Rafael Capella Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S.

The good doctor is well-informed and experienced in his field! He was recommended to me by a friend who has lost over 150 lbs! I immediately liked him and was comfortable in his presence. The office is busy, you may have a wait, but friendly. They do offer free informational sessions for those who are still researching weight loss procedures. Call the office for a time/date. I strongly suggest attending! It may get crowded because many people bring their spouses. The whole surgery procedure is covered and while I was there, was able to speak with post-op patients who also attended to offer support. Aftercare and a support group are available and risks were addressed. I was scheduled for a consultation within 2 weeks after the informational presentation and 1 week thereafter, I now have a tentative surgery date. I know that I need to get approval from my insurance and may need to take various tests to establish medical neccessity. Everything was clearly explained to me about what to expect. I would rate the doctor excellent! He is caring and I chose him because he is a pioneer in his field.

After being approved for surgery, than being denied two days before surgery, going through a long drawn out appeal, finally winning my appeal on August 2,2002, and then finding out my former surgeon Dr. Dominic Artuso dropped my insurance while waiting on my appeal. I contacted Dr Capella and went to his seminar only to find out he was the originial surgeon that I saw over 15 years ago when I first wanted WLS. At the time my PCP forbid me to have the surgery. I liked Dr Capella then and I like him now. He is very experienced in his field and has done over 3000 of these surgeries, and has a very low complication rate. I am considered a very high risk but after my consult with Dr Capella I feel confident that I will be in the very best of hands. He took his time talking to me and my husband and answered any question I had. I did not feel rushed at all. Plus he gave me a physical. He checked my eyes, ears, mouth, neck, feet, legs and abdoman. He listened to my heart and lungs. My weight was taken and so was my blood pressure. I also had a pre op picture taken. Perhaps all my delays in having my surgery and all the road blocks I hit was just meant to be for a reason. It brought me back to Dr Capella. I'm very pleased with my new surgeon, and would without a doubt recommend him. His office staff is very busy and seems pleasant. My surgery date is Oct. 31,2002 Happy Halloween. I will be having the open VBG - GASTRIC BYPASS

I went to Dr. Capella's office for his seminar in March 02 after being recommended by a family friend. I found the seminar to be very thorough and informative. Dr. Capella seemed like an expert in this field, and he made me feel very comfortable and at ease. I scheduled a consult for a few weeks after the seminar, and was then given a surgery date of 5/6/02! Unfortunately, about 2 weeks prior to my pre-admission testing, I received a call from Linda at Dr. Capellas office telling me that the hospital(Hackensack Medical Center) had double booked and my surgery had to be rescheduled for 8/5/02 :(

Well, here we are 2 weeks away from my new surgery date, and I am anxious and excited and a tad bit nervous. It definitely helps to have STRONG support from my family and friends.. although I have gotten the occasional negative remarks, but this is something that I need to do for me!!! I will keep you posted.. wish me luck!

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After several months trying to find a new surgeon I finally got a consult date of Feb.13,2002 with Dr. Capella. It felt like the date would never come but one morning Monday, Feb.4 his office called and said I could come in today for my consult and I did. One of his requirements is that you have to attend a seminar before your consult so I did. There you meet with Dr. Capella and his son, who is the plastic surgeon. they work as a team. Both my husband and I were very impressed with both Dr. Capella and his son. He was very experienced and he knew what he was doing. I am so glad I found Dr. Capella and will post more after I have my surgery with him.

I found Dr Capella to be very informative
and took his time to talk and answer all of my
questions. His office staff is very busy
so at times it is hard to get them to call you
back, but just stay on top of them to
get things done.

Aftercare: Dr. Capella has support group meetings at his office, and he had me go see the nutritionist to go over my first six to eight post-op weeks.

Dr. Capella's surgical technique is probably a bit better than his bedside manner, but only because he is in and out so quickly, but he is very busy.

I would rate him very highly,I felt very comfortable being in his hands and trust him and would recommend him to anyone.

Hi! I was going to have this surgery in Texas with a certain physician. I found out from friends that maybe he was not the best choice. Then researched the Bariatric Treatment Centers of America. They wouldn't touch my ins. I then saw Dr. Capella on 20/20 and thought they wouldn't put a lousy surgeon on tv. Being originally from the NY/NJ area I called and researched more on his website. I have family I can stay with after the surgery. I however, did not want to take two trips to NY and am seeing Dr Capella on 7/2, having my pre-ops 7/5 and my surgery 7/15. I am interested in having the tummy tuck with the surgery because I do have a lot of excess skin. I will find out more about it when I see him personally. I find it odd the wide range of post-op postings. Everything from great to horrible. I am hoping for the best myself. I'll tell you how it all went afterwards.

My first impression of Dr. Capella was incredible. Last night my husband and I went to the initial seminar. There were several questions and he was very up front and competent regarding every issue that was raised. He was not only educated but compassionate about what he does. We scheduled our first appointment with his office for Friday, March 1, 2002. (Only a week away, which is great!) His office staff appears to be competent and caring, I will report more on this later, after I have met with him next week. Aftercare seems to be a priority for him. He doesn't want you to just have the surgery and then be gone. He wants you to see him quite a bit through out the first year and every year after that. So far I rate him an 8. I will report more after my first "official" appointment.

3/2/02
After my appointment, I stand corrected. I would rate Dr. Capella and his staff a 10+. Although the wait was long for the appointment, Dr. Capella is absolutely wonderful. He is very knowledgable, and may be a bit dry...but I would rather have knowledge and compassion over "comedian of the year" any day. Jackie is absolutely wonderful and she is very personable and comforting! (Currently she is 5 months pregnant, so she will surely be missed while on maternity leave) Overall, ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!!! I will report more as it gets closer to the date!

5/10/02
As I orriginally thought, Dr. Capella and his son are wonderful! Not only were they great with in hospital care, but I had to call Dr. Capella on a weekend to see if something was wrong with hubby (we had surgery on the same day) and Dr. Capella called me back in about 3 minutes. Very wonderful and competent. I would recommend to anyone to wanting WLS Dr. Capella... He is the best!

5/23/02
Hubby and I had our follow-up appointment with Dr Capella... I rate him a 15 on a scale of 1-10! He not only is surgically compentent, has wonderful bedside manner but also is very compassionate and encouraging. He is the BEST!

Dr. Capella was very informative, and caring.
It has only been a short while since I have known him, I think the father son team is a wonderful thing. His staff is very helpful.
Dr. Capella is rated # 1 in the northeast NY area and Europe. He is THE teacher of this surgery. You can find information about him and his patients at www.drcapella.com .
Aftercare is emphasized with diet and walking to start. (thats where I am now.)
Dr. Capella has support meetings once a week now at his office, on tuesdays @ 5pm Located in Ramsey NJ. see his website for directions.
All risks of surgery where addressed and are reviewed on an individual basis also.
Dr. Capella and his son, and staff are rated #1 in my book. He and his son, both show competence and a great bedside manner, which helps when you have just had a major surgery.

I did like Dr. Capella. I had already gone to a seminar he holds and had done alot of research before my first visit so I was prepared with my questions. He answered everything quickly - maybe alittle too quickly. I felt alittle rushed but that was OK. I had a long wait before I saw him. I was not impressed by the office staff. When they first weighed me the nurse didn't seem to know how to work the scale - though she was very nice. And she could not work the blood pressure cuff at all - made me alittle nervous, but I fugured they weren't doing the surgery. Since I had my appointment 3 weeks ago I have called the office a number of times and not gotten calls back - I always had to keep calling until I got the person I needed to speak too. Jackie handles the insurance and seems very good, but she is going on maturnity leave before my surgery. The whole staff makes me nervous. But again, I do think Dr. Capella is a good surgeon and I have done research about him and I feel good about my choice.

4/8/02 - I saw Dr Capella on 20/20 last Friday and now am doubly sure I made the right choice. I am so excited about my surgery date on 5/13/02!

He is a wonderful, caring doctor.
Excellent Staff.
Any problems I've had post op, he or his son have returned calls as fast as possible to alleviate problems.