Hazem Elariny Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

Dr. Elariny is very easy-going and puts me at ease. I hope my insurance approves this procedure, I feel very comfortable with him as my surgeon. He has a Dietician on staff who is very competent.

I think he is great! He seemed very knowledgable. He also OFFERS OPTIONS. You can have Vertical Gastroplasty, RNY-Proximal, RNY-Distal, or DS/BPD. He does all of his procedures LAP and OPEN.

He takes alot of time to explain each procedure to you and the pros and cons of each. I like him.

Very professional and compassionate. Great guy, very smart.
I was the most horrible patient and he was fair, nonjudgemental and kind to me, when he probably wanted to throttle me. I recommend this very talented doctor highly.
I also hold a weekly support group at my home in Reston VA. If you are interested in attending please e-mail me.

07/16/01: I am so grateful to Dr Elariny. Yesterday I went under 200, was 198 for a loss of 90 lbs in 5 1/2 months. He is helpful and compassionate. I am so happy I had him as my surgeon.

/14/01: I had my surgery with Dr Elariny one week ago today. He is so skilled and caring. I couldn't have been in better hands. Whatever I wanted that was safe he was able to do. In all this was an excellent choice for a surgeon and his secretary although very overworked, was so helpful. I feel blessed to have found them. I love having the duodenal switch. No complications, no dumping, everything has been great so far.


I have my first appt with Dr Elariny on Jan 15. I had so many problems with Dr Gagner's office staff in New York that I decided to switch to a different surgeon. It is a shame but they were just way to disorganized for me. No one in their staff helped me with insurance approval which is why I think I was denied.
So on to Dr Elariny. Shauntae his office nurse is awesome and I feel really confident that this time things will go better. Will update more after the first appt.

03/15/01
I want to be very sure that i have the best surgeon so i am meeting with Dr. Elariny and Dr. DeMaria+
After meeting with Dr. Elariny there was no need for me to meet with Dr. DeMaria Dr. Elariny was great he explained everything in detail he even drew pictures. He lets you decide which surgery is best for you he does not make the decision for you i know i tried to get him to pick the best one for me and he told me it was my decision. He is caring and gentle and i can't wait to have this surgery because i am more than sure he will take care of me. He addressed the specific risks associated with each of the diffrent surgeries he explained the amount of weight loss associated with each and the side effects associated with bariatric surgery in general on a scale of 1 to 10 10 being the best he is an 11. I chose the BPD/DS because it has the best overall success rate and that is what i am concerned with. I Can't forget Shaunte he is his assistant she is the best i worry her at least once a week and she is just so patient with me and and she is so over worked

I have an appointment with Dr. Elariny on March 28th. Shauntea has been great about answering my questions. Couple more weeks and I'll tell you more!

Had my consult with Dr. Elariny on March 23rd. He explained in detail the different types of surgery. I felt very comfortable with the surgery I choose and am waiting for insurance approval. Dr. Elariny thought it would sail through because of my co-morbs and diet history. Shauntea was great, and so dang busy, poor thing, but she holds that office together well.

4/21/01 - I had my surgery on April 12, 2001. I had an uneventful surgery and am recouperating nicely at this time. I beleive Dr. Elariny is a very capable surgeon. I do however, have a numb spot right below my knee that I wonder about. It does not bother me as far as walking is concerned, but I worry some about it. I am able to walk about a mile a day right now.

He is a very competent surgeon, and is the only local surgeon, to my knowledge, to perform the BPD-DS. Everything went great with my surgery. His office manager, Shauntae, is very nice & helpful. I only wish he could hire a second person to help out in the office because she is very overworked.:-)

I was VERY impressed with him. He is younger than he looks on his website! But that is great ... my mother always says to pick a doctor younger than you! You don't want them retiring on you! It turns out he knows my PCP doctor as well, which just sealed the deal for me. He is very intentional about everyone understanding the ramifications about whatever surgery you choose. He has a nice manner about him, very easy to talk to.

The most important thing I can say about Dr. E. is that even though it is obvious he has never been thru the agony of weight problems he has got the best way of talking about these problems that is never once judgmental or patronizing. It is truly like he is treating a disease.

He has a support group and an aftercare program which says to me he knows this is a lifetime problem and no quick solutions. I have read online that he even attends the support group. Incredible!

He needs more office staff, I predict his practice will really grow. I had read that his assistant, Chantae was very busy and be prepared to be patient, and that was right. But believe me they are both great and worth having patience. I've struggled with this disease all my life and I can afford to sit an extra hour in his office.

I can not yet speak to his surgical skills.

2-20-01
Surgery! Went more than wonderful! He did a great job! If you need this surgery go to him!
2-5-01
Pre-ops done had the dreaded scopes, he did a great job I felt nothing!
1-15-01
He is WONDERFUL!!!! He takes time to answer all your questions. I've never met anyone who didn't like him. Shaunte is wonderful.

1/28/01 I had surgery with Dr. Elariny in Arlington, VA. I found him to be kind, caring, nonjudgemental, very hardworking, and not predjudiced toward any one procedure. He is relatively new to WLS, though not laparoscopic surgery. It seemed that is is much easier to learn a new specific surgery procedure than a whole, difficult technique/method of surgery, so a very experienced lap surgeon who is fairly new to WLS seems a better choice than a very experienced WLS surgeon who is new to laproscopic methods. But the individual surgeon matters most, and Dr. Elariny is intelligent, dedicated, and naturally gifted. There were a few glitches, but all went well, and my only complaint is that he and his sweet nurse Shaunte are getting so many referrals that they are starting to be overwhelmed. You will need to keep up with your paperwork's progress and completeness, and you will see Dr. Elariny late in the eves while in hospital--and not for long. Overall, a very good choice.......P.S. I see a lot of personal venting on this page. Dr. E knows I think very well of him. (Jesse is a pseudonym;he will recognize me as the one who slept on her stomach in the hospital.)...However, because sharing what one thinks of the MD is what this page is for, they are entitled to express ANY opinion of the MD that is printable (taking into account libel laws, that is). I wouldn't dream of arguing with their unhappy impressions on this site, and I think the "doctor-groupies" who want to turn opposing commentaries into a personal battle are WAY out of line. If you like your MD, tell us. If not, you should also feel free to share it--this board is for us, and our safety. It takes courage to speak up, and not every doctor IS a good, sensitive one! And for those who can't tolerate negative messages, the general postings are where to take your concerns. Lambasting an unhappy patient for posting his/her feelings here will only make him/her angrier and more outspoken--and that does NOT help any doctor's reputation, no matter how fine an MD he may be. Tell your opinion, and let the doctor's work stand for itself. Lastly, all MDs have weak spots and make mistakes;they have crabby, snappish moments, too-- as we all do. Here is where they can hear the unvarnished truth, and do better--which can only help them in the long run!--"Jesse"