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

I had my first visit on March 15, 2001. I was impressed with the office staff and Dr Appel. He was very straight forward and answered all questions. He seems to have a wonderful personality and is not intent on this being easy or a quick fix. My husband and I were very at ease and were excited when we left. This program seems to be very organized and includes after care.

I had my surgery March 4, 2003 . I can not say enough good things about Dr Appel and his staff. They have done a wonderful job with my insurance company and me. They have given me a new lease on life. All the waiting and worring was worth it.

They are following me very closely and answer all questions and when I have needed extra care they have returned my calls very quickly.

Some others have complained that they have trouble getting responses but I have not had that problem especially after my surgery date was set. I have not had that problem at all since my surgery.

Dr. Appel is a terrific surgeon. My first impression of him was that he was a smart aleck. My view changed though when we met one on one. He doesn't mince any words. He tells you flat out what you can expect from him and what he expects from you. There were no misunderstandings. He treated me with the utmost respect. He has been one of my greatest cheerleaders.
As for his office staff, they're the best. I especially appreciate April Calvert for her great support and help when I was struggling through insurance appeals.
He has a great support group (although I haven't been able go since I returned to work because of logistics).
Overall, my experience has been better than expected and my recovery better than he expected. I would highly recommend him to anyone seeking this type of surgery.

Dr. Appel is a wonderful doctor. He has given me my life back through his surgical skills. He really cares about his patients.

My first impression of him was that he was a no nonsense kind of guy and very straight forward about the risk of the surgery. He was also very knowlegable and you could tell he was very experienced with these procedures. The office staff is a little stand offish and that bothers me at times. I know they are overwhelmed but I think they could be more a little more sensitive to the needs of the patients.

Dr. Appel emphasizes after care to be the most important part of the process by letting us know that the surgery is just the beginning and that there is a lot of work to do on our parts afterwards.


Personally I think that bedside manner and surgical competence are both important. This process is stressful enough and people should be made to feel comfortable at every step in the way that they are making the right decisions and putting themselves in the hands of competent and caring medical professionals.

March 14, 2003

Doc Appel rocks. He's still a funny, cranky, little man. My impression of him has not changed ever. He is very generous and professional. He always comments and jokes around with me. Maybe because I do the same with him. He even digs my piercings. I guess what most patients of any doctor needs to know is that doctors are people too...



Sometime in 2001 I've met with him once, during a group consult. He is a funny little man, and knows his shit. I've had many conversations with his group manager, Kathy Kemp. She's working hard to get me approved.

Good

Dr. Appel is a wonderful doctor. he really cares about his patients. I had some trouble after the surgery, and he really took care of me. I really like him very much ,and would tell anybody how good he is.

Cold not kind our take any interest in you as a peron. He is not very nice he sounds like to be in the office with him when he was dong his examine with m. He was not talk that much and he said that he would have to cut off my apron before he did the Gastic bypass. Every body said what tat does not make since. I came out of is office crying. He might do a good job, indeed he might do a really good job, and his bed side matter I could do a wy with. But I am ging to have too see him and have a relationship with hm. I don't want 3 surgerys

November 7 2002
Had my first group consult with Dr. Steinberg and Appel. Dr. Steinberg ran the meeting. He did a great job explaining the different wls. I am still leaning towards the LAP RNY. I really liked both doctors and I do know that Dr. Steinberg does the LAP RNY. I think that both doctors are very cableable and good surgeons. I am still waiting on my dietitian appointment and my Psyc Eval. They are scheduled for Dec 12 and Dec 19. Then from what I understand I call the surgeons office let them know these two appointments are done. I can be scheduled for my upper gi and they will send for my inurance approval. After all that, the hard part starts by just waiting for a surgery date.

I met with Dr. Appel on my initial consult. He
seems to be very knowledgable about the surgery.
I was very impressed with him. He's very to
the point, doesn't beat around the bush about
anything. His office staff is VERY busy. It
is very hard to speak to anyone on the phone.
But they are usually real good about returning
your phone call. I'm now trying to decide what
to do about my insurance. Before they totally
approve me, they want me to have all the
prelim. testing done, and of course, payment
will be out of pocket for all of those.
Hummm...so here I sit, not knowing what to do.

November 18, 2002 - I finally met with Dr. Appel on a one on one basis. He seems
very knowledgable about this surgery. I am very comfortable with him and I have a
lot of faith in him as my surgeon. He does care about his patients very much, so that
is why he stresses that you follow the program very closely. He made it very clear
that there could be very serious risks involved in the surgery. After he reviewed
everything with us, he then gave us a test. He then went over each answer again
that anyone missed. He wants to make sure you totally understand everything.
I give Dr. Appel a 10 in my book.