John Sweeney Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S.

My first impression of Dr. Sweeney was that he seemed to care about his patients. The fact that he and Dr. Fisher kept stressing that this surgery is not a race, that they take their time to do it right no matter how long it takes, and that they only do one of these a day impressed me a great deal. He took his time in the private visit with me and my husband and answered all our questions. He did not seem to be in any great hurry also impressed me. His office staff was very friendly and knowledgable about insurance questions. They also took their time. In the group meeting, they did talk about establishing a support group in the near future and that they want to keep up with their patients from here on out. They were very honest about the risks of surgery and gave enough information about the surgery itself to help in making a decision concerning the surgery.

My first impression of Dr. Sweeney was that he is very professional and knowledgable. He held a seminar that was so well put together that most of my questions were answered before my one on one appointment with him. His office staff from what I can tell is very pleasant. I haven't had alot of contact with anyone inparticular. Dr. Sweeney went through all the risks involved with the surgery, and he kept saying that "this is not a race", when he spoke of the length of the surgery, the hospital stay and the weight loss. He takes his time, making sure everything is right. He had post op patients at the seminar, he left the room and had us talk to the post op patients and ask anything we wanted. This was so wonderful, you had questions answered that only someone who had already been there could answer. I have been scared since I made the decision to have this done, but talking to Dr. Sweeney, put me at ease. He has a wonderful personality, and even though there were 10 other patients for him to see that day. When he talked to me he sat down and gave me his undivided attention and wanted to make sure my questions were answered, before he left. Never once did I feel that I was being rushed.

I met Dr. Sweeney on October 15, 2003 at his and Dr. Fisher's seminar and then at my appointment that same day. I liked both doctors instantly. They both seem to be very competent, knowledgeable and very meticulous about this surgical procedure, which I thought was extremely good to know. The reason I talk about both doctors here when my doctor is Sweeney, is that they work as a team when performing this surgery. They both feel that two surgeons are better than one. I did a lot of research before selecting Dr. Sweeney and I think I made an excellent choice.

6-11-03 - My first visit with Dr. Sweeney and Dr. Fisher:
I had my class today from 9 to 12. When I entered the room, I met Phyllis (office staffperson who is so nice). She informed us that if we were new patients to sit on the closer side of the room. Little did I know, but there were three post-ops there who sat on the other side. All I thought about was how I couldn't wait to get to the "other side".
Our session consisted of Dr. Sweeney and Dr. Fisher presenting a powerpoint presentation that was very informative. They also showed a video of an actual lap surgery (not for the squeemish). They answered questions, then turned it over to the post-ops to tell their stories and answer questions for us.
We then heard from a dietician, the lady in charge of the surgery rooms, head of the nursing staff, and the billing staffperson for their office. It was VERY informative. I had almost all of my questions marked off before my appointment.
The main thing they stress is that they want to be minimally invasive, they want to be as careful as possible, and take the least amount of risks. They are very particular in that they use state of the art equipment and will not do surgery on someone with a BMI over 60. It's too risky. They make you lose weight before they'll even consider it.
My appointment was this afternoon with an assistant who took a history from me and discussed the morning session. Then, Dr. Sweeney came in and talked with me, examined my heart, lungs, and abdomen. He described where my incisions would be, etc. He took the time to answer all of my questions. I mentioned a former patient by first name and he knew exactly who I was talking about. The entire office staff seems to really take a personal interest in not just the patient, but in their entire life.
Being a single mother of three small children, he really stressed the risks to me. I had a question about a recent death and he took the time to diagram the intestinal track and show me what might have happened in that case.
Both surgeons seemed very well trained in the surgery and all types of surgery. One post-op said she felt confident in that if anything happened in her abdomen, they could fix it.
They both seemed very nice, very caring, and very understanding of what we are all going through. They are eager to change our lives.
The hospital offers an aftercare program, which I won't attend due to price, but the doctor does want to see post-ops at 1 week, 3 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and then yearly. I know the office staff would be available for any questions I ever had, especially Phyllis. It also made me very comfortable that one of the post-ops works there at the hospital and entrusted these two doctors with her surgery. By the way, she was 15 weeks post op and had lost 80 pounds!
Overall, so far, I am extremely pleased. At the meeting this morning, I made friends and we exchanged e-mail addresses. You just can't have too big of a support group when taking on an endeavor like this!
Well, I gave them my letter from my PCP. I now have to get a psych eval and an examination of my stomach prior to getting a surgery date. So, I'll get started on that. 10-10-03 - Post-OP!!!!!
My surgeon is the best. He is so extremely careful and attentive. He and Drs. Fisher, Peters, and Ojeda all visited me every single day. I had 4 surgeons all checking on me, sometimes more than once! Going into surgery, Dr. Sweeney again warned me of the risks, but I knew I was very comfortable in his hands.
He's the best!

Both Dr. Sweeney and Dr. Fisher are excellent surgeons with a knack for explaining things in layman's terms without sounding condescending. They both took the time not only to explain the surgery and the risks involved but also to answer all the questions I had. I have dealt much more with Dr. Sweeney, and he is very approachable and very available to help with any problems before or after surgery.My impressions of him only get better the more I get to know him, and I have no negative comments. The office staff is friendly and helpful and quite competent. Overall I would rate Dr. Sweeney 9.5 in both technical competence and bedside manner (not a 10 because I believe that everyone needs a goal :)!!). I could not be happier at this point. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!. 7/24/03

Dr. Sweeney was an answer to my prayers. My mother works in the same building as him. She couldn't say enough on how he is a great doctor. At first, I was thinking that she was just saying that to make me feel better. That was until I met him. She was right, plus he had something that just makes you feel at ease. His staff was very helpful. Phyllis and Barbara have made my experience with my insurance so much easier. They were always there when I had questions about procedures, visits and getting my surgery scheduled. That made me feel, that they were trying as much as me to get everything taken care of and my surgery scheduled. Phyllis called me first thing in the morning to let me know that my surgery had been approved and that she had given me a date. I think that she was just excited as me. When you have a great doctor and great staff members you can't go wrong. If anyone asks me about my surgery I will give them Dr. Sweeney's number. They asks me about if I feel comfortable with the doctor and staff and I say "Without a Doubt". So if you are looking for a great doctor, I think he is the one.

I liked him very much, he seemed to care very much about me. The staff was very friendly.