Oscar C. Lirio M.D. Bariatrics Bariatric Center

I knew Dr. Marx because he was in practice in our hometown before going to Syracuse. Our first impression was wonderful. My husband who is also a physician accompanied me on this visit. He was very supportive, and realizes that for people like us there are no other options. Waiting for a surgery date. Will continue to update. I have a date now, February 2, 2000. Dr. Marx's office has been great to deal with. I was told that they needed to send an evaluation to BC/BS and it was quickly taken care of. Based on his report I have approval, although they do require a second opinion.

January 13, 1999 - Had a second opinion done today by Dr. Jorge L. Ferreiro, a general surgeon in Utica, New York. He is very ultra conservative, and when he told me that this was the right thing to do, I knew I had made the right choice. There is no one better than him. Incredible bedside manner, warm, compassionate. Although he doesn't do bariatric surgery, he had a lot of experience during his residency. He was very much in favor of the surgery, and hopefully based on his report I'll get my final approval. As many of you know from reading my bio, I had to cancel the first surgery due to a death in the family. I think that everything in life happens for a reason, and this was what was best for me because I had been having second thoughts about having the surgery done in Syracuse because I fell that there was not adequate preop testing being done. When I inquired
about talking to other people who had had the surgery done, they were reluctant to give me any referrals. I found that the office staff was not very much help and that I was a bother by asking all these questions. After much soul searching I decided to switch to Dr. Oscar Lirio in Albany. What a difference. His office staff (Paula) is wonderful, kind considerate, and accomodating. I can see why his patients love Dr Lirio. He takes real time and effor to explain, what he does, how he does it, what it means to you as a patient and to him as a physician. He won't just operate on anyone. The people I met at his support group are an incredible bunch. Caring and willing to share their experiences. They all love Dr. Lirio and I can see why. I feel very fortunate to have made the change, and look forward to my August 2nd date.

Dr. Lirio was very nice. He was also very informative while describing the different surgerys(using foam models) and the reasons why he does the Fobi Pouch method. Paula,his nurse, has been wonderful. I have spoken to her numerous times and every time she has been nice and informative. While I was in his waiting room, 2 post op patients were waiting for a weigh in and it was great to talk to them. They both had great things to say about the Dr. which put me instanly at ease.So far I would rate my experience with Dr. Lirio very highly. He addressed both the risks of the surgery and the after care I would need. Before I left his office I was completely at ease with both him, Paula, and the surgery. My only bad experience was that after driving 4.5 hrs to see him he was running about 1 hr late. But all in all he was worth the wait!!!

Dr.Lirio is a wonderful doctor as he is very caring and detailed in his explanation of the surgery. His secretary, Paula, is the best! I learned of him through a friend who knew someone who recently had the surgery. I spoke to the friend who couldn't say enough about him.He took excellent care of me and made me feel very comfortable to be around him and his staff. Dr. Lirio suggested I attend the support group meeting and I did. It is very comforting knowing there are so many other people in the same situation that I am. It is so exciting to attend the meetings to see how well every else is doing. I look forward to a new and exciting future as a healthier and happier person and feel this is one of the best decisions I have ever made for myself.

My first visit with Dr. Lirio was on 11/23/99. Because I am from out of town (live near Syracuse, NY and Dr. Lirio is in Schenectady, NY about 3 hours away) Paula, Dr. Lirio's assistant has been extremely kind in scheduling as many different specialist appointments on the same day as she can. On the first visit I spent about 2 hours with Dr. Lirio, then some time at the endocrinologist's (Dr. Mika), then a little while with the psychologist (Dr. Nagel). I was pretty nervous when I first walked into Dr. Lirio's office. Schenectady is a very old city and they don't appear to have a medical office building like I'm used to seeing. His office is in a beautiful old house. Paula welcomed us (my parents went with me) at the door and showed us to the waiting room. When I first walked into the waiting room I had the usual fears I have in a strange place (will I be able to sit down, will there be kids there to make fun of me, stuff like that). The chairs didn't look very strong but I took a chance and sat down. Nothing broke thank goodness. There were two other pre-ops there, both very nice women accompanied by their significant others. Paula took each one of us into the exam room individually to check our weight and blood pressure. I was a little disheartened to find that the special machine created to measure your body resistance and determine how much of you is fat and how much is muscle couldn't handle someone of my weight (434#). But the irony was not lost on me. Their walk-on scales could handle me however so at least I finally know how much I weigh. Dr. Lirio was a bit late getting in but well worth waiting for. He is a very sweet compassionate man. He came right into the waiting room to address us preops and the people that came with us for support. He took a great deal of time explaining first the digestive process in general, and then going into the evolution of gastric bypass surgery. He took his time making sure we understood everything. His manner of speaking was very basic--he used non-technical words wherever possible. When he used a technical word he took the time to explain what it meant. He took us through the first methods used for the surgery and explained the problems that had occurred and why. Then he led us through the revised methods that have been developed over the years and explained why he has chosen to perform the Fobi Pouch method. His rationale and thought processes are, in my opinion, a perfect mix of scientific knowledge, common sense and compassion. He draws on a chalk board to show part of the digestive process and he also has soft padded objects shaped like internal organs to help you visualize the changes that the surgery makes inside your body. I was very impressed with him. There is no question that this is a major surgery--he makes sure that you understand that. He told us a bit about himself and how long he's been doing this type of surgery (how many patients, what size range, etc.). He is very adamant in that he will not operate on a smoker--if you are a smoker you must stop for at least 2 months before the surgery because it can cause extra post-operative complications. I'm not a smoker so that's not an issue to me but it might be to some people. He explained the complications that can occur from surgery on someone of size. He also told us that the surgery is done in the standing position which I didn't know. They put your legs in a pressure mechanism that squeezes them every certain number of seconds during the surgery to similuate walking--this helps to prevent blood clots.
After the initial talk, he took each of us individually into his office for a visit and exam. He is a very kind man, and very gentle, has kind of a 'boy next door' way about him. He makes you go on a liquid diet for a few weeks prior to the surgery because when you are so big your organs are 'waterlogged' within you body and you need to flush that out so as to make the surgery easier on you. I expect it leaves a little more room in your abdomen for them to work as well. At my weight I will be on Medifast for 6 weeks before the surgery. The endocrinologist and the psychologist were both also very nice and easy to visit with. So I passed the first round! I also passed (so to speak) the barium enema testing. I saw the pulmonologist and had pulmonary function testing, upper GI series, ultrasound, arterial blood gases, EKG, and chest xray done on 2/4. Since the ultrasound showed my gall bladder to still be healthy then I will have to go on a special medicine to prevent gallstones (because when you lose weight real fast gallstones can form). I got to meet a woman at the hospital that had the procedure around a year and a half ago. She started around 350 and was down to around 150 or so. She looked wonderful and so happy. I was a little bummed out though on 2/4, when I was weighed and found out that I had gotten up to 459# (between Novemeber and February I was having a few too many 'last meals', thinking well I won't be able to have this kind of food much longer, and so on). But Paula said that happens to a lot of people so that helped a little. I bought the Medifast on 2/4 and left with the instructions to start 6 weeks before the surgery. I started it a little early because I felt so bad about gaining even more weight. By the time I started it on March 1, I weighed 463#! I found the website (www.medifastplus.com) and bought some of the different flavors that they hadn't had at the surgeon's office. My favorite is Cream of Chicken soup (although it gives you very bad breath!). I was bad a couple of times while I was on it, but I tried very hard and stuck with it. On April 14 I went back down to Schenectady for the pre-admissions testing and to see the surgeon again. I now weigh 405# (lost 58# in about 7 weeks) so the Medifast helped a lot! The preadmissions testing was not bad at all. They drew what seemed like a quart of blood for the various tests, and I had to give a urine sample. Then I talked to an RN, PA and an anesthesiologist. I got to meet a nurse that Dr. Lirio had done the procedure on a year ago. She started out around 260 and is now around 120, very petite and had such happiness shining from her face! I can't wait to feel like that too! I know I'll never weigh 120 pounds, but I think there will be plenty of happiness in my face if I can just get under 200#! One wierd thing, they put the hospital bracelet on me on the 14th and said I can't take it off--have to leave it on until I go in on the 19th--or else they'll have to draw blood again (must be some hospital policy or law or something). So I feel kind of wierd walking around with this bracelet on. But I'll do what they say. Dr. Lirio and I discussed the idea of doing the panniculectomy and the wls at the same time. My pannus hangs so low it becomes a sanitation issue at times. We did get the insurance to approve a panniculectomy by sending them pictures of my pannus. But Dr. Lirio said that if we do it now I'll end up needing another one a year later anyways, and the insurance probably wouldn't cover a second one. I was worried about missing too much work two years in a row, but he said that for a panni you only stay in hospital one night and only need to take a couple weeks off from work. He said that to do both procedures at once would put an incredible amount of pressure on the incisions, and would increase the possibility of infections and the incisions could possibly pop open too (the wls incision is supposed to be 12-15" long vertically, and a panni incision goes more than 180 degrees around your body horizontally so I can see where that would be hard to handle). So we're just going to do the Fobi pouch w/silastic ring on the 19th, and then probably sometime early next year do the panni.
Each time I see Dr. Lirio I know I made the right choice in a surgeon. He is extremely competent, very considerate, and compassionate, and takes the time to talk to you/explain things to you in non-technical terms. I recommend him very highly!

Dr. Lirio is a nice man. He sometimes doesn't listen to what you are trying to say, and that is frustrating. It's like he has done this so much, it's a mechanical response.

I have had many problems with Paula his secretary. She can be quite rude and curt at times.

The hospital that he uses the most, Ellis Hospital in Schenectady is a PIG STY! I wouldn't take a dog there. The staff are a bunch of lazy incompetent people. THE WORSE HOSPITAL I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE! Don't go there!

Overall, he's a good surgeon, I think he knows what's he's doing, that's why I chose him.

Dr Lirio was very busy.
Yes, He was very busy but still answered any questions. Paula and the girl who filled in were wonderful and very supportive. It's the first time I've ever heard your not that big. Dr Lirio has done pts up to a 1000 lbs.
Least amount is how long you have to wait because so many people are finding out about the great job he does. Don't think, I want to have it done and boom it's done. It takes time to make sure your health enough for the surgery, insurance company approval, time till you have the surgery. Even if your not sure you want the surgery but would like to find out more you should try to go to the support group and talk to everyone at all differant stages of the process. Dr Lirio stresses more about the after care then about the surgery it self. He knows he can handle the surgery he just wants to make sure the you can handle taking care of you body after he's done. He did talk about the risk of the surgery and problems that his patients have had. He's a 10. He's a sweet, caring understanding doctor. I think he is one of very few doctors who really understand what it is physically and emotionlly to have a weigth problem.

I had a 5 week wait until I could get in and see Dr. Lirio. They (Paula) put me on a cancellation list and when there was one, I got called and my appointment was moved up. I did research and got knowledge on the surgery prior to the appointment. Paula, the secretary/lifesaver, is very pleasant and very patient and helpful. Dr. Lirio is very kind and informative. He sat 3 of us down and discussed and showed pictures and drawings of the stomach and surgery. If you had a question, he answered it. He has a support group that meets once a month at the local hospital. He seems to care and takes the time when examining you. I just wish I didn't have to wait till August to have this done. He is very busy. I highly recommend Dr. Lirio and Paula. A definite 9.5 for now. I'll let you know how the surgery and post-op goes. Wish me luck!

My first impression of Dr. Lirio was that he was a very compassionate man. I felt that he truly understood the emotional impact of even discussing this type of major surgery. He is very thorough in his explanation of the procedure. I am a Registered Nurse so I understood what he was explaining without difficulty. His receptionist Paula is wonderfule. Very helpful and compassionate. Overall I would rate him a 9.5/10 (only losing that half point because he was late)

When I first met Dr. Lirio. He looked tired. He had spent the morning operating on another gastric bypass patient. But he sat down with me and described what gastric bypass surgery was, and answered all of my questions. This first meeting lasted all of 2 hours. His office staff was Paula. She was also very caring and helpful. Dr. Lirio is very involved with all of his patients. He attends all of our support group meetings. Ready and willing to take over and answer any question that his patients have . He insists on postop care, with him or with another physician.
I was told all the risks of this surgery. I figured that the weight would kill me if I didn't take the chance and have this surgery.
I would highly recommend Dr. Lirio to anyone that needed surgery. Both his bedside manner and competence is great.

I was very impressed with Dr. Lirio, he seems to be very cautious and makes sure everything is ok with you prior to surgery. After speaking with others who have had this surgery with Dr. Lirio, I feel very comfortable that I am in very capable hands. I am scheduled for surgery 2/23/00. I will update my progress and impressions as I continue this journey.