"Even though Dr. Artuso is a great surgeon, I would not recommend him. This is why. I originally had a consultation with Dr. Thomas Cerebona in 1997. I let too many people talk me out of the surgery at that time. In April, 2001, after gaining another 100 lbs, I decided that I wanted to live. I called and made a new consultation appointment with Dr. Cerebona. When I appeared at the office, Colleen, the receptionist, asked me if I received her message at work that Dr. Cerebona had an emergency. I told her that I took the day off for the consultation. She asked me if I would like to see Dr. Artuso instead. I said that would be fine. After waiting a couple of hours (their office is always very busy, and you ALWAYS wait 2-3 hours for your appointment). I finally got to meet Dr. Artuso. He sat down with me and explained the procedure. He told me what to expect, drew a diagram of what was going to be done, and then asked me if I had any questions. He answered every single question I asked. He told me that I sounded like a good candidate for the surgery, and gave me a list of medical tests that I had to have prior to setting a date. I had them all done, and was approved for the surgery. After I completed all of the tests, I saw Dr. Artuso again on July 18, 2001. All of my test results came back good, and Dr. Artuso told me I could go ahead and book the surgery. Unfortunately, because he is so busy, my surgery date was set for December 3, 2001. I was not happy about the wait, but there was nothing I could do about it. Dr. Artuso's receptionist, Liz, made all of the arrangements with my insurance company. I don't know any of the details, but I do know that I was approved. So I waited, and waited, and waited for December 3, 2001 to arrive. The week before my surgery I went for my pre-op testing at the hospital. Then the day finally was here! I was excited and nervous at the same time. I knew I had to go through with it. The hospital is very busy, and the surgical area was like a zoo. The staff was very nice to me, and tried to make me as comforatable as possible. I was wheeled into surgery, and the doctors and nurses explained what they were going to do. They were all very nice. The next thing I knew I woke up in recovery. Dr. Artuso came by to see how I was doing. The staff in recovery was just wonderful. I had a morphine drip with a button that I pushed when I felt I needed it. I was not in pain, but was very sore (which I guess you can say was painful). I slept quite a lot, which was good, because I was very uncomfortable. I stayed in recovery for a day and a half. The nurses were just terrific, and Dr. Artuso came by to see me. My arm was swelling up like a balloon, and the nurse noticed that my arterial IV was infiltrated. They promptly removed it, and within a couple of hours the swelling started going down. I was brought upstairs to a semiprivate room the afternoon of December 4, 2001. I was happy to be in a room. That happiness did not last long. The nurses were the pits. They were very inattentive and uncaring. I tried to sleep as much as possible. Whenever I wanted to go to sleep I would give myself a jolt of morphine. The morning of December 5, 2001, a male nurse came in and removed my catheter. You think they could have sent in a female nurse to do that? I was very uncomfortable with it, but let him do his job. Now I was free to get up and go to the bathroom whenever I wanted, right? Wrong. I would have to call the nurse because I needed the railing undone on the bed, and I needed the IV disconnected. I would call, tell them what I needed over the intercom, and then wait for someone to show up. The first time I had to go I waited for over 1 hour. I finally managed to get myself out of the bed and pulled the IV machine's plug out of the wall and went to the ladies room. Some doctors came by and took me to have xrays taken to make sure that there were no leaks where the intestine was attached to my stomach. That went well. I was now allowed 1 ounce of liquids 3 times a day. Nobody ever bothered to bring my anything that day. The next morning the resident doctor came by and asked my how I was holding down the liquids. I told him that nobody gave me anything. He went ballistic and took off for the nurses station. The next thing I knew somebody brought me some apple juice. I held it down without any problems. Dr. Artuso came by to check on me and was happy with the way I looked and felt. A physical therapist came by and we went for a little walk. She was pleased that I was up and walking and sitting in a chair (which was much more comfortable than the bed). Nobody bothered to give me any more liquids for the rest of the day. The nurses just plain ignored me. The morning of December 6, 2001, I was "assigned" a nursing student as my "nurse". She gave me soap and warm water to get washed up, and said she would be back in a few minutes to help me get changed. I still had an IV, so I could not change my gown myself. Well, and hour and a half later the girl came back. I told her that I've been sitting there waiting for her to unhook my IV so that I could get out of my dirty gown (I had a drain, and my gown was bloody from the drain). She apologized and unhooked my IV. Dr. Artuso then came and told me I could probably go home that day. They wanted to make sure that I was holding down my liquids alright. He wanted my liquids increased to 3 ounces 3 times a day. I told him that they were not feeding me, and that the only "meal" I had was the previous morning. He stepped out, and within minutes I had apple juice delivered to me. The resident came by and checked me out and told me that there was no reason I couldn't go home, and that I just had to wait for the paperwork to be filled out. The physical therapist came by and we went for another walk. I told her that I had stairs in my house, so she took me to the stairs to see if I would be able to go up and down. I went up a flight and then back down. She said that I was doing great and did not need any professional assistance when I got home. I then called my husband to come and get me, and waited until I got the ok to leave. The first few days at home were hell. I was so sore, and it was hard to get in and out of bed. I felt sorry for myself, cried a few times, and wondered if I did the wrong thing. I felt sorry for myself. Especially when I was drinking my 3 ounces of juice. I then started feeling better. I went to Dr. Artuso's office for my first post-op visit. I had lost 19 lbs! I was thrilled! Dr. Artuso was very happy with my progress and told me that I was ahead of schedule. He also told me that I could incorporate some pureed foods into my diet. I was so happy! My second post-op visit showed that I had lost 33 lbs total. Dr. Artuso's office is always so busy and full of people waiting. You don't mind waiting for your appointment so much because everybody loves to talk about their surgeries. I always ask people how much they've lost and when they had their surgery. I ask people what they can eat and what they can't. And I share my information as well. I am so happy that I had this surgery. I am also very happy that I chose to use Dr. Artuso. He really is very nice, and, most importantly, a terrific surgeon! I would highly recommend him! The only thing that is unfortunate is he is affiliated with Westchester Medical Center. I am so disappointed with my hospital stay. I would never want to have to use that hospital again. It's a great hospital as far as procedures, but the bedside manner of their nurses is appalling.
After I had my surgery I did not get the proper post-op care. I had 5 (FIVE!!!) appointments cancelled on me. I saw the doctor twice within the first month after my surgery, and then not again for another two months. I finally got to see him 91 days after my surgery (I don't have to pay a co-pay to my insurance for the first 90 days post-op). I asked Liz to backdate my appointment for my insurance by one day, considering it was his office that was cancelling on me. Of course, she didn't do it. I then scheduled another appointment for May 1st (this was the beginning of March). I received a call one week before my appointment and was advised by Liz that Dr. Artuso no longer was affiliated with that office. The only reason they called me was to see if I wanted to see another doctor. When I asked her for Dr. Artuso's new telephone number she gave it to me and then abruptly hung up on my. Needless to say, they only just received my co-pay from my last appointment (March) a couple of weeks ago (September). I then called Dr. Artuso's new office and was greeted by a nasty receptionist. When I explained to her that I was a patient from his old office, she abruptly told me that I obviously had to make a new appointment, since the old date was no good (DUH!!). When I inquired about getting an appointment, possibly the latest appointment in the day that they can book, I was told that he had no openings - ever - for late in the afternoon. I have never in my life been told that. I was also informed that he no longer accepts insurance (or at least not mine) because he did not make enough money. I asked the receptionist a few questions, and then she abruptly hung up on me. I then wrote Dr. Artuso a letter, and mailed it with "personal and confidential" typed on the outside. Needless to say I have never heard back from him. He did a wonderful surgery, but other than that his office practice stinks. His office is totally unprofessional. I now hear him on the radio doing ads for his weight loss clinic. I am so disappointed with the way I was treated. I really liked him a lot, but his staff had total disregard for me and my feelings."
