Elmer Valin Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

The office was very small and run down, but the staff was extremely nice.
He was very kind and personable. He took time to answer all my questions. And I do mean all!!!
He was sympathetic, and very understanding. Good beside manner. He knew I wanted the surgery asap, and since I am self-pay, he said as long as I do all the pre op stuff i could have surgery
in 4 weeks~!!!!!!!!!
So needless to say I have all my stuff sceduled already! :-)
He believes strongly in changeing obesity
He knows this is a lifestyle change, and
is cautious with his selection of patients
He wants you to go to the support meetings
regularly, and see him regularly.
He gave me a great discount because I am self pay
I opted for the open vs the lap
he has done 60 open, but only 4 lap

and of those 4, only 1 without complications
i would rate him a 9 on a 1-10 scale

Very nice, very down to earth, explained everything very clearly.

My first visit with Dr. Valin was back in Oct.00. After many attempts with my regular doctor, he suggested a visit with Dr. Valin. When I first met Dr. Valin, I was very surprised to see he was much younger than I has anticipated. He was very easy to talk to and explained everything about the surgery. His office is small and he works with only one receptionist who is also very helpful. I have two small children and was in a rush to have the surgery before X-mas so I wouldn't ruin the holidays for my kids. They did everything they could to get things done on time for me and it worked, my surgery was on Nov.14,00. I spent 7 days in the hospital, 6 of those in the ICU due to breathing problems because I'm a smoker. Besides for the breathing, I had no problems at all. I didn't think the pain was that bad either. Dr. Valin was in every day to see how I was doing and the staff that works with him at the hospital were also very nice. The only bad experience I has in the hospital was meeting someone who just got over having the surgery done for the second time and she seemed very discouraged. She had laproscopic surgery in Oct and developed scar tissue that closed the opening to her pouch and she had to have an NG tube till she recovered enough to have open surgery in Nov.. After speaking to her in the hospital the night before I was to be released I became terrified that all those bad things were going to happen to me. Well, I got over that but I guess it was just bad timing. Since then I've seen her and she's doing great now. We schedual our checkups together so we can meet and compare notes. My checkups seem to be the only problem I have with Dr. Valin. His timing isn't the greatest. I've waiting 30-45 minutes at each of my checkups so far. I did however, have questions a couple of times when his office was closed, and he did return my calls in a timely manner.
On the whose, if I needed the surgery again, it would definately be Dr. Valin again. He's worth the wait.

Elmer Valin, New Haven, CT

He is a young doctor, who seems to be right on top of his field. He says his mentor is Dr. Reinhold, who he has trained under during his residency at St. Rapheals. He is new at the LAP procedure, attempting it 3 times, successful only one time. I have received a list of previous patients from him, they give very good info about him and the surgery. I have been told that the nurses at St. Raphe's say he is one of the best. Very detailed, very skilled.
He has a great bedside manner, treated me very respectfully. He emphasizes pre and post operative care and instructions. He recieved a great review from one of his gallbladder patients who happen to talk to me in the waiting room. She was one week post op. Laparscopic gallbladder removal. on a scale of 1-10, I'd rate him an 8. This rating comming from a one time meeting. I will update this as I return for a follow-up. I felt very comfortable with him, but more importantly, I 'm liking what I hear from people who he has treated.

Run, Run, Run for your life! I would not recommend Dr.Valin to anyone who who is considering surgery. My experiences and those of over 5 other's I know were extremely negative. Unfortunately my surgery went terrible wrong ("POSSIBLE" surgeon error) but the most disappointing part was how I was treated post op. Please understand you will only meet Dr.Valin one time pre-op and probably never see him again after. (if you have a typical recovery) I personally did see Dr. Valin more often because I nearly died and found him to be cold uncaring and distant. He at one point only called me back to ask me to have my family member stop calling him. I had to have 4 additional surgeries after my LAPBAND. I needed visiting nurses to care for me for over 5 months to care for my wound by packing with clorox bleach soaked gauze(TRAUMATIC). His office even disclosed my medical information to a fellow patient (HIPA VIOLATION),which wouldnt have been bad enough but they hadn't even disclosed that same info to me! It's been many years and have heard many stories like mine. Be safe chose your Dr. Wisely. NOTE: THESE FACTS ARE BASED ON MY ACTUAL EXPERIENCE & ARE MY PERSONAL OPINION .