Magee Womens Hospital of UPMC Hospital

Dr. Courcoulas was highly recommended to me by a friend who had the same surgery with her at Magee Hospital. I was impressed by her kindness and her willingness to take the time to answer any questions that I had upon my initial visit. During my pre-op phase, her office staff and assistants went above and beyond with assisting me and making sure that I met my insurance requirements. Obviously they know what they are doing, as I was approved upon my first submit! Now being a week post-op, I feel so confident that I made the right decision, not only with having this procedure, but by choosing Dr. Courcoulas! My pain is minimal and I am confident that the comprehensive services of her office will help me keep the weight off years down the road. I cannot say enough about Dr. Courcoulas and her associates...I will continue to recommend her practice highly to those who inquire about WLS! I wish I could have seen her a bit more after my surgery but I know how busy she is; I look forward to seeing her for my follow up appointments!

My first impression of my surgeon was that her bedside manner sucked, but I heard she was the best at what she did.rnWell when I saw her after that initial consult my opinion changed. After all she was pregnant (and delivered a few days after she did my surgery) so I gave her the benefit of the doubt. She was great, and I had no problems. She was very straight forward about what I coud expect, what the complications could be, and what I needed to do to make this work. And she sent me home with home health coming in to make sure that I was ok. I can't wait to see her in a few months (she is off on maternity leave) so she can see my progress.

I met Dr. Courcoulas at a seminar and found her to be very informative on both the gastric bypass and lapband surgeries. Her staff guided me through all of the tests and doctors approval process. Dr. Courcoulas is very emphatic about following up for the rest of your life. On my second visit with her, she went into great detail about the risks of gastric bypass surgery, which is what I chose to have. I would rate Dr. Courcoulas very high in my book. Dr. Courcoulas and her associates have great bedside manners and I believe her surgical competence couldn't have been better. The only thing that I wasn't expecting was the amount of pain in the first 6 days. I had a pain pump, but at times I was in such pain that I forgot to use it. I was taken off the pump and put on pain shots every 4 hours. This seemed to work better for me. These are just my personal opinions after only 3 weeks since my surgery. So far, this has been a positive experience for me.

Excellent Dr. with an excellent staff...very friendly an informative...office was comfortable...I was disappointed that I didn't see her after surgery in the hospital, however, I do understand that she is VERY BUSY. Surgical competence I would rate at 101% Wonderful aftercare program...questions are answered in a timely manner...She was very upfront in discussing the risks of the surgery and aftercare with me. She pulls no punches..I think she really appreciates those who take the time to do their research before making such a big decision for this surgery and change of life......

I've only met with Dr. R once so far at my initial consult. He was very informative and really took his time explaining the procedure. He didn't talk much about life post-op. The staff is very nice, but the nurse I spoke to initially left the practice. they are difficult to get on the phone (the machine usually gets it) and slow to return calls.rn**************UPDATE******rnDr. R has left the practice so I've been assigned Dr. Courcoulas. Very happy news. Even better, I just learned I've been approved!

Dr. Dourcoulas is an excellent doctor who keeps you informed of all aspects of WLS. I would recommend her to anyone. Also, her staff is great.

My 1st impression of my surgeon was that i wondered how she could be so young looking and also be the Director of bariatrics surgery for UPMC. The staff was great, They were friendly and they answered all of my questions including the ones I didnt want to ask like their mortality rate and leakage rate with the patients that they have had. I was pleased with the less than 1% results hoping, that they were true in the back of my head.I'll let you know how I rate my surgeon after my surgery as long as I am still here. I didn't have my surgery yet but I am told after my insurance recieves my weight management info and my pre op testing results they will notify my surgeon and then I will be notified. but my last weight management class isnt until june 1st so I'm looking at the least 4 more months.rn Surgery was approved on June 8th 2007 .....rnrnUpdate June 28,2007 Dr.C met me just before my surgery. It was brief. She asked me if I had any ? and I really didn't So I said no. I told her I had 5 kids and I needed to make it through. She told me that she understood and that she had a child as well. I didn't see her again. Not after surgery and not when I was released. I saw Mcloskey at discharge and that is going to be My moms surgeon.

My surgeon is so nice and he knows what hernis doing. rnHe told me everything from the beginning and I had a good first impression of him and it never changed .rnHis office is only a phone call away and they help if you have a question you are not alone.rnHe laid everything about surgery and what to expect along the way til the surgery and after.rnI think he is a awesome surgeon and he is very caring and understanding and he does rncare . rnI liked his surgical competence and his bedside manner are both great .rnI would recommend him to anyone who is lookind for a good surgeon .

I was a little intimidated initially, due to her businesslike demeanor, but once you have talked with her for several minutes, you can see that she is really a caring person and very concerned for your well-being. Her office staff is great too, and I had no problems at all with them...rnrnShe is quite strict about weight gain, however. If you gain weight, your operation will be cancelled. (I was quite nervous about going in for my final pre-op, but all was well!)rnrnDr. Hamad is very thorough and makes sure that you know what you're getting yourself into. She utilizes short videos to detail everything you should expect at all phases of your relationship with her.

She was a fantaastic Surgeon and I would recommend her to anyone I know. She was very knowledgeable and I felt very informed before I even got close to having the Surgery. She is also very strict, but that is the way it should be.rnrnAftercare is VERY important to both her and her staff and they make sure you are comfortable with calling them about even the smallest thing.rnrnShe was veryupfront about all of the risks involved with the Surgery and afterwards.rnrnBoth Surgical Competence and Bedside Manner were terrific!rnrnA++++++++++++ for Dr. Hamad & her team!