"I had my first consult appointment at Dr. Hamad's office on February 4, 2003. I was impressed by the staff and the office surroundings. I filled out some paperwork, mostly regarding my personal health history, was weighed and measured, then viewed a 15-minute video about the surgery, pre and post-op concerns, etc. It was informative, but I was already familiar with most of it due to my own research. Then, I was seen by a resident she is working with. He went over my health history, prescribed the various pre-op tests I need to have done, and examined my stomach. I then met with a nutritionist on staff, who asked me about my current eating habits, and made an assessment of how she felt I would handle the changes after surgery. She also thoroughly covered the prescribed post-op diet for RNY patients, including all the supplements that will be needed. Finally, I met with Dr. Hamad, and she answered all of my questions, and went over her methods for performing the surgery. She was very personable, but professional, and I felt comfortable talking with her. She and her staff stressed that if I have any questions at any time, do not hesitate to contact them, either pre or post-op. There is a lot of testing to be scheduled, which I need to do on my own. I don't know if this is standard procedure or not, but it would have been nice to get a little help from them on this. It was a long afternoon, as I had to wait for each different segment of the appointment. But otherwise, a very positive experience."
