James Balliro Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S.

I was impressed with Dr. B. when I met him. I understand that he doesn't have a great bedside manner but he is very capable and considered the best surgeon in Tallahassee. His office staff has been top notch and very helpful.

My husband and I really liked Dr. Balliro. He had a very "quirky" kind of personality, but was very friendly and open, very straight forward and to the point, which we liked. Answered all of our questions in his description of the surgery. Staff was nice, but did seem to be a little on the frigid side at first. I have spoken with Tara quite a few times since then and she has been MOST helpful!! She has been so very patient with me, I can't thank her enough!!

Dr. Balliro is wonderful. In my initial consulation he answered ALL of my questions. Even those about the risks. A family member also attended the meeting and Dr. B aswered ALL of his questions as well. My first surgery date was cancedled due to my health. I caught a bad cold and was hospitalized. Then my family was out of town over the winter. This meant that I had to reapply with my insurance and Dr. B and his staff took care of everything. This also gave me time to ask other Doctors in town what they thought of him. All comments were possitive. His office staff here in Jackson, WY is great!! They help me every step of the way. He has an aftercare program that I will follow. He has encouraged me every step of the way. Several of my family and friends have now met him and a couple of them are having the surgery. I think he is one of the best surgeons around. I had the opportunity to go any where I wanted for this surgery and choose Dr. B. I know several comments have been made about his bed side manner. Well he is a professional, but I think if I would have said "Dr. sit here and hold my hand, he would have done so. I think he would do anything to aid in your recovery.

Dr. Balliro is very straight forward and will answer any question, regardlees of how silly you think that it may be. He has a great sense of humor, but one must listen very carefully to catch it. I did not find the office staff to be very informative. So research the process of wls very thouroughly so that you will know which questions to ask and when. Dr. B has asked me to have a sleep study, if anyone has any info on this please contact me. Dr. B also strongly suggested the help of a dietician to help with the weight loss process after surgery. This was one of the things that I had not thought of needing after wls, but I am willing to do whatever the Dr. believes will make this a success. If anyone has any questions at all please e-mail me.

My first impression of Dr Balliro was that he is serious and straight to the point. His office staff seem friendly in person but on the phone-it is totally different. It seems as if they have attitudes or something. I wonder if he is aware of their people skills but I guess we all have bad days! Who am I to judge!!! He addressed risks and after care--Overall he seem great--I have not had my surgery yet so-no furthur comments!

It took me less than a month to get an appointment with Dr. Balliro. Although I waited for 30 minutes, the wait was made pleasant by the little buffet of fruit, sweets (pre-op or to test, I don’t know, I thought that the staff might have had a little camera waiting and watching to see who choose what, I took the cookies) coffee and soft drinks that were made available. After I was weighed, I was escorted to a smaller waiting small room with all the usual medical gadgets then I waited again for another 30 minutes; fortunately I took some cookies and a diet soda, to offset the sugar, with me.
When I saw Dr. Balliro he was pleasant, apologized for the wait and preceded to poke and prod with all the little medical gadgets. I still don’t know why he checked my ears, anyway, after the “check-up”, Dr. Balliro told me about the risks involved and about the procedure that he was going to perform. Dr. Balliro also told me that I needed to get a Psychological evaluation, some kind of heart ultrasound and blood work. Since my BMI was only a 40, I asked if that meant he thought I was a candidate for the surgery. I guess I must have surprised him; he did neglect to tell me that I was a candidate, Dr. Balliro then explain that because of my arthritis and GERD, that these were contributory factors and my unresolved COSA (Chronic Obstructive Sleep Apnea) was helpful too. Dr. Balliro explained the insurance process and assured me that his staff would make sure that they had all the medical documentation needed, then, after I was Okayed by the insurance company I would get a surgery date scheduled. Dr. Balliro also explained dietary concerns and an aftercare program that I had to follow. Just in case I forgot everything he told me, I was presented with a little book as a reminder.
It took me a few months to schedule, complete the Psychological exam and Ultrasound and my primary care physician took forever to issue a concurring letter but after all was done, Dr.Balliro’s staff sent out the recommendation paperwork and I received word yesterday that I was approved for surgery, April 25, 2002.
I will get a surgery date this week.

Dr. Balliro was pretty nice. The initial consultation was extremely simple and painless. He told me I was a good candidate for surgery, and that they could get started on approving the insurance as long as I was ready. Was he crazy? Of course I was ready!
He told me to give his staff about 6 weeks to get the insurance together. He has one lady, Laura, that works on insurance for everyone. I think they could probably use more staff in their insurance department because every time I called her she was extremely busy and couldn't talk to me. The best thing about Dr. Balliro is that WLS is all he does and he does many surgeries every month. When I went for my initial consultation I was shocked by how many patients were there from out of town. His office was packed! So the number of surgeries he had done built up my confidence in his ability. The worst thing about him is that he actually lives out of state, and every few months he takes an extended break. My initial consultion was in October 2001, and when I called in early December to start checking on my insurance, they informed me that he would not be back in town until March! I was crushed to say the least. But it actually worked out in my favor because it gave me time to leave my job that i was very unhappy at and get another job. Of course this changed my insurance which i would now not recommend that anyone do. I was so afraid that my new insurance would not cover the surgery. So afraid in fact that I COBRAed my insurance from my former job and used it as a secondary insurance. I haven't heard from the office yet as to what my total expenses are going to be, but my surgery is set for May 7th. I can not wait!

My first impression of Dr. Ballario was that he is very up front with you about your choices. I told him I was hoping for lapo and he said that he'd try but he was pretty sure he'd have to open me up.

He is very knowledgable in his field, but he is to cheap to hire nurses for his office. His staff consist of 2 people in the office. His office staff is very unorganized and at times very rude. My surgery went very well. He is an excellent surgeon with bad staff.

My first impression was direct & to the point, checks file and any information thuroughly. Ask questions. Time seems to be a factor. Visit is quick. The office staff is OK. Will try to update later after surgery.