Lester Cooperstone Bariatric Surgery Bariatric Center

My first impression of Dr. Cooperstone is that he is serious about what he does and he means business. I had to wait in the office a long time the first two visits.
The staff is friendly but totally overworked and too busy to handle the volume of patients however, they have since hired help and have gotten better.
I had a positive experience with Dr. Cooperston, but when asked the thing I liked least about Dr.Cooperstone, I would say it was the the attitude he portrayed at the pre-op support group. The questions from the candidates were not responded to as kindly as they could have been. He seemed blasse at the meeting I attended.
He has a very good aftercare structure program.
He does address the risks of surgery.
Overall, I would rate him a 9.
I prefer surgical competence and a good bedside manner, however the surgical competence is the most important and the good bedside manner is a nice to have.

I picked my surgeon from his website. I had appts with 4 surgeons but i knew from looking at him and seeing his site he was the Dr. I was waiting for. On my first impression, I was right. He was competent very informative, he took time with me yet was very cut and dry on the information. One of the best qualities he has is an extremely dry wonderful sense of humor. He acted like you were not just a number. And he has acted that way ever since our first meeting in July 02. I can't say enough about this man he is fabulous. My impression only changed over time because i liked him more and more each time i saw him. He always makes me laugh. His staff is FERN! She is the second reason i chose him, she runs that office with such charm and professionalism.
She makes the whole office tick. I love her.
There's really nothing i don't like about my Dr. Really. Get to him right away and put it all in his hands....he will take very good care of you. Aftercare is very, very important. He has rules and you must follow them as far as exercise and eating. He is very strict about that. He lets you know exactly what the risks could be.
Rate him? How high can I go? 1-10 ...Ok he's a 20 then. You absolutely need Surgical Competence first...but hey, who the heck doesn't want some good bedside manner too?

Alot has changed since the last time I wrote.

I am no longer a patient of Dr Shawn Garber. I switched to Dr Lester Cooperstone of Syosset NY.

He does open surgery and does the VBG Gastric Bypass. Even though he does open surgery as opposed to laproscopic surgery, I have such a good feeling about Dr Cooperstone and trust him completely.

The person who runs his office is Fern. She is the absolute best. Always pleasant and always patient no matter how many questions you ask.

Dr Cooperstone is sometimes hard to take the first time you meet him because his has a very dry wit and is somewhat sarcastic. however, he is brutally honest and will not do the surgery if he thinks you'll have any problems. he has turned people away.

His office is located right in the hospital where the surgery is done, Syosset hospital. part of the North Shore University Hospitals. he does not switch from hospital to hospital like some other doctors. from what his post-op patients say, the after care staff at the hospital is fantastic and very attentive.

in fact, I will be put into ICU because I have sleep apnea and he wants to make sure there is exta monitering because of that.
(the first doctor I saw was not even interested in finding out if I had sleep apnea or not) Dr Cooperstone refused to even consider me for the surgery until i was tested. Thank G-D, because if you have sleep apnea and don't know it, you can die after the surgery.

His support group is great also. very very supportive and informative.

I would rate Dr Cooperstone very high so far.

I will write again about him after my surgery.

Take care and G-D bless everyone doing this.

I had my initial consultation with Dr Cooperstone today 1/30/03. I thought he was a very nice man, and he explained things to me in a way i would understand. The only thing im concerned about,is that he said i dont have to bee seen by any other physicians before my surgery,which he says should be in July. He said i had to go home and read the paperwork that he gave me today,and to then call and make nother appt to speak with him. that should take about 2 weeks. After that my surgery date will be set. Does anyone find this to be a little strange? Oh by the way,the procedure im going to have is called the banded gastric bypass.

Highly professional, knowlegeable and sensitive. Explained procedure, pre-op, and post-op, thoroughly. Stressed the risks, and benefits. Quizzed me on the information, to make sure I understood. Has his office right in the hospital where surgery is done. I find that comforting. His office staff consists of a one person dynamo, who does the work of 4-5, and does it extremely well.

Doc strongly emphasizes that this is a life changing committment, and not a temporary solution. Has support group which meets monthly. Also has a clothing exchange program for those whose body is rapidly changing. I thought this was an excellent and compassionate idea.

I liked Dr. Cooperstone immediately. He spent a considerable amount of time with me. I thought he would shrug me off, because I am not as obese as most of his patients, but at less than 5ft. tall, and 190 lbs., he agreed that surgery would reatly improve my life. He has a large book in the office with pre-op, and post-op pictures. These are all people he a operated on personally. I liked knowing that he has done so many surgeries. Afer I checked the web sites, and saw so many positive postings from his patients, I know I made the right choice.

Completing all the consults, has been time consuming, but also gives you time to seriously think, about the surgery, as well as obtaining other medical opinions. I really, really liked all the consultants this Doc reommended, but I also chose one of my own.

I was somewhar reluctant to talk to my family MD about my decision, I did not think he would approve, and I was surprised that he was so supportive. He immediately dictated a letter to my insurance co. concurring with the surgeon.

I have my second visit with the surgeon, next week. I hope to be scheduled for surgery at that time.

my first impression right off the bat was to feel totally comfortable with him, i realized that i didnt have to worry about my weight and size around him, he had seen much bigger and much smaller than me and it was his job to help me try and get alot smaller. he made me feel comfortable asking a few questions about my lifestyle, told me that my chocolate would be eatable after surgery and i would have to stop all together lol!
he told me all the basics about the banded gastric bypass and told me that aftercare is the most important thing, there are so many rules and stages of this surgery and i was just glad to be at step one..i already knew in my head that i wanted to get this done but after the consultation he told me to go home and think about it because it was a life altering decision. overall i would rate doctor cooperstone a 9.5..theres always room for improvement lol

Dr. cooperstone has very nice,professional and upfront with me. he told me what to expect and explained everything in detail. and he made sure I understood him, because on my next visit to him, he gave me a test to see if I understood all the information that he told me.And his right hand person-Fern is excellent she answers any questions that you have and she really makes you feel that you are in the right hands.

well surgery was done 10/1/02, and what can i say Dr. C your the greatest. you never lied to me it all happened the way you said it would. I wish you could be my pc Dr.well i know God sent me to you and for that im greatful. Now for all you people out there if you go to another doctore your making a big bobo, he's the best

Dr C. was very serious and straight forward. He was not nasty or anything he just let you know what was up.
Fern is very nice alwas able to answer all my silly questions. after all is said and done i think that i would recomend him to someone else.

I met with Dr. Cooperstone last week. I must start by saying that Fern, his office manager, was as nice and personable as I had read online. I was somewhat nervous and chatting with her and cracking jokes really helped ease my nerves. My first impression of Dr. Cooperstone was that he was serious and a bit blunt...after talking for a bit, he loosened up and was even joking with me. He spent a very long time with me and never made me feel rushed nor did he seem exasperated with my four thousand questions. I was also impressed with the fact that my appointment was for 3:30 and I was seen by Dr. Cooperstone by 3:45...other Dr.'s had kept me waiting for up to 2 hours!! I need to think everything through very carefully before I make a decision. I'm checking out Dr. Cooperstone's support group meeting tonight and will hopefully get more questions answered....
5/13/ Went to the support group meeting last Wed.( 5/8) amd am now convinced that Dr. Coop. is the guy for me. This room was filled with the most compassionate and caring people and they all had WONDERFUL things to say about the Doc and hosp. My mind is set. I go on 5/23 for my 2nd consult and hopefully will set a date..I wish the surg. was yesterday already!!......Went for my 2nd consult with Dr. Cooperstone..I've got a date scheduled ( 8-20-02) and am proceeding full steam ahead !! I'm very nervous but feel confident that I will be well taken care of.....7/12..went to another support group meeting last night..VERY INFORMATIVE..got answers to numerous questions and got a real confidence boost from all the post-ops who were willing to share their experiences. Nothing but positive things to say about Dr. Coop, Fern and the group..FULL SPEED AHEAD!!
...8/17..had pre-op testing done at the hosp...went very well. Everyone was really nice and I was in and out of there in a little over an hour....9/6..had surgery on 8/20. Everything went as Dr. Coop had very clearly informed me. I was treated exceptionally well in the hospital and found the nursing staff to be outstanding. I am following his instructions to the letter and I'm feeling better every day and have my 3 week follow-up with Dr. C this Wed. For the first time in ages, I can't wait to get on a scale!! .....I am now 7 weeks post-op and haven't felt this good in years. My sister had her surgery with Dr. Cooperstone 2 days ago and my feeling about him is stronger than ever. He is a skilled, caring and compassionate physician with a sense of humor. What more can you ask for?? Thanks Dr. Coop !