I. Michael Leitman Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

I've met Doctor Leitman through my Primary Care Doctor, who is a person that not only I admire but also fully trust. So when I went to see Doctor Leitman I was already prepared to like him and I was not disapointed. He is very professional and courteous and answered all my questions in a very knowledgeable and precise manner. I saw him again at the support meeting (I've heard he attends them all)and my impression was reinforced by his kindness and courtesy to answer all the questions. Also, all of his patients that I spoke to at the meeting, only had great things to say about him. His office personnel was very nice, and as anybody will tell, his office manager Joan is a jewel. She is bright, energetic and very, very efficient. She took care of all my paperwork, and got my approval at first try in just a week.

I had my consultation with Dr. Leitman today and I feel very comfortable with him.
Joan, his Office Manager, is friendly and knowledgable and a pure delight!
Although I had to wait an hour to see him (he's very busy)... it was well worth it.
He took his time talking to me about the whole procedure. He even gave me a short
examination, which is something that I did not have in my other consultation.
He expalined the operation to me fully and answered most of my questions before I got a chance to ask them.
He made it a point to let me know that he wanted me to talk to some of his previous patients
and that he had the support groups that meet every month so that I know what is involved, good and bad.
PURELY Based on meeting him today... I would rate him a 9.5 (take away .5 pts for making me wait an hour!)
I feel confident that I made the right decision.

My first impression of Dr. Leitman was that he was very confident and informative about the procedure. He went over the pros and cons of the surgery. Over time, my confidence with his abilities has increased. I feel blessed to have chosen him to "giving me back my mojo".
His secretary, Joan is very friendly and personable. She works very hard with patients. I find that surgical competance far outweighs bedside manner. Dr. Leitman did visit my at least daily if not more. I would rate him a 10 out of 10. I highly recommend him.

my first impression was wow he is young and in good shape and very confident. i feel that he is agreat surgeon and i trust him.his staff personnel Joan is wonderful and very informative. they both answered al my questions and some i didnt consider. and they helped me with my fear of surgery overall so far my experiance has been good the only thing was having to stand in the office exam room in your underwear for a physical Joan will be helping me with my after care and a monthly support group meets at the hospitol Lennox Hill in NYC aftercare is lifelong but i have accepted that it is worth it one of my largset concerns is the risk of surgery and he explained to me as did my dr Josie Aquino what they are and they are acceptable as far as the question"Which is better, surgical competence, bedside
manner, or both great?

i believe both are important but surgical competance is more important.

On 1/3, I had an appointment with a Bariatric Surgeon. He answered my questions but I was not particularly impressed. If I am going to put my life in someones hands I want to be extremly impressed. So I made another appointment on 1/17 and saw Dr. Leitman. I did not leave until my surgery was scheduled. He answered all my questions the same as the other Dr. What made him different from the other Dr., was he addressed my concerns and didn't blow them off or treat me as if I didn't know my a-- from my elbow. I was very impressed and felt this was it. I more often feel out of place but not with him or Joan, who was as nice as could be. Now I am praying all goes well with my insurance. Another thing that impressed me was he has a surgical team. I like knowing that everyone has done this time and time again and knows thier own role during the surgury.

I had my consultation last night and he was great. He answered most of my questions even before I asked them. He's very compassionate. Joan makes you feel like a family member.

Very caring & his staff is very supportive. I had read so many positive comments about him that I couldn't wait to meet him. From the comments about him, he seemed too good to be true. But he's a joy to work with. You can believe the hype.

Great first impression! Both him and his assistant Joan were
wonderful and kind. As for insurance approval, they took care
of everything.

He gave all the info you could hope for.
I was very impressed with him.

When I first started looking into the possibility of surgery, my primary care Dr. gave me the name of a surgeon other patients have used within his office. I made an appt. and became a bit leary when his asst. kept pressing me not to forget the fee for counseling as the Dr. would not consider me with out it, and it was a separate fee not figured into the surgical consultation. This would have been fine if they did not reiterate the need for this 100.00 four time with in the same call, I did not have a good feeling about them, so 4 days before the appt when they called to cancel, I was not disappointed. I used this web site to find the surgeon that I have now. Based on the many satisfied patients I read about and several that I actually contacted I decided to meet with Dr. Leitman. I was not the least disappointed. I never felt self-concious or embarassed. He made me very at ease. Joan, his asst. was great. I was extremely impressed that he made a point of telling me to speak to some other patients before making a final decision. I am more than satisfied with my choice of surgeon.

Dr. Leitman immediately makes you feel comfortable with an amicable, professional personality. He explained things to me realistically and did not push me but guided me. Joan, on his staff, worked with me and supported me. She was always there for me to cheer me on and give me information. Dr. Leitman hasn't emphasized aftercare, but I am going for my two week appointment to have my staples out, so we'll see what he suggests for aftercare. I do think aftercare is important. There is just one support group monthly. I don't know if that is enough. Thank God for these e-mail groups to unite us. Dr. Leitman DID address the risks of surgery. I would rate him high because I'm doing well and have heard others praise him. Surgical competence is more important than bedside manner. Dr. Leitman did not spent a lot of time with me in the hospital, but I knew I was in the best of care and the nurses at Lenox Hill were attentive. I just felt he was so busy that he checked in with me, answered a few questions and left. He is warm and friendly. I feel when we are having major surgery we need the best surgeon going into our bodies.