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

Dr. Leitman, and his Assistant Joan are truly the best. They have created a very friendly and comfortable atmosphere. Dr. Leitman answered any and all questions that I had. He made me aware that this is a very serious operation and my decision should be well thought out. He said that if I do decide to have it (which I am)then he will see to it that I am well taken care of, and that he will take all neccessary precautions to make sure that I come out of it healthy and happy. HE told me about the group meeting that would help me a lot before and after the operation. All in all he made me feel safe. After visting him I truly believe that I am making the right decision. After I left his office I told Joan that I was going to go through with the operation. She then gave me a date confirmed my insurance carrier and said she would fax them my request ASAP and take of everything for me. It was wnderful and I am happy to be going through this. So everyone wish me luck that they approve me. I'm on my way to a brand new me all before I turn 30!

I WENT TO DR. LEITMAN AGFTER I HAD PROBLEMS WITH MY FIRST SURGEON, WHO HAD SENT ME FOR ALL MY POST -OPS.
DR. LEITMAN SAT DOWN WITH ME TO DISCUSS MY OPTIONS, AND TALKED ME OUT OF LAPROSCOPIC BECAUSE HE FELT HE COULD CHECK FOR LEAKS AND BE MORE SECURE WITH AN OPEN PROCEDURE. HE EVEN SAID HE MAKES THE SMALLEST OPENING POSSIBLE. WHICH HE DID. HE WAS A BREATH OF FRESH AIR COMPARED TO THE SURGEON WHO I HAD GONE TO BEFORE. THAT DOCTOR WAS MORE INTERESTED IN THE MONEY FROM THE INSURANCE THAN MY NEEDS.
JOAN , DR. LEITMANS NURES WAS A WONDER. SHE SENT ALL THE PAPERWORK IN AND FOLLOWED UP AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. GIVING ME NAMES TO CALL TO HELP. SHE ALSO SPENT QUITE A LOT OF TIME FAXING ME MEDICAL NOTES FOR MY JOB AND MY HUSBANDS JOB SO WE COULD BOTH THAVE THE TIME OFF.
I AM TRULY GRATEFUL TO JOAN AND DR. LEITMAN WHO DID AN EXCELLENT JOB WITH MY SURGERY.

I currently have changed surgeons. I have choosen Dr. Leitman because he spent an enormous amount of time making sure that I was comfortable and had a clear understanding of the type of procedure I was having. Joan is a Saint!

Dr. Leitman and his staff are great. On my first visit he sat with me and answered all the questions I had and even those that I forgot to ask. His assistant Joan is great and has answered every question I have had.

I would definetly reccomend him.

After having the surgery I have only even more great things to say about Dr. Leitman. His bedside manner is excellent, he is just an overal wonderful person.

Dr. Leitman is a wonderful caring person, for whom I am putting my life in his hands.His staff (Joan) was great. My very good friend suggested him to me- she is a very satisfied patient.

Dr. Leitman took tons of time to answer all of my questions. After he answered all my questions he took the time to answer all of my mothers questions during a second visit.
The thing I distinctly remember him saying to my mom was, "I would never do anything that I thought would hurt your daughter. I have children of my own and I know how I would feel if anything happened to them."
I thought that was very human. He was very kind and very thorough in the way he explained everything. He discussed the risks and did not pressure us to make a decision. He said that since I was young, I had time to decide if this was for me and not to rush into anything.
His surgical competance is excellent as well. He left me with only a 4 inch scar and a new lease on life!!!

He was very easy to talk to. He made me very comfortable and I consider myself blessed that he will be the surgeon operating on me.
The staff were also very kind and scheduled my appointment time so that I could talk with other women that had already had the surgury. The risks of the surgury were discussed and he gave me a ton of material to read.
7/14/00 What an amazing
surgeon I have been blessed with. I have been e-mailing him with the oddest questions on an almost daily basis and he has been so patient and kind.
8/3/00 Well my feelings about my surgeon from the begining were correct. He was amazing!! I had a couple of complications after surgery and he was by my side. My complication actually had nothing to do with the surgery, I had kidney stones. I did not know that when I was rushed back to the hopital and my family called Dr.Leitman and he met me in the emergency room. He really is a very caring man and i am really thankful he was my surgeon! PS- He did a great job on my incision, it is so much smaller then I imagined.

I MEET WITH DR. LEITMAN ON JULY 5TH.
BEFORE I MET WITH DR.LEITMAN I HAD THE PLEASURE
OF MEETING JOAN HIS OFFICE ASSITANT AND SHE
IS SO SWEET! I HAD TAKEN SOME PRINTOUTS OF
OTHER PATIENTS COMMENTS OF HER AND DR. LEITMAN
AND SHE GOT A REAL KICK OUT OF IT! WHEN I DID
FINALLY MEET WITH DR. LEITMAN I FOUND TO BE
VERY APPROACHABLE. I HAVE SEEN PLENTY OF DOCTORS
THROUGH OUT THE YEARS AND THERE ARE SOME THAT
YOU JUST HAVE TO ASK YOURSELF (WHY DID THEY GET
INTO THE PROFESSION ANYWAY)BECAUSE THEY DON'T TRY
TO ESTABLISH ANY TYPE OF REPOIRE WHATSOVER WITH THEIR
PATIENTS AND THAT IS SOOO IMPORTANT IN THEIR
FIELD OF WORK. I ENTERED THE CONSULT VERY NERVOUS
FOR VARIOUS REASONS AND LEFT VERY SATISFIED.
IN ADDITION TO ANSWERING ALL THE QUESTIONS
I HAD FOR HIM EVEN BEFORE I ASKED THEM HE
LET ME KNOW THAT I COULD E-MAIL HIM FOR WHATEVER
REASON. HE DID SAY SUPPORT GROUP MEETING WERE FOR
PRE AND POST OP PATIENTS AND WELL AS THE COMMUNITY IN GENERAL.
HE DISAUDED ME FROM HAVING LAPROSCOPIC SURGERY
BECAUSE THERE IS A GREATER TENDENCY OF LEAKAGE.
HE DID MENTION THAT HE ONLY MAKES ABOUT A 4IN
INCISION AS OPPOSED TO OTHER DRS WHO MAKE MUCH
LARGER ONES(I'VE SEEN SOME PICTURES ON OTHER SIGHTS
THEY ARE BIG!).
JOAN CHANGED MY DATE TO 8-10 BUT I'M STILL WAITING FOR APPROVAL.

I was extremely impressed with the amount of time Dr. Leitman took with me. He explained several types of procedures and throughly went through them step by step. He made me feel so comfortable it was amazing. I met one of his patients in the waiting room and she said he was a blessing in disguise. Although he brought to light the complications that could develop with this surgery, I really felt he was incredibly knowlegable and skilled in this area. I left his office with 100% satisfaction. He answered my questions in depth leaving no room for uncertainty. If you are looking for a surgeon definetly let Dr.Leitman be one of your consults.

First Impression - very sincere. Although he feels that I am a good candidate, Dr. Leitman wanted to make sure I knew the downside of getting the surgery. Joan, his assistant, is very personable.