Carlos Ferrari Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

Dr. Ferrari was a great surgeon and took extra good care of me since I was a revision surgery. When I was hospitalized at two weeks post-op with a bad infection in another state, Dr. Ferrari made sure he kept in contact with both me and my doctors so he could monitor my progress and offer advice. His nurse told me he was about to stand on his head because he felt helpless because I was so far away. Talk about caring! His manner is a little gruff but he is an excellent surgeon and I've seen the compassionate side of him. I'm a fan for life!

The staff at Neweigh were terrific! The call you back when they say the will! I was very pleased with Dr. Ferrari. He seems to be a very professional man and I feel that I will be comfortable with him performing this surgery.

I will meet him for the first time in his private office on 1-2-01. I made this appointment on 12-8-00. That in itself is impressive! I had called Drs. Selinkoff and Pilcher's office and I could get in with Dr. S on June 27th and Dr. P in October 2001! Perposterous! I may very well be dead by then! I have been pleased with Blanca, who is Dr. Ferrari's office manager. I am NOT going through NeWeigh but rather the Loop 610 office.

Dr. Ferrari was a very nice and caring individual. Be patient, it will happen. If I've learned anything from this process it's to have a lot of patience. He does want you to participate in the aftercare program.

My first impression was that he did not seem much interested in me and he seemed "rumpled" and tired. But then so was I ! I have not seen him again, but after reading a great deal of praise about him - I feel he is a good choice for my surgery. His staff was fine and they do a great deal to make you feel welcome. I wasn't prepared for the long wait before seeing him though. Also after I had alot of test done I requested that a copy of the results be sent to my GP, they faxed the wrong person's file the first time and after three requests to resend they still have not sent them - oh well. Future patients should be prepared to wait and wait. But it is worth it. Also his staff is BEYOND HELPFUL with getting your insurance to go through! Stay on top of them though and check back, I was not notified that I had been approved and didn't know until I called them. I will update this after my pre op visit on the 12th of December. Overall I would reccommend this Dr. and his staff.

As of today, I have met with Dr. Ferrari only once. My husband was with me and Dr. Ferrari included him in all the discussions. I think having my husband speaking with the doctor, helped my husband tremedously because he does not "do" medical things well. We found Dr. Ferrari to give us ample time, however, I did not like the waiting time. I have a pet peeve - waiting for appointments. Dr. Ferrari contracts with NeWeigh for the insurance processing. So far it has gone ok, although at first we had some communiction problems. Those seem to be resolved as best I can tell. I would tell anyone going to this office to be prepared to wait. That seems to be an accepted method of operation here. There is structured aftercare in the form of support groups. The main problem I can see is that they are downtown near the medical center and I live about 30 miles away in the "burbs". The groups do not start til 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings. I have been attending the group meetings even though I am not yet
approved. I have found the group meetings very helpful. If approved I will see Dr. Ferrari for a preop visit and then for surgery. I do not sense that we will develop a close relationship, mainly because our "together time" is most limited. AT this stange of the process, the most important concern I have is his surgical ability. Dr. Ferrari comes highly recommended and that is what is important.

Nov. 2, 2000 - Yesterday I had my Pre-op appointment at NeWeigh with Dr. Ferrari. My appointment was scheduled for 2 p.m. I did not even get into his office until 4:00 pm and did not even talk with him until 4:30pm. My pet peeve is waiting, and everytime I go there I end up waiting. I am sure my blood pressure must raise a few levels. Not to mention that it gives a message out that my time is not important. I wonder how it would be if the tables were turned. I will say that he gave me all the time I needed to get my questions answered. He was very open with me about the hospital I will be going to. It has changed ownership recently and there are some problem areas at the moment. He assured me that he had total control in the operating room and the ICU unit. He assured me nothing would be allowed to happen that could jeopardize my health in any way. It seems some patients have been complaining about some of the staff being rude, poor meal service and housekeeping issues. He was very open with me
about the situation. So, Monday is the big day. On November 6, I make a giant step forward to healthier life style. This morning I found I had some more questions and spoke with Carla at NeWeigh. She was very helpful and was more than willing to answer all my questions - most of them concerning nutrition and the after care program.

<p><font color="purple">10-18-00 -- I feel like I really need to share this... Dr. Ferrari was great (read below) for the surgery and at the hospital. However, I have had a few problems post-op that he and his staff are NOT willing to deal with. In fact, I was "told" that he knows NOTHING about these things and I should contact my PCP (who also know's nothing about my new tummy.)<br>To be fair, I'll explain. I went to Louisiana and woke up Sunday morning about 3 a.m. with a serious cold. The post nasal drip had all night to settle in my pouch and I was coughing and gagging to throw-up that stuff in my pouch. By 9:00 that morning I was still throwing up, gagging and I called Dr. Ferrari... he said to go to the local ER (as if they would know anyting about my pouch.) We loaded up and headed back to Houston. All I was "asking" Dr. Ferrari was "what" over the counter medication could I take to help dry me up and stop the coughing (I still hadn't been able to keep a drink of water down.) Common sense tells me if I stop the drip then my pouch would be ok and if I stopped coughing I could take a drink of water! The Dr. told me (irritated that I had called I do believe,) that he had no idea and to go to the ER.<br>Ok, fine, so we headed to the ER (back home.)<br>I really just wanted to know what size pill my pouch could hold and what to use to stop the cough long enough to get it down and how to keep it on my stomach long enough to work. I think that is a "pouch" concern. Again, I was told to go to the ER.<br>I called my pharmasitst who has been keeping up with my pouch, medications and so on... he recommended a cough syrup and decongestant pill... everything was cleared up in about an hour and I was finally drinking water again by about noon.<br>To add insult to injury I was called by his staff the next day and told that my "question" was inappropriate and that Dr. Ferrari didn't have answers for "those" types of questions and that I should always just contact my PCP and NOT try to explain to my PCP "in detail" about my pouch because no one would want to treat me!" YES, that is what I was told!<br>So, now not only does my surgeon NOT know about anything not directly related to my surgery (his words,) but I'm not supposed to educate my PCP for fear of no one wanting to treat me. I was told that "too much knowledge was not always a good thing."<br>I strongly disagree, we can not have enough knowledge about our own health care and we SHOULD expect our health care providers to be knowledgable about our surgeries and our post-op care particularly for the "obvious" small things that are going to come up like a cold!!! If you would like more details about this and other post-op issues that have gone not so well please feel free to e-mail me at: <a href="mailto:denise@madpoets.com">~denise</a><br>I feel like I should add that I still believe everything I have written about Dr. Ferrari, his skill as a surgeon and care at the hospial following (below) But it is only fair to add new experience's as time passes and new issues come up.</font></p>
08-28-00 -- I want to share with everyone about Dr. Ferrari. I had my surgery on Friday and was a bit afraid of a "week-end" staff situation.... this was NOT the case! Dr. Ferrari was in my room at least twice on Saturday and Sunday and probably more than twice. He was RIGHT with me all the way. We didn't agree on everything (I'm not a real plesant person when tired and in pain... lol) but he hung in there with me and I never waited longer than an hour or so for an answer from him on ANYTHING. The nursing staff was great, Dr. Ferrari was RIGHT THERE and I would recommend him for the people I love the most and certainly for anyone else. On bedside manner... he rates way over a 10+. On skill... way over a 10+. I would trust him with my child.

08-15-00 -- I wanted to add that I'll be Dr. Ferrari's first "LAP" at Bellaire Hospital. The hospital finally got the equipment he needed to begin doing "LAP" and I'm excited for him... I'll post my "tummy" photos if all goes well with the LAP so everyone can see what a great job he does. ~smile~

Blanca, and his staff are really the greatest. I've had a few tests come back not so good and have been canceled once and I truly do not know how I'd have gotten through all this without their love, support and understanding. That speaks for his bedside manner as well.

I think Dr. Ferrari does this kind of surgery because he is a believer... not because of the great profit. I say that because his daughter just had this surgery 2 months ago and if he didn't "believe" in a big way he wouldn't have allowed his daughter to do it. I also think it gives him a far more personal insight to the whole / big picture of this surgery.

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My first impression of Dr. Ferrari was good. I like soft spoken and direct professionals. He was so clear answering every question I had. I've only had 100 questions since then and call his staff all the time. They are always in a good humor and answer my questions directly and honestly. I have never been made to feel that a question "wasn't important."

I saw Dr. Ferrari at his new office so I didn't get to meet the people at NeWeigh although I understand he practices both places.

I took him an 18 page letter summerizing all of the information I had learned about open RNY and detailing all of my own information. I had also pre-contacted my insurance company to learn all of what they required and supplied as much of that pre-information as I could.

He could tell I'd been working on this for quite a while. The only thing he addressed in full were the risks. I didn't have that in my documents but had researched them. So, he moved over to stressing that WLS was only a tool and the importance of aftercare and support.

So far... well, I trust him enough to put my life in his hands so I will surely follow his "after" instructions.

I'll write more about the surgery, bed side manner (oh, I must say he didn't make me feel totally fat like most doctors do.)

My two hopes are that he will close with stitchs and NOT touch my belly button with the knife... I'll talk to him about those two things on my next visit.

HE WAS VERY NICE BUT TO THE POINT. I ALWAYS HAD COMPLETE FAITH IN HIM AND HE NEVER LET ME DOWN. I HAD NO PROBLEMS AND SING HIS PRAISES. HIS OFFICE STAFF WAS HELPFUL AND ALWAYS NICE TO ME. THEY TREATED ME WITH DIGNITY. HE ALWAYS TOOK TIME TO ANSWER MY AND MY HUSBAND'S QUESTIONS AND THERE WAS NOT ANYTHING ABOUT HIM I DID NOT LIKE. I AM A NURSE SO I KNEW WHAT TO LOOK FOR. JUST THAT I DID RESEARCH HIM BEFORE I HAD THE SURG. AND HE MET MY EXPECTATIONS. AFTER CARE IF FOLLWED UP BY HIS STAFF WITH WEEKLY MEETINGS
AND HE ADDRESSED ALL ASPECTS OF THE RISKS OF THE SURGERY. HE IS A 9 ON MY LIST

Dr. Ferrari is soft spoken but very straight
foward about surgery and he makes sure you
understand the surgery before you leave his
office. He encourages you to ask questions
about surgery or anything you are concerned
about. I like him very much and feel very
comfortable with him. The staff at NeWeigh
are great and very easy to get along with.
He and his staff encourage aftercare meetings
at the NeWeigh office.

I REALLY LIKED DR. FERRARI AND THE STAFF AT NEWEIGH THEY WERE SOOO GREAT AND INFORMATIVE. I GOT A FOLDER WITH INFO IN IT AND THEY SEND OUT INFORMATION THAT YOU ADD TO IT AS THE PROCESS GOES ALONG..I ONLY GOT TO SEE THE DOCTOR FOR A FEW MINUTES AND HE ASKED ALL OF MY QUESTIONS.
THEIR WERE MANY PEOPLE THERE IN THE LOBBY SO I WAS ABLE TO ASK QUESTIONS OF THE ONES WHO ARE IN POST-OP AND PRE-OP AND I GOT A BETTER IDEAL OF WHAT TO EXCEPT WITH THE DOCTOR AND THE HOSIPTAL.