Robert Marema Bariatric Surgeon

Nice guy, super friendly and caring. WOW!Very busy office...there must have had 50 people in his office waiting room that day that were seeing the doctors, going to nutrition classes, seeing the bariatric psychologists, buying vitamens, etc. I started my day off in a 2 hour nutrition class, did all my preop registration and blood work at the hospital across the street, back in time to see the bariatric psychologist for last minute anxiety training-haha, then the minister for spiritual guidance, then Dr. Marema for my surgical consult and then another hour for a relaxation/visualization seminar for preops.
What a day, and the night before there was a 3 hour seminar at the hospital for postop
care and expectations. No leaf left unturned!!!! A very structured before and aftercare program.

01-18-01 Attended a monthly informational meeting held at Health Park Hospital in Fort Myers, FL with the "Bariatric Surgery Centers of America" from Ft. Lauderdale. I completed a whole packet of forms and turned them in that night. (They had mailed them the week before)

Dr. Benetiz was the doctor doing the presentation and Joanna Hathaway and others were on hand to offer assistance and information. They all seemed very nice and the meeting was attended by over 75 people. (It started out much smaller but people kept coming and coming) I liked the presentation, there was alot of good information provided. Some of the people were there for the monthly support meeting to be held after the presentation.

I am a client of the Florida Dept. of Vocational Rehabilitation to get this surgery from this group. My Voc. Rehab. counselor also attended. He has been tremendous in supporting me. I started this journey at his suggestion about 3 months ago. I did extensive research on the subject of bariatric surgery and discovered 3 chat rooms of people both pre and post operative. (Who would have ever thought?!) This website was also tremendous in influencing me and providing me with resources and information.

Joanna said they would review my info and get back to me soon. My only concern so far is the time factor, I am somewhat apprehensive that state funding might be cut. I was just laid off from a state job because of a budget cut


01-25-01 I called the toll free line to ask when I might hear about the evaluation on my file and when to schedule the appt for my psych eval and cardio pul. tests. I was told they didnt know who had my file and I should call back on tuesday for an answer. The would have the eval on the file done at that time.



01-30-01 I called the toll free number 4 times today and all I got transfered to was voice mails of 4 different people. On the 5th try, I got somebody live. I was put on hold for quite a while and finally someone came back on and said they couldnt find my file but dont worry, someone would get back to me. This did not sit very well with me. I was also told that I needed to still send in the balance of my paperwork and supporting documentation. I explained that it was hand delivered already on the 18th to their staff. She kept insisting they didnt have all the paperwork, (If they couldnt find my file, how would she know what is missing?) I did keep xerox copies of the paperwork I turned in. She said to just wait for them to call me back, that there was plenty of time. They have to get the paperwork set up for insurance approval. For the second time during the conversation... I told her I was not a insurance pay, but already had tentative approval by Voc. Rehab for direct payment for the surgery. (I hate it when people dont listen to what youre saying)
I asked when I might expect a call back. She said if I dont hear anything by Monday call back....

Well I hope they find my file and paperwork by then and call me. The staff is not making a good impression on me at this stage. My counselor said he would schedule any of the tests asap when they tell us what they want from where and when. I hope it gets more organized after this. I'm ready are they?!

02-12-02 I called on monday and they set up my file (Sigh of relief). The person I was dealing with now is Linsee. She sounded very nice and confident on the phone. She said I could get the Cardiac and Pulumnary (sp?) surgical clearances done in Fort Myers. That certainly saves a three hour drive to Ft. Lauderdale. I called my counselor right away and he scheduled my doctors visits. 2 steps closer!!!

05-13-02 I got a call today from a lady in Ft. Myers that I previously emailed asking; Could we chat sometime on the phone? She was tremendous! She was about 2 years post-op and liked Dr. Marema and the care she recieved. She told me the doctor's staff was much smaller then and she got quickly qualified. She said it was a shame that clients now have to wait so long and had a hard time getting responses from the staff. She had heard that from other clients saying this. (So I am not the only one!)

05-15-02 Well... Its been several months since I added to my journey here. No progress has been made in getting prequalified. I have completed ALL the tests and exams required for the surgery and then some. I am tired of talking to voice mails. The office staff does not return phone calls despite the fact that I have been calling twice of week for over a month. I finally decided to do marathon calling one day till I got someone live and complaining about no call backs. I finally got Karen, who said it was my counselor who wasnt calling her back. (I seriously doubted that. My counselor is just as anxious for me to have the surgery too.) I said that I could reserve a appointment time for Karen to call my counselor. (She agreed to call him at 8:05 am and I notified my counselor immediately) She also said she would call me at 10 am to let me know if she could schedule a date for me to come in for a surgical consultation. Both these telephone appointments were for the next day. At 8:30 am my counselor called to say no one called and he tried calling her and only got her voice mail. I waited til 11 am to call her (as my appointment was for 10am) and all I could get was her voice mail too. Now thats TWO appointments broken, after scheduling it just the day before!?! I'm really getting annoyed with this!! Is this professionalism? When she finally called and I told her I was angry... She kept apologising to me and told me I had a consultation date in 30 days. THIRTY DAYS??? Geez-Louise... I turned in my completed paperwork on January 18th!!! ...and this is mid May. When will the surgery be... Next year?

05-17-01 A friend of mine suggest that maybe the problem is the doctor's office is treating me differently because I am a client of Voc. Rehab. Should that really make a difference?

05-22-01 I recieved an email from my VR counselor that he recieved communication from a district supervisor in the Ft. Lauderdale area and they could not certify my surgery with this group because they (BCA) still has not submitted their credentials to VR (State of Florida). She recommended two other surgeons in the area that are certified. How disappointing this is. I have decided to write to Dr. Marema and tell him what my experience has been to date and how negative it has been. I also got a few emails from others in the process of qualifying and they too expressed frustration with the non-call backs. They were afraid however to expressed this on the website because they feel it may hurt their chances of getting the surgery. I summary... If their staff is overworked, then either hire more people or get this under control. Other than my research, the past five months have been wasted with this office. I have no doubt that Dr. Marema and the nurses are excellent, but they have serious problems with the support staff. I am sorry to lose the opportunity to meet him.

FINAL COMMENT

Dr. Marema is brilliant. His staff is excellent. I had my surgery on April 14, 2001 when I weighed 330 pounds. I am 5'7". I lost 150 pounds in 9 months by doing what he said to do. I had my hernia repair and tummy tuck on April 25, 2002. My weight is now around 170 pounds. I am the most grateful patient.

Is Dr. Marema perfect? Nope. He's very busy, he doesn't respond to email or correspondence.

But overall, I rate him superb because when he can't respond, he does have a team of people who do care.

Overall, I would say the best review I would give is this: despite the pain, I would go through this TWICE again.

I repeat: I am grateful.

I ATTENDED THE INFO SESSION ON 1/10/02 AND
3/9/02. THE SESSION IS VERY INFORMATIVE AND IT GIVES YOU A CHANCE TO TALK WITH POST OP PATIENTS. DR. MAREMA SEEMED FRIENDLY AND VERY STRAIGHT FOWARD. I HAD MY PSYCH EVALUATION WITH DR. MOOREHEAD'S OFICE ON 1/11/02. UNFORTUNATLEY,MY HUSBAND'S COMPANY IS CHANGING TO BC/BS ON 3/1/02,SO I HAVE TO WAIT TO GET INSURANCE APPROVAL. I FAXED MY INSURANCE CARD AND DIET HISTORY TO DR. MAREMA'S OFFICE ON 3/30/02.AFTER WAITING A FEW WEEKS,I CALLED AND SPOKE WITH JUANITA. JUANITA SAID THEY NEVER RECEIVED IT. I FAXED THE INFO AGAIN ON 4/24/02. JUANITA SAID TO CALL IN A FEW WEEKS. I GOT A CALL FROM KERRY,AT DR. MAREMA'S OFFICE. HE IS VERY PLEASANT. KERRY ADVISED BC/BS NEEDS A DIET HISTORY FROM MY PCP AND ADDENDUM FROM MY PSYCHOLOGIST. 5/10/02 I CALLED DR. MOOREHEAD'S OFFICE TO GET A COPY OF MY PSYCH
EVALUATION. I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT WITH A LOCAL PSYCHOLOGIST ON 5/13/02,I WANT TO BRING A COPY OF THE EVALUATION WITH ME.
SO FAR,I AM HAPPY WITH THE STAFF AT DR. MAREMA'S OFFICE. I KNOW THEY ARE VERY BUSY AND I DON'T HAVE ALOT OF PATIENCE. I WISH THEIR CALL BACKS WOULD BE QUICKER. I HAVE TO UNDESTAND I AM NOT THEIR ONLY PATIENT.

I met Dr. Marema in person 3 weeks before my surgery. I had met 2 other doctors from his office previously. I was happy that he would be my surgeon especially because he had undergone the same surgery a few years ago. You know that he can understand whatever you'll be going thru because he has gone thru it himself! I have heard many good things about him and I feel that I'm in good hands. In my research I saw that he runs a very good program pre and post operative. He believes in addressing all parts about the weight loss,medical,emotional, physical and spiritual. You need to treat the person as a whole not in just the medical part.
A good portion of his office staff has also undergone the same surgery and I know that if I should call with a question or problem, I would be talking to someone who could understand me much better.I found the staff very pleasant and caring.
All the risks and possible complications were addressed and also what to do to minimize them. Dr. Marema has a very good structured after-care program and I feel confident in him.
His office is very busy and the paperwork took some time to go thru, but after a few delays about some missing info that I sent in,everything went smooth.

The visit was very quick, I liked him he seems to be extremly confident and I need that. He had a good sense of humor, he does not do any follow up anymore his associates do them, since he is so busy about 1000 surgeries a year he also has a foundation for people who need the surgery but do not have ins coverage. I feel he is the best for the job and I have researched many surgeons His practice is so big with two others opening in orlando and tampa. He stresses follow up although I gathered that from the staff and all the resources they have there as Like I said he was in and out in a whistle. If you decide to go with him make sure you take care of all your business, the Ins staff is great especially Karen who really knows her stuff. but the cordinator violet leaves a lot to be desired many errors and I had to do a lot of the follow up. but I must say everyone is there to help you. so to ans your questions #1 my first impression was good, he knows what hes doing. #2 office good hard to get thru to person on phone but they do call back. #3 have not found anything I have liked least yet since I am preop but will let you know if that time comes. #3 aftercare is very much stressed this is one of the best things about the center. #4 very structured after care program from nutrishion to psychological care and everything in between from support groups on how to get a job after being out of the work force so long to problems in relationships. #5 everyone you meet talks about the risks and the benefits of surgery. I would rate him a 10. I think to have both bed side manner and surgical competence is great but I go for the competence and that he has if I need someone to talk to I will go to counciling or talk to my friends or family he is a surgeon that is what I want him for.

4/17/02-well I am now 3.5 months post op. I have seen Dr. Marema monthly at our Resource/Support Group meetings. I am proud & relieved to say that everything he and his staff has told me personally has been true. I have lost 100lbs so far thanks to the tool that I was given. My life will never be the same again and thank God it is better. Dr. Marema is "The BEST" as far as I am concerned and I thank him for my health & my rebirth as a vibrant, happy woman.

The most important thing that made me choose Dr. Marema as my surgeon was the fact that he has the best aftercare program of all the surgeon's that I researched. I can honestly tell you it is the best. The staff comprised of psych, exercise physiology, nutrition, spiritual and overall well being is by far Number 1 in my eyes. No matter when you call or what the question someone is always there with the answer. Between the staff & patients it is like one big family working together for a common goal to make our lives better, healthier & absolutely happier. This was by far the best decision I have ever made in my life. And I would do it again in a heartbeat.

12/3/01--I had my pre-op visit with Dr. Marema on 11/20/01. I was hoping to have lap but I was told I will need to have open RNY. I know that I am in good hands so between God & Dr Marema I am not worried at all.

I recently attended an open session sponsored by the Bariatric Centers for Weight Loss Surgery, Inc. in Kissimmee, Florida. This is a clinic operated by Dr. Marema and his staff, based out of Ft. Lauderdale. The session was wonderfully informitive and helped to ease some of my wife's concerns. It turns out that the clinic will be opening a satellite office in Kissimmee, which, for all intensive purposes, is Orlando, Fl., which is where I live. This is also great news because it is only about thirty minutes from door to door to the hospital where my surgery will be performed. This makes travel and work less stressful for my wife, because she will be my primary care taker during the post-op stages of my surgery. I was able to meet one of the two surgeons who will be transferring to the new Orlando clinic, Dr. Douglas M. Krahn, MD. While most of the crowd there did not seem to enjoy his humor during the session, I thought he was sincerely trying to lighten the mood of the session. Nevertheless, I liked him, and was even more impressed with his staff after the session as my wife and I were able to spend some one on one time with them discussing different things. I hope to report more about Dr. krahn as soon as my PCP has prepared my insurance information to submit to the clinics offices. One other thing, they gave us a packet of information at the clinic to fill out which will be submitted to the insurance company. I was very impressed with this, as it would appear that Dr. Marema's clinic understands what it takes to clear this surgery with insurance company's, and seek to do so in a expeditious manner. That is good news to anyone who wants to have their surgery sooner, rather than later.

Dr. Marema will be performing my surgery on April 11 - from the time I saw him speek at his info session I felt safe, informed and confident he was the only person who I would trust to do my surgery. I know 5 other of his patients directly - other than those I've since met and they like me think he's the man who gave or will give life to many. They have the most thorough program - from beginning to the rest of our lives - it's so comprehensive and essential to the success of his patients. Their team is there when you need them and they provide information that is necessary for continued success. I'd recommend Dr. Marema to everyone interested in the program and the possibilities of a healthier and happier lifestyle. Dr. Marema covers everything from risks, to success - from support groups to education classes and programs to enhance people's knowledge of the program and the procedure. Don't be fooled - there are possible complications - there are things that can go wrong - some are inevitable and some are preventable - Dr. Marema and his staff take every precaution to prevent complications - it's up to the individual to follow carefully and be responsible!! Every Dr. should offer what they offer - if not - they're doing their patients a dis-service. I'd give him an A+++++++++++++++++!

I am so thankful for the resources here on this site that allowed me to make an informed decision in choosing my surgeon. I know without a doubt I had the best surgeon in the state of Florida. Dr. Marema has had weight loss surgery himself, so he knows the plight of morbidly obese people. Dr. Marema's patients are educated about every aspect of WLS before ever stepping foot in the hospital, and are required to take (and pass) a written test prior to surgery. His surgical skills are second to none and his compassion for his patients genuine. Highly skilled nurses, a competent and efficient office staff and a powerful aftercare program round out a stellar practice.