Bruce Schirmer Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S.

I THOUGHT DR SHIRMER WAS VERY INFORMATIVE SINCERE AND VERYT CARCARING MY IMPRESSION OF HIM ONLY GOT BETTER AND HIS STAFF I GREATI HAVE NO COMPLAINT ABOUT HIM OR HIS STAFFHE IS VERY THOUROUGH IN WHAT TO DO POST OP AND DURING RECOVERY NAD AND HE DID TALK ABOUT WHAT COULD HAPPEN AND THE STATISTICS OF SIDE EFFECTSOON A SCALE OF 1-10 HE IS DEFINITELY A 10......AND AS FAR AS BEDSIDE MANNER AND SURGICAL COMPATENCE BOTH ARE SUPERIOR

He seems to be a qualified surgeon and has lots of help. I only saw him for a few minutes but his reputation is good.

His office staff are very friendly and are always most helpful, even when I sometimes get frustrated because things seem to take so long. He has qualified staff who do their best to answer any questions and make you feel free to ask them no matter how stupid you might feel asking it. The doctor involves many components with his surgery. You are required to do psychological exams, nutrition education, support group participation, and what to expect after the surgery.

The Dr. depends on staff to develop needed information and education. A packet of information was sent with frequently asked questions, after care, and changes for the rest of your life.

I have every confidence in the doctor and his team.

My first impression was that he was very busy, but caring. My impression of Dr. Schirmer only improved with each visit. He treats his patients with the utmost respect and not like many physicians of morbidly obese patients. His sectretary was helpful about keeping me informed of the next step and about times and places of appointments. His RN, Anna Miller is a God send and is a true angel in every sense of the word. She was not only there to hold my hand for pre op procedures/tests, but there for my family supporting them as well. I like everything about Dr. Schirmer, however, if I had to say one thing I would change, that would be the redundant questions from his residents/interns,etc... In a teaching facility you say many interns/residents and it becomes an annoyance to say the least. Future patients should be very aware that their appointment will be an all day event. Don't plan on doing anything else that day, bring a book, bring a walkman, bring a friend, but plan on spending the entire day as clinic is very busy and always running behind. Dr. Schirmer places a huge emphasis on aftercare and has a multi disciplinary team made up of nutritionists, mental health specialists, physical activity planning, a huge support group. He and his staff make the risks and/or complications very clear upfront. Overall, I would highly recommend him to anyone considering weight loss surgery and I have heard many people say they had to wait too long to be seen or whatever, I looked at it like this, I have been this size, close to 400 pounds, for this long, I can certainly wait another two months to get the best possible care available. I owe that to myself. If I had to say which is better, surgical competence or bedside manner, I would have to say surgical competence which is FINE with me as I am having surgery and less than two weeks and the bedside I can certainly live without, the competence I can't.

Dr. Schirmer was the first person to treat me as a pperson not a "fat person"
He is distinguished, caring, and very professional.
His office staff were also caring and were very honest about the procedure
and all risks of the surgery and beyond.
He came to see me every day that I was in the hospital.

The only regret was that the surgery was done in a teaching institution
in which there were lots of residents and interns.

They stressed proper nutrition and exercise after the surgery. They do have a program at
UVA but it was too far for me to travel, so
I devised my own. I went to a professional
trainer and developed my own exercise program.
I started out in the pool at 2 weeks postop.

Dr. Schirmer is great, I would recommend him to anyone considering
the surgery. He has both great bedside manner, and surgical
competence, and he is nice to look at.

I had my initial visit with Dr. Schirmer on 2/26/01. The office staff was great, the resident was very thorough. Dr. Schirmer was very knowledgable and caring. He wasn't in any big hurry (even though his waiting room was packed and it was early in the morning). He asked alot of questions and answered all of mine. He explained the whole process and said I was the perfect canidate for the surgery. He addressed the need for my dedication to the aftercare and went over the risks of surgery. He even dictated the letter for the insurance while I was there. He gave me the low down on the rest of the days activities, a visit to the nutritionalist, and a visit to the lab for blood work. He asked me on several occassions if I had any more questions. I assured him that I would probably have plenty more questions, as soon as I left. He ended by saying he would see me for my endoscopy and just to call if I had any more questions or concerns.

I have been in touch with both Dr. Schirmer's secretary and his nurse, and have been pleased with everyone on his staff. They have been helpful and caring.

I would rate Dr. Schirmer and his staff very highly.

Dr. Schirmer is a very kind, dedicated surgeon. When I was getting ready for surgery, Dr. Shirmer came into my room and explained that he was not feeling well and If he ran into any complications in the OR that he would go ahead and do the open procedure instead of the LAP. This, of course scared me to death, knowing that he was'nt feeling well. I told him to go ahead with the open, since it was 2 hours quicker,
He did the lap anyway, and I am very happy with that decision. In my opinion, Dr. Shirmer is one of the most competent and caring Dr.s that I have met.

I first heard of Dr. Schirmer several years ago. My father had a fairly new stomach surgery. He was all around impressed with Dr.Schirmer. So when I met him everything my Dad told me was correct. So far the staff in his office has been really great. I kinda got a run around with getting them to send papers to my insurance for approval. From my psychological evaluation till my papers for approval were faxed to my insurance it was a 3 month span.

At first I really thought he was a very nice surgeon and I still do. However I believe he is extremely busy and he does not have alot of time to spend with his patients. He is the only doctor at UVA that does this surgery. He needs more staff to work in this area of expertise. When I have called in to ask a question it takes all day or even the next day before I get a call back. Sometimes I never get called back. Very busy clinic. The aftercare really needs to be worked on. Also while in the hospital they need to make sure there patients are well informed before they release them.

My health was not the best, I was in a car accident on December 23, 1991, my whole world changed on that morning, I was in a coma for 5 days and when I woke up my whole right side was paralized and I couldn't speak, I still have no memory of the car accident. I had a closed head injury and it caused stroke like symtoms. The Dr's said I would never have any movement on my right side again. I put on alot of weight because my balance is unstable and I couldn't get much exercise. In 1992 I started to have seizures, in 1993 I became a diebetic, I have astima, COPD, arthritus, disc disease, and cronic fatigue syndrom. When I told my primary care doctor I wanted to have this surgery he thought it was a good idea but it would be up to Dr. Schirmer to say weather or not it was to risky. Dr. Schirmer and his staff were wonderful. He said it could do me more help than anything and all my medications could be given in liguid forms if needed. I was so excited but my husband and 2 grown children were totaly against it. My 27yr. old daughter had the same surgery in Febuary 2000, and they were all convinced I would not pull through it. Well guess what, I proved them all wrong. I never would have had this surgery if I thought it was going to do more harm. Dr. Schirmer stressed that this is a life changing surgery. I had to go through several interviews with his interns and labs before he would agree to do the surgery. He said that their was risk during and after the surgery. He emphasized aftercare and to be sure I ate properly. My overall impression of Dr. Schirmer, his nurse, Anna, and his interns is excellent !!! I think his surgical competence and bedside manner are both wonderful.

My first impression of Dr. Shirmer was that he was a kind and caring individual who was genuinly concerned about obese people, and that opinion has never changed. His staff is exceptional. They make you feel as if you are part of a family. I was very impressed by the fact that although I was extremely overweight, nobody there ever made me feel fat. Dr. Shirmer is very concerned about aftercare and has a program that he expects you to follow. There are meetings with the dietician and a psych evaluation that , in retrospect, I think is one of the best things he did for me. His bedside manner is as great as his surgical competence. He is the kind of surgeon who sits on the side of your bed and holds your hand and treats you like a person who he cares very much about. He explains everything in detail before the procedure and does everything in his power to make sure you understand it all. I would recommend Dr. Shirmer highly to anyone who is interested in this surgery, and already have. Two of my friends already have appointments. As for the UVA Hospital, it was wonderful. What a fantastic group of people there. My care couldn't have been better. All I can say is God bless Dr. Shirmer and his staff and UVA.