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

he was recommended to me by regular md, and my first visit was a group meeting,(5 others and myself), he came out to the waiting room with his little foam stomachs and explaned how he does the surgery, first impression was not very good, ( very blunt and to the point). did not really see him on a one on one at this time, was sent for all the normally test, then went back to the office for a top to bottom check up, he was more friendly this time, answered all questions and sent me for more test, ( lung scan, doppler scan of legs) was approved after this, just got my date on 1-22-02. the office staff was very nice although i havent seen the very much. future patients should be aware he is not a very talk-a-tive man a first, but will come around as time goes on.
he is very strong to emphasize aftercare is a must. he has a very structured aftercare program, constiting of office visits, follow up with, and phone calling the diatition, also a support group with a phycologest.
normal risks of surgery, normal consent forms, all the same could happen, but normally does not. would like to rate him after surgery on competence and manner.

My first consultation was December 6th. My first
impression is that he knows his stuff. He is very
educated and educates you on the different
surgeries and why he does what he does. I like
his personality. He seems to like to laugh.

His program manager Kathy knows her job too.I was
very impressed with her knowledge.

They emphasize aftercare as very essential, especially
the support groups.They do have a structured aftercare
program.

He addressed all the risks and even demonstrated how
he tries to avoid some by altering the surgery.

Right now I rate him a 9. Would be a 10 if he had
enough personnel to handle everyones calls in a
timely manner. They also estimate waiting time to
be 6 to 12 months to have surgery.

These are only my personal impressions and yours
will be different.

I attended an initial group consultation with Dr. Appel and Kathy Kemp. There were only three ladies in the consultation. My first impression of Dr. Appel was that he was professional and to the point. He is not a "touchy-feely" kind of doctor. He explained the different operations and told us which one he does exclusively and why - open rny because it has the least side effects.

He explained their are risks with any surgery. Kathy explained all the pre-op testing that would be required - pap smear, pelvic exam, gallbladder ultrasound, psych evaluation, upper GI.

I came prepared with three pages of questions and he answered most of them during his presentation. He answered my remaining questions during his question and answer session.

I have read from other patient's posting that Dr. Appel was rated as one of the top ten surgeons in metro Atlanta. That level of recognition impresses me. I feel totally comfortable with his surgical ability. His bedside manner is probably non-existent.

Dr. Appel's was a little gruff. I though his answers to questions were somewhat dismissive if he though the questions was "silly". For example, I asked him about B-12 shots and he said the amount of B-12 needed by the body was neglible. Another patients asked him about hair loss and he did not seem to care about her concern.

Except, for those two instances, I was impressed with Dr. Appel. My ob/gyn - Leslie Pope - highly recommended him to me several years ago. It just took me a while to follow-up on her suggestion :) I spoke with Dr. Pope again recently at a check-up and she asked me what I thought of Dr. Appel after I told her I attended a group consultation. I said I did not always know how to take him. She just smiled and nodded. My primary care doctor does not know Dr. Appel personally, but she has had patients who have used him for surgery. They were are successful and impressed.

Had my consultation on 4/26/01. I liked Dr. Appel. He was to the point and answered all the questions. His sense of humor is unique. Kathy is a great help. I wouldn't want her job. Thanks Kathy!

Dr. Appel, a small man in stature is as described in Atlanta's Magazine- one of the top surgeons in the business. It seems his demeanor grows on you with time. I am glad to know that he's going to be my surgeon and have no doubts that he can do the job. His office manager, Kathy, is nice but one BUSY lady. It's hard to get a live conversation with her, voicemail becomes your best means of communication with her. But she does a good job of trying to keep you progressing towards your goal of surgery.

Have not met him yet. But all I have read here makes me at ease.

At first i did not want to post information about my doctor. However, i am now about 8 weeks post-op and have had ample time to look back at what i have been through.
Although it takes a long time to actually be scheduled. It was worth the wait. Im now well on the road to recovery and to losing weight. It is true..Dr. Appel does not have the best bed side manner. HOWEVER, i did not go to him for a friend. He is an excellent surgeon and wants his patients to do well. Therefore i believe that it is important to Dr. Appel that his patients be fully educated about the life changing surgery that is going to take place. I have and will again recommend Dr. Appel to just about anyone that asks.

BEDSIDE MANNER IS OKAY. HOWEVER, I DON'T CARE, AS LONG AS HE IS AN EXCELLENT SURGEON. SO FAR, EVERYONE I HAVE TALKED TO HIGHLY RECOMMENDS HIM.

Doctor seemed fine - no problem answering questions. The main thing that was different was he does not meet you by yourself except when he examines you. Otherwise, there is always a group having everything explained to them. They did a good job of going through information but I surely wish that they had given me this website address a year ago!

1 person handles the coordination for the surgery - she is hard to reach. Expect it to take a week or more and possibly several calls to get an answer back from her. Also, they did not make it clear that surgery would still be months away after all tests and authorizations were obtained.

DR. APPEL IS A CARING DR. AND LISTENS WHEN YOU TALK, HE IS THOROUGH IN HIS EXPLANATIONS AND HAS A GOOD BEDSIDE MANNER.THE STAFF IS HELPFUL BUT TAKES A WHILE TO GET BACK WITH YOU, THE PROGRAM MGR. IS KATHY KEMP, SHE IS NICE, BUT ISNT VERY HELPFUL WITH INS. APPROVAL ALTHOUGH SHE DID RESUBMIT, AND SEND SOME INFO. THAT SHE GOT OFF LINE,ALTHOUGH IT WAS OF NO HELP. THE PROGRAM IS VERY STRUCTURED AND YOU MUST FOLLOW IT TO THE LETTER OR YOU WONT GET IN TO EVEN SEE THE DR. THERE IS A GROUP INFO MEETING THEN ALL TESTING MUST BE DONE, THEN AFTER THAT IS ALL SENT IN, YOU ARE SCHEDULED FOR AN APPT. W/DR. APPEL. AT THE APPT. YOU FILL OUT ALL PAPERWORK AND SYMPTOMS, YOU ARE EXAMINED AND THEN HE SPEAKS WITH SEVERAL PATIENTS IN A GROUP FOR ABOUT AND HOUR ABOUT ANY QUESTIONS AND THEN YOU ARE TESTED ON YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF SURGERY POST/PRE OP AND IF ANY MISUNDERSTANDING ARE FOUND HE WILL GO OVER IT AGAIN. HE IS VERY THOROUGH. THE APPT. IS ABOUT 3HOURS LONG. THEN AFTER YOU ARE APPROVED FOR SURGERY IF NO OTHER TESTS ARE NEEDED THEN YOU WILL GET SCHEDULED WITHIN ABOUT 2MONTHS. I AM STILL WAITING FOR SCHEDULING. THEY ONLY SCHEDULE A MONTH AT A TIME. HOPEFULLY WITHIN THE NEXT WEEK I WILL BE PUT ON SCHEDULE FOR OCTOBER. ALTHOUGH I AM STILL BEING TURNED DOWN BY MY INS. CO. JOHN ALDEN HEALTH.