Alexander Onopchenko Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S.

My first impression of Dr Onopchenko was that he was very knowledgable. I went to the required seminar, and liked what I saw. When I had my first appointment with him, my initial thoughts of him were stregthened. He is also a very compassionate person. When he is in the exam room with you, he makes you feel as if you are the only patient he has. He has a very structured aftercare program, and is very adament about following it to the letter. He made the risks of surgery very clear to me, but also told me that the risks of my obesity far outweighed the surgical risks, which I already knew, or I wouldn't have been there. Overall, I would highly recommend him.

My first impression of Dr. Onopchenko was that he had a great sense of humor. He had a lighter side to his symposium to help put every one at ease. He addresses both the good outcome and risks associated with the surgery, at the symposium, before ever seeing a patient for the initial consultation. I have to say, my opinion has not changed, I think he has a great bedside manor and is able to made one feel at ease even when the times are bad. He also has a wonderful track record with this surgery.
His office staff is great, they all try to give each person enough time to make them feel they are not being shoved out the door.
Dr. O does not always approve of protein shakes, but he will work with his patients based on a one-to-one relationship. He does have a structured aftercare program and if followed, for the most part, there should be little or no unforeseen problems arise.
I give Dr O a very high rating, I think he is great!! He made me feel much better about the problems I experienced after surgery and worked with me to solve them a quickly as possible.
The only negative thing I could say about Dr O is that he is very busy and if you are not prepared to address any issues with him, he will leave the room and go on to the next patient. So have your questions ready before your visit is over.

I attended the seminar yesterday (10/25/03) and it was a very informative presentation. I've decided to do this three years ago so the information was not new to me. I liked getting to know the Dr. and his personality and meet his staff. I also liked seeing what his stats were.

He specialized in the RNY Lap but has just added the Lap Band. He is very humerous and relaxed and really connected with the audience. You could tell it was important they everyone understand the "good, bad and the ugly" as he put it.

They definitely emphasize aftercare and seem to be much more organized since he left his other practice and joined the hospital program.

I've been schedule for the "seminar" which you have to attend before you can get things going since May!! Every month I'd call and get told next month. Come to find out it was because of this transition they were going through.

I look forward to working with this group and my initial impression is a 8 or 9 out of 10.

11/6/03 I had my appointment with Dr. Onopchenko. He has a great bedside manner and made me feel very comfortable. I am a Jehovah's Witness and dicussed the blood issue with him and he was very comfortable with that and said he has operated on my Jehovah's Witnesses and that the hospital where I'm having my surgery - Atlantic City Medical Center - is planning on doing all of their surgery "bloodless".

Kathy in his office is awsome - very busy - but never so much so that she doesn't speak kindly to you. She got me approved in 3 business days!!!!!! She also got me scheduled for surgery in three weeks (11/26/03) as someone had to cancel. The reason she could do that tho was because I have already gotten all of my "appointments" done or scheduled to be done this week. I'm so excited!!! As of today I rate them a 10 out of 10.

My first impression of Dr. O. was that of someone who was very confident of what he does. He exuded warmth, sincerity, and understanding of the plight of overweight people. When I introduced myself at the end of the seminar and told him of a mutual friend, he replied with a twinkle in his eyes, "I won't hold that against you!" He made me feel completely comfortable and confident in his expertise. His "new" office staff is dy-no-mite. No question is too insignificant. He is organized and well structured in every aspect of his surgery. On a scale of 1-10, I rate Dr.O. as a 10++++:-) :-) I didn't feel as if I was "just another patient"; he made me feel as if I,and my welfare, really mattered to him.
My only criticism is that, through no fault of his, I was never notified of his new location. If I had been aware of that fact, I probably would be post-op by now.

Dr. O was very caring, understanding, attentive and most importantly, realistic. He has a fantastic bedside manner, treats all of his patients with respect and dignity. He makes you feel special and individual.

His office is finally coming together. He left one practice to go into private practice and the transistion was a little harrowing, but it's on the right track now. The office staff are knowledgeable and they recently made some very positive changes. Kathy is fantastic!!!

I would highly recommend Dr. O to anyone considering the surgery. He was very thorough and didn't leave any stones unturned.

I was very impressed when I first went to the seminar. He was very honest and upfront about the surgery. aftercare, pretesting.
When I finally got my consult I was so pleased to see what a genuinely caring and nice guy he was, I did not feel he was doing surgery for the money, but because he cared about his patients. I saw him end of July and had all my testing done in Aug. I am just waiting for them to recieve the letters from the Doctors I had to see. The only thing was because he was moving to a new location they did not have my chart with them, so I am also in the process of contacting all the doctors to make sure they send their reports to the right number.
And at his old office they were very nice to me about getting my chart to him ASAP.

Note added: turns out I have a small esophageal ulcer which will set me back 6 weeks minimum.

My first impression of Dr Onopochenko was not on a personal level. I work on the Med/Surg floor of an area hospital and Dr Onopochenkp usually has patients on my floor. On a quiet weekend shift, I overheard him and some internists I respect talking about the surgery and how much success his patients had. The internists regularly follow some of Dr O's patients and they were happily comparing stories of very successful patients (no names were mentioned-very important with the new HIPPA regs).

When I went to Dr O's seminar, his demeanor was not that of a salesman trying to sell his "product", but of a father describing a successful endeavor of his child.

When I met him at the consult, I was impressed with his sincerity and willingness to answer any questions I had (some were extensive since I work on a surgical and know too well of the risks of any surgery).

I was surprised when he said that I may be able to be done in 1-2 months vs the normal 3-4 months (I anticipated some of the requirements and had been working on them).

There wasn't anything I didn'tlike about him. His bedside and clinical skills are 2nd to none-he was the first surgeon to perform laporscopic surgeries at our area hospital.

He emphasizes that this is a LIFETIME commitment and is only a tool, not a cure.

He has a very structured aftercare program which is thorough without being smothering.

I would give him my highest rating.

Dr. Onopchenko is a very resourcful in his knowledge of WLS. He gives you the truth. The only bad right now about his office is he has left the practice and is now associated with the hospital and they are not fully staffed yet. I feel very comfortable with him doing the surgery. He offers you the ability to make the decisions with him with what is right for you. He didn't push through anything that I didn't want to do.

Dr Onopchenko is a very caring and truthful surgeon. He tells you like it is and expects his patients to follow the rules. My husband and I were very impressed with his apparent dedication to his patients. His staff have been wonderful. The only downfall is that his office is moving and not everyone is going with him.

My first impression of Dr. O was that he's knowledgeable person and very easy to talk to. He asked me lots of questions and I asked many questions also. He took the time to speak with me using "plain language". I felt very at ease with him. He was highly recommended by my family physician, Dr. Ron Soucier.