Beryl Harberg Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

My first impression of Dr. Harberg was that i feel safe with him he is an older Dr. and he has performed over 2000 VBG with no deaths, he was very frank and to the point i like that in a Dr. you know where you stand. His office staff is wonderful they handled everything in 2 days and they made me and my husband feel very at peace with the VBG. He is really big on aftercare and tells you if you dont do your part the surgery may not work for you. He addressed the risks of this surgery well. To date i would recomend Dr. Harberg to any of my family members. He covered question we had he was very informative. I dont have a problem with his bedside manner as of yet and have not had surgery yet but i think both surgical competence and bedside manner are in order with Dr. Harberg.

Dr. Harberg was very firm at first



Yes

They are nice

If you do anything wrong he scoles you like a little child

Very, Very, Very Firm almost to the opoint it can hurt your feelings
Alot
Only what he tells you

yes

8

surgical competence

Very serious and straight to the point, extremely infomative and detailed about surgery. After he realized I was a good canidate and was very eager to have the operation so I could improve my health, he became like a very concerned close friend or even father. His staff was perfect sent me a packet of info the first day I called, they were extremely friendly. The doctor went into great detail how my life will have to change after surgery from diet to excersize but so far it seems like I will have to use the info he gave me and I will be responsible for my after care myself. He has told me surgery has risks including death however he has performed over 2,000 GBS over the past 20 years with no deaths. On a scale from 1-10 I would give him a 9.6 as of today. Surgical competence is better for me.

Dr Harberg was not on schedule the first visit I had at his office, my appt was at 130p and he got there at 230p. I had to be out of the office on the way home to meet my child by 3p, Dr Harberg seemed upset with me because of the time problems and I was upset with him for being late. I have since learned that he is rarely ontime for appts but wants his patients to be on time.
He is very business and will joke a little. I do like him because he reminds me of my dad. I have also heard that he is the best doctor in Houston for this type of surgery. This is much more important than his bedside maner.
His office staff seems very overworked and take awhile getting back to you. They are very nice though.
He uses Park Plaza Hospital in the medical center. The hospital is nice the nursing staff is horriable. If you can get Memorial Health Care out of him DO IT.
I am not sure if he has a structured aftercare program, I believe it is come whenever you like,,,,,,

My first impression of Dr. Harberg was that he was a very capable physician. After 1 consultation I decided to have the surgery.

Many friends warned me that the Dr. was probably only into doing the surgery because of the money and that the patients are on a sort of 'surgery assembly line'. I found just the opposite.

Dr. Harberg's office staff is very friendly. They have always been very patient when I've asked questions, and they worked with me on everything from scheduling the pre-op and surgery to allowing me to finance my payments.

I believe any future patients of Dr. Harberg will find that he is a no-nonsense kinda guy. He tells it like it is.

Dr. Harberg was very thorough in my consultation. First, we saw a detailed video on the surgery. Then, we had a 2 hour consultation where he covered everything from why I wanted to have the surgery, to the risks, to what to expect during and after the surgery. He even covered topics that I didn't even think to ask about. The entire consultation was very informative and I decided to have the surgery.

I would rate Dr. Harberg as a very capable physician. I was very pleased with the information I got from him, and he told me exactly what to expect.

Which is better, surgical competence, bedside manner, or both? Well, I think surgical competence is of the utmost importance. I was very nervous about having the surgery because I've never had any major surgery before. Knowing what to expect made all the difference. The thing I was most worried about was what the scar would look like. As for bedside manner - well, in my opinion, Dr. Harberg could be a little friendlier - but the impression I got was one of a no-nonsense kind of attitude rather than one of uncaring. All in all, my opinion is that Dr. Harberg is a great doctor.

Dr Harberg was great. I loved him, he was straight to the point and he has a strange sense of humor. He does seem gruff at first impressions, but just talk to him like you would any body else and you will see that he is quite funny. He is very experinced and to the point. He lays everything out onthe table and then lets you ask questions. The office staff is wonderful, they are very nice and helpful and they did all of my insurance work. He has been performing the VGB for over 20 years and he seems very qualified, and as of yet has ad no deaths which (I think) is a good record.

WELL I HAVE NOT HAD SURGERY YET. STILL WAITING ON MY APPROVAL. I HAVE MET DR. HARBERG AND HIS STAFF. THEY SEEM TO BE REALLY NICE PEOPLE. THEY ARE VERY HELPFUL. WHEN I GOT MY DENIAL LETTER FROM NYLCARE OF THE GULF COAST I TELEPHONED THEIR OFFICE ONLY TO FIND THAT THEY HAD ALREADY PREPARED MY APPEAL AND WAS WAITING FOR MY APPROVAL TO SUBMITT IT.SO NOW I AM WAITING ON NYLCARE YET AGAIN....IF YOU HAVN'T SELECTED A DOCTOR I DO RECOMEND DR.HARBERG. I THINK YOU'LL LIKE HIM. HE IS STRAIGHT FORWARD AND REALLY STRESSES HOW IMPORTANT THE AFTERCARE AND THE RIGHT FRAME OF MIND IS TO THE SURGERY'S SUCCESS. I HAD MY SURGERY,everything went fine DR. HARBERG took really good care of me and i think he has read his profiles,lol....he was great,had a sense of humor and all .....great job doc and thanks.

I was extremely impressed with his knowledge and understanding of my situation. He has a dry sense of humor, but I wasn't looking for someone to make me laugh. His office staff is wonderful and very helpful. They make me feel as if I were the only patient. I honestly cant find anything that I disliked about him. He is very straight foward and tells it like it is. I only wish there was a better aftercare or support group. He answered all questions and addressed every possible risk of surgery as well as after surgery. I give Dr. H 2 thumbs up!!! He is truely wonderful and recommend him to anyone who is thinking of having this surgery done...

He was not too friendly. I never really changed my opinion.i never did care for his bedside manner.However his office staff are super.He did not seem to really like fat people.Please remember this is my opinion and he might have been great with others.He did a good job, I have lost 165 pounds!I think you should live closer to him then I do.It is a 4 hour rise to go to his office.Thats a long trip for a 15 minute talk with aq doctor you are not comfortable with too.After care was never really discussed with me.I never went back after i left the hospital 4 days after surgery.I did not do it the right way and I would not suggest anyone do it the way I did.He may have a greaat after care program I just never made it back to his office.But i did call the office once and they were very pleasant but did want me to come in .It was just not possible.To be fair to the doctor I guess his surgical competence was the best.

I first met Dr. Harberg in November on a referral from not only my PCP, but a close friend who is post-op 10 months. She has currently lost 75 lbs. I will agree that he does have a dry sense of humor, but I went to him because of his credentials not his sense of humor. One of the things that I like about him is that he is not only a Bariatric Surgeon, but also a Cardio Thorasic Surgeon. Due to my weight there is always the possiblity that there could be heart complications during or after surgery. I am happy to know that I will have a surgeon that knows all his stuff. I am scheduled for surgery on January 26, 2000. After sending in my insurance information, Aetna HMO, it took less than 2 weeks for approval. This is the best Christmas present I could ever want. I have been through the approval process before with another physician, and due to the insurance I had at the time, MSCH HMO, I was denied. I went through the entire appeal process, as well as independant review with no luck. After changing companies, of which I was employeed over 10 years, the approval was no problem. So far I am very pleased, as is my family, with Dr. Harberg. I highly recommend him and his staff as being informative, and cordial. He was and is very up front with procedure, time frame, risks, and aftercare. I have personally worked with Tammi and she has been a gem. If you are considering this procedure, please take the time to check him out.

7/24/2000

Dr. Hargerg has continued with my care in the post-op period. All I can tell you is this...if he is happy with your progess his usually gruff demeanor will soften quite a bit...if he is not happy with your progress he will stay on you like a drill sergent. I just love him and thank God for him everyday.