Presbyterian Bariatric Center (COE) Hospital

So far so good. I had read a few other reviews and they were good for the Surgeon however not so good for the staff. I have been very pleased with the staff nothing but friendly and helpful thus far pre surgery. I will update after surgery takes place. The surgery went well and Dr Lowe was fabulous. He has such a great beside manner. I am so glad I chose him as my surgeon. He was pleased with my recovery. We had a funny in the hospital day after surgery. My sister had spent the night with me and she was up packing her stuff to get ready and leave when he came in. He stopped at the door and just looked for a moment. he thought she was me and was just astonished that I would be up and moving so well. What a good giggle. We look alot a like. Dr Lowe answered all of my questions however i didn't have many as i knew some folks who had already had the surgery so they advised me of hte good bad and ugly. I would choose him for my surgeon again and again if needed. His staff has been awesome. There was a problem with the paperwork faxed to the STD folks so I needed them to refax with more information quickly. They were on it and it was refaxed the same day. WOW! that is great. Thank you. GOOD LUCK

My first impression of Dr, Melkonian was that he had a no nonsense approach to weight loss surgery. He is very honest and upfront about your potential and then about your progress throughout your journey. His office staff is very knowledgeable and seems genuinely caring. No one ever seemed to “drop the ball” on me during the beginning of my journey. Every time I called with “questions” they were probably rolling their eyes at, they always answered kindly and quickly.rnI wouldn’t change a thing about my experience with this surgeon. rnI thank Dr, Melkonian for changing my life, giving my life back to me and having the tools to help me change my life.rnSabrina Stegall

He cared about his patients like me. I was impression his kindness toward to me and my husband. My husband had him as surgeron in the past with his hernia repair. His office and his staff are excellent and doing their job very serious. He was concerned of my leg problem that created a problem due to blood clot. He refered me to see heart doctor to implant IVC a week before surgery. It went very well! AFter I had VSG surgery. I was in ICU for few days becuase of low blood pressure. A day before I was going to be discharge, but held back becuase I was allergy to pencillin (I did not even know about it). He refer a doctor to check on my hives breakout, one of my infection leg and high white blood cells. He is nice, but quiet. Both of the doctors agree to discharge me two days later with a help of nurse home care. I have iv hook up at home. I was treated antibodies for a week. My husband had to stay home with me to do the IV hook up. I was blessed to have Dr. V. to do care about me and my health.

I could not be more pleased with a surgeon than I am with Dr. David Voellinger. He is very personable. He takes the time to explain issues, answer questions, address concerns. He has a great sense of humor and cares about his patients. I believe he is truly committed to the personal issues of those who suffer from obesity. rnrnHis staff is equally committed to the field of bariatric surgery and the success of their patients. They are extremely busy given the demand for their services in the southeast. I found that they were very responsive especially via email. The follow-up care provided via support groups, post surgery office visits, etc is top notch in my opinion. rnrnThe one topic to be aware of is that Dr. Voellinger and his staff are extremely busy. They handle a lot of patients on a daily basis so their timeline for you may not be what you have in mind. My advice, be patient, manage your expectations, take control of the things you can control and remember - you didn't get to this weight in a few weeks, it will probably take some time to lose it.rnrnFrom the first information session where Dr. Voellinger and his staff reviewed the risk and reward proposition of bariatric surgery to the day of surgery and the follow-up visits, I would highly recommend this top notch speciality medicine team.

I have only met Dr. Voellinger 2 times so far. I met him at the WLS seminar where he appeared very knowledgable and understanding. He has had experience in more than one type of surgery. He can be humorous, but he is very serious about the actual procedure and lifestlye changes that must be made in order for the surgery to be a success.I met him again at my first consult to begin my journey. He was thorough and to the point. He didn't seem concerned about what got me there, just about informing me about the surgery itself and what he does. Seemed to be very busy and in a hurry. Not too aloof, just didn't seem to have time for too much conversation. He did ask me if I had any questions. I did not since he had answered them all. So that was that. He was gone. I will be seeing him again next week for my pre-op consult with him. My lap-band surgery is in 2 weeks!

Dr. Lowe made a great first impression and continues to be a caring physician. The staff is not the friendliest bunch. Michele is awful. She actually threatened not to allow my surgery to continue for a $30 balance on my account. I wish he had a friendlier and more courteous staff. The nutritionist was of little value. I found more support and info on the obesityhelp website. rnrnI feel Dr. Lowe is very competent and has great beside manner. He is the reason why I like the office.

I first thought Dr. Melkonian was mean because he didnt tell me what I wanted to hear, and he was very straight foward and a bit too honest.rnrnAfter I got over the initial shock of the first doctors visit, I came to realize that he was right and decided tthat i needed to make some changes, and I also started notcing some behaviors that I had that I never noticed before.rnrnThe office staff is very nice, friendly and helpful.rnrnFuture patients should know that Dr. Melkonian is a great surgeon but he is very straightfoward and he isnt going to hold your hand though the procesess. You have to do the leg work and help yourself.rnrnHe encourages you to sget into a support group, see the nutritionist, and get counsling if needed.rnrnMy doctor went into great detail about the risks involved and he also went over all the other types of surgery.rnrnI would give him a 10rnrnIs surdical competence is great but his bedside manner stinks.

I haven't meet Dr. Melkonian yet. I have a freind that was a patient of Dr. Melkonian a couple years back. He has told me many great things about Dr. Melkonian. I am going to meet him for the first time Dec 5th at my pre-op appointment.

He was quiet, but listened well.rnI came to know him some,he's smart, funny, and very friendly. His staff is ok...you can deal with them.rnOverall, I would rate Dr Lowe as EXCELLENT!rnSurgical Competence is obviously the best thing for a surgeon to have, Dr Lowe has both Surgical Competence and an excellent bedside manner.rn

I went to one of Dr.Voellinger's Seminars last week and he was very nice. I have Medicade so I have to wait 3 months before I can make an appointment to get in to see him. With Medicade you have to be on a 6 month diet supervised by your PCP so after 3 months of being on the diet, THEN I can make an appointment to see him... Anyways, his staff was very nice and very helpful. A couple of them have had WLS by Dr.Voellinger so I thought that was cool... I really look forward to making an appointment with Dr.Voellinger and starting my WLS adventure... Like I said, I have only saw him one time at his Seminar but I would totally reccomend him.