Mark Jaroch Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

I really liked him - he was down to earth and answered everything we asked him so we could understand him.



Great so far!

It took me so long from first time I called them to get in.

It takes a long time to get in - but well worth it.

My first impression of him was that he was very knowledgable on the subject of bariatric surgery and he seemed to be very sincere. He is a straight to the point kind of physician. He tell's you how it is and what he expects of you before, during and after your surgery. He mentioned the aftercare and the use of vitamins being so important after this surgery. He has made me feel more confident in this procedure and not as scared as I was from the start.
He's done ton's of these operations and I'm sure he is very good at what he doe's because of all the experience he has in it.
I'm very confident in him and his ability to do the best that he can on my "belly". :)

2/19/02* My 1st visit with Dr. Jaroch was today. The appointment was a group format. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was about even getting this far with Dr. Jaroch. I liked him the instant I laid eyes on him. Dr. Jaroch has a relaxed, self assured way of talking. He is VERY direct, and answers your questions completely. I met Dr. Jaroch and his wife at a grocery walk thru at Sam's club. He does this monthly for his patients, he likes to visually SHOW you what is good/bad, what to try, what to stay away from etc. I can not believe how dedicated this man is to helping overweight people. I chose Dr. Jaroch because of his aftercare program. He puts as much if not more emphasis on the aftercare as the surgery itself. The visit today consisted of us filing out forms to get the ball rolling, and a question & answer session with Dr.J. Judy and Bonnie took care of the weigh in, and some of the red tape. I have read that people sort of look at this initial session like we are cattle being hearded, THIS IS NOT THE CASE. Dr. J and his staff work tireless hours. They are extremely time efficient, and I think that this group meeting is an effort to speed up the surgical process. My appointment was actually March 29th and they called and moved the date up to 2/19. I feel confident that when the time comes, Dr. J will see me one on one and deal with my individual issues.

My first impression of Dr. Jaroch was at the March 2001 support group meeting. I had made my initial phone contact with the office sometime in August of 2000 and recieved my first office appointment for March 16, 2001. That day, 1 hour before, I was rescheduled for April 6, 2001. The dissapointment of this cancellation was driven by my excitment for the prospect of a significant weight loss in the near future. Needless to say, I collected my dissapointment and went to the March POGABS meeting a couple days later. I had allready read my information packett a hundred times and I was ready to learn more. Dr. Jaroch impressed me even more while at the meeting with his upfront tone that overweight people need.
On april 6, 2001 I had my first visit with Dr. Jaroch. He was very informative with the overview of the information I had allready recieved and took an unrushed amount of time to go over the procedure. I left that office visit knowing what i needed to do.
Shortly after the initial hospital testing I recieved my insurance approval in May, and my sugery date of October 15, 2001.
September of 2001 I was scheduled for my per surgery visit. Up to this point I cant say enough about the office staff. They took all of my complaining about being rescheduled and contained their frustration knowing that Dr. Jaroch would be there for you when the time was near.
October 11, 2001 was the day my impression really changed. My date was moved from the fifteenth to eleventh of October. I was waitng for surgery shaking from being nervous, Dr. jaroch talked me through everything. He made me feel like I am one of his patients, and he will be their for the long hall. That was worth its weght in gold.
Dr. Jaroch has the best aftercare program.
First he has the POGABS seminar at Akron General and the grocery store tour at a selected store. If you are thinking of having the surgery, or have had it, go to a meeting and a tour. You will be amazed at the information gained.
Second he has the POGABS cookbook that helps you pre-op to plan for future meals.
Post-op, the book lays some of the foundation in stages of your diet.
Third is the grocery video. This video for post-op is wonderful. When I came home from the hospital, I watched it ten times. It is full of foods that are good for you. It gives you options, rather than relying on the same food day affter day.
Finally, Dr. Jaroch and staff are a call away. I had some minor problems after surgery and needed to hear from the Doctor. I called the office and they paged him. About 10 pm that night(sunday) he returned my call. Dr. Jaroch had the office get me in at 7:45 am Monday. I just cant say enough about his aftercare, bedside manners, and surgical competence. My overall rating is as follows:
Cleveland doctors = $ 30,000
Columbus doctors = $ 30,000
Dr. Jaroch = PRICELESS

The date of my initial consultation was July 14, which was cancelled and rescheduled to July 24th. I have heard he does this on a regular basis, cancels that is. Haven't met him yet, heard good things, but hasn't seen that so far. My July 24th date was cancelled. I called and rescheduled for August 9th, which is 3 days from now. Hopefully he won't cancel again, as my patients are wearing thin. Several others who've had to wait as long or longer have nothing but good things to say about him. We will see.
I finally met Dr. Jaroch. He seemed very knowledgeable. We agreed to all the basics, meaning he does the surgery and everything around it like I wanted by my research on this surgery. His office staff (Judy in particular) was AWESOME. SHE WAS A DOLL!!
I didn't like that I had to wait 118 days to see him and he was "rushing" me through the consultation. I had a list of questions to ask because this is my first and only time doing this. I wanted to know his veiw. I understand he has a life, but so do I. I wish he would have been a little more patient and understanding. He's definately not a nurturer. I feel this way though, I don't have to love him to know he will do an efficent job. Some personalities don't match but that doesn't take away the fact that I've heard wonderful things about him and his surgical abilities.
He is big on aftercare. Very strict with everything, which is good. Has a very structured aftercare program.
I couldn't rate him yet, because he hasn't done surgery yet. I think his surgical compietence will be what his strong point is. I don't think he has that great of a bedside manner not because I've had surgery but because he's not much of a nurturer. I would have liked to have both as strong points but if I had to choose one, surgical competence would be the one.
I got my pre-op testing date of Sept 19th at 9am. I have 2 jobs and I wonder if I'll be ok to do the testing that day. I can honestly say both of my jobs have never given me any reason to think they'd not let me keep this date. I am taking any and every day Dr. Jaroch's office gives me, regardless of the time because this is so very important to me. I only have to do the Upper GI, gallbladder ultrasound and some blood work. The EKG and X-ray's were done by my PCP earlier this year because I used to take Redux and they said there were people who had heart problems due to taking that. Lucky me that my test came back good and lucky me that I don't have to do those again. On or before the 29th of August, Dr. Jaroch's office staff is supposed to be sending out my insurance paperwork. I read a sign in his office, where it says it takes him 2 weeks to read and sign my letter that they send to the insurance company. Then I have to wait 4 to 6 weeks for an answer from the ins. co. Which will be around the time I have my pre-op testing done. So shortly thereafter (God Willing) I will have my surgery. I'll let you know more when I find out. My surgery date is scheduled for Nov 29th.

November 10
I thought I could use a little more organization so I'll start today, lol. I saw Dr. J last tuesday. He gave me 4 prescriptions and told me to take iron and a multivitamin. I bought the designer protien. IT SUCKS! Anyone who knows what to mix with it to make it taste better please let me know. The countdown is on 19 days left. I found out I have type 2 diabetes. Wonderful, huh? Well at least my losing weight will make it go away, hopefully. I also have a hernia near my belly button, which he will remove or whatever at surgery. I was initimidated by the amount of meds he gave me but I realize that it's not as bad as I thought and I will be ok.
November 24: Last night I had to cancel my surgery for Nov 29th and reschedule. I have the flu and my surgeon didn't want to put my life in jeapardy, so he said I would have to wait another 3 to 5 weeks for my new date. I am glad he cares. So I am going to try to have my surgery in January. So that my husband can take time off of work to help me. I am sad, sure, but I am glad, that my surgeon cares enough about me. It's not my time yet, for this surgery, but it will be, soon. HUGS

I had my surgery on Jan 11, 2001. Today is June 24, 2001. I have lost a total of 100 lbs, so far. Not bad. Much more than I expected at the 5 month point.

January 13, 2002.
I had my surgery a year ago. I have lost 150 lbs. I'm doing well. No complications that I know of. Thanks for caring and coming to visit me.

<10/16/01>The initial consultation was in a group setting. Dr. Jaroch is a businessman because he has to be. This forces him to talk about out-of-pocket, up-front, and up-front reimbursible costs, as well as the realities of, and past experience with, dealing with insurance companies and their ease or difficulty of getting approval (and what approval means), and their payment habits (slow, fast, etc.) He is friendly, but can come off as abrupt and/or short because he hasn't the time for any (extended) chit-chat. He tells it like it is, so there is no room for misinterpretation. He prefers to stick to the topics at hand and not digress. He has a known amount of information he has to cover in an allotted amount of time. His staff, however, is ready, able, and willing to field any questions and cover anything else you might have questions and/or concerns about at any time. He has a set of "rules" or "standards" that he covers and expects everyone to play by. He needs to be able to get in contact with you when need be. He needs you to follow the "plan" after surgery. Details of how he performs the surgery and why are given, along with reading material covering the procedure in general, as well as associated risks and complications and their related probabilities. I am a very research oriented, "have to know what's going on" kind of person. I look and look and look before I leap. In my opinion, Dr. Jaroch and staff get very high marks. HOWEVER, I must mention the need for a change in distance and seating where the group meeting is held. We are aware we are group of obese people. That's why we were there. The walk from the office to the conference room was long enough to cause many to pause and rest. Once there, the seating was not at all accomodating. I understand that the conference room is a "shared" room to all offices in the building, but still....

I have not met with Dr. Jaroch yet, but just from what I have read and heard from various people, I feel confident in his abilities. My PCP also told me that I couldn't be in better hands. =)
9/30/01 - I have been to 2 support meetings and my confidence in Dr. J. builds with each one.
10/09/01 - Finally had my consult. Dr. J. is as described to me...no holds barred.

He was very thorough in his pre-op testing
on me. It takes forever to get to see him,
and his staff works a million hours a week,
and you wait a VERY LONG time in his lounge
on each visit that is NOT cancelled, but, he's regarded highly by his people: you be
the judge...and judge carefully!!! I wish you all the best in this journey to better
health and a better life!!

My first impression of Dr. Jaroch was how caring he was about all the individuals at our support meetings. Knowing them by name, asking them questions, giving encouragement. The staff members are kind and efficient. My whole experience with Dr. Jaroch has been wonderful. He is just so kind and caring...he made me feel very comfortable as I completed every step of being a pre op, the surgery, and being a post op. He takes time to answer your questions and makes sure you understand everything.

Now being a post-op since October 5th, 2000, I am still amazed with Dr. Jaroch. I truly have nothing but praise for him and what he has done for me. I wish I could see him more often, because I always feel he tells me like it is, guiding me to be successful with this tool he has given me. It's not always easy, but he truly cares and really tries to let you know what you need to do to stay healthy and keep losing.

My first appointment was in February. He is very thourough and makes sure you know exactly what you need to know to make a decision. He spends a lot of time with you. He is very direct and does not dodge hard questions from patients. I really like him and now am just waiting for my surgery date-August 15 at City Hospital. I have not been to the support group meetings yet but wish I had gone before their June meeting (post ops only) so I could talk to someone!