Robert Marema Bariatric Surgeon

I liked him.


It didn't change


very good

nothing

I really don't know

very much emphasis


yes


he said there was a percentage of deaths


well, everything turned out good for me, so I'd give him a 10

surgical competence

Well, I have completed all the paperwork, attended the resource meeting, and have completed all the consults including a meeting with the psychologist.

The pulmonary guy wantd me to have a sleep study which revealed a rather severe case of sleep apnea, then followed that with a CPAP titration and he now has me on a CPAP machine. For those that aren't in the know, this is a machine that, in essence, blows air up your nose while you sleep. It provides a _C_ontinuous _P_ositive _A_irway _P_ressure which keeps you breathing while you sleep. My wife found it odd to sleep beside me and not have me snoring. Once that was done, the pulmonologist cleared me for surgery.

The cardiologist had me do a treadmill stress test (which lasted not more than 5 minutes) as part of that check, but it didn't show any problems and he gave me a thumbs up for surgery as well.

Now I will speak to the nurse (which, I assume, is to assess my ability to have a support system within the family for the surgical and post-op recovery phase. My wife works only 2 days a week (at night) and can be off if need be during recovery. By the time I get approved and have the surgery, the kids will be in school, so we won't have to take them out of school and pay for childcare.

Lastly, there was only 1 surgeon in the group that took my insurance and he only operated in Ft. Lauderdale - but he's no longer on the plan - which means I can have the surgery in Orlando - 45 minutes from home instead of 4 hours, no hotel bills, no 4 hour journey home from the hospital, and things are looking up.

The people who work the Orlando office have been nothing short of fantastic, and have been good to call me and keep me up-to-date, and are very responsive about getting the paperwork together. I'm excited.

I was one of the small percent that has a problem with RNY surgery. I developed a fistula after having lap and as a result of this infection had to have open procedure a few days later. I am fine now and just having passed my one year anniversary of the first surgery i have gone from 398 lbs to
225 lbs, a net loss of 173 lbs. my waist went from 66 inches to 39 inches. size 6x
shirts have been replaced by xl. I am so
grateful for this surgery and the good things that it has brought to my quality of life. I truly thank God for Dr Robert Marema, Dr Perez, Dr. Benitez and Dr. Krahn
of Holy Cross Hospital in Ft Lauderdale for
all their help. The whole staff at U.S. Bariatric Surgery Centers was incredible.
Yes, I had problems. Yes, I had to have the surgery twice. Yes, I had to go to intensive care and had a rough two weeks following the second surgery. But, it was
worth while, incredible in every way.

Dr. Marema is very tall and very professional. I came loaded with questions that many Dr.s would become defensive or upset that I asked about the different things I have found out from my internet research. However, Dr. Marema set on the edge of the table and answered all my questions with great interest and concern. I felt this consultation was well worth it. I feel he is extremly qualified and since he has had the surgery understands where his patient's are coming from with their fears. The aftercare is a high priority with his group. This group makes you aware of the risks of surgery. That is one reason I did so much research on the internet.I want surgical competence before bedside manners, but hope to get both.
Regarding the office staff I feel there are areas that need help ( such as when you call in the phone tag is too much ) but they do all seem to be nice. However, if you don't live in Ft. Lauderdale I would suggest you do most of the faxing of your health records. My PCP and their office seemed not to get things together. Who is to blame I don't know but it get frustrating.
But what I want is a surgeon that does enough RNY's to know what they are doing....

When I first met Dr. Marema I was very nervous and shy, but 2 minutes into our conversation I felt fine. He was such a nice guy. He was making jokes and making me laugh. My mother, who was there with me also liked him too...The next time i saw him was at the hospital the day of surgery...he came to my room to say hi and to ask me if i was ready...I wish i can just get to see him more when i go for my visits, but he is a very busy guy....

His office is great they are well organized and i never have to wait for then 10 minutes in the waiting room...His after care program is really good and i can go as many times as i want to the office...His program is very well put together and planned out and thats one of the reasons i liked him so much...

I was warned of the risks of surgery at the INFO session and any questions i had regarding them were answered.

I rate him a 10, i love the guy!

Surgical competence was better from him because i didnt see him after surgery. I did however see his associates who would come in everyday...

As of now i really dont have anything negative to say....and i hope i never do...i have had no problems with him or the surgery what so ever....i did hate the gtube, but i know there was good reason to have it, so i wont complain about it anymore :)

First Impressions say a lot. My primary doctor referred me to a different doctor just to get information about the surgery. That doctor was horrible. I then found Dr. Marema on the Internet and decided to go to an information meeting and support group very shortly after. I went to the first info meeting myself, then went again and brought my husband and my mother. Husband was for it, mother was not.

Dr. Marema is great! He is so easy to chat with. Many in his office (including himself) have had the same surgery. That's great - I get to hear the stuff from a patient/doctor wrapped all in one... At the pre-op visit, my mother was with me and she told him, on his way out, that she was against it. He stopped everything and came back to answer all her questions and comfort all her fears. Not many doctors would do that. I was impressed!

Okay - now 6 months post-op. I still think he's the best of the best. The other doctors are good too, but there is only one Dr. Marema (the #1 in my book), and he must have the best staff around. My advice - go to the info meeting, and go to the resource meetings (support groups) even prior to surgery. They are really good meetings, and the doctors and staff give really good advice there too. Dr. Marema will stay after the meetings to answer your questions too (however he usually has a line - everyone loves him).

Dr.Marema is a very funny guy. He is very caring and knows how we are feeling, as he had the surgery himself, and then did the surgery on his wife. Since meeting Dr. Marema at the information session, he has not changed a bit. I now realize that he is a very busy busy man, which is why he leaves alot of the follow-up care to his associates. His office staff are very helpful when you call. Sometimes they forget to call you when you leave a message, but when they do call. they are very imformative, helpful, and very friendly. I guess if I had to say anything negative about Dr. Marema, it would be difficult, because he really is a super guy. He did my surgery in June 02', however I have only seen him one time for a follow up visit, the other times I have seen his associates, which I like too. If you are planning on having the surgery, just know that this is a very very busy practice, and you could end up feeling like you are not getting as much personal attention as you might in a smaller practice. Dr. Marema's group, U.S. Bariatrics is extemely serious about follow-up care. That was a major part in my decision to go there. I did not want to have the surgery, and then be on my own. He is very serious about maintaining their diet plan after surgery. Strictly protein only, until you reach 75% of your weight loss goal. U.S. Bariatrics has a very imformative information session that addresses all the risks and complications of WLS. When I attended it I was very nervous about the unknown, and when I left, I couldn't wait to sign up. I would recommend this group to anybody that was interested in WLS, they are a fantastic group of doctors.

<font face="Verdana"><b><font color="purple">I haven't met Dr. Marema yet, but he works with four other surgeons in his practice and I did meet Dr. Benitez at the information meeting. After doing tons of research, I feel confident Dr. Marema is the right surgeon for me. He and his associates all have exemplary records and I've read nothing but glowing recommendations for Dr. Marema from those who have chosen him.

I met Dr. Marema for the first time at my pre-op appointment on 6/11/02. He's a nice guy, very tall, confident. I feel very comfortable having chosen him for my surgery. He answered all my questions, wasn't in a big hurry to get through the appointment. I didn't feel rushed at all. His office staff is great. They didn't let me sit around waiting. I went from one to the other. There was so much to be done. Very structured program, before, after, and during.</font>

Dr.Marema and his office staff were very nice, helpfull, informative, and friendly. The program he offers is extremely informative focusing a great deal on aftercare. The program is made very clear, and a great deal of support is available to all the pre and post ops. Having had the surgery himself makes me all the more comfortable undergoing bariatric surgery. I feel confident about my decesion and even more confident about Dr. Marema performing the procedure. My surgery will be on Sep. 11 th (not the greatest day) and I am so happy, anxious, excited, and a bit nervous. Dr. Marema and his staff get my highest ratings and reccommendations.

Dr Benitez is an amazing surgeon, but he's also a doctor with a heart - he really cares and he listens. He seemed aloof at first, but as I watched him in the hospital.. I could see that he was genuinely concerned about us. When we had a problem, he wanted to know what we wanted him to do to handle it, he did not just presume or do what he thought was best. And - when things were bad, and they got that way, trust me... He explained himself, even got emotional about it! I would definitely give him an extremely high rating, and if I did have to do the surgery again, there is no one else that I would want.

My only negative comments go to the psychological group that they use in conjunction with the program. Dr. Moorehead is like this robotic little cheerleader and the only thing that matters to her are the statistics that make her look good or bad. I have absolutely NO use for her at all.