Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Hospital

Dr. Schweitzer performed my VSG on 18 June 2015. I had a fantastic experience, and would go back to him in heartbeat. His support staff, especially Pat, are caring and kind. The facility (Johns Hopkins Bayview) was clean and state of the art. As expected, I lost the bulk of my weight during the first six months, and have steadily continued to lose subsequently (have lost 80 pounds; am 5'4" and weighed 228 at time of surgery). I've reached his goal; still working towards mine! My BP and all my numbers are optimal. I am so grateful for this surgery, and cannot recommend this surgeon or office highly enough.

I am not sure of what happened to the poster that had very negative things to say about Dr. Schweitzer's team. My experience with them has been nothing but extremely pleasant. His team was absolutely amazing to me and very hands on. All my phone calls were returned except from the financial person which I believe her name was Teresa. If I left a voicemail for Tracey even if she didn't call back Nathalie always did and she was always very prompt returning my calls. Whenever I called (and I called many many times during the process) Nathalie always answered me. They did everything to help me with my approval and they were definitely there to help and make this process easy. Dr Schweitzer was always very nice to me. He is not a very talkative person but he made me feel very comfortable and answered all the questions I had. I am looking for a top-notch doctor not a buddy, and he is a very competent doctor and that is all it matters to me. My surgery is coming up in 2 weeks and I am very excited! Overall my experience with them has been outstanding!

From housekeeping to the nursing staff and doctors, every single person at Bayview was fabulous! They were always encouraging and supportive. A class act!

I began my journey with Dr. Schweitzer's team at Johns Hopkins Bayview. I met with Dr. Schweitzer, and had a very pleasurable visit with him regarding my options. The nightmare began once I started dealing with his office staff. Understand this going in: they DO NOT return phone calls. I believe it took 22 days, roughly a dozen emails, and calls to multiple administrators to get a simple insurance question answered. When I raised the communication issue to Kim Meehan (Office manager of some type) I was told that I was abrasive, and "causing problems". If I would have continued in the program with Dr. Schweitzer's team, I would have added several more months to the process. It was made very clear to me that they are not there to help. His office staff was offensive, rude, and seemed extremely overwhelmed.

I found a much better team locally, and my case was submitted to insurance and APPROVED within a week. Oh, and the doctor has roughly double the experience. I am 100% happy with my decision to find a different doctor.

It's been 12 years since Dr. Schweitzer performed my laparoscopic Roux-n-Y procedure, and I still think of the gift he gave me every single day. I just found the photo that was taken in the hospital the morning of my surgery, when I weighed in at 272 pounds. I am 5'-4". I hadn't seen that photo for years, and it really shocked me to see how very large I actually was. Today, 12 years later, I am 125 pounds and have no problem staying within 5 pounds of that. I look like a completely different person...I can't even recognize myself in that photo any more. I will never forget his FABULOUS bedside manner, his genuine care and concern for his patients, and the fact that, while I hear about so many others who were not as lucky to have such a great surgeon, his obvious technical skills that have resulted in long-term success for me and many others. I will never forget the poignant advice he gave me when he came to see me shortly after I awoke,"Take a bite, then wait a minute before taking another. If you burp or hiccup, that is the signal that you are full. If you follow this advice, you will not make yourself sick from eating too much." I have seen many other post-surgery patients who were constantly making themselves sick by overeating and even having to self-inflict vomitting. Then, there are those unfortunate souls who gain their excessive weight back...which must require a great deal of effort and cause a great deal of pain and discomfort...I am not quite sure how they do that. Anyway, if you want the BEST surgeon possible, go to Baltimore and meet Dr. Michael Schweitzer. I guarantee you will be thanking him every day for the rest of your life.

The best of the best! Wrote the book...literally. responsive to questions and needs and gives his email address. Personally called after home from hospital to check on me.

If this review was about the office staff, there would be fewer stars. They did not return emails or phone calls and led to much delay. I had to say on them to get the pieces in place.

FACTS:
***revision from sleeve to duodenal switch request***
Initial Dr. visit approved request
5 months wait for insurance denial
botched insurance submittal by office administration
Dr. never ordered necessary tests for the insurance to approve
office staff rarely followed up on phone call requests for information and status updates
Filed complaint with Director of the Program
Dr. Schweitzer relayed to me via the Director that he was "sorry" for not ordering the right tests and feel free to take my business elsewhere.

Thus far I have only actually met Dr. Schweitzer once, for my initial consultation. I felt he was confident, informative, competent, and a "just the facts" kinda guy. I have read good things online, and all of my research shows his experience and competence to be above average.

Dr.Schweitzer was not my original surgeon, but I am still very happy with how everything has turned out! On the day of my first scheduled date, my original Dr. was called in to preform emergency surgery, and I had to rescheduled. Dr. Schweitzer did both my DR and me a HUGE and very appreciated favor, unselfishly said he would do my surgery a week later. I met him right before he cut me open. He was so incredibly kind and easy going! He put me and my family at ease. He let my family know how the surgery went. The next morning he came in and checked on me. He has a GREAT bedside manner. He talked to me and not at me. He has a very easy going personality. All of my incisions healed very nicely. I would HIGHLY recommend him!!!

I was scheduled for an RNY gastric bypass but when Dr.Schweitzer began the surgery, he said my liver was too hard and did a sleeve bypass instead. It is possible that this bypass can be converted to a RNy if I don't lose enough weight. Dr Schweitzer and his team were great. They've answered all questions and kept my husband informed during surgery.