Ascension Medical Group-Bariatric Institute of Wisconsin Bariatric Center

I met with Dr. Chiang on June 5. Luckily I already had my nutritionist and psych eval. reports done, so I had them sent to Brookfield Surgical Associates right away. Dr. Chiang seemed very knowledgeable and dedicated. He scheduled a colonoscopy for the next week, and then his assistant, Megan O'Driscoll, instructed me to schedule a physical therapy appointment and then wait until I got a surgical date and schedule another nutritionist appointment about two weeks before surgery.

On June 18 I had my colonoscopy. I was supposed to be sedated (in the finest Ramones sense of the word), but apparently the amount of sedation was off b/c man-0h-Manischevitz! was I in pain! Finally, Dr. Chiang (yup, apparently he does GI work as well)gave up with 80% of my colon covered. Good enough for me.

It is now July 7. I have been getting an almost laughable runaround from the Brookfield Surgical Associates office. I called on June 16 to see if my evaluations had come in. Yes, I was told both psych and nutrition evals were in my file.
I called Megan about a week later -- apparently, a big mistake b/c she does not like to be bothered. I just wanted to know what the next step would be since my evals were in my folder and I had met with physical therapy the week before. She couldn't tell me much except that "she was being very patient with [me]." As a health care consumer, I find that rather odd, and a bit condescending/patronizing. She told me to call back in a week.

On June 30 I called Megan only to find out that she needed my psych eval. Then, in her words, my file would be complete and sent in to my insurance company. I called Covenant and was told my psych eval was sent on June 12 to Brookfield Surgical Associates in c/o Megan O'Driscoll. I called Megan back. She did not return my call.

On July 3 I went in person to Covenant Healthcare to see if I could get yet another psych. eval sent to Brookfield Surgical Associates for Dr. Chiang. The secretary there (Kathy; what a peach, she was so nice!) called Megan, and guess what! My psych eval had found its way into my folder! But guess what number two! Now Megan needed my physical therapy report in order for my file to be complete. To Megan's credit, she did call back twice that day, but I wasn't at home.

On July 7, I called and left a message re: the status of my file. By that time I had gotten an answering machine. Megan left a message and guess what number three! Now all she needed was my nutrition report and THEN my file would be complete.

I've had it. I wrote Dr. Chiang a letter detailing this maze of incompetence with a cc. to Dr. Machi. I think the next part is rather telling. I was gone overnight, but today I returned, and I had two messages: one from Megan (not Dr. Chiang) indicating Dr. Chiang had received my letter and that I should call her to resolve the dietary report (as if that was my only complaint), and another call from Dr. Machi (himself) expressing his sympathies and his willingness to do whatever he could to help me.

So that's my report so far. Since I'm a teacher, summer would have been the optimal time for this surgery and recovery. I can't imagine going back to 125 students and 12 hour workdays (in hot, humid weather -- you've never lived until you're trapped in an airless room with 30 teenage bodies)sipping an ounce of water every 15 minutes and trying to physically recover from surgery. Angry? You bet I am. I've wasted at least 6 weeks waiting for reports (that were sent to Brookfield Surgical Associates) that appear, disappear, and reappear. It's magic! It's incompetence! It's unacceptable!

Excellent surgeon.
Fab office staff.
I liked how professional he was.
He is introverted and very kind.
Good emphasis on after care with structured program.
He addressed the risks of surgery with me.
Ten overall rating.
Both great-competence and bedside manner.
I was unprepared for the effects of anesthia,
but this wasn't really Dr. Burhop's fault.

I was very impressed with my surgeon he was very knowlegdable and sincere.

over time I grew to value his knowledge

very friendly and helpful after the surgery however prior to the surgery I felt as though I was pestering the Nurse there that works with you

Be sure to be prepared and to research everything
My dr did emphasize after care and i know that the dr and the nurse are there to help me with any questions that come up

I was very worried about the risks however my dr talked in detail about the surgery and the risks. I was very nervous the night before and almost chickened out because i was scared however that is very normal

overall i would strongly recomend this dr and his staff they are truely helpful

Personally my Dr was great at competence and bedside manner I was very comfortable with him and open to all his suggestions

3/8
I have only seen the surgeon once but he seemed very nice. The office staff is terrific - they have been helping me with all the pre-op work and answering my questions. I took a list of questions and he brought up other things too... overall it was a good consultation.

They don't have an organized support group yet but I have already volunteered to help them with setting one up.

5/6/02
I had my second visit; there will be 2 surgeons in the OR which gave me an even great degree of comfort. Dr. Burhop realizes I am interested in a support group and said they are working on it.

6/10/02
Dr. Burhop is great. Everyone at Elmbrook Memorial was terrific. I am so impressed with laproscopic surgey! Dr. Burhop is kind, patient and very gentle. I think both his bedside manner and his competence are great!

5/31/03
Happy one year anniversay to me! Saw doctor Burhop yesterday and at the end of the session we hugged! He is so very sweet and kind and talented.

I've only met him once as I'm waiting for insurance approval but he was a very patient, quiet person. He took his time even though the office was crazy busy. He made sure he answered all my questions and was very thorough in his explanations of the surgery. His staff is great from what I've seen. The front office staff was friendly and gracious. His managing RN, Megan O'Driscoll was very on the ball. She was kind, unpretentious and warm. She was very knowledgeable herself and has always been available or calls back promptly whenever I've called her with questions.
Overall, I was given thorough info on all I needed to complete as far as a psych eval, dietician appt and PT appt. They have a great timeline sheet to help you see what you need to still do or what to move onto next along with approximate anticipated dates. I think my overall impression of the program so far is very good. It's clear, professional, veyr much geared towards answering all the patient's anticipated questions, not just, "here's a brochure, read it and call if you have questions." They go beyond even what I expected. Surgical competence is most important to me. Personally, I'm a chatty person and like to joke around. Dr. Burhop is on the quiet side but friendly. I called the hospital and spoke with administration to get all the background scoop on him. I was impressed. I'm comfortable with my decision thus far and feel good about proceeding once I'm approved through insurance.

Had a consultation with Dr. Chiang on 7-25-02. Was extremely impressed with him. He was very thorough and detailed, yet was personable. I was very comfortable with him. Everyone I met in that office seemed pleasant and knowledgable, I was very comfortable with everyone.

My first impression of Dr Chiang was that he was younger than I expeceted. He was nice and he answered all my questions. He explained the surgery and possible risks. His business manager Kristy spoke to me after I saw the Dr and explained some other issues re: the surgery. I have only met Dr. Chiang once but I would recommend him to others at this point. About 21 years ago I had the VGB so this will be a revision to the RNY. He explained how this would be done.

Hi, I would recommend My surgeon to anyone thinking about having the surgery.He is most professional.He explained the in's and out's of the proceedure, the risk's and benefits, and was very attentive.
The only thing that was a slight bother to me was that he is such a busy man,that he is usually in and out in a flash, so if you have any questions to ask write them down so you remember otherwise he might be gone before you remember to ask.
I have a very structured program as far as visits and blood work and the like, the only thing I was a bit disappointed about was that there wasn't a lot of info, like i've gotten off some web sights about, pouch rules and such, and there is no support group as of yet.(but i've inquired and they're working on it.
Overall it was a pleasant experience and I think it was the best thing I have done for myself for a long time.