Our Lady Of the Lake Regional Medical Center Hospital

Dr. Schauer is very nice when I met him in April 2002 My impression has not changed.
His office staf is very helpful. It takes time to get going because he is so busy and his office staff is busy to so do not get in a hurry they are doing what they can. I went to my last visit before my surgery and there was 15 people there to get bypass done and 75people that had it done already so I think he is very busy.They make sure all base covered before surgery I will update this after surgery

My first impression of Dr. Schauer was one of high emotion. For the first time in my life I felt there was an answer for what I felt was the most interfering problem in my life.....my weight...It was an every day obsession that had negative impact on almost every aspect of my life....health, self esteem, mood, happiness, self worth, etc...I feel Dr. Schauer is a gift from God to help obese people obtain the right to live a "normal" life. The thoughts of living at a healthy normal weight overwhelm me...Dr. Schauer's staff has been absolutely wonderful...3 of his nurses have had WLS and are such an inspiration and suppot system for his patients. Dr. Schauer's process for WLS is very thorough. He has a protocol which gives the patients all the information they need. Starting with the lenghthy paperwork to the workshop to the support groups to the pre op appt..etc..Everything was explained during this time from risks to aftercare...I am a registed nurse and as far as I'm concerned, I searched for and found the most qualified and best surgeon for me, for anyone...He was also very compassionate, caring, and reassuring both pre-op and post-op and also to my waiting family during surgery. His experise and ability in WLS has given so many people a new life and I was truly Blessed to have found Dr. Philip Schauer/ Pittsburgh, PA

Dr. Schauer seemed to be very nice. I finally met him at my Pre-Op appointment on 1/17/03. The office staff was very nice also but I was there for 8 hours. It was a very long day. Dr. Schauer was sick so instead of meeting with his patients individually he met with us in a group. (There were six of us.) It didn't bother any of us. I still had to meet with him individually because I am considered high risk.

January 19, 2003
I have not met with Dr. Schauer yet, my first meeting with him will be January 31, 2003. I have my surgery date and it is February 13th. Anyone have any suggestions or comments please let me know!!!!!

A kind knowledgable doctor with a great caring staff. Has excellent support group. Office visits can be delayed as others have posted before, allow lots of time.

One reassuring note. He was asked at a support group meeting how many lap bypasses he has done. 600 with one death of a very high risk patient. Looks like I should survive.

I am thrilled with him although his backoffice paperwork can be a problem at times, least it was for me. He is adding another partner and is doing 12 bypasses a week presently. Magee Womans hospital has gutted a floor for bariatics only, to help meet demand.

November 21st 2001 update.

I am still very impressed with doctor Schauer and am very pleased he will be operating on my wife Jen. I have spoken to him directly about some of the issues raised about his staff, espically the back office group that handles the insurance stuff. He is now aware of the issues and is working hard to increase staffing and adminstrative functions to make things better. The HUGH increase in demand for surgery has overwhelmed his staff. He cares very much about his patients and tries to give the best service possible. Dr Schauer is GREAT in my opinion..

January 17 2003
I am pleased to report Dr Schauer has improved his office dramatically. Originally they saw patients at multiple locations and their main office was none of these. Now they have a nice new consolidated office at Magee hospital. This should help the lost paperwork a lot. They have added staff including 2 additional surgeons and numerous back office staff. Wait times for surgery are down too. Anyone selecting a surgeon from the pittsburgh area should choose this group even if getting surgery takes a bit longer. You will receive excellent care from a fantastic staff

Very professional, warm and willing to help.
My impression has not changed at all, his
staff is excellent!
About the only thing I can think of as far as
not liking is the time it takes his staff
to return a call. I know they are extremely
busy and everyone has told me he is worth the
wait. As far as anyone going to him, I would
recommend it in a minute. You are a lifetime
patient and they make that known right up front. The aftercare is known to be excellent even though I am not there yet.
the risks are very well explained. Both in
person and in writing. The support groups
are excellent!!
I would rate him as an excellent surgeon and
I will soon find out.

He was great! when you attend his workshops he mekes every effort to answer all questions. His staff was also wonderful; most of the nurses have had the surgery themselves so they are completely understanding. The only problem was the wait to see him on my appointments. three of four hours of waiting is involved but IT IS WORTH IT!! I am only one month post op so far but his after care is exstensive. I had to call him (on a saturday no less)because I was having a problem and he called within minutes and was extremely helpful.I have my next appt. this week. He fully discloses the risks involved in the surgery, and is never flippant about them. He really cares about his patients and he shows it in his demeanor.I feel his surgical competence is unparalelled, and his bedside manner is great. He is very reassuring.

my first impression of dr. schauer was that he knows what he's doing. And has alot of experience in the laproscopic surgery.
as for the staff they were very helpful. In the beginning, the staff was a bit rude when I would call with questions. I even got so mad I considered switching to one of his partners. But I soon realized that maybe they were just having a bad day. Robin was great she would answer my concerns and call me back if I needed her to.Their isn't anything that I can think of as far not liking him, but, I would of liked to see him moreso than the staff.You should know that Dr. Schauer is a very kind and caring dr. and does his best to take anything that you have concerns about to help you understand what will be the out come or answers to the questions that you might have.For instance I did not want any blood given to me whatsoever, and he agreeed to do everything that he could do not to give me any even if the need arose.

To me a dr. to do that is a great dr. that he would be willing to go to great lengths to avoid using any blood.
so we throughly went over all the risks at length. His after care program is very good. He has a home nurse visit you for the 1st week.And I was given a packet of instructions to use, like, what foods to eat at different phases of the eating and healing process. Overall, Dr. Schauer was the greatest, his bedside and surgical competence were both great.

I dont have anything negative to say about Dr Schauer, in my opion and from my experiance there is nothing negative to say. My surgery is being done in two parts due to the scar tissue i have and my size. In order to prevent a open surgery mine is being done in two parts. I will go back (hopefully in july) once I lose 100 pounds and have the second part of my surgery done. I was disappointed that the complete surgery was not completed but knowing the risks invovled he made the best decision and I am glad he did. my recovery was easy and the surgery was not as bad as I thought it would be. to date i have had no side effects.Again this is my opion from my experiance everyone is different. I would rate dr schauer as the best and I personally would not have any other doctor but him do my surgery. He was very caring and understanding of my needs, He explained to me the whole procedure in a workshop with other patients. I did not have one on one consultation with him personaly it was with a doctor that works along side him. Dr schauer did talk to me before and after my surgery and the day i went home from the hosptial. I have alot of confidance in him and I have recommened him to many.
Three woman recommned him to me that he did thier surgery. I am very glad i went with dr schauer to do my surgery I trust him totaly and from my personal experiance HE WAS WONDERFUL..I cant say enough about him he is a excellent surgeon. This is from my personal experiance and i am not making any statement aobut what other people may have experianced each person medical history is different. This is from my own personal experiance.

My first impression of Dr. Schauer is that he is a very busy doctor. I waited over a year to have my surgery. His office staff is also very busy. I've had to leave several voice mail messages before I get a message back. Dr. Schauer is very informative about the surgery and the risks. I decided to have the LAP-BAND surgery. He has a structured aftercare program. He is the best and well worth the wait.