Joseph Fodero Plastic Surgeon MD, FACS

When I had my gastric bypass surgery in 2004 I swore I would NEVER have plastic surgery. Well after losing over 200 lbs. and realizing I can indeed keep it off, I have learned to never say NEVER. But now the search was on for the perfect surgeon. I am very discriminating (it took me two years to decide on the right bariatric surgeon) so I did my due diligence and visited several plastic surgeons. I chose Dr. Fodero for his experience with this type of surgery, his obvious commitment to excellence and his amazing support staff. Right off the bat I felt “at home” in the office. They are warm and comforting and work together like a well oiled machine, but most importantly they are good at what they do, really good. The pre-care and preparation was thorough, the surgery itself as seamless as it can be and the after care/prevention has been fabulous. This entire staff is a model many other medical offices should follow. You can even email them and actually get a response – either via email or Dr. Fodero will call you personally, can you imagine?! Dr. Fodero, Lynn (nurse), Scott (Physician’s Assistant), Dee (insurance liaison etc.) are all top-notch in their respective fields.

OK, if that has all been a little nauseating, let me state it simply. The level of care and quality of work provided by this office is unparalleled. I completely trusted them with my body and my life and they have seen me through a significant step in what has been one long tough journey. I will return to them for any future surgery I choose to have with no hesitation.

I am a 36-year-old female who had Gastro Bypass surgery in Dec 2004. After having lost 220 pounds I was left with an exorbitant amount of redundant skin around the lower abdomen and hip area. Desperately wanting a lower body lift, I interviewed several surgeons in the NY & NJ area in search of a surgeon who specialized in Gastro Bypass patients. Very few were knowledgeable, and even less were experienced.
Dr. Fodero came highly recommended by a nutritionist who advocates GBS. Very early into our first consultation it became clear that Dr. Fodero spoke from a position of experience, and was practicing cutting edge techniques in lower body lift surgeries. His confidence for success in my procedure offered me a sense of security that none of the others could provide. At that point I even gave in to posing for photos wearing a paper thong which were used for used insurance and comparison purposes. I requested a second meeting to get acquainted with Scott Woehrle, Dr. Fodero's Physicians Assistant, and to make sure that their plan for my lower body lift could be customized to match my expectations, needs and desires. They were both very supportive and realistic about what we could accomplish.
Going forward the office staff made the process of pre-surgical instruction to insurance issues run like a well-oiled machine. Lynn even helped me arrange for pre-surgery blood donation for my own receipt.
I had my lower body lift on Dec 14, 2006, and while I proved to be a complicated patient requiring a tremendous amount of dedication on their part, both Dr. Fodero and Scott took the most impressive approach to post surgical care I have ever seen. They were in constant contact with the hospital staff as I was there longer than anticipated, and what turned out to be just one week before Christmas; Scott visited me every day including Sat & Sun. Scott proved to be the most compassionate and caring health care professional I have ever encountered, he is quite a credit to Dr. Fodero's practice.
I can say that the surgery was a fantastic success, and according to Dr. Fodero I currently hold the record for the largest female resection at Morristown Memorial Hospital totaling almost 19 pounds. The transformation is just remarkable and I couldn't be happier with the results. Initially, I was adamant about being a "one-timer", howerer I am already considering a second procedure knowing what I can expect from them.
Dr. Fodero's surgical expertise in addition to the exceptional post surgical care you can expect to recieve from Scott, make them a surgical team to be sought after. As always, do your research... but use them.
If you are interested in further discussion, feel free to contact Dr. Fodero's office for my contact nformation.
Stacey Franco

I became interested in having some plastic surgery done after I had lost over 100 pounds following gastric bypass surgery. Dr. Joseph Fodero was one of two plastic surgeons recommended by Dr. Alexander Abkin, the surgeon who did my gastric bypass surgery. I was planning to have a consultation with both surgeons before deciding, but after my first consultation with Dr. Fodero I made up my mind that he would be my surgeon.
Dr. Fodero looks (and is) very young but after talking with him a few minutes I was impressed by his wisdom, his knowledge, and his wonderful communication skills. He loves what he does and he really cares about his patients. Although he does many different types of plastic surgery, he is very interested in helping post weight-loss patients achieve maximum results. And in spite of the fact that he’s an extremely talented surgeon, he’s down-to-earth and not the least bit arrogant. I felt very comfortable during the consultation, even when I was posing for pictures wearing nothing but a tissue paper thong!! I initially planned just to have a tummy tuck but after the consultation I decided to go for the lower body lift. He also did some liposuction on my thighs.
I am the manager of a small department at Morristown Memorial Hospital, which is where I had my surgery. I have always found that the best way to find a good doctor is to ask the nurses. As I was mentioning to various nurses that I had selected Dr. Fodero to be my surgeon, I kept hearing rave reviews. There are several excellent plastic surgeons who operate here, but according to the nurses, Dr. Fodero has the reputation of also being an artist. A number of nurses who work at Morristown Memorial have used him for their surgery, and several others told me he’s the one they would choose.
One of the other things I especially liked about Dr. Fodero’s practice is that he has a wonderful staff. It is important for every doctor’s office to have adequate nursing support, and Dr. Fodero’s nurse, Lynne Bransom, is fantastic! She went over in detail everything I needed to do to prepare for my surgery and to take care of myself afterwards. And since she has had the same surgery I was having she was able to give me a lot of good tips. She even gave me her home phone number and offered to come to my house if I needed her. Since I had my surgery, a Physicians Assistant, Scott, has also joined the team. And another nurse I know, Francine Titulis, also sometimes helps out in the office. (She was one of the OR nurses on my team.) The office staff is very helpful and everything seems to run very efficiently. Most of the time I was able to be seen at the time scheduled for my appointment. It was unusual to have to wait and it was always for a good reason.
Dr. Fodero was very attentive while I was in the hospital. He came to see me every day, even during a bad storm that dumped almost two feet of snow. He was never in a hurry. In fact, he pulled up a chair and sat down by my bed. We talked awhile before he (gently) took off the bandages to have a look at how everything was healing. He also asked about how I was doing with the pain. He’s very proactive about providing adequate pain control. I was on three different kinds of pain medication while in the hospital, including a special pump that delivered medication automatically into the tissues where the surgery was performed. (I went home with that pump as well as a prescription for an oral pain medication.) As he was leaving my hospital room he reminded me that he was available if I had any problem and not to hesitate to call. I did have a few minor problems while I was in the hospital and he responded immediately when called.
After being discharged from the hospital I went back to Dr. Fodero’s office for follow-up about twice a week for the first month. Considering that I had a lot of surgery done at one time, the initial recovery sometimes felt a bit overwhelming. It was reassuring to be told at every visit that I was healing normally, and that he was pleased with how everything looked. The results of the surgery are even better than I expected. When I got back to work, everyone noticed the difference and commented on how fabulous I looked. Six weeks after surgery, Dr. Fodero took another set of pictures to compare with the ones he’d taken at my initial consultation. The “before & after” pictures were absolutely incredible. I had my plastic surgery about a year ago and I'm still very happy with my results and the scar has faded a lot. Needless to say, if I decide to have further plastic surgery I will definitely go back to Dr. Fodero and I would recommend him highly to anyone looking for a good plastic surgeon. Several other people from my post-op support group have also gone to him and have been extremely happy. I work with a lot of doctors and there aren't too many who really deserve rave reviews. I can't say enough good things about Dr. Fodero.

Margaret Crowl

Dr. Fodero is very knowledgeable and makes you feel very comfortable when meeting with him for a consultation. I would recommend him to anyone looking for post bariatric plastic surgery.