Magee Womens Hospital of UPMC Hospital

i liked her she talked over everything with me.what i didn't like was after the surgery i saw her two times in the hall of the hospital and she never even checked me.the people in her office is great her nurse vicki will go out of her way to help you.future patients should just tell her that they what the time spent on them after the surgery. i rate her as a good doctor because i have been told this by many other patients and also my family doctor checked her out for me..i feel surgical competence is very important but i feel bedside manner is too..

My impression of Dr. Courcoulas was she is a very caring, understanding, and very intelligent surgeon. She told me everything about the surgery and I did not feel rushed in anyway. All my questions were answered, and I feel she was worth the wait I had to get a surgery date. My scheduled date was December 10, 2002, but was cancelled due to an unexpected illness I had. I am now rescheduled to February 11, 2003, and I can hardly wait. I feel I am in very good hands with God and Dr. Courcoulas...

My first Impression of Dr. Hamad was that she is a very caring and sincere person. I have met with her and I still agree with these feelings. The office staff has been absolutly wonderful with everything so far.

Dr. Hamad is a wonderful, kind, caring and compassionate person and doctor. I am very grateful that I was sent to her. She answered all of my questions, pre and post op. She has always been available to me and her staff is also wonderful. Her assistant Gina is a God send. Between the two of them all of my questions have been answered and my fears lessened. I was very nervous before my surgery and Dr. Hamad reassured me that she would take the safest route possible and that my safety would always come first. She has a wonderful bedside manner as well as surgical competence. I am very glad that she was the one to do my surgery. Gina also goes above and beyond the scope of her "job". I felt very comfortable with them since the first day I went into the office.

I really like Dr. Hamad. I had a chance to talk with her after a support group meeting. She explained some of her policies and beliefs and I felt at ease immediately. She seems to have the well being of her patients in mind at all times. She also knew everyone there on sight. I was impressed. Her office staff is efficient. I did feel a little slighted while I was waiting for my insurance confirmation but it was over the holidays and there were delays both at the office and at the insurance company. She stresses aftercare with appointments, support groups, and a physician's assistant available for help. She addressed the risks of surgery and even stated that she knows she'll lose a patient eventually. I would say she's an excellent surgeon who is careful not to take on too many patients and risk the quality of her care. From everything I've heard both her surgical competence and bedside manner are awesome. I would like to say that her Physician's Assistant Gina is a blessing and super sweet.

DR. Hamad I liked her very much she was right to the point..
Her office staff is GREAT!

I had my initial consultation on May 29th, 2002. Overall, I was very impressed with Dr.Hamad and her office staff. They were prepared for me when I arrived and have everything set up to fall right into place. First, we watched a video about the surgery, this took about twenty minutes. Then a nurse took me to into a room to get my bp, temp, pulse, weight and height. She also explained what to expect from the consultation, and to plan on being there around two hours. Next, came the nutritionist. She went over my eating habits etc., and explained what eating would be like after surgery. This took about 45 minutes. We were then told that the physician's assistant would be in to go over my informtion and do a mini-physical. The Physician's Assistant for Dr. Hamad is Gina Kozak. She was wonderful, she completely explained everything and answered any questions that we had. I have never felt more comfortable in a doctor's office. She took the results of the pre-op testing that I have already had completed and gave me a list of a few more things I need. She then did a mini-physical, checking reflexes, etc.
After spending about 1/2 hr with Gina, we got to meet Dr. Hamad. She is very upbeat and positive and made me feel very good about the surgery. She explained the risks of the surgery, as did Gina, and answered any other questions that we had. Overall, my first visit was very encouraging and I would give Dr. Hamad and her office staff a "Wonderful" rating.

I met Dr. Hamad on July 10, 2002 at my first consultation. She was very wonderful and informative. Her staff was also wonderful. I was with them well over 2 hours making sure I understood the risks of this surgery. She even had me take a quiz to make sure I understood everything!

Dr. Hamad was "to the point" right from the beginning. She did not "sugar coat" anything....just the facts. Her staff have been extremely helpful throughout my journey, ....I have felt like I am important; not just a number. Dr. Hamad and her staff stressed the point(s) to me that it's all about what I do AFTER the surgery will be the factor of how my weight loss succeeds. Dr. Hamad expressed the risk(s) of the surgery as well as the positive factors. I am excited to have this surgery done. The only aspect of my visit for consult that I wish could have been a little different was Dr. Hamad's initial impression of bedside manner. Though Dr. Hamad's confidence in her ability to perform this surgery was high, I felt a little withdrawn from her due to a lacking of level of bedside manner that I would hope for. Her staff, however, make up for this. My surgeon and her staff seem to balance each other out.

Dr. Hamad seems to be a competent surgeon. After talking with her I was very confident in her ability and she really knows her stuff. The office staff is great, they move you right along from one person to the next without having to wait. I did have one problem in that after checking in and getting registered, there was a mix-up and the desk staff neglected to inform the nursing staff that I had arrived. I sat in the waiting room for well over and hour before the physician's assistant Gina, who is also great, came out to get me. She apologized a hundred times, as did every person I saw after that. Other than that minor inconvenience it was a pleasant experience. Each person spent soo much time with me like they had only me there.