Elmer Valin Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

He answered all of my questions about the surgery. He was very helpful and understanding.

When I first met Dr. Valin, I too thought what everyone else had said,that he was young. But after I left his office on my first appt., I felt that he was very caring, compassionate, and I knew that he was the one that I wanted to do my surgery. He took the time to answer all of my questions. I never felt like I had to rush. I can't say enough about his secretary Cecile. She is super nice and although she seems very busy, she always makes you feel like you are no. 1. I would highly recommend Dr. Valin to anyone considering this surgery.

WELL I met Dr Valin I was impressed with him and he thought I had alot of information about the surgery.
After much research I decided to call Dr.
Valin, which I did today 3/19/01 and I was
given an appt. for 4/2/01. I had tried 2 other surgeons and haven't even heard back from them.Will update after my appt.

I WAS VERY NERVOUS BEFORE I MET DR. VALIN. I HAD A BIG KNOT IN MY STOMACH.MY APPOINTMENT WAS IN HAMDEN CT. HE GAVE ME SOME PAPERS TO FILL OUT THEN CALLED ME IN ABOUT 5 MIN. LATER.ASKED ME SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT MYSELF,THEN STARTED TO TELL ME ABOUT THE SURGERY.NOT SURE YET WHAT TYPE OF SURGERY I WILL HAVE.THE DOCTOR TOLD ME ABOUT BOTH TYPES OF SURGERY.HE ALSO EXPLAINED WHAT COULD HAPPEN DURING OR AFTER THE OPERATION.HE ASKED ME IF I HAD ANY QUESTIONS AND GAVE ME AN INFORMATION FOLDER WITH EVERYTHING HE WENT OVER.WHEN I LEFT THE OFFICE I WAS NOT AS NERVOUS.

After doing much research and with the help I received from this site, I contacted Dr.Elmer Valin of New Havin, CT. My 1st appointment was be March 15, 2001.

Upon meeting with Dr. Valin I was shocked at his youthfulness but after listening to him answer all my questions, I became more at ease and feel confident that I can place myself in his hands. I did not have many questions other than WHEN? and HOW SOON?

Dr. Valin was willing in expediting the psych and nutritional meeting requirements and stated surgery is possible as soon as 3 weeks! Yahoo!

Date for surgery is set for April 12th 2001. Dr. Valin's office staff were great at scheduling all the pre-op tests and in handeling my insurance matters. I can't believe that the doctors office waited until March 30thto contact my insurance carrier. Whats more is they approved my by April 4th (Only 3 days later!) Yahoo!

When I first met Dr. Valin, he put me very much at ease. He was very up front and clear about the procedure and spoke in terms that I understood (since I"m not a medical student).
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4/1/01 - Now that I'm 10 days Post-Op, I want to add a few things about Dr. Valin here. While I don't have another gastric surgeon to compare him to, I HAVE known many doctors in my day and he ranks right up there with his measure of caring and compassion. I had a leakage scare after I'd been home from the hospital just a few days, so I called his office with my concern. Dr. Valin called me back personally to talk about it with me and he put my mind at ease. During my hospital stay, he was very willing to take the time to talk to me and answer any questions I had. I never feel "rush-rush" with Dr. Valin. I have the utmost respect for his skill, ability, and motivation. During some of my pre-op testing, I was talking to other hospital workers about the differences between Dr. Valin and Dr. Reinhold, and everyone felt that Dr. Valin's skill level was just as good as Dr. Reinholds eventhough Dr. Reinhold might have a lot more experience. I really believe that Dr. Valin goes the extra mile for his patients and makes every effort to stay informed and up-to-date with the most recent advances in this procedure. I am very happy I chose Dr. Valin, and I am very happy that I'll be able to continue working with him as I recover and for follow-ups. One more thing... as I was waiting to be wheeled into the O.R., it really meant a lot to me that Dr. Valin took the time to come talk to me before surgery. I don't know if he always has the time to do that with everyone, but it was comforting. I do think that he would do well to have an actual "nurse" in his office and I think Cecile could use some help because she pretty much does all the scheduling and insurance handling. She's very caring and always amazes me how she gets all the appointments right and remembers everything so well with all that she has to do. I also think he needs an office overhaul because it truely does NOT reflect his professionalism or the respect he commands.

VERY NICE DOCTOR TOOK THE TIME TO EXPLAIN EVERYTHING WAS IN NO RUSH..OFFICE STAFF ARE WONDERFUL...
VERY CARING DOCTOR..MOVED EVERYTHING ALONG REALLY FAST..NOT ONLY CARE ABOUT THE PATIENT BUT ALSO THE FAMILY..TAKES THE TIME TO CHAT WITH THEM TO SEE HOW EVERYTHINGS GOING..CECELIA IS A GREAT SECRETARY SHE TAKES CARE OF EVERYTHING...
I WOULD RATE DOCTOR VALIN A 10...

I thought Dr. Valin was great. He was very informative and answered all my questions. The office staff was very helpful also.

After not getting an appointment from Dr.Reinholds office i saw that there was another DR in New Haven,Ct that also did the Bariatric procedure.His name is Dr. Elmer Valin.Dr.Valin was Dr.Reinholds understudy while doing his internship at St.Raphaels hospital.He is not currently board certified but my insurer said that he was eligible to be board certified.I have been informed that Dr.Valin is board certified. I want to apologize to anyone concerned over my initial statement. I called Dr.Valin's office on 2-7-01.His receptionist Cecile was very friendly and very helpful.I immediately recieved an appointment for 2-19-01.I will write more when i have my initial consult on that date.I can tell you that i am very anxious to get the ball rolling.I will talk to you all later.I had my initial consult wit Dr.Valin today on 2/19.He was younger that i expected but he had an encyclopedic knowledge of the RNY procedure.I feel that he is quite capable of performing this surgery on me.I also found that he had performed the same procedure on a person i know from Meriden with outstanding results.I was amazed that he started at a pre -op weight of 800 lbs and is now down to a much slender 250 lbs.I'm really quite amazed.My next step is to visit with the Nutritionist and the Psychologist before i start the pre-op tests.I'll be back soon.Later.

I had surgery 7 months ago with Dr Valin. He is a wonderful doctor with a wonderful staff (Cecelia). He is a totally competent surgeon with a great sense of humor.
He makes all patients attend a psych evaluation, consultation w/a nutritionalist and support groups before he accepts you as a patient.


The only thing missing would be a good aftercare program. I feel that he is too busy to support an aftercare program. It would be great if he got an assistant to do teh follow ups with because there are so many questions that you will have.