments to the individual progress of the patient. The office staff is excellent, responding quickly and efficiently to all requests. I have no criticism of the surgeon himself but would be happier with a "tighter" postop management by his team; I personally feel that the dietary and supplement guidelines are too lenient, giving patients a false sense of security about the postop lifestyle. Dr.Schweitzer himself is more realistic about guiding his patients in the unfortunately little time he actually meets with them and emphasizes the importance of compliance with aftercare instructions and utilizing the monthly support meetings. The risks of surgery were enumerated and thoroughly explained in the preop (downloaded) packet, in writing on the operative consents, and in person both in consultation and immediately preoperatively in the hospital's pre-anesthesia area. Dr.Schweitzer leaves no subject open to speculation yet his demeanor instills quiet confidence. I would give Dr.Schweitzer an excellent rating overall. Any mention of him within the Johns Hopkins hospitals "community" elicits praise for him as the "guru of laparoscopic surgery" and an exemplary teacher. The only deficit that I can articulate would be that he doesn't personally spend enough time with postop patients in hospital once his "work" is done, though it was obvious to me (as not only a patient but also a healthcare professional) that his postop management staff are extremely well-trained to deal with all possible occurrences in the recovery period before sending the patient home.

I am completely confident in his abilities. Many here have commented on Dr. S. lack of a beside manner. I cannot comment on that opinion as I was not looking for a friend but for an expert surgeon; I believe I found it in him. His team, particulary physician assistant Pat and dietician Ashli, are very knowledgeable and friendly.

I was very impressed with Dr. Schweitzer during my consult and his staff was the best. He was very friendly, polite and knowledgable. He respected my understanding of the procedure and provided information to fill in the blanks. He seems to be very competent and confident; a necessary combination. I look forward to him being my surgeon. Having done thorough research, I know he's the best in the MD/DC/VA area.

Direct, to the point and seems like a nice guy. Good bed-side manner. I just wished that he would be able to take more time with his patients. In the hospital, I was able to see and speak to the interns and residents more than him. I also, felt like I had to repeat everything to each one of them. I had a complication after surgery and had to return to the hospital, he was not immediately available to oversee my care. This led to a horrific experience in the ER radiology department. In hindsite, I would make sure he was notified and that at the very least an intern or resident that works with him would be present in the ER. Overall he is an excellent doctor and I would highly recommend him. His office recently lost his main secretary so I do not know how that is going. It was difficult for me to reach the new one to schedule my 6 month follow up. My case has been unique because I live 2 1/2 to 3 hours from his office and the hospital. The biggest complaint that I have is the co-ordination of care between my primary care doctor and Dr. Schweitzer.

I ended up with the VIP suite on the med/surg floor because when I was to be sent to the floor there was no other room available. It was great--huge and private. I definitely lucked out on that one. One thing that bothered me was that the recovery folks were not on the same page as the doc's orders, apparently, because immediately after surgery I was allowed to chew and swallow ice chips, but found out later I wasn't supposed to have done that. They were supposed to have made me spit it out after chewing. Of course, I was happy about the ice at the time, it was only later I found that I wasn't supposed to have had them. The rest of the stay was good, though the night shift staff could use a lesson or two in soft skills. The phlebotomist from the lab may have actually been a robot and a couple of the night nurses were just not very personable. The rest of the staff was great, though, although my primary nurse did seem to have some personal issue with my wanting nausea medication to counteract that side effect of the morphine. Weird, huh?