Lester Cooperstone Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S.

Thought he was nice and so was his office assistant, Fern. I had to spend 4 hours in the office the second time I saw him which I thought was too long but he was very informative and nice. He is very professional and knowledgable but at the same time, has quite a sense of humor. I feel comfortable with the fact that he will be my surgeon. He is very concerned with aftercare and makes an appearance once a month at the group support meetings to field any questions from the group. I found this to be commendable. Overall, he appears to be concerned about his patients......I like that. I am in the process of trying to get all the insurance questions answered through his office; if that proves not to be too painful, I will be happy.

I FIRST MET DR.COPPERSTONE IN 1998. WE SPOKE ABOUT SURGERY, BUT I WAS SURE I COULD LOSE WEIGHT ON MY OWN. YA RIGHT!!!I TRIED AND FAILED. IN JANUARY MY PRIMARY DR. WHO KNOWS ME FOR YEARS. TALKED TO ME ABOUT SURGERY. MY WEIGHT WAS TREMENDOUS, MY DIABETES WAS TERRIBLE. I COULDN`T WALK. I NEEDED AN AID. MY LIFE WAS AT HOME. I THOUGHT ABOUT IT. HE SAID THAT DR. COOPERSTONE WAS THE BEST SURGEON. SO IN MAY I WENT TO DR. C. HE IS A VERY KIND, NICE MAN. HE EXPLAINED EVERYTHING.I CAN EVEN E-MAIL ANY TIME I HAVE QUESTION.
FERN TOOK CARE OF EVERYTHING. SHE IS A DOLL. VERY SWEET AND CARING. AND KNOWS
HER STUFF.

DR. COOPERSTONE HAS SUPPORT MEETNG ONCE A MONTH AND A DIETICAN AT MEETING.

He's wonderful! Surgery and follow-up care could not have gone better... If I knew it was going to be this easy and uncomplicated I would have done it years ago!!

I'm in the medical field myself and was fully aware of the complications that exist with any surgery as well as the problems that can occur with bariatric surgery and an extended hospital stay. The OR staff as well as all the hospital staff were excellent and my hospital stay was almost enjoyable (as far as post-op care can be).

I'd highly recommend the surgery to anyone who has been tortured with weight control throughout their lifetime, as well as the complications of severe obesity. I myself have diabetes prior to the surgery as well as hypertension. Both are well under contol since the surgery and I am currently taking no medications related to these disorders!

I have to say that at first, I was very unsure of Dr. Copperstone, I even went as far as to have a 2nd opinion with someone else. I went back to Dr. Copperstone and realized that he cares about his patients and really does want to help but he can't do it for us we have to make this very important decision, I remember him saying to me that I should use this surgery as a tool and that is what I am doing today. He always there for his patients, trust me I know!! I must have called his office 100 times asking questions! I am on a fist name bases with his secretary Fern! my only request is that he have a support group and if he doesn't soon Im going to start my own!!

Update 6/8/01

I trust him, He wants us all to reach our goals. It gives him great pleasure to see you slimmer and happy. He too is marvaled at your new slim body!! He is now going to remove my gallblader. I consider him my best supporter. He listens to all my concerns and addresses them all. Its hard to find a man that will really listen to you!! ha ha!

I liked Dr. Cooperstone the first time I meet him. He is easy to talk to made me feel very comfortable and explained everything to me so I could understand it.
He has a great sense of humor and never made me feel like he was above me or that I was sutpid or ignorent because of my weight like so many other Drs. have. His assistant Fern is terrific also, She is very helpful with all the paper work etc. Dr. Cooperstone talks alot about the aftercare such as walking. He said before the surgery he will ask me what do I have to do right after surgery. The answere is WALK, WALK, WALK
if I dont know that answere he wont operate. I believe he means it. I understand everything from before, during and after surgery that I may expect even complications He not only explained it but also gave me papers to read at home about the operation and diet, complications etc.
Overall I would rate him a 10 in my book. My only complaint was the chairs in the office and waiting area they were small and uncomfortable he should do something about that since he does see alot of patients.

I first met with Dr. Cooperstone in the beginning of Jan. 2001.I can't say enough about he and his office manager Fern! They both made me feel very comfortable and were a delight to meet.
He THOROUGHLY explained everything - he doest either Vertical Banded Gastroplasty or VBG with a Gastric Bypass. He was very thorough in going throughthe pros and cons of each, the hospital stay and aftercare and addressed the risks of the surgery. He did this in about an hour to an hour and a half -never seemed rushed - made sure I had asked questions.
He DOES have group support meetings, the first Wed. of each month from 6-8 PM at the Syosset Hospital in Conference Room A. He suggested I attend one to see what his other patients are saying about him, i.e. " I love him, I hate him " etc...

I went back for my follow-up consultation on Jan. 29 2001 - I was given a quiz on what was discusses at my consultation & then we went over the quiz.

My Insurance company approved me today! I have decided to have the gastric bypass and it is scheduled for March 13, 2001~

my first meeting with him I knew he was the one. I saw him on the internet after someone
told me about him I was researching for about 1 year every time i see him i like him better Fern is his secretary but he defintely
needs mor help the office is busy i also think they need an aftercare program i think that is very important. He went over all the risks of the surgery He even gives a quiz
at the second visit to see if you have done your homework I think it has to be all
surgial competence and bedside monaor

my first impression was a very good one, i usually get some anxiety,nervousness and flushing of the cheeks whenever i meet a new person. when i first met dr.cooperstone i was nervous but after a moment i was so calm he is a very warm sensitive man and funny too! when i had my second visit with him i felt even better, the next time i would see him was when i was having the surgery done.
when he came into the preparation room he talked to meand even caressed my head and at that point i was really at peace with the whole thing i was not nervous anylonger. his
secretary is also a very nice woman she did
everything she promised she would do, and i was approved 9 days later. there is not 1 single thing i dont like about dr.cooperstone
he is such a wonderful surgeon, at the hospital he came to see me every day and was very warm and sincere. he has done the open vbg rny over 250 times and is very experienced.he emphasizes aftercare all the time and he is on top of the nurses at the hospital all the time, while there i heard him scolding a nurse because one of his patients had not gotten up to walk after surgery and he is very particular about walking after surgery because of blood clotting. his aftercare program lasts 2 years
(dont quote me on that, i think that is what i remember him saying). he was also very informative on the risks of surgery. i would rate this surgeon a 10 and nothing less,he saved my life. his bedside manner was awsome like i said earlier he was very affectionate.
and his surgical competence is great !these are my personal feelings and views other people may experience a different impression.

Dr Cooperstone seemed kind of young, but after my first consultation my husband and myself were very impressed with all his knowledge on Bariatric Surgery. By th time of my second consultation we began to see that not only is he knowledgeable, but also has a great personality. This is a dramatic experience so I felt after talking to his patients I knew he was the right choice.He lets you chose the right surgery for you, the only thing he does is explain all the pros and cons.What is important is that once you decide on a procedure Fern his assistant handles all the paperwork(insurance).He is very serious about aftercare he told me remember on the way to surgery I will quiz you on the first thing he told me to do after recovery WALK WALK WALK, laughing he said you better get it right.He is a 10 smarts, and personality, excellent track record,excellent credientails.

January 30, 2001 - Today I met with Dr. Cooperstone for the first initial consultation and found him to be very nice and knowledgeable. After reading alot about the two procedures I knew I wanted the RNY Gastric Bypass. Even though it is more invasive, there is less "cheating" you can do with that procedure. I wanted to ask him how many of the RNY procedures he had done and if he had any patient that had a fatal result but I didn't. I'm a little scared about it but I knew before I even went there that this is what I wanted to do. I had already done alot of extensive research via the internet and already was aware of alot of the things he explained to me. He didn't leave anything out. He explained the good and extensively explained the bad (risks and/or complications that could occur). If it was up to me I would have had them schedule surgery right then and there but he wanted me to still go home, think about it some more and come back for a 2nd consultation and a little "quiz". I guess he wants me to be fully informed and understand what I might expect during and/or after surgery. I liked him alot and I just loved Fern, his assistant. She was so nice helping me with all the questionnaires I had to fill out and she talked to me in a very personable way. She described how many insurance carriers she deals with daily trying to get patient's approvals through and I felt that she would be persistant with my insurance carrier in getting an answer from them. Dr. Cooperstone's office is located in the Surgical Suite of North Shore University Hospital. When I found out it was in a hospital I dreaded having to find one of those hospital parking slots a mile away from the hospital entrance but......THEY HAD VALET PARKING FOR FREE!! When I came out after my appointment I gave the valet guy $5.00 because it was worth it not to have to walk. Sad, isn't it...but this is my life. You all know what I'm saying. Dr. Cooperstone told me about the Support Group Meetings the first Wednesday of every month. I told him I had already put the date in my appointment book. My 2nd consultation with Dr. C is 2/12/01. I can't wait. I wish it was tomorrow. Never thought I would wish my days to go by so fast!!