Stephen McNatt Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

I had my first meeting w/ Dr. McNatt on Jan. 20, 2004.When i first meet him I was so nervous I could barely breath, but that quickly went away. He is a wonderful Dr. with what seems like a huge heart. He made my family and I feel very welcome when we were talking to him. He answered all my questions and concerns. My next appt is in a couple days Feb. 26, 2004. I can hardly wait.

Dr. McNatt seems like a very nice person. His staff was extremely nice specially Mary Ann.

Seen Dr. Mizes on Jan. 26,2004 for phys. evaluation. Called two weeks later told no report has been sent to Dr. McNatt.
Called again on Feb. 18,2004 still no report from Dr. Mizes.

Dr. McNatt has been great so far. The day that I went to see him for the first consult he was in a hurry but answered all my questions as best he could. I wasn't really all that polite to him or the people he brought in with him but I was scared. After talking with him and his staff I felt much better about the whole thing. He seemed to be hurried that day. And I think he expected me to have more questions but I've read everything and then some on the subject so I really didn't have any questions. I have been to a psychological appointment with Dr. Mizes and have decided to use him as my Psycologist. He helped even more to put me at ease. Talking with him was like talking with an old friend it was amazing. Mary Anne Yanosik thought for a while I hated her because things kept happening that I couldn't get to see her. I had to reschedule six times. When I finally saw and talked to her she was great as well, she explained everthing completely that I was going to have to do after the surgery, as far as food, and helped to put me in a good humor. All of the doctors and people I have talked to have stressed that this is a MAJOR life change and that food and the way I look at food is going to have to change as well.

I have had an initial consultation with Dr. McNatt. He seems to me an excellent candidate for the surgeon I need when and if I am able to recieve my surgery. My best friend and her mother accompanied me to the appointment and they were full of questions and he was ready and willing to answer all that they had. He was very imformative about the procedure.of which I had already did extensive research on.so my questions were more statements and worries about getting the surgery approved in my rather unique cituation. @yrs ago I was injured on the job, since then I have lost most of my mobility, gained an extreme appetite and am in constant pain. I have gained nearly 200 pounds since injured. So my unique situation is in that I am trying to get Compensation to reconize that reduced weight via surgical intervention would be the correct route to take in my case...but whether that happens or not remains to be seen. Dr. McNatt stated that he believed that the surgury would benefit my injury recovery plus other problems I have occured since the drastic weight gain. I hope I soon get authorization for my sugery...and I believe Dr. McNatt will do all he can to aide me in getting it approved. He seems to care about his patients...and love what he does...and those 2 qualify him in my book.... Will put more information in here as things go along.......In ending I would like to say I would reccommend Dr. McNatt 110 %.......

Sincerly,
C.Bosley

Very friendly person. Answered all my questions very well. Easy to trust and I am looking forward to working with him.

Intially, I felt that Dr. McNatt was very affable and would probably be the one of the two (Dr. Jack Bergstein) that I would find the most rapport with. My initial appointment and subsequent pre-operative and my interaction with him post-operative fell short of that first impression. I felt that he was very kurt and unwilling to listen to what I had to say about myself and my body. This impression was also shared by my immediate family. I must mention at this time that I have always felt okay with Mary Ann Yanosik, the dietician. My sister, from NY and who didn't meet Dr. McNatt until after the surgery and saw him daily for 3 subsequent days, also felt that he was very short and abrupt. I was a candidate for laproscopic surgery because, although my weight was 375 at time of surgery, my chest area is very small and relatively fat free (my weight is mostly below my waist, he would not give me the thorough chest examination that I requested and opted for the open surgery. After the surgery - which took him a little over 2 hours unusual for an open (my folks thought that I had died when he came out at 11:30 AM instead of the expected 2 PM) - he remarked that he could've done the laproscopic that I probably had less fat around and in the chest area than he did. And he is not a big man! Just what I kept trying to tell everyone, but no one cared to listen.

After surgery, I had a few minor problems, which at time seemed major to me and I met with little sympathy from his office manager. In fact, when I needed to change my post-op appointment, I was actually yelled at by this person. It so traumatic to me (I had spent 11 1/2 months in the same hospital in 95/96 after and accident and was treated poorly by the department head and his immediate staff - and the current incident just brought all the nightmares back home) that I almost had a full blown breakdown. It was so trying for me that the closer I got to the date of the appointment, the worse my "nerves" became and I had to make a couple of emergency appointments with my therapist who I normally see once a month. Thank god my PCP was so understanding and helpful; he received many a late night and weekend call during this time period.
At that fist post-op appointment and subsequent appointments (2), Dr. McNatt has been most pleasant and accomodating. I told him what happened and explained my feelings at the first meetings and things have been 180 since. I let everyone know that, although I do not expect anyone in his staff to be my best friend, I do expect to be treated with courtesy and respect. I demand it; it is a part of my - and every patient's - rights. Once I get past my "nerves" I get mad and fight if necessary.

WVU Hospital I have nothing but good to say about. They treated me very well during my stay. Having spent so much time there in the past, it was not a strang environment for me and that certainly helped. Many of the staff remembered me from my previous stays.

Dr McNate was very informative He took alot of time to explain what needs to be done prior to and following the surgery. He was very patient answering questions. My impression of Dr McNate hasn't changed it has only got better.He is a excellent Surgeon . The office staff is so nice couldn't ask for a better nursing staff or a more helpful insurance staff.I guess the only bad thing about going to Dr McNate is that he practices in a learning hosp. and you must first see the student then see the dr. He emphasizes at great length aftercare follow up group meeting. He has group meetings planned once a mt. Dr McNate is very straight forward with the risk involved in the surgery. I rate Dr McNate a 10. I had the RNY gastric bypass done by Lap. I think DR McNate is very surgically competant and he has a great bedside manner so I would say to choice a surgeon make sure he//she has both great surgical competence and great bedside manner.

Finally I was able to change doctor's, we still don't know what happened to Dr. Bergstein but he is not allowed to do the surgery anymore.

09-28-2002 First visit with new doctor

Dr. McNatt is young and very personable, he has a sense of humor and is very easy to talk with. He told me I needed a few more tests that he requires and he would then set the date. I finished up in November and very impatiently waited for the date. I was notified on January 9, 2003 of the date.

I had my surgery on February 3, 2003 with no problems at all with the surgery or the hospital stay. The entire staff at Ruby Memorial Hospital was great. Just very busy.

My first impression of Dr. McNatt was very postive. He spent well over an hour explaining everything to my husband and me. My first impression has proven to be correct. I still feel very positive about Dr. McNatt. I am 4 weeks post op now and everything has been close to perfect. Not to say I am not having the same "pains" as most all patients, but this has nothing to do with the quality of care I have received. It's just the normal things for us post-op patients.

His office staff was exceptional. They were truly with me every step of the way. Any contact I had with them was always given their prompt attention and they were certainly instrumental in helping me obtain my insurance company's approval.

One of the positives concerning Dr. McNatt and his staff was they are non-judgemental. For the first time I did not feel like all of the staff at a doctors office was thinking "how did she let herself get here". Their only interest was in helping me make an informed decision as to whether WLS was for me. I was informed of all the risks involved. I felt very well educated after my pre-op visits. I knew what to expect and what could go wrong. I felt no pressure from Dr. McNatt, the decision was definitely mine to make.

Judging from my experience at Ruby Memorial Hospital and with Dr. McNatt, I have to assume they are as good as it gets at this surgery. I truly have nothing negative to say at this point. I feel very fortunate to have had the surgery with the laproscope. I certainly think this has made a tremendous difference in my recovery. I went back to work in two weeks.

I'm not sure if my experience was "typical" so I would not want others to read this and assume their experience will be the same as mine. I only know I feel very fortunate to have had my surgery at Morgantown and to have had Dr. McNatt as my surgeon.

I met Dr. McNatt for the first time on Aug. 28th. It was really weird because that was my original date for surgery with another Doctor but that surgery was canceled the day before and I had to find another surgeon!

The nurse in Dr. Bergstein's office actually spoke to Dr McNatt and he agreed to see me THAT day. He is WONDERFUL!!!! He spent approx 60-90 min. talking with me in great detail... which had never been done by my other surgeon!!! The office staff are the greatest too... Trudy and Jill... I can't say enough about them!!

Dr. McNatt went through the entire porcess with me about what to expect before and after surgery... what the risks were and the percentage of time that they happen...he explained what would be expected of me after surgery in terms of my recovery... he truly answered all of my questions and made my uneasiness go away!!

I would rate him a 10!!!!