Magee Womens Hospital of UPMC Hospital

Dr. Hamad and her office staff are GREAT! What a breath of fresh air after dealing with Dr. Schauer's office staff! My experiences with Dr. Hamad's staff to date has been professionally and expeditiosly handled. They are polite, friendly, and compassionate.

Dr. Hamad herself is warm and friendly and I really had the feeling she cares about ME and remembers me from meeting to meeting. Never had the impression that I was just a number or a $ sign to her. I feel like if I need to contact her for any reason I can expect to get an immediate response. Very happy that it worked out that she actually did my surgery.

Execllent surgeon.
Very compassionate.
Very well-known for her work.
Great personality.
Her staff took care of all of the insurace requirements and did an excellent job of coordinating all of the pre-op stuff.
My only negative comment is towards the hospital, UPMC Pres. which had a lack of nursing staff and very little infection control or housekeeping standards.

1st Meeting: As soon as Dr. Hamad came into the room to meet me, I felt completely at ease. Talking to her was like talking to a friend. She mentioned several times that our dealings together would be a partnership and seemed ready to back this statement up with actions. I am looking forward to working with her.

March 8, 2002: I got the call yesterday that I am approved. I have to thank the ladies at my surgeon's office. They were so patient when I called every other day for something or other. They also led me in the right direction and told me everything I needed every step of the way. I highly recommend Dr. Hamad's practice for this surgery.

I met with Dr. Hamad and her staff on Valentines Day for my initial appt. They are an exceptional group of people! Very compassionate, understanding and made me feel like I was their only patient that day and that they had all the time in the world to spend just with me. Debbie, Gina and Katie were all wonderful, supportive and answered all my "stupid" questions. Dr. Hamad was also wonderful and put me instantly at ease. I am very confident that I have selected the very best surgeon for me. I would recommend Dr. Hamad to anyone looking into this surgery.

At first i thought how can she understand she is so thin and pretty. Then i realized she has to try hard to maintain her weight too. The office staff is very friendly. The wait is long but its worth it. She doesnt try to push you on the idea its up to you it doesnt feel like someone trying to sell you a car :) She is very commitied to her patients it seems and she wants you to succeed she doesnt make it out to be a miracle cure. She was blunt about the risks and didnt try to glorify them and left the decision up to me. I think she is an excellent doctor and i had a chance to talk to the other doctor that works with her...he is very friendly and doesnt talk to you like you are a child. The thing she said that stuck with me the most was that she would take care of me....she is very kind and reassuring. The long wait was well worth the visit and she spent a good amount of time with me.

I had my first appt. with Dr. Hamad. I liked her from the minute I met her. The whole office staff was great. They made you feel very comfortable and were very happy to answer questions. Dr. Hamad assured me that she would not leave the operating room until she was sure everything was the way she wanted it. She discussed her support group and how nice it was to get to talk with other patients. The aftercare program was thoroughly explained, including the diet by the nutritionist. The risks of surgery were discussed and also talked about in the video that they had us watch. It was a great appt. It made me feel that she, her staff and Magee Hospital are the one for me!

I have waited almost two months to describe Dr. Hamad and her office staff because they are almost too good to be true. I was accompanied for my consultation appointment by a family member (my wonderful mother) and both of us immediately felt that we had found the right people to provide for my care. Dr. Hamad and her office staff represented the complete professional package. Debbie (nurse's assistant and receptionist), Gina (Doctor's assistant)and Dr. Hamad all made us feel as if we were in this together. They cradled me in respect. Each of them gave me as much time as was needed to answer a multitude of questions. They explained all of the pre-operative screenings / risks of surgery and allowed us to leave this appointment with utter elation. Something that we found comforting was that we were told that ALL employees at Magee-Women's Hospital, upon being hired, have to take part in sensitivity training in order to take care of the diverse needs of their patients. This empathy is quite evident in Dr. Hamad's office, although I believe that empathy to be there long before they participated in the training. They were very sincere. Any follow-up questions that I had were promptly addressed. My phone calls were always returned promptly with the necessary answers. They do have an aftercare program and support group that I am looking forward to. The care they provide is so very comprehensive. For future patients, I would simply say not to be nervous because they have a genuine understanding and compassion for the disease of obesity. In addition, because of the way in which they handled my paperwork, I was given insurance approval with no problems. I give the entire office an A+ and consider myself honored to be their patient.

I had a wonderful first impression of Dr. Hamad. She was very professional and very knowledgeable. She made me totally feel at ease. She sat and looked me in the eye when she talked with me and didnt rush out of the room. Her office staff is wonderful also, so far I have had a great experience. I really dont have anything negative to say about my experience so far.

Dr. Courcoulas was confident and presented the details of the surgery in a straightforward manner. She stressed the lifechanging aspects of the operation and that this surgery would provide me with a tool only -- one which I could use in losing and maintaining my weight or not. I have seen her two times and she was never impatient with any of my questions. However, delays in test results resulted in a delay of six weeks while I waited to find out whether or not I would be able to have the surgery. Her office did not push hard enough for the results, probably because they were just too busy. This doctor has performed over 1200 such surgeries with one death that I believe was due to a pulmonary embolism. She is highly qualified. I feel that surgical competence is better but that a good bedside manner runs a close second. I believe Dr. Courcoulas possesses both of these qualities. I feel that if I do run into a problem in the months after surgery I will need to be aggressive in making my needs known. However, I am finding this to be true in most of life these days.

I've only seen Dr. Courcoulas once so far, but if I had to pick one word to describe her, it'd be "confident".

I went into the appointment convinced she'd say, "Sorry, you're not a candidate." When she actually said, "You're a great candidate!" I was pretty much in shock for a few minutes. But I do remember her saying quite clearly, "I do a LOT of these surgeries, and I do them WELL."

I know, it sounds totally arrogant, and well, it IS arrogant - but I think that good surgeons have to be arrogant to a point at least. I just know I *believed* her, and I have total faith in her.

Her office staff has been patient and friendly so far, and all of my experiences so far have been positive. I'll be posting updates as I move along in the process.