"I was extremely satisfied with Dr. Szomstein for my gastric bypass surgery. You want to pick a surgeon who has done thousands upon thousands of these operations, and also a hospital that super well equipped and fully versed in all the needs of bariatric patients. I thought the Cleveland Clinic in Weston, Florida was exactly that on both counts (very high quality, very high volume). Their process is very structured, and you just check off the next "to do" item on the list until one day you find yourself in the operating room.
The most important step, though, is figuring out which type of operation to get (gastric bypass, sleeve, band). We initially decided on the sleeve but changed to RNY gastric bypass later before my surgery, and I have been so glad we changed because RNY was the right surgery for me for a number of reasons. You want to be proactive here, really do your research, and ask all your questions, because you want to get it right on the first surgery. If you feel like you may have rushed the decision, by all means call and make another appointment to discuss it again with your surgeon (true anywhere).
One of the upshots is that when Dr. Szomstein walks into your room to check up on you after your surgery, you will immediately relax and feel like he is on top of everything. There is just something incredibly soothing about his professional demeanor, as many people have noticed. He is a superb laparoscopic surgeon (he actually teaches the techniques). My entire recovery was so incredibly uneventful that he must have done everything perfectly inside there! I see others have noted how busy he is, and this is true -- you may only get to see him a few times during the process. But whereas I usually have abundant complaints about doctors, I have nothing but praise for Dr. Szomstein -- best bariatric surgeon in the country as far as I'm concerned, seriously!"
