Sidney Appel Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

Had a great surgeon , but he retired one year after i had my surgery. He had no bedside manner but he was a great doctor. His staff was very nice and the after care was good.

I was told that he had an unpleasant bedside manner, was gruff & not to expect any warm fuzzies! I was so glad they told me that or I would have never gone back. The md's I spoke to said he is an excellent surgeon. I met 2 women at my job who actually worked for him and both said he could be difficult to work with. rnMy impression has changed a little. I trust the people who've worked for him that say he is very, very good, and also the people who've actually had surgery with him feel he took good care of them physically.rnHis office staff are mostly friendly. He has an incredibly busy office and sometimes you have to wait 3-4 hrs to be seen. rnThe thing I like least is how he does the process, i.e., it is like a cattle car approach. He has a group of people seen at one time and speaks about the surgery etc with the whole group. He asks personal questions right in front of everyone as he looks at their files. I was embarrassed for people when he would talk with them. I would not ask the questions I wanted to because I didn't want to be talked about in a personal manner in front of others. rnFuture patients should know & expect that this is not a warm fuzzy type of md. He doesn't seem like he cares about people's feelings, emotions, etc. However, he is very good at what he does and his pts are very happy with what he does for them despite not always liking him personally. rnHe is extremely thorough, he makes sure you have education prior to the surgery. He has a well spoken of support group meeting monthly. I have gone to a few meetings, but they weren't really helpful for me. rnAn interesting thing is at the 2nd group meeting, he actually gave us a written true/false test to be sure we understood exactly what all the risks, etc would be. I thought that was very good. rnI can not really rate him until after surgery, as much of what I have experienced is only in the office, I would be able to give a better thought on him after surgery.rnI am the type of person who likes to feel that my md heard me, understood where I was coming from, was able to give & take information and realized I am not an idiot, I just don't know. I like to feel that he really cares about me the person. I have never felt that way with Appel, however, I have other md's involved in my care who do provide me with that and they both state Appel can be trusted completely. Their word is good enough for me. I think md's should have both, and that is not impossible to achieve. The above statements are my personal opinion and in no way should be taken as the final word on what it is like for any other patient of his.

He has since retired but has another Dr. whom he practiced with , Scott Steinberg who is really great. I can't say enough about Dr.Appel. He was the very best!!! The office staff and care before and after are wonderful. I rate Dr. Appel with a 10+ and i have heard that STeinberg is wonderful as well with the surgery patients that i have met.

I have heard nothing but the best about Dr. Appel. He is very busy I think that is a very good sign. rnrnDr Appel retired a few years ago.

Dr. Appel didn't really do my surgery. He retired before I got first Dr's visit, but his associate Dr. Steinberg was able to do my surgery and i think he is just great. He is very professional and upfront with you. He is very serious when it come to after care, but he listens to the patient about there body feels. Both doctors were upfront and truthful when it came to the risks of surgery. I think that Dr. Steinberg is an AWESOME doctor. I would recommend him to anyone. Awesome bedside manner and my thinks that he is cute, but that doesn't matter to me.

Initial approval by Tricare for 1 appointment - I hope to be seen soon. I will post more after I meet him :)
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I met Dr. Appel last friday for surgical consult. I really like this doctor! I can see how some see him as gruff or standoffish, but I feel an empathy; a good connection. This only confirms my choice. I will post after my surgery on Feb 7, 2005.
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I LOVE this guy! I can see why some think he is a bit stand-off-ish or 'crusty' so to speak but I just clicked with him the moment I met him. If I had any reservations at all about him doing my surgery before, they are GONE now ! Of course, my surgery is 6 days away, but from where I stand now, I highly recommend him to ANYONE needing this!
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Post op my opinion stands. Skilled surgeon and dry humor - you have to go digging for that to come out :) I think it was partially his and his partners skill that saved my RNY lap from becomming an open (still took them 5 hours to complete it lap!) Kudos to the docs!

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NOTE!
As of October 2005, Dr. Appel is no longer practicing, and he has since retired. Those of you who got the chance to meet him and have him perform this life saving surgery are blessed, as am I. He will be missed. BUT - His associate Dr. Steinberg is still doing the RNY :) (infact he specializes in the laproscopic version of RNY and is VERY GOOD)
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At first I thought Dr appel dry and did not much care for him. Since the surgery my opinion has changed so much. He is still dry but he is caring and does know what he is doing. His staff and especially Kathy are wonderful. Due to insurance not approving the surgery anymore he is thinking of retiring next year..i hope not. He keeps you pretty informed but I had to do a lot of research on my own. Overall I would recommend him for the gastric bypass but he is not a plastic surgeon and doesn't claim to be. His surgical competence is much better than his bedside manner

Dr. Appel was the best surgeon. He is strightforward and tells it like it is. I like that.
His staff at the decatur office is the best and I always schedule my appiontments there. They are friendly, always answer my questions, and are always on top of things happening during the whole "WLS"
I would recommend Dr. Appel to anyone who likes a striaghtforward doctor. If you are looking for somebody to sugar coat any part of the process or the fact that you are obese, he may not be for you. For me, he was the perfect doctor.

Dr Appel may appear to be a bit gruff at times, but he really cares about your well being and safety. I found him to be an absolute riot at times.His staff is very caring and they always listened when I had questions or concerns. April is an absolute angel! (if she weren't married...I'd be after that big time!)
Dr Appel explained all the risks and made sure that all of my questions were answered fully before surgery. When my lateral stitches gave me some trouble and he pulled them to test them, he saw the pain in my eyes and was so apologetic. His skill as a surgeon is second to none and he really is a caring guy. (Don't tell him I said that...you know, his reputation and all)
Feel sure that Dr Appel knows not only what he's doing, but he knows it much better than some of the other surgeons who are running an assembly-line business who only want to get the money and nothing else.

Dr.Appel is very good he makes sure that he check everything out about you before he do the surgery if he finds something else wrong he will recommemend more test to be done to cover all the basics they he may be worry about.