Michael Bono Bariatric Surgeon

I had my first consult with Dr. Bono today (August 5, 2003). My first impression was "wow he is young!". haha. He was very nice and knowledgeable about WLS. It was comforting to know that he has been performing WLS for 10 years. His nurse was also great and she herself had WLS 3 years ago. Overall I would rate him and his staff a 9! I am looking forward to getting the surgery hopefully in December!

I have not met Dr.Bono yet, but I will on July 12003 Iam so excited.

Well its July 1 2003 I met with Dr.Bono and jane. They are wonderful. I am even more excited about my new way of life. If your not truly going to do what he says and change the way you are living then dont bother. He and office staff are willing to give 100% so you have to be willing to give 110%.

Today was my initial consultation with Dr. Bono and I felt very comfortable discussing my weight which has always been a very uncomfortable topic for me. These following comments are based on my experience today and should be taken as that, a personal opinion. Dr. Bono has been doing these operations for 10 years and I felt at east that he knew "his stuff". He discussed the positives and negatives about gastric bypass surgery and let me know up front how important it is to both him and myself that I have a strong support system when I'm post-op. He went in depth with the description of the operation and was really patient to answer questions that either I or my mother had. He also has a surgery educator that came in after he was done to discuss the different tests and other consultations that I will be needing to go to. She was also very patient to talk about anything and everything that was on my mind. Jane is such an inspiration because she too has had the operation and is 3 years post op with a 190 pound weight loss. She knows what its like to be in my shoes and can tell me how things are on the "other side". Dr' Bono's staff is very friendly and willing to answer any questions that you might have about either the operation, post op care, or insurance policies. I really like too that Dr. Bono has a support group that HE attends every 3rd Wednesday of the month..it just shows his devotion to his patients. I am very very very comfortable and at ease with my decision of having Dr. Michael Bono operate on me and give me a 2nd chance of living a "normal" life.

I met with dr bono on the 11th of feb 2003 and i must say he wasnt nothing like i expected...i really felt that he was going to be like a lot of dr who puts the blame on you for not taking care of you self or watching what you were eating...he wasnt he made me feel like a friend he was joking around with my mom and i like he knew us forever it was ever comfortable...and his staff also was great...he answered ever question we had and he knew his stuff was very confident on his work and made us very trusting of him...

DR.BONO IS VERY NICE I MET HIM 5/02.

I met with Dr. Bono for the initial consultation. The first thing that I noticed, is that he is very sure of himself and his skills. I felt comfortable talking with him. He was clear on his intentions; the outcome of the surgery, and his expectations of me as a responsible patient. He did emphasize the aftercare ... meeting on a regular basis with the nutritionist and attending the support meetings that he himself attends once a month. It was comforting to know that I wouldn't be left hanging out in the wind, alone after the surgery.
His office staff was very helpful and pleasant. They set up my appts. for the various tests that were required by the following week.
They say that first impressions are the most important. I'll update as things progress. At this point, I'm smilin'!! ;)

7/2/02: First counsel with Dr. Bono. He is very smart,straightforward and makes it clear that he has a special interest in bariatric surgery.
He is very serious about his aftercare which includes continuous post-op check-ups, support groups etc.
He stated he does this surgery alot and he is a member of ASBS. (I knew that one already!)
He made sure I wanted the surgery done and that I knew exactly what is entails. I happily agreed and feel honored for him to perform the surgery due to his special interest and great success & knowledge of the bariatric surgery.
Since I researched this prior to going to see Dr.Bono I really didn't have many questions regarding risks etc.I have faith that he will do a spectacular job and look forward to going to his support group before surgery (mandatory for him). I received a video and some sites to read. I already have my psych,doppler,nutrition, pulmonary and support group appts all set up before the month ends.
I think he's a funny, caring and supportive doctor. He doesn't want to just through you up on the table and be done, I am very confidant that he will great and I look forward to the surgery!
8-31-02: I haven't written in a while because I am having some conflicts with my tonsils.
I went to see Dr.Martino and agree his office is very small, I had to try and stay on the scale because the footing was too small. He recommended a sleep test at St.Joes for my apnea.That is September 11th.In the meanwhile I had my tonsils looked at due to repeated swelling and my family doctor's request. I was told by her I should definatley have them removed.
I called Dr.Bono and they said they would schedule the bypass 1 month after my tonsil surgery.Great another month...geez!!!
I then went to confirm with Dr.Jang(EMT) already to kind of push this surgery as fast as I could and to my surprise he said I didn't need them removed. That I had a sinus infection and come see him AFTER the gastric bypass if it still continues. He is such a nice guy, he said that since I don't medically qualify for them to be removed,my insurance wouldn't cover it and he didn't want to see that. Plus he said that the bypass will more than likely solve any throat obstructions I have and the recurring swelling is due to my sinus infection.
So, I emailed Dr.Bono the great news last week but, I guess he's pretty busy.
I am so impatient for this sugery!!
Plus all the great post op reviews show me that I have choosen to stay with the right Dr.!!!

DR BONO IS GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HE WORKS FAST AT GETTING YOU APPROVED AND HE SETS THINGS UP HE DOESNT PUT YOU ON THE BACK BURNNER,THANK YOU DR BONO,,THE OFFICE WAS QUITE FULL I WAS THERE ALMOST TWO HOURS ,BUT IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT,THE OFFICE STAFF WAS VERY NICE TOO,HE IS VERY STRAIGHT AND UPFRONT ABOUT EVERYTHING HE IS A GOOD DR AND CLOSE TO HOME IM SO HAPPY I FOUND HIM!!!!!!!
I WOULD RATE DR BONO ON A SCALE FROM ONE TO TEN AND ELEVEN HE IS WONDERFUL,,,AS FAR AS HIS BEDSIDE WELL I WONT KNOW THAT TILL I HAVE THE SURGERY DONE ,,LOL BUT I WILL TELL YOU HE KNOWS WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT,,,AND CUTE TOO,,HEHE...HE ALSO IS WORRIED ABOUT THE AFTER CARE OF YOU AND HE HAS GREAT BEDSIDE MANNER HE IS A WONDERFUL DR.

6-25-02:
Today I met with Dr. Bono for the first time.
My appt was for 10am. I waited in the waiting room for only about 20-25 mins. I was so anxious/nervous/excited about the visit that it could have been a 3 hour wait and I don't think I would've cared. After his nurse weighed me and reviewed some info I waited about 10 mins for the doctor.
He impressed me by being knowledgable and kind. He was sensitive to issued facing the morbidly obese. I would definately recommend him to anyone in this area considering WLS.
Now I start the process of getting all of the evals done. I am set up for a psych and nutrition eval as well as a venous doppler of my legs and a visit to a pulmonologist. Dr. Bono said the overall wait time from here to surgery would be about 1 1/2 months. Here we go!!

8-24-02:
I still have only the best things to say about Dr. Bono and his office staff. They have been very nice and knowledgable about all of my questions/concerns. I was so worried that I would fall beneath the cracks and they would forget about me (I have no idea why I felt that way), but they have been so great! Dr. Bono does have a website if anyone who reads this is in the area. http://www.thesurgicalchoice.com.
I would also like to add that I personally emailed Dr. Bono, and he has been prompt with answers to all of my questions (no matter how trivial).

My first impression was of youth and that he didn't look anything like I expected lol. I loved his attitude about the disease of obesity and the treatment of it. He seems genuinely happy to be helping people with this dreaded disease. He describes how he came to be doing the work he is doing now and it really puts you at ease about your decision--that you are doing the right thing. Very confident, meticulous (his favorite saying seems to be doing it "by the book.") and he follows all the LASTEST recommendations by the ASBS...he is VERY up to date in his knowledge and practice. I am an RN, (ICU and ER), took my RN best friend with me, (and my mom), and all of us were VERY impressed! As far as before and after care, he requires attendance at his Support Group meetings (he attends himself!), requires you to see a Dietician before and after surgery among other things (psych. eval, venous doppler, pulmonology consult). His office staff is WONDERFUL!