The Weight Loss Center at Pinnacle Health Bariatric Center

I had my first appointment with Dr. DiMarco on June 12, 2000. I like Dr. DiMarco he took his time and answered all my questions. His office staff was also very nice. He told me that he is planning on opening a WLS clinic that will help with post op.

Nov 20, 2001
Dr D is the greatest.....He gave me my life back. He is worth the wait!

Feb. 1,2001
I met Dr. DiMarco today. I am very happy with today's visit. I did not feel self conscious, I was very relaxed. The office staff was very friendly and helpful. Dr. Dimarco explained the procedure and told me what to expect before during and after surgery. His manner is very kind , friendly and easy to talk to. He sounds very thorough. Very professional.Dr. Dimarco explained the risk of "leakage" but checks twice (by injecting dye before leaving the O.R. and barium swallow before leaving the hospital.) If it occurs he would repair it right away. He's only had 2 cases of leakage in 4 yrs of this surgery. He will do the surgery on a Friday and I will go home the following Monday. His office will send the necessary papers to my insurance. I will recieve a call when approval is sent and we will then set up pre-op and surgery dates. Pre-op :Gallbladder ultrasound & EGD to check gall bladder and make sure there are no surprises in the stomach. If gall stones are present he will remove the gall bladder at the same time the gastric bypass is being done. I also need to see dietician before and after surgery. After surgery he wants to see you after 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months. He warned me that I would have to wait probably till the end of March or April. He only does 2-3 of these a week. I'm anxious to get the ball rolling.

My surgery was March 23, 2001. All went very well. I've had no problems. I would say Dr. Dimarco did a great job!

My first impression of Dr. DiMarco was that he was caring, understanding of what I am going through with my weight and took his time with you. The office Staff was great, very frendly, always smiling, taking time answering questions for you and very understanding of what you have gone through and will go through after this surgery. One little bothering thing about Dr. DiMarco is that he was always late. Sometimes you have to wait 1 to 2 hours to be seen by him but once you were in his office, he was great and took his time with you. I reccomend anyone to see this Dr., he may be slow going at the beginning but once you get in to see him and get the ball rolling, then all goes well. I haven't had the surgery yet but I heard aftercare with Dr.DiMarco goes just as well as anything else. One good thing about this Dr. is that he explains this surgery very well, such as Risks and Complications and what to expect. I rate this Dr.a 9, only because he is late alot for appointments but all in all he is the greatest Dr.I have ever known.

He was very kind.

No

Very friendly.

He is so busy there is a wating list.







He lets you know the truth, pros and cons

10

CAREING AND INFORMATIVE

My first impression of Dr. DiMarco was his kindness and understanding of my problem. I had my first consult in april and I am a self pay so when I paid them on June 14, 2001 I was given my surgery date on June 22, 2001. My date will be September 21, 2001. Thank god and Dr. DiMarco. They whole office is great not a problem at all.

I am still awaiting my appoitment. Has anyone used Health Americia? I would be interested in knowing how complicated they make the approval.

I had my initial consult with Dr. DiMarco on May 24. As I've heard, he was running behind as usual, about an hour. But the time went quickly as I chatted with others in the waiting room who had already had this done and were more than willing to chat about it. The initial consult lasted about 30 minutes. He was very nice and described everything to me very completely and answered all my questions. He really emphasizes being seen back there in a timely fashion after your surgery for your post-op visits to avoid/detect any complications (I was hoping to be able to follow up closer to home since this is a 2 hour drive for me, but that's a No-No). The office staff is very nice, but I had one major problem with their lack of information. They assured me a few times that all I would need was my office copay (BC/BS) but when I got there and was in the back waiting for the doctor to come in a girl came in to tell me that BC/BS hasn't been paying for initial consult visits for obesity the past few weeks, so I would need to have the money that day or I'd have to reschedule (another 4 months out!). I was fit to be tied since I didn't have an extra $200 with me! Luckily my Mom was with me and put it on her credit card or I would have been in trouble. But I felt that was something they DEFINITELY should have informed me of ahead of time if there was even a chance I could have had to pay that then. But otherwise the visit went well. Now I just have to wait for insurance approval (probably 1-2 weeks for BC/BS) then I get to do all the pre-op stuff and schedule my surgery! Unfortunately it won't be as soon as I was expecting. I was hoping for late July but they tell me they're out 'till Sept already. I'm really hoping to get a cancellation earlier. I was a little disappointed that they only have Sat hours one Sat a month, though, as it's VERY difficult for me to take time off from work for this (they're not very supportive). But I'll do what I have to do to make this work. This is my priority now.

Dr. DiMarco was very informative and patient with all of our questions. The stafs was pleasant as well. He seemed very confident that I would have no trouble getting approved by my insurance, but I may have to wait until July for surgery. He seems to be avery popular guy. I met several of his patients while waiting. Both had very good surgery experiences and quick recoveries. They are both doing well, and really like Dr. DiMarco. If you are even considering this surgery for the first time, make your appointment now. You can always cancel. Once you decide to have the surgery, it is so hard to wait for it to actually happen. Don't wait. I'll let you know more after my pre-op tests and surgery.

Obesity is a very sensitive issue for most people and I'm certainly no exception. I had a hard time mentioning my weight problem to a doctor without shedding a few tears, I just felt so defeated. Dr. DiMarco made me feel very comfortable. He addressed my concerns in a professional and sensitive manner and made me feel good about the choice I'd made to look into bariatric surgery.

His staff has been very helpful and supportive. They've been quick to respond to any questions whether via phone or e-mail. The office is, however, extremely busy. I had to wait a month and a half for an appointment, something that's hard to do once you've made a decision to go ahead and see a surgeon.

There is a new support group forming at his practice, the first meeting will be in April and there is a registered dietician on staff. There is a pre-op appointment with the dietician that is required and follow-up appointments after surgery.

I chose Dr. DiMarco because he was the only surgeon in my area to do the procedure laparoscopically and, since I have two young children to care for, I could not afford a long recovery time.

For this particular type of surgery, I think competence needs to combine with a compassionate and understanding bedside manner. If he would have made me feel like he didn't care or would have made me feel ashamed of my weight, I would never have chosen him to do my surgery.

Negative things to say? I waited nearly an hour and a half for my first appointment. He seems to run late a lot of the time, but when I did see him, he didn't rush through my appointment. He took his time and was very thorough....which, in my opinion, is a good tradeoff. So no real complaints here.