Weight Loss and Surgery Center Bariatric Center
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I first Met Dr. Afram in a group meeting at his office in Washington DC. He is a softspoken man, very knowledgeable in his field. He has done the Gastric Bypass procedure over 3,000 times. His mortality rate is 0%, this was a major factor for me. The office staff is friendly and welcoming, always willing to help. To the day I have yet to find something bad about this doctor. I am very impressed by his presence and that he is so concerned about aftercare. He kept stressing how vital it is to have follow up visits. The follow up program is very detailed and thorough. During the group consultation meeting Dr. Afram answers almost every possible question you may have before opening up the conversation to questions from the group. He then meets one on one with you and answers any other questions you may have. I believe he is a great choice because he posseses both Surgical competence and bedside manner.
I met with Dr. Lee for my consultation and found her to be very thorough and caring. She went through the different types of surgery and explained the one that she does (RNY) and why she chooses to do this type of surgery versus other types. She answered all the questions that my husband and I asked and made sure that we understood her responses. She explained all different types of tests she does for leaks before you ever come out of surgery. I feel very confident in Dr. Lee's ability. Her staff seems equally impressive. When I called to make my appointment I had asked her assistant Ongelic if there was any paperwork that she could send me before my consulation. She sent me out a packet that included information on the surgery itself as well as things the surgeons office would need from me before they could turn the paperwork in to the insurance company such as a psych evaluation. I had all of this done before the consultation with the surgeon. The only thing that I had to wait on was the paperwork from the psych evaluation which was faxed to the surgeon's office yesterday. Ongelic will be turning my paperwork into the insurance company today.
I met with two different surgeon. I was most impressed with the personal attention I got pre op from Dr. Lin. He took his time answering all the questions that both my husband and myself had. He explained both the opened RNY and the laproscopic, including the pros and cons of both. After hearing his explaination, I chose to have the open procedure. Post op, I dealt have dealt mainly with his staff and I thoughly enjoy the attention I get. His staff has made it very clear that if I have any question or concerns to call any time, day or night. While in the hospitol, I was being visited several times a day by his staff and if I ever had problems or one of his staff was concerned that I needed something that I wasn't getting, they were very quick to bring it to the attention of the hospitol staff. I would rate Dr. Lin and his staff as a 9.5. (A 10 is perfect and I am only 25 days post op, so I think I need a little more time to give them a perfect score. HA HA) Dr. lin's surgical competence was why I chose him, but the bedside manner and personal care I have received from him and his staff has been the best!
I remember the first time I met Dr. Afram....I was immediately impressed and I knew right away that this was the person that I wanted to have do my surgery. He was very personable; however, very knowledgable at the same time...He explained the risks, and along with the risks, he explained the entire "lifetime" program that you would be part of....
His staff was incredibly helpful and made you feel like you were part of the family there. Sally/Mandy/Penny all worked tirelessly to ensure that all the paperwork was done on time and made sure that any appeals were handled quickly. What truly impressed me was that the commitment to their jobs, in actuality, they just didn't treat this as a job, but as wanting to truly help people.
Overall, his bedside manner was incredible, and to this day, I've had two plastic sugeries performed. The TT/hernia repair was performed by him and his caring nature was evident in this process as well. In addition, when I had my arms done, he actually stopped in to see me the morning after surgery. In my mind, what more could I ask for in a doctor who is truly looking out for my overall wellbeing. I would rate Dr. Afram a 10....
I have my first consultation with him on April 19th. I will post again afterwards.
4/22/04 - Well, I met Dr. Lin on 4/19, and I found him to be very straight forward, knowledgable, and nice. His nurse practitioner was awesome as well. When my husband and I got into the examining room, they had a video tape set up to watch. After the 30 min video, the nurse came in and asked some questions. Then Dr. Lin came in and answered all of my questions. I was there for 2 1/2 hours. He addressed all of the possible risks and complications. What I really liked about him is that he only does 6 gastric bypass surgeries a week. I am so glad he is not the type of surgeon who does 6 in one day. Those types make me nervous. I will meet with him once more before my big day. Looking forward to everthing. The only negative thing I have to say is that the room that I was in was very hot. They hadn't cut the air on yet and it was really warm outside.
6/3/04 - Well, I had my surgery on 5/27, and everything went great. Dr. Lin met with me and my family the day of the surgery and explained everything once more and then we went to the OR. The surgery took 4 hours. Everything went well. I saw him as I was waking up in recovery and he spoke ot me and my family again. Every day I was in the hospital, I saw him every morning. He is wonderful. And the incision and the sutures look amazing. I don't know how he did it, but my icision was really thin. It's going to heal wonderfully. I am really glad I picked him, because he was just OUTSTANDING. His nurse practitioner, Denise, is OUTSTANDING. Even the medical students that came around in the morning for rounds were OUTSTANDING. I recommend him to anyone having any type of surgery done. I was never scared or nervous. I felt safe with him. And after the surgery, I felt no pain. Not because of the morphine, I just had no pain. I hardly used it so they took it away and gave me Percocet if I needed it. The only time I was in pain is when I coughed or that night when I tried to sit up from the bed to get into a chair. Other than that, everything was pain free. And 10 days later, still pain free. I am able to walk, get in and out of bed, ride in a car and go shopping. So needless to say, he was AMAZING!!!!!
Dr Lin was the second doctor I had gone to in search of a surgeon. My first experience with the other doctor was that I was being sold a car or something. It was so impersonal and didn't seem to matter to the doctor who I was or why I wanted surgery.
Dr Lin's office was totally different. He and Denise were what I was looking for. Both were intersested in me and my journey. The video and information that I was told and received was extensive. Everything was covered, good and bad. I knew what was expected of me and it was emphasized to me that this was a life change, forever. I had surgery in January, 2004. We did hit a road bump and the opening from my pouch to my small intestine was closed. Nothing went through. Even though it was a bad experience at the time, everything was explained to me. Exactly why this happens and what was being done to fix it. I have had 2 enoscopy dilations since then and I seem to be on track. Throughout this whole thing Denise has been my lifline. She has been helpfull in so many ways. Always returning my calls promplty and never making me feel that I am a pain in the ***. I have nothing bad to say about Dr Lin and his office and I am glad that I picked him.
Della Perkins
I just had my consultation with Dr. Afram yesterday (3-21-04) and i was very impressed. I felt immediatly at home with he and his staff. I got lost trying to get to the office in time for a seminar and they actually waited for me to get there to start. That really showed me they cared. His office staff were great and a couple of them have even had the procedure done. He explained everything in detail and went over the whole journey with me. He talked about the risks and explained the whole system they have in place. I am very impressed with them. I like that they have a whole support system right there. Nutritionist/dietician, support groups you must attened, there own plastic surgeon, their own psycologist, everything. The plan is so structured and it makes me feel that they are in it for the long hual not just to operate and be done with it.
I loved Dr Lin from the moment I saw his video. I feel the same way about his staff. Kathy and Denise always talk on the phone with a smile in their voices, and that makes such a difference! Aftercare is definitely stressed, as is thier desire for you to feel comfortable calling whenever you have a question. He fully addresses risk and lifestyle changes. I give Dr Lin and his staff a PERFECT 10 as far as pre and post op office visits go. My only regret is that we did not dicuss pain management pre-operatively. I found that for the first 24 hours I was way to out of it to be administering my morphine, and as a result was in a lot of pain. I would have asked for a steady dose of something.....andlesser morphine to self administer for atleast 24 hours out of surgery.
Dr.Lin was informative at my first visit and cautious. He was informative and gave me the pros and cons of this surgery. It was scary but important and necessary. Denise his nurse is outstanding in bedside mannerand has been so from day one. Dr. Lin performed an open RNY on me and I think I have the best looking scar in the land. My first impression of it was
"oh, it's so pretty". I'm so proud of him and his great skill. I wanted to live through this surgery and then reap the best results by following his instructions and exercising. That has happened and it's up to me to do the rest. He has done his part admirably. The residents who worked with him Drs. Evangalista and Iglesia were so nice to me and I felt so much warmth from them. Dr. Evangalista talked to me after the surgery and I felt like she really cared. Thanks so much to her and I thank God for each of these people who have made a difference in my life.