Magee Womens Hospital of UPMC Hospital

I can't say enough wonderful things about Dr. Hamad. She and her entire office staff are great. My first impression of her was that she was awfully young, but after spending some time talking with her I felt very much at ease that she was extremely competent and knew what she was talking about. I'm 11 months post op and with each visit I'm more certain that I made the right choice by selecting Dr. Hamad as my surgeon. She and her staff are both good and remembering my name. There was an mix up with scheduling for my last appointment and I wasn't on their schedule. Dr. Hamad happened to be in the front of the office when I walked in. She called me by name and asked what I was doing there since they didn't have me scheduled. The office was good about clearing up the mistake and I only had to wait about 15 minutes before they were able to take me back. This was by far the longest wait I had at any of my appointments. She and her office stress after care and are great at making themselves available for any questions you may have. I really can't think of one negative comment for either Dr Hamad or her office staff. They have truly been my angels over the past year.

In the weeks between when I sent my first group of paper work to the office and my first doctors appointment, I got a letter from the doctors office about a support group meeting. I decided to go just to see what it was about. I wasn't shocked to see the office staff there, but was shocked when the doctor showed up. It made me feel so much better about the surgery and the caring of her and her staff. I was truly impressed.

After meeting with her a few times and seeing her at the last 3 support group meetings, my opinion hasn't changed. She is straight forward and to the point...she tells it like it is and doesn't sugar coat anything. That is the way it should be.

Her staff is wonderful. Anytime you call with a question or concern, they help you in any way they can. If you call and have to leave a message, they are usually pretty quick with getting back to you. You can feel very comfortable with all of them, knowing they are there if you need them.

They all emphasize aftercare. It isn't easy...She won't operate if she doesn't think that you are a good candidate "all the way around." If you aren't going to follow through, she can tell and won't waste your time or hers.

As I said before, she is very upfront. She explains the risks of surgery as they are. She doesn't say that there are no risks...she spells them out so you are aware.

I think that her and her staff are GREAT. I would recommend them to anyone.

Met with my surgeon yesterday. The wait in her office was quite lengthy, but it was definitely worth the wait. She is very compassionate and understanding! She took the time to go through everything with me and answer all of my questions and my husband's questions. I did not feel rushed; in fact she made me feel as if I was the only patient she had. Not sure how she does that with all the patients she has. She is one busy lady!
She carefully explained the risks and benefits of the surgery. She explained that this surgery is only a tool, which hit home with me because that is how I view weight loss surgey. It is not a "magic pill". I left her office feeling very confident in her capabilities as a surgeon and very comfortable in knowing that she will take very good care of me.

Dr. Hamad is very businesslike at the first meeting where she introduces all of the potential risks and explains the surgery. She is much warmer at the support group meetings. At the pre-op meeting she is very kind and reassuring. The staff, Gina and Debbie, are wonderful, knowledgeable and never behave as though they don't have time to help you. The risks are very thoroughly explained both on paper and video. Aftercare is greatly emphasized. Dr. Hamad's surgical competence and bedside manner are both fantastic (I hope)...

10/18/2002 Well the 16th was a big day for me. Thanks to this site and all of the information, I am well on the way. I went to my first consult with Dr. Giselle Hamad and was very happy with her. She has a very good no-nonsense approach. First I should start with her staff. I came to my 1:00 appointment at 12:15 (no I wasn't excited about this meeting). When I checked in the the front desk, the immediately started me with filling out more paper work. I finished this worksheet (standard information name, rank and serial number)and then another staff member called me into an office area to review and verify other information that I had sent to them. This took about 15 minutes, then I was taken to another office, where I watched a video about the operation along with other facts. After I watched this video, I met with the nutritionist (Carol) and and we discussed all of the diets that I had been on, and what I should look forward to after surgery. I met with Carol for approximately 45 minutes/1 hour.

Next, I met with Dr. Sung (sp). He is an associate of Dr. Hamad. We met for about 30 minutes, we discussed the surgery and all of the details. He answered a lot of my questions. When he gave me the prescription for the tests that had to be taken (pap, mamogram, stress test, etc) I presented him with results from various Drs. and Labs for tests that I have had in the last 3 months. (Now I only have four things I have to do...ok maybe five. Psych eval, gallblader sonogram, sleep test, colonoscopy, ah the fifth thing...is to wait for the insurance approval. I have the sleep test and the colonoscopy scheduled. I am well on my way.)

Next. I had a test. Yes you read correctly, I had a test. Due to the eduction I received on this site, I got all but one question correct. I did not know that I couldn't take advil, etc after the surgery. Everything else. You all have talked about. So I was prepared. Dr. Hamad brought the test in with her. We again talked about the surgery, what she would do to give me the tool to use for the rest of my life. She explained exactly what she was going to do and how she would do it. We talked about the seriousness of the surgery and she told me this is definitely not the easy way out. I have to say, I was very impressed with her.

The last thing that I was told, is they would mail my letter to the insurance company asap. ( Maybe by Friday ... they feel that it shouldn't take long at the insurance company because of my comorbidities). After all of my tests are complete, they will then schedule surgery.

My first appointment at Dr. Hamad's office was a good experience. I did not wait more than 5 minutes to be seen. After watching a video, meeting with the nutritionist and resident, I met Dr. Hamad. I was impressed by her demeanor. She is quietly confident and straightforward. She has done approximately 275 RNYs. Her leak rate is 1/2% and she has not had one death yet. Of course, she pointed out that she will have a death eventually, it is only a matter of time. Of the 275 procedures, she has only had to convert from lap to "open" two times! She seems very cautious and highly skilled. I will write more once I am post-op.

I think Dr.Hamad is a very caring and competent doctor. I have only the one meeting w/her during my initial visit. She did use the term "DIET" in relate to this surgery. I DO NOT view Major Surgery as a "diet".
Her office staff is slamming..I chose Dr. Hamad because of the office staff. She is not warm and fuzzy, but I don't want that from my surgeon. I want that from the office staff. Gina and Debbie are angels.

My first impression of Dr. Courcoulas was that She is very professional and pretty too. She made me feel at ease as did her staff and the other patients in the waiting room.

I have only had one visit with her and she attends the support meetings.

Her Office Staff is so nice and pleasant. Have been to her support meetings which are held monthly. Excellent. Friendly. Professional. She always has a guest speaker there too.

Future patients should realize that the first visit is the evaluation. It takes time to get that first appointment. Takes a long time at the interview too. Waiting room is usually full and there is a wait there also which I understand is the norm for this type of doctor.

Dr. Courcoulas emphasizes after care as of the utmost importance. Explains everything so well. Both she and her physician assistance's are so thorough and take their time with you. I never felt rushed.

As I understand it, the aftercare program is just as intense is the surgical procedure is.

She identified the risks of surgery and all of the drawbacks. You must follow her instructions to a Tee. This is not a quick fix as she stated. She explaines all the risks, the possibility of herniation, blockages, leakages, ruptures and even death. This is not a surgery to be taken lightly. It is very serious.

I would rate her as an excellent and very caring doctor. I have since met several of her patients at the support meeting and they are all extremely pleased with their care.

I think that the surgical competence is the most important factor when choosing your surgeon. Dr. Courcoulas seems so concerned for your wellbeing, so concerned for and about all her patients too.

I had my first visit with Dr. Hamad on July 10th. I was impressed to say the least. Gina her Physician's Assistant was great. I still live with my parent's and the are against me having the surgery and I told Gina that. She immediately asked her why, and answered all of my Mother's questions to the fullest extent. She also invited her to attend the support meeting that they have too. As far as Dr. Hamad she was outstanding. My Father always said if a Doctor can not look you in the eyes they are not worth going to. Needless to say, she NEVER broke eye contact. She was also very informative. The next day I started setting up my appointments and ran into my first insurance problem. The Psych that I was refered to was not covered by my insurance. I e-mailed Gina about this and she not only gave me the name of someone else (who was covered), but she also set up an appointment for me at the same time with the Psych. It must of been fate because this Psych was booked until the end of Sept. and while I was e-mailing Gina she had just got a cancel for Aug. 14th.

I was pleasantly surprised to get an appointment so soon with her. Her office contacted me in early July for an appt on July 31. My husband accompanied me to the appt. They were very on time, no long waits between each of the consults. They had a video and consults with a nutritionist and PA and then the doctor. They handed me a laundry list of all pre-op testing that I have scheduled over the next 4 weeks or so. Her PA, Gina, contacted me via email to move my psych evaluation up 2 weeks when she got a cancellation, but because of a conflict, I couldn't take advantage of it.
They emphasized the risks of this surgery and Dr. Hamid told me that if she felt that because she felt I might receive better care/treatment because my health problems, she would refer me to another surgeon in the practice and another hospital to handle these increased risks - nothing personal. I don't think have any increased risks or she would have gone into these in more detail. We will see after all the testing is done.
She did state that it was good that I had such family support that took an active interest in this surgery.
I will post again after all my pre-op testing is done.