Robert Brolin Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S.

I had my consult today and am very impressed and feel confident that I will be approved.
First of all, I was surprised to see that Dr Brolin does not have a separate office. You go to the main reception desk on the 4th floor. They took care of me very quickly; I was in and out in one hour.
Lisa and the staff are very nice. Lisa especially was very easy to talk to. Everyone there talks about "when you get your surgery;" not "if..." They all seem so confident that it will happen.
Dr. Brolin is different than the doctors I have been used to. He is very clinical and does not joke much, although he did make a few small ones. He was very thorough and answered my questions. I am glad that I chose him; he has been doing this for 18 years and I feel safe trusting him to do this. He told me I will have the open rny
The staff said they will mail out the letter to the insurance in about 2 weeks and then I might hear as soon as 2 weeks from then.
The doctor asked me to have an h.pylori blood test but nothing else at this time.
I feel very positive about this!
3/14 I am approved! It only took one week!! Woohoo! Thanks to all here who have helped me especially my dear angel, Sharon Bishop and my buddy Sue Sokolowski.
And I give thanks to God who is my helper and provider!

My first impression of Dr. Brolin was not that impressive besides the fact that he explained the entire procedure and answered all my questions. He didn't seem that friendly. I felt like another face of the thousands I'm sure he sees. Over time I knew I had made the right choice. His office staff is very helpful and friendly. They add the personal touch I like as a patient.

I would recommend to any new patients of Dr. Brolin's to go in prepared to ask all their questions, I wrote mine down so I would not forget anything. Dr. Brolin is very patient and will answer all of them.

He emphasises aftercare very much. Gloria, his nurse practitioner is a great motivator. She will visit you daily in the hospital as well as the doctor but she stays a little longer.

As a surgeon, well, i have no complaints. My surgery went very smoothly with no complications. His bedside manner is o.k. He is in and out very quickly but who cares, I prefer that he know what he is doing in the operating room rather than spoil me after the surgery.

initial consult was 1/26/01. He and his staff are amazingly thorough and helpful. they all took a lot of time explaining the procedure best for me (open distal rny) and all questions were answered clearly. They are a very busy office, and it is hard to get a live person on the phone, but none of my calls were medical emergencies. There is an online support group through yahoo that is fabulous, as well as monthly meetings. all aspects of pre and post surgical care, as well as risks and benefits were clearly laid out.

I was referred to Dr. Brolin after I went to Dr. Andrei. I was told nicely that I am too high a risk to have the RNY procedure done Lap. because I have a history of Pulmonary Embolism. So I then went to Dr. Brolin. My first impression was that he was like a robot. The way he was talking in a monotoned voice and telling me the procedure and the risks. I am hoping that it was just a long day for him and I was the last patient. I believe that he is a good surgeon and he know what he is doing. I bet he could do this with his eyes closed. I do trust him and I am now waiting for my insurance approval to go through and I will get a date.

I finally met with Dr. Brolin on Friday, 2/16 and I was presently suprised. Everyone told me that he is a very serious, non-smiling individual and speaks in a very business like manner. WELLLLLLLLLL, guess what? He walked into the room and smiled right off the bat and spoke to me for a long time and went over everything in detail. I asked him alot of questions and I was very satisified with the answers I received.
He told me that I qualify for the laporscopic?(sp) surgery but that I could have it done the open way too.
All in all I was happy and he told me I could estimate sometime within the next 3 months for surgery (I am confident that Aetna will approve me). I asked him if I could be operated on the end of June when my son gets out of school so he can help my husband with our business (commercial cleaning)and he can earn some extra money too.
I am very lucky to have the husband and son that I have. They are very supportive and want only the best for me. I told our son the other night about the surgery and he asked me alot of good questions (he's 15) and ended the coversation by telling me how much he loves me and only wants me to be healthy and happy.
Dr.Brolin went over all the risks and told me everything that was necessary and then some and Lisa the nutrionist was great too.
I rate Dr. Brolin, on a scale of 1 to 10 a 10 because I know he is very good at what he does and that is all I care about.
More information as I become informed.

I met with Dr. Brolin in August who said I qualify for the Laparoscopic Surgery. I met with Dr. Andrei on Septemer 19th and I am waiting to know if I am approved or not. They were both kind and very informative. The suspense is killing me. I try to keep my mind occupied with other things but it is very hard. Hoping to hear something soon. WellI was approved after the first letter. I have decided tio have the open vs laporascopic.

When I met Dr. Robert Brolin, I saw a quietly confident man. He was professional, and displayed a droll sense of humor that put me at ease. I was impressed before I had met him, because I had joined several online support groups during the research phase of my decision to explore WLS. His patients all spoke very highly of him. At no time did I ever feel he was condescending of my obesity problem. His practice is extremely busy, and the most frustrating thing that I'd encountered was not being able to get a surgery date. A month after my initial consultation, I am still waiting for a surgery date. (And all of his patients that I've spoken with have told me that the wait is well-worth it.)
When you first call Dr.Brolin's office, the friendly secretary mails an information packet to you. It contains a detailed questionnaire for you to fill out about health-related issues. You also receive a booklet detailing what the procedure is about.
During the first meeting, I also met with the nutritionist, whom I will see again before being discharged from the hospital. I brought all my questions to her regarding the type of diet that I would need to follow in the weeks following surgery. She was very helpful and informative. It helped that I prepared a list of questions, too.
Aftercare is mentioned, and a series of post-operative visits are scheduled. A support group meets monthly at St. Peter's Hospital in New Brunswick, and monthly newsletters are mailed out. Unfortunately the meetings fall on one of my work nights, so I have been unable to attend one as of yet.
Dr.Brolin has a way to contact him in case of emergencies.
Both surgical competence AND bedside manner are important, since I am a human being and deserve to be treated like one, and not just a medical statistic. From what I heard, Dr.Brolin leans more towards the competent sort... however, my personal experience with him revealed a man with a wry, understated sense of humor.

I finally got to meet Dr. Brolin. He really doesn't have a personality, but he's very thorough in talking to him. Went over everything about the surgery even though he sent me the information in the mail.

Office staff seems really nice and easy to deal with. Time will tell.

Got to talk to the nutritionist as well, basically told me if I don't change my eating habits. (liking sweets/cake etc) that i won't see a good change.

I was a little disappointed at my first meeting with Dr. Brolin. He is not the "fun" easy to talk with doctor that I was used to in my PCP. I often use humor to get through difficult situations and Dr. Brolin is just not a comedy sort of guy. He is however, a gifted surgeon who has undoubtedly saved my life and emotional well being! He is factual and well versed in WLS and provides answers to all questions. He addressed all of my concerns about the surgery including risks in a frank and open manner. Overall I would have to say that when comparing surgical/medical competence to bedside manner, he would rate much higher in competency.
Dr. Brolin's office staff is friendly and courteous. They are helpful with paperwork and filed my insurance and disability papers in a timely fashion. I had no problems with invoicing.
When I call the office I receive quick return calls and have always been satisfied and comforted by the answers and information I get.
My only disappointment comes from what is in my personal opinion, the lack of structured aftercare. I was seen 2 weeks post op, 4 weeks post op and then 4 months post op. I will return next week, which is 9 months post op. My dietary and nutritional counselling came by way of xeroxed handouts with simple food lists. The nutritionist at Dr. Brolin's office did offer general rules but no explicit instruction. For my personal needs, I would prefer to have had better dietary and emotional counselling.
There is no way to prepare for some of the changes we experience after WLS and a better support system would have aleviated much anxiety. To this day, I am not sure if I am eating correctly or if I am within the range of "normal".

On a scale of 1 - 100 I would rate Dr. Brolin a solid 80!

Dr. Brolin was very helpful answering any
questions I had. My first impression was
that he seemed very robotic and regimented,
but I think that
it is more of a confidence attitude. He knows
what to expect and he knows he's a great
surgeon. That's what I needed more than
anything. Someone to have the confidence I
needed to see and hear.
This helped me relax because at first I
thought that I might have to high BP for it
but he assured me I was not the highest that
he ever encountered. Sometimes we tend to
think that we are the worst case.
The staff was great they have been
though this hundreds of times and they
know what to expect. He emphasizes aftercare
very much, making sure I knew I had to have
my blood tested for Vitamins and such often.
He informed me of every possible risk and
took the time to explain every detail of the
proccedure. He used a drawing to show what
exactly was going to be done. I would rate
him very high. I wanted a great surgeon not
someone to read me a bed time story. Dr.
Brolin was the best choice in my book