Magee Womens Hospital of UPMC Hospital

my first impression was wonderful and trusted her immediately. i go strong on first impressions so she must of been good. she knew i was desparately in need of getting it done asap because of personal things in my life and she did everything she could to push the surgery to an earlier date than first planned and she did too. she got me in about 30 days before oringinal date. i felt very comortable with her and was able to be open and honest with all the things we talked about. so 5 years later i need to desparatly get in touch with her and talk to her about some personal medical issues surrounding the surgery so i cant wait to see if she is as geniunely caring enough to get in touch with me as fast and easy as then. i do beleive if anyone is planning to have this surgery she is the one who should do it , i dont know if i would of really ended up going thru it if it werent for the caring person she portrayed and if she hadnt made me feel as comfortable about putting my total trust in her.

so far i have only met dr courcoulas once. but from that i thought she was an excellent person and i thought i had found a good surgeon to do my procedure!

I met Dr. Corcoulas while I was pregnant with my daughter. I developed a gallstone issue that was causing me a lot of pain. I had already lost 4 babies to early miscarriages and when I was told they wanted to operate I just wasn't prepared to risk the life of my baby girl. Dr. Courcoulas was VERY empathetic and agreed to work with me and take my gallbladder out AFTER I had my daughter... which she did do in January of 2007. Choosing her to be my surgeon for my Gastric Bypass was a no brainer. I have not had the surgery yet but I don't expect anything to change as far as my opinion of her, her bedside manner, and her skill is concerned... but I will let you all know after I have the surgery. I meet with her for the GBS for the first time on June 23rd 2008. Wish me luck! I really do NOT have anything bad to say about her or her personal staff... and i don't anticipate that changing either.

First impression was good, but surprised I had to go through 3 months of lifestyle classes and watch a video before even meeting her. Staff has been very nice so far, and answer all of my questions quickly when I call them. I haven't really found anything that i dislike about this doctor yet. I have heard that she is the strictest surgeon at this hospital and does not allow any caffiene after surgery-even decaf drinks and you must be nicotine free 30days before surgery or it will be canceled. All questions of mine were answered well and she adressed the risk of surgery very upfront. I do not have surgery until next month so I can not yet rate this suregeon.

So far my experience with Dr Courcoulas has been great. I found her to be very personable and upfront with information. I also chose her because she was the director of the program. Why not go to the top? That was my opinion. However in going through the process (I have completed my six months of weight management) I have found that her office is VERY busy and many times I feel more like a number than a person. Never by her personally but more from staff. I considered changing due to this but honestly felt that I was in the best hands and I would overlook the staff to get the care that I believe Dr. Courcoulas will provide.

Dr. C was awesome. She spent time with me before I even made a decision and after surgery when I was at home she was easily accessible to me!rnrnI miss her very much since I moved to Vegas. Her staff was excellent and very helpful. If they saw me in the hospital they would stop and say hello and check to see how I was.rnrnThe aftercare program at Magee-Womens Hospital is awesome!! They want to see you every month and will help to keep you on the program.rnrnShe is a 10!! She is probably one of the best surgeons in the US. She gave me all the risks straight out and really emphasized my aftercare.rnrnI had no complaints with the program nor my surgeon.

Dr. Ramanathan was chosen for me when I attended a workshop at Magee Hospital. If I had chosen my own doctor I would not have been able to chose a better one. He is very patient and answers all of my questions. The staff at Magee Hospital are by the most part a very courteous and helpful group. I had my surgery in Dec. 2005 and have kept up with all of my appointsments and taken all the vitamins, etc. My one problem is that I did not lose all of the weight that I had hoped to lose. I still need to lose about 30 more pounds, but even with the suggestions from the doctor and staff I am still at the same weight. Anyway, yes, I really do like Dr. Ramanathan. My only thought is that because the practice at Magee Hospital is so huge, I sometimes have to wait a long time in the waiting room for my appointment time. But it is all worth it. My diabetes is gone, my blood pressure is lower and I feel Great!!!

I've met with him for my consultation.

I \"met\" Dr. Courcoulas during the informational seminar for WLS. In the months that followed, I learned that she would be performing my surgery since she specializes in High Risk patients. I have not met her quite yet, but will update this with my first impressions when I have.

I have only met my surgen once so there isn't to much I know about her yet. On my first visit she seemed to be really nice and was very easy to understand about the proceidures that I still have to go through.rn