James Kolenich Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

I came into the surgery feeling as if I already knew my surgeon from the great stories I was told by those who had gone before me. There are three girls where I work that had my surgeon and when I was first considering this surgery, they were the ones I went to for referrals.rnrnDr. Kolenich has a great office staff who are always there when I have questions. They are at support group meetings on a regular basis to answer all our questions.rnrnEach visit with Dr. Kolenich I felt as if during my time with him I was the most important patient he had that day. There is no feeling of being rushed. You can feel comfortable asking him anything about your surgery both before and after.rnrnAftercare is emphasized to the fullest. Dr. Kolenich stresses the importance of aftercare at each and every visit. He goes over all your blood work with you and discusses what he feels would be the best treatment plan for you from the test results. Office visits are scheduled for every three months for your first year. Then every six months for the second year and then yearly.rnrnSix months of nutrition classes and support group meetings are required pre-surgery. Support group meetings are stressed for the first year after surgery.rnrnThe risks of surgery are addressed at your pre-surgery meeting. You are given a pamphlet of information and meet with a member of their staff to go over the insurance requirements of your policy. It was definitely helpful for me to have this information.rnrnI would definitely highly recommend this surgeon to anyone wanting to have this surgery. I am one year out and have had no problems whatever.rn

I would say that I've had absolutely no negative experiences with Dr. Kolenich or his staff. They are the best!! I appreciate the no-nonsense attitude of everyone. They are professional and never hesitate to return a phone call or answer questions no matter how small. Dr. Kolenich is as thorough a doctor as I've ever met and his level of care or concern do not diminish once the surgery is done. Please contact me if you are considering him and have any questions.

Dr. Barkan is my surgeon, he works with Dr. Kolenich, they do the surgeries together as a team.rnI have only met with him once so far. Their staff is very helpful and nice. He was very straightforward and to the point. He made sure I was aware of the dangers and knew what I had to do to make it a success.rnMy surgery is scheduled for 11/15, so i will add more when i go through it all.

When I found out about Dr Kolenich I was scared. People told me that he was very strict and had no bedside manner to him.rnrnWhen I first met him I found out that was not true. He is the nicest man there is. He will laugh with you and he will support you no matter what the case may be.(if it is true)rnrnThe staff is WONDERFUL. If you have any questions they will answer anything. They make you feel like home.rnrnThere is actually nothing that I can think least of him about.rnrnI think you guys should know that this is a doctor that cares. He gets really upset if you are not taken care of by nurses and stuff. I think he is totally awesome.rnrnI was going to have my surgery in Akron Ohio. I did not like him one bit. Didn't trust him. So I found out about Dr Kolenich. That day I got a surgery date and I was on cloud nine.rnrnThey have support group once a month. Even though I have not been there forever but been meaning to.(price of gas) Totally awesome! John Bailey you could not ask for a better support leader. He remembers everyone even if they didn't have the surgery but went to orientation. rnrnI love Dr Kolenich,the staff, and John Bailey. If it wasn't for them I may still be that 400 pound girl. Dead to the world! But now I am a 250 pound girl living in the world!rnrnI was one of the lucky ones. I had no pain after the surgery. I remember just looking in the mirror and to me at least it looked like my face got smaller; so it gave me inspiration to walk and work out.rnrnI have to say without God this would have never happened. I owe it all to Him. I remember being like 5 years old standing in the dining room and telling my mom 2 things. 1 God promise that when I die I would be thin.(It's happening!) 2. That before I die; I will have money. Well Still waiting on that one but I believe that it will happen!!!!

My Husband, Rick, & I went to a bariatric group meeting to learn about WLS in Sept. '05
My first impression of Dr. James Kolenich was that he was no-nonsense. And brilliant...
He explained the surgery types he preforms, and how the ones were done in the past. He explained all the risks and went over each one to make certain we all understood. Afterward he answered questions, and he didn't seem to pleased by stupid questions and people that were wanting to do this just for the cosmetics of it. Some one even asked him if he removed the excess skin when he did the surgery. Like they were gonna lose the 100 pounds while on the operating table! He kinda just scowled at that. But he did answer her with a definate "no" His surgical competence is over 100% in my book, and his bedside manner is 100% as well. I think he is a great Dr. and my Husband thinks so too.

My first impression was very bad. The doctor was very sarcastic towards me when I asked him if he could do my surgery laproscopically.

My impression changed drastically over time.
I had an excellent chance to get to know him. I was hospitalized almost 2 months and saw him almost every day. I felt like he was really trying hard to find the answers to my problems and to make me well again.

For the most part, his staff was very professional. They did NOT seem to like the fact that I was transfering to Cleveland Clinic.

The thing I liked LEAST about Dr. Kolenich was his sarcasm and impatience with others.
(nursing staff...aids and etc.) He rarely treated me that way, but I witnessed his impatience with nurses, and the radiology department staff and etc.
Everyone who comes into contact with him through UPMC HAS to know of his bedside manner flaws.....but I never saw this listed in previous posts about him. I would have ilked to be better prepared when I first met him.



Future patients should know that he can be abrupt and sharp at times but he is very good at what he does. Ask sensible questions, do your homework and insist that he treat you with respect, and he will.
You would be in good surgical hands with this doctor.

Aftercare? I didn't hear a lot about aftercare, but I had so many complications that I never reached that point. The doctor gave me aftercare right there in the hospital.

He mentioned them and has patients sign a release form saying they understand the risks.

A 10 because he EARNED my respect.



I would like to see him gentle his attitude a little, but being a great surgeon is more important when you are laying on the operating table.
The people who assist him in surgery have GREAT respect for him and as far as I am concerned these people are in the best position to know.

Dr. Kolenich is a stern, very knowledgable surgeon, who is one of the most competent surgeons I have ever met. His staff is very on the ball with everything. If you are planning on seeing him, make sure you have plenty of time. You have to wait quite a while to see him, but it is worth it. From what I am learning about his aftercare program is going to be really thorough. Which is a wonderful thing. He is also very informative about surgery risks. I would rate him overall with a 10+. I believe surgical competence is more important than bedside manner, sure it would be great to have both, but this is my life we are talking about, give me someone who definately knows exactly what they are doing, and need to do, than someone to sit there and tell me what I want to hear.

I went to Weight loss orintation and thought the doctor was wonderful. He answered all questions and explained every thing. I'm in the process of getting my tests done.

he seemed nice and skilled.he seems to not care as much time for me now as he did.office staff is great.he seems to act better than you.hes a very skilled dr.moderately on the after care.yes hes got a structured after care program.he was very good with stating the risks but i asked alot of questions too.hes a very good doctor.i would choose surgical comp if you cant find both.these are just my personal impressoins of my own personal experienceand im not making any statements about what other people may experience.

he's the best DR ever....


He is very good at what he does.

He is a little stern at first, But he really cares.

After sugery he stresses protien and exercise.


He's a 10!!!!!!

You can have complete trust and faith in him.