Mark T. Jaroch M.D. Bariatric Center

I was very nervous about dealing with Dr. Jaroch at first because he really seemed like a "straight shooter". And, as it turns out, he is a straight shooter! But I have found his personality to be extremely beneficial to me. He is upfront and honest. He is a very caring man and I believe he cares about his patients. His staff seems to be very friendly, although extremely busy! I have only had one appt cancelled to date and I don't see that as a problem. The rest remains to be seen after 1-13-03....

Although I am still pre op at this point I become more and more confident of my choice in Dr. Jaroch. This is based on the comments of other that have had him for a surgeon and the support group he runs each month at Akron General. He seems so commited to the after care and sucess for his patients it gives me a very good feeling. My new date for my one on one is Sept 10. and after that things should move along quickly (I hope)

Dr Jaroch is the best!!! He was there to see me everyday in the hospital, his staff has been there for questions after I got home. On a scale of 1 - 10 he ranks a 12

My first impression of my Dr is that he is straight forward and to the point. He let me know this was not just an everyday surgery and the success was totally up to me. I like my surgeon a lot.

His staff are very nice and polite. Dr Jaroch isnt just a bariatric surgeon even though he does a lot of them, he is a general surgeon. So his schedule is VERY tight and it is SO hard to get into see him. My appointments with him have been changed every time. The office staff are very appologetic but I understand that since he is such a good Dr that he will be very busy. One of the office staff said that they appreciated my patience and that she was sure that when my time comes I was going to heaven LOL.

Even though I do like the fact he is straight forward and to the point...he is also very serious. He prescribed me some pills for my thyroid that my PCP said I really didnt need because I wasnt that far off. So I filled the script and never got it renewed. When I went to see Dr Jaroch again he asked me if I was still taking them and I said no. He sighed and said "Well, its your life." Oh and he HATES insurance companies too LOL which isnt a bad thing hehe.
Future patients should know to LISTEN to what he says and if he tells you to do something its for YOUR own good.

He is VERY good about telling you what you will or wont be doing afterwards. He offers dietary counceling, and a support group. In my opinion he is the next best thing to Bariatric Treatment Center.

He basically told me that if I didnt follow the rules and the steps after surgery that I could have problems.

On a scale from 1 to 10, I would rate Dr Jaroch as a 10. I have heard nothing but good thing about him and in our area we are limited in who we can use. Dr Jaroch is one of the few that offers any type of dietary counceling.

As far as surgical competence, I am 100% confident that he knows what he is doing through and through. As for bedside manner, I will find out after November 14th =).

I will say if you are looking for the mushy mushy kind of Dr, then he may not be the Dr for you. He is blunt, serious and knows his stuff. He cares and wants everyone to succed!

WELL I WAS VERY SCARED OF HIM AT FRIST THAT WAS MY THOUGHT , TILL I GOT TO TALK TO HIM ONE ON ONE AND FOUND OUT THAT HE IS A VERY NICE MAN AND A CARING MAN AS WELL HE WILL WORK WITH U BUT U WILL HAVE TO HAVE PATIENT WITH HIM CAUSE HE WILL TELL U JUST AS IT IS AND HE WILL HIM U TOO. AND HIS STAFF IS VERY CARING TOO THEY ARE THE BEST .

WHAT I LIKE THE LEAST WAS THAT HIS OFFICES IS ALLWAYS CROWDED

Dr. Jaroch is a most caring, professional, knowledgable individual. He took the time to thoroughly answer my questions, had lot of literature to give me and a video to watch. The benefits and risks were discussed during my itinital consultation. I was very impressed that he tracks his patients data after the surgery, publishes it and teaches his techniques around the world.

The office staff is great, I cannot say enough about them. The approval process was simple and a breeze for me thanks for the wonderful office staff.

Aftercare consists of education provided by Dr. Jaroch, a monthly support group meeting held by Dr. Jaroch, and an on-line support group also.

Dr. Jaroch is very professional and I could not have asked for more specific and exact care. His office staff is generally available for questions and as one of his patients, you should ask as many questions as you have. They are all very informed and if they do not know the answer, will find it out for you.

The after surgery program is VERY structured. I recomend that you purchase the cookbook from the office as it will serve as your bariatric bible, if you will.

I would rate Dr. Jaroch and his staff as a 10.

Dr. Jaroch. I was pretty comfortable with him. It took seeing him for the 3td. time to see he really has a good sense of humor. He seems to care about the out come of his patients. Even personally give grocery store tours to teach what to buy and what our requirements are before and after surgery.

We haven't discussed in length the risks of this surgery yet. I have an appointment on the 5th of August and I have the feeling thats when I'll be scared senseless!

Much I of everything else about him I am still learning.

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<dt><b>July 2, 2002</b></dt>
<dd>Well, here I am, 12 days post-op! Everything went great! Dr Jaroch as far as I can tell did a great job! My surgery was only 4 hours long. All things considering, I think I'm doing extremely well. My mom who had this surgery before can't believe how well I am doing, even considering the fact her surgery was more difficult. (For those who wonder how dedicated Dr. Jaroch is, my mom said he stayed ALL NIGHT in the recovery room with my mom to make sure she was OK! He won't leave you in the cold as one friend's surgeon in Cleveland did when she had some problems afterwards, and I believe dr. Jaroch even helped her! Anyhow, I go Wed to get two of the tubes removed. Will post more later.</dd>
<dt><b>May 8, 2002 (posted late)</b></dt>
<dd>Went in last week to go over tests results, overall think they were ok. Now have a surgury date of June 20, 2002! Nerovously, anxiously, happily waiting... :-) After buying a new pair of walking shoes, am now trying to walk daily too. Old shoes were worn out so bad, after 3 days my ankles were killing me.</dd>
<dt><b>April 23, 2002</b></dt>
<dd>Went for tests yesterday, all went fine. Upper GI wasn't as bad as I'd been told. Probably would have been worse if I drank it slowly instead of chugging it just because of the smell ;-). Only real trouble was they had a hard time finding an artery for the one blood draw. Suggestion for those going for your tests: DON'T pee before you go. I didn't know they needed urine sample... LOL</dd>
<dt><b>April 1, 2002</b></dt>
<dd>Now have testing date (Apr 22) and date for the one on one (Apr 30). It is amazing what a difference having an actual date known makes. Can't wait :-)</dd>
<dt><b>March 22, 2002</b></dt>
<dd>Called today to get an update on having the tests done, was told they were still doing people whose visit was in February and would be a few weeks until they would get to my group.</dd>
<dt><b>March 6, 2002</b></dt>
<dd>At the first visit, was told that my next step is getting the tests done. I forgot to ask about how long that would take, so I called and talked to Judy and was told they were behind on things and would be a couple of weeks. A friend of mine was able to get her dates for testing this week, they were for 3 ahead, so I am "guess planning" for it being about 6 weeks from now.</dd>
<dt><b>March 6, 2002</b></dt>
<dd>The first visit went well other than seating. They use a shared conference room, and it has chairs with uncomfortable arms on them. If you are wide like me, 58" waist, opt for one of the stools for guests :-) Everything went fine that meeting, lots of information! Although I don't have to worry about it, I was impressed with how much information Dr Jaroch had on the different insurance companies, knowing who does what and what to expect.</dd>
<dt><b>Background</b></dt>
<dd>Dr. Jaroch did this surgery on my mom 2 years ago and a few friends my mom had recommended to him. After seeing their results I decided to have the surgery. I went to first monthly meeting Feb 21, 02. I was having trouble trying to get insurance because of my size, and was glad to find out the cost of paying cash for the whole thing was (for my resources) reasonable. The next week I got the approval to borrow the money and called to make first appointment. It was for March 5. By that date I had the cash in the bank.</dd>
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I found Dr. Jaroch to be very thorough &
informative.

My impression of him has not really changed.

The office staff were friendly.

Sometimes it seemed like he could be very quiet and a little too professional on a one on one basis.

He really does care about whether you succeed after surgery. he has programs to help, you just have to attend.

He puts a great deal of emphasis on aftercare, such as protien, vitamins, what not ot eat, takes post-op& pre-op alike on grocery shopping tours of the stores in the area to point out certain foods that are best to eat and at what stage of recovery they can be eaten, also tells what you should stear clear of.

He does have a structured aftercare program that he goes over with you in one on one, support group meetings, and in the POGABS cookbook. He also goes over this with you in the hospital before you are released, as well as has his wife, who is a dietician, go over the program with you.

He tells you that there is a risk with any surgery, but is more so with obesity surgery because of other health problems associated
with the obesity.

I would rate him very highly and would recommend anyone contemplating obesity surgery to contact him.

I really feel surgical competence is definitely the most important, the bedsid manner has nothing to do with whether a surgeon is good or not. Good bedside manner is just a plus that makes you feel better when they come in to see how you are progressing.


I would rate him very highly and recommend him to anyone who is contemplating obesity surgery(RNY).

I had surgery 4/8/02 at AGMC it was a pain free operation and recovery everything went well.Dr Jaroch was there all the way and overseen the week following in the hospitial.
I wasted all my time worrying about pain and everything that didnt happen such a shame on my part so dont be like me and think the worst. I hope my weight lose goes well and will let ya all know ok. :-)