I. Michael Leitman Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

My impression of Dr. Leitman on first contact was engaging. As I sat in the waiting room chatting with a wonderful woman named Penny who is 8 days post-op, she was waiting to get her staples out and she kindly gave me her home number and cell if I should want to talk further about her experience; he walked by 3 different times and looked directly at me and smiled warmly. He spent a hour with me where he exazmined me, then sat with me and discussed my medical history and then went into details about the surgery, what to expect, what was required of my pre and post op, informed me of the monthly meetings that he attends as well as pre and post op patients. He also listened carefully and tentively to all my questions and answered in kind with straight talk not doctor talk. I was giving information to contact a nutrientist that would assist me with my needs after surgery. He put all my fears to ease with his forthrightness. It's a life style change not a quick fix. One must be committed, and the reward is a permanent weight loss of a sufficiant amount. After leaving his office I knew I was putting my body and mind in the hands of a man I trusted and felt confident about. He was concerned about what I wanted and how I felt and for once I felt impowered medically. His office assistant Joan, is everything they say she is and more. She is very knowledgeable, accommendating, helpful, funny and easy to talk to. She assisted me in what I needed to do to insure my insurance approval process would run smoothly. I also sat with her and scheduled a tentative surgerical date of November 1, 2001. Dr. Leitman is so much in demand and schedules his surgeries on thursdays. I was told if something opens up sooner on his calender such as a cancellation, my date will be moved up. Joan also provided me with a huge envelope with pages of information about what will be going on, the surgery, etc and offered her assistant anytime, any day that she is in the office. Dr. Leitman and his staff comes highly recommended by his previous patients and as a patient in the waiting, I say Two Thumbs Up!!!

When I first called Dr. Leitman’s office, I spoke to Joan, his office manager. A real nice person, she answered as many questions as Dr. Leitman did. I had to wait a month to see him (busy guy.) One of the first things he talked about was about the procedure, the advantage & the side effects. What you can expect (how much weight you could take off, how fast) & the different types of procedures. He took his time with me, no rush (Joan said she blocks an hour out for first time patients). He said that his major goal is to get you off the meds. NO MORE PILLS. He did an exam & gave me the news I wanted to hear; that he saw me as an excellent individual for the procedure. I ask if we could do it the next day. He gave me about 200 pages of information to read & said if I had any questions to call him. He told me about his support group and said, come for a whole meeting, or come for ten minutes; you need to feel at ease talking about your condition. You know fast if you feel at ease with a doctor, there have been times I just wanted out of the office within 10 seconds. Not this time. After the meeting with the doctor, Joan asked if I wanted to book a date, my head started to spin. Yes, and with that May 17, 2001 is set for the new start of my life. She said that in dealing with the different insurance companies, you need to set a time line, getting paperwork in & reviewed, and to know how to deal with them. On the way home, all I could think, and what would I feel, what would my family & friends say? I was easy to say yes now. I know that as the date comes closer, the fear will grow. Lucky for me, I have found about 6 people at work who had the procedure & knowing how they looked then, & now, makes my head spin.

3-23-01I had my initial consultation with Dr Leitman a few weeks ago and then I attended the support group meeting last thursday. It seems like Dr leitman is too good to be true and Joan has beenn wonderful so far as well. If I have surgery it will be the RNY bypass.The packet of information he provides is infomative and BIG!!! Overall, his personality shines through the minute he enters the room. He is SO warm and understanding. The consult was over an hour and he never rushed me at all. He explained everything very thouroughly including why he does not find favor in doing the procedure laproscopically. I was very impressed by his honesty in this area!! I have only spoken to 2 other patients so far, but there level of hapiness with Dr Leitman seems par for the course after reading all about him!! My decision-still pending-but hopeful!!

July 24, 2001
3 weeks post op and Dr Leitman is a complete knight in shining armor!! I am feeling terrific and went back to work yesterday. I want everyone to know that if you are considering this surgery and are lucky enough to be in the tri state area, GO TO DR LEITMAN!!! He is the best!!Unfortunately I developed an incision infection during my first week home. He has seen me every few days since then to check it and been so supportive and re-assuring diring every visit. I also paged Dr Leitman several times and never waited more than 15 minutes for a return call. He patience and personality come through all the time and that is so rare for a surgeon!!

I met with my surgeon, Dr. Michael Leitman in NYC on May 22,2001 for my initial consultation. After speaking with Dr. Leitman, a question and answer session with him, a brief exam and medical history review, I was told that I was a good candidate for the RNY. I never thought that I would be happy about my high BMI and feel that my morbid obesity was a "good thing" but after speaking with Dr. Leitman and told that I was a "good" candidate, I did feel happy and relieved both! I was very comfortable with Dr. Leitman and he was patient and compassionate along with very professional, explaining risks and advantages to the procedure.
JULY 20,2001
Being post-op now, I have nothing but words of praise for Dr. Leitman. I am so glad that I chose Dr. Leitman as my surgeon because his bedside manner, patience and genuine caring nature are invaluable during this process. Dr. Leitman is not only a skilled surgeon (having performed WLS surgery for eleven years) but is a wonderful human being. I would recommend him to anyone looking for a good surgeon in the NYC area. His monthly support groups are also a very helpful tool regardless of your surgery status.

i saw dr. leitman after being convinced that i was going to use another surgeon. dr. leitman's intelligence and knowledge about WLS along with his rapport with me was all of the convincing that i needed that he was the one. he was concise on the explination of the procedure -- both pre and post op, has a monthly support group and gives you a tremendous amount of reading material that fills in any blanks that you may have. dr. leitman was very to-the-point, as he is extraordinarily busy (but encourages you to call or e-mail him at any time with any questions), however, post-op he never takes more than 15 minutes to return a call (and i call him a lot!). also, when i was having some extra drainage about 2 weeks post-op, dr. leitman called ME to see how i was doing. have you ever heard of such a thing?? i think he is a great man who is smart and very kind and respectful of his clientele. joan, his "right-hand-woman", is absolutely phenomenal -- she is ALWAYS on top of things and smart, kind, funny and caring -- just what you need to ease the jitters. joan had me 100% covered by my insurance (aetna/us healthcare) -- talk about on the ball -- within 2 days of my first appointment and had my surgery scheduled not far after that. i can't say enough about how great dr. leitman and joan are -- they are my angels.

He seemed to be very knowledgable and friendly. I also needed to have a hernia surgically repaired and he said he could do both. Everybody at the office seemed friendly.I only met him once but felt comfortable from the start. I am glad I found him.I haven't had to talk to them since. I received lots of paperwork to read on the subject which I found helpful. I go for my medical clearance checkup this week from my general doctor and then I will probaly be in contact with them since my surgery date is coming up

Excellent Doctor.

My first impression of Dr. Leitman is that he was a very friendly approachable doctor. I appreciated the fact that his office doesn't make you jump through hoops, like some other centers, instead the value your intelligence as an informed adult to have the proceedure. The office staff is helpful and friendly. The Dr. went over all of the risks with me (though I had done extensive research already) and made me feel I was making the right decision.

I have my first appointment with Dr. Cerabona tomorrow at 3:30pm. I am SO nervous, but even more excited. I feel that this struggle I have had for most of my life may finally come to an end. My husband is as excited for me as I am. He wants me to be around a long time. I will return here on Thursday to update.

5/10/01 - Well, I had originally planned on meeting with Dr. Cerabona. I made my first appt. They called the day before to change it to a date THREE weeks later. Then they called again to change it. The day I was supposed to go, I was shutting down my PC at work to leave, and the office called AGAIN!!! Another emergency and they would have to cancel my appt. AND she said THEY would have to call ME back to schedule again. That was 4 weeks ago and they still have not called back. At this point, I wonder "WHY does this doctor hav so many emergencies?" Cant bring myself to trust him now. So, I have an appt with Dr. Leitman TOMORROW!!

5/18/01 - Met with Dr. Leitman last Friday...he is wonderful. Very kind and patient, as is Joan, his assistant. He answered every question I had, although he answered most before I could ask! I came out with a date!!! July 26th will be the first day of the rest of my life! I cant explain how excited I am.
I am VERY nervous again. Keep your fingers crossed for me! Hopefully I will come home with a date for surgery! I have been worried about my job because of the time I will miss post-op. There have been a lot of layoffs lately and am afraid they wont hold my position. I spoke with my husband last night about this. He told me, "dont worry about that. You can always find another job. THIS is your life." He is just wonderful and SO supportive!! He also told me that if my insurance does not cover this, he will get a second job to pay for it. Wish me luck!!

my first impression of dr leitman was "he's the one"!!!!! i knew from our talk and having seen sooo many physicans over the years that he would take very good care of me.

dr leitman is the chairman of the surgery dept at lenox hill he has his own surgical staff which i felt was very important. he told both my husband and myself all pros & cons but for me, rny is for my future health

i had previously seen two other drs for consultations so dr leitman was the last and the best. isaw him on 12/11 and left for fla on 12/14(where i am now and will be until 3/21)

dr leitman's staff were wonderful. the office mgr,joan was just super. she has been in contact with me here in fla. she called me on 1/19 to tell me i was approved!!!!!!!!
yeah!!! iwas totally taken aback, i never thought it would only take less than 3 weeks for approval, i immediately called my husband (he had to stay in ny to work, we are having a sabbatical from each other, i can't take ny winters anymore) going back, i do not need to have a psych consult, i passed just on my various illnesses.

i will update at a fure time & place

i am now back in Bayside since 3/21 and the weather has been lousy, i was so afraid that i would get sick from the change in temperature so far I am ok. I have FIVE days til surgery. I am anxious in agood way, nervous but also thrilled at the thought of getting well

It is 3 weeks since surgury and I feel wonderful. Dr Leitman was a fantastic surgeon. In the middle of surgury, he left the operating room to inform my husband there was aproblem with my liver and he wanted the two of them to decide that I was to have a vbg instead of a rny. I have been diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver and am going for further testing now. I would reccommend Dr Leitman with anyone's life . He is the BEST>