Robert Marema Bariatric Surgeon

I thought he was a very knowledgable and in demand surgeon.
No
Same only reinforced
Very busy and pleasant
I would have liked to have a personal meeting with him but understand if everyone did then the waiting time would be even more than it is.

After care was emphasized.





Yes

Dr.Marema was wonderful from the 1st meeting. His office staff is EXCELENT (many of them have had the surgery)even Dr. Marema had the surgery and lost TONS. Future patients should know that he is one of the most popular Doctor's in the Miami/Metro area. Right from the start he puts a HUGE enphasis on after care, follow up and even REQUIRES participation in a support group. He has a structured Pre and Post Op program. During the 1st interview, he explains in details ALL possible complicatons.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate him a BIG 10. His website is: www.browardobesitysurgery.com

My first impression of Dr. Marema was very good. I feel very comfortable with him and his ability. He has also had the surgery so he knows what we are going through. His program is very extensive. He requires alot from his patients and has a very good follow up program for us.
I had to do a lot of work before I could even get the insurance submitted. I had a class to attend, information session, support group , psy evaluation and a clearance from a pullmonary doctor.
At the time I was a little upset about having to do all this...I just wanted my surgery. But I am grateful to have done all this because he is only doing this for my own good and safety during the surgery. The more he knows about me the better I am.
I have a pre-op with him on July 24. I am looking forward to meeting him and talking with him one on one. I have a list of questions.

Dr. Marema -- what can I say that has not already been said about this man. He is a workaholic (good for me, bad for him) he has walked in the morbid obesity patient's shoes, and is a teriffic public speaker. I was able to relate to him immediately. In the seminar (standing room only) he looked at us without judgement and unconditionally offering each one of us the tools to achieve weight loss and maintain a normal body size. He identifies "fat" behaviors and he even jokes about going to McDonald's after the seminar is over.

A lot of the staff has had the surgery and the support they offer both in the group meetings and in the office made me feel like I was the only patient there. Vicky (a staff member) who has posted her before and after pictures on Dr. Marema's website was a monumental influence in my decision to have this surgery. I was emotionally overwhelmed to actually meet her and her mom too!

Dr. Marema makes certain that you understand the risks and benefits of the surgery and will give you a writen test to complete before your surgery. He will go over any question that you missed to insure you understand every aspect of your surgery. He will take all the time you need to answer all your questions before surgery.

Dr. Marema has it all -- a delightful caring man, a skilled surgeon, and a dedicated professional.

Dr. Robert Marema is wonderful! He's got a great sense of humor. At first he was quiet during the info sessions, but during the Q&A's he really had us going!

His staff is very competent, but way too busy. I'm sure moving to a brand new office didn't help but make their jobs more stressful. They have been great!

Please know he is experienced and has a loyal following. He addresses every question you have and is very honest.

I feel very luck to have a doctor with his expertise!

I like Dr. Marema personally quite a bit. He is straightforward and attentive, which is a style that I like. He is also brutally honest. He does not couch things in "nice" terms. If you're not eating right - he tells you you're not going to lose weight. Period. Again, I like that style.

His office staff is disorganized, but trying hard.

I've found that his pre-op program does a great job screening who is and who is not ready for the surgery, and providing guidance on the actal mechanics of the surgery. They make sure you know about the possible side-effects of the surgery, and about symptoms of problems, which I foudn very helpful. They could improve by emphasizing the huge changes after surgery that take place in your daily life. (Even if they had, I don't think I would have done a single thing differently, but I wish I'd at least been told how dramatically your eating changes, but so much of the rest of life stays the same.)

Whiel Dr. Marema requires patients to attend a nutrition class pre-operatively, I found the class to be of very little value, and essentially repetative of the materials already provided by Dr. Marema's office. In my experience, I was given very few practical guidelines regarding how to eat post-operatively. I think they need to provide a sample menu and recipes for patients, which I think would have made my 1st two post-op weeks a lot easier.

Overall, I would recommend Dr. Marema, but with the caveat that each patient has to be his/her own advocate, and pursue your questions, problems, etc. until you get an answer - they are overloaded with patients and are a little disorganized, and its easy to slip through the cracks - its up to you to make sure that doesn't happen.

First meeting will be the 19th.

They have a well orangized staff. The informational meeting was very helpfull for me. Dr. Marema told about the different kind of operations and the risk of surgery. Then I went to the Educational Seminar which was also very helpfully, to understand what is going to happen to me in the operating room and after the recovery room. I was hard to wait to see if my insurance company would approve of the surgery. It took the insurance company over 4 weeks to approval. After me calling the doctors office every week to see if they heard, but finally it was approved. Now I have a date for surgery which is July 7, 2001. His staff has so much patience, they are all great. They do have an aftercare program which I am very happy that they do. I have heard of some storys about other surgeons having nothing in place after surgery and that you are on your on, and that is not for me.

Dr. Marema and his staff have been woderful!I would highly recommend him. Any one lucky enough to have Dr. Marema can be on their way to getting their life back. Don't hesitate, jump on the surgery table with Dr. Marema, given the chance!
Aftercare and support is strongly recommended and available.

Dr. Marema has a terrific program in place. I coose him even though I live five hours away from his office.

His program is designed in cooperation with the hospital to ensure the comfort of obese people. For example, they use extra wide, heavy duty beds. There is a whole ward full of other patients. It helps to encourage you that things will get better.

Another part of his program includes seeing a psycological conselor who helps you prepare for the surgery. I can tell you this really helps.

I felt completely at ease with him and his team. As a matter of fact Dr. Marema is also a WLS patient. He had a Roux En Y Gastric Bypass himself. He has done over 2,000 procedures.

My only complaint with his program is that it is often hard to get through to his office. They are very busy and it is not unlikey to get a busy signal