| Comments From Patients |
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Char P.
Baltimore, MD
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I went to the info seminar tonight, June 19th 2008 and I was sure of what I thought of Dr. Gandsas based on the mixed reviews I have read. I have to tell you though my initial meeting with him was great, he was funny, patient, explained everything clearly, he answered question after question! Posted on 06/19/2008 |
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Beth K.
Finksburg, MD
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These are my opinions and my opinions only. My first impression of Dr. Gandsas was his youthful appearance. I thought how much experience could this man have?? I had quite a bit to learn. My cardiologist recommended him because his secretary underwent the gastric bypass operation and lost over 100 lbs. He sung Dr. Gandsas' praises and pushed and pushed me to do it too. He pushed me for about two years! Over about 4 months and only twice meeting with Dr. Gandsas my impression only slightly changed. I still thought he looked too young but he was confident; very confident in his ability and likable in his personality to me. His visits in the hospital were pretty quick and factual so his bedside manner didn't leave me with any warm fuzzy but again he appeared confident. I am glad he was... [Click here for more] because I wasn't.
The office staff was pretty nice. There were a few that could have been a little nicer and not so quick to speak. In other words their listening abilities might need a little work. Again this is my experience only. The ones that were nice though were not just nice but wonderful! They listened, they offerd help, they made me feel comfortable. I clung to them. Most of the team had undergone some type of weightloss surgery.
I guess I least liked the way he made me feel like part of a production line product. That might sound harsh but that is how I felt. I didn't feel like an individual with feelings but a product amongst a million other products that needed to be shoved through the process. Yep that is how I felt. It could have been so much worse I am sure.
I guess future patients should know as much as possible about him. They should research him completely and be ok with a non feeling type approach. He is quick, confident, knowledgable, and I believe thorough.
Aftercare is a given. They want you back at one month, three months, six months, nice months and one year to talk about your blood work at each interval. They check every vitamin your body uses. This is good stuff here.
His team addressed the risks of surgery and they did it by addressing questions in the seminars and in the nutrition classes that were required components of the surgery. He went over it with me very briefly right at the pre op appt two days prior to my surgery. He wrote down his statistics on a piece of paper and said there ya go. It was factual but again I got a kinda of cold feeling from it.
I rate him pretty high based on his confidence level. His surgical competence, in my humble opinion, is probably better than his bedside manner. I am very happy with the surgery overall and I took responsibility for the risks associated with it based on the research I had done prior to the surgery itself. I knew I couldn't hold him responsible if something went wrong. Following all of the rules was priceless to me. My life, afterall, was on the line.
Posted on 06/16/2008 |
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Sally S.
Glen Burnie, MD
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he was the most nicest, polite and full of info. always helpful. just great!!! Posted on 05/29/2008 |
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Crystal M.
Gwynn Oak, MD
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1/21/08-So far I've only spoken with the office staff and they seem very nice. I have scheduled my first initial appointment for Wednesday 1/23/08. Posted on 01/21/2008 |
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Roxanne K.
Dallastown, PA
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My first impression of Dr. Gandsas was okay. He was kind of quiet. We did find a common topic and things lightened up. He seems to have a good sense of humor. It doesn't hurt that he's easy on the eyes. The scheduling staff stinks but the girls in the office are great. There's a girl that weighs me and she has had a gastric bypass, so she knows what you're going through. She's very nice also. I like their structure of having to see a nutritionist. I will be scheduling my surgury for sometime in late February or early March. Posted on 01/13/2008 |
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Daeuse I.
Baltimore, MD
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Well, I actually work for my surgeon so my situation is a little different. It wasn't my surgeon who convinced me to have surgery, but rather seeing all his post-op patients doing so well and feeling great.
Of course I like the staff ;) I work there.
Aftercare is VERY important to our facility.
Bedside manner need not, nor should it be, sacrificed to surgical competence. There is no reason a good surgeon has to be mean. I love Dr Li and Gandsas. I think there bedside manner is excellent, and they care about the difference they're making in their patients' lives. Posted on 01/10/2008 |
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Colleen A.
Columbia, MD
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Dr. G was direct and too the point. Exactly what I needed.
No change in impression. My first impression was him was that he seemed to be a very straight forward Doctor. I enjoy my visits with him and I had many, every month for 12 months between insurance needs & first 3 months after surgery.
His office staff is very friendly, they have become much more organized since I started the process in 10/2006. Eileen was a godsend!!!
No real dislikes about him.
Future patients should know that they have an excellent Dr. in Dr. G, he is straight forward and will answer your questions honestly.
Aftercare is strongly emphasized. The pre-op & post-op support meetings are excellent.
I would say fairly structured.
Risks were reviewed in Pre-op support meetings as well as during... [Click here for more] pre-op appointment and he answered any questions I had during previous visits.
I would rate him as an 11 out of 10, he is an excellent surgeon!!
Both surgical competence & bedside manner were great!!!
Posted on 01/08/2008 |
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Karen J.
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My first impression of him was that he was a little reserved but very focused on care he was giving.
Later my impression changed as time went on, I thought that he was very nice with a good sense of humor. Good bed side manner.
The staff is very nice, caring and informative...many of the nurses in the office have also had the procedure themselves so they make you feel more comfortable because they understand what you are going through. The office is usually very busy and I usually have to wait at least 45 min to an hour to be seen by Dr. Gandsas.
Aftercare is GREATLY emphasized by Dr. Gandsas and the nutritionist, Nancy Lum.
The beforecare and aftercare programs are highly structured and I have had a very positive experience so far. Its a pain when you are going through... [Click here for more] it but now that I have had the surgery Im glad that the program is setup the way it is because I feel as though I am prepared for this experience.
The risks of surgery are expressed through mandatory seminars and other classes given during the pre-op program.
I would rate Dr. Gandsas...as an excellent surgeon...he is very knowledgeable and has a very high success rate.
Both surgical competence and bedside manner are Great...Overall my hospital stay was positive...I only physically saw Dr. Gandsas once but I was visited by his robot everyday during my stay...the robot was just as good and was kinda cool:^). I was also visited by the PA's often so I felt very well taken care of.
Posted on 01/04/2008 |
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Jennifer H.
MD
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Dr. Gandsas is absolutely amazing!! He is so nice and listens to what you say. The office staff at Sinai is also fantastic. They are by far the nicest secretaries, nurses, and doctors that I have ever been to. Dr. Gandsas doesn't "BS" you at all and will tell you like it is. He is very intelligent and not pompus about it. I would definitely recommend him to anyone contemplating surgery. Everything about him is amazing :) Posted on 01/02/2008 |
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Aurora A.
Baltimore, MD
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My first impression of Dr. Gandsas and the Mt. Sinai surgical team was great. The office was obviously busy, however, the staff was friendly and efficient. The waiting room was filled with comfortable chairs that weren't restrictive. At least 2 of the staff members have undergone bariatric surgery so it really feels like the people in the office are not only knowledgeable but really sympathetic to the woes of being obese.
Dr. Gandsas was also friendly and to-the-point, but not in a way that made me feel like just a dollar sign or just another surgery. He asked which surgery i was considering and after looking over my info, agreed w/ my decision as the sleeve being a very viable and good choice. He explained to me how the next 6 months would go since i hadn't completed the 6... [Click here for more] months mandatory weight loss and handed me over to a member of his staff that gave me a packet of pre-op testing i'd need (EKG, barium swallow, etc.).
Since then, i've gone to the office every month for a quick meet with Dr. Gandsas and to weigh-in so that we could have documentation for the insurance. Although it was hard to get specific information about insurance requirements (the person handling that was retiring and busy training a new person), my overall experience has been great.
For future patients, It seems that Dr. Christina Li (the other surgeon), is out on maternity leave. Dr. Gandsas has taken on all her patients, however, the only change i've really seen is that i'm now having a couple 'group' weigh-ins a month for all patients needing documentation. its not a big deal and it hasn't worried me about my standard of care.
The aftercare components appears to be extensive. After speaking with the dietician i've found that there is a large network of support groups and activities associated w/ those groups. Also, the $150 program fee covers unlimited meetings with the dietician for up to a year after your surgery, which was the lowest program fee i found and she is very good and nice.
The only really frustrating thing was trying to get started with the sinai group. I went to the initial seminar, filled out all the paperwork, and sent it in, however, no one called me about setting up an appointment. When i called, i was told they had not received it but i should give it a week. I ended up waiting 2 weeks and they still hadn't gotten it. I was told to bring it the seminar that day and hand it personally to one of the program directors ( who perfusedly apologized for my inconvenience). When i arrived at the seminar, i was told that my packet info had been found and that she had personally tracked it down. i got an appointment a few weeks later. The whole incident put me back 1 month, but, the handled the whole thing very well and was very apologetic. Nothing of the sort has ever occurred again.
Posted on 01/01/2008 |
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