May 26, 2006

An unsolicited testimonial to anyone who is considering having plastic surgery by Dr. Joseph Fodero:

I became interested in having some plastic surgery done after I had lost over 100 pounds following gastric bypass surgery. Dr. Joseph Fodero was one of two plastic surgeons recommended by Dr. Alexander Abkin, the surgeon who did my gastric bypass surgery. I was planning to have a consultation with both surgeons before deciding, but after my first consultation with Dr. Fodero I made up my mind that he would be my surgeon.

Dr. Fodero looks (and is) very young but after talking with him a few minutes I was impressed by his wisdom, his knowledge, and his wonderful communication skills. He loves what he does and he really cares about his patients. Although he does many different types of plastic surgery, he is very interested in helping post weight–loss patients achieve maximum results. And in spite of the face that he’s an extremely talented surgeon, he’s down to earth and now the least bit arrogant. I felt very comfortable during the consultation, even when I was posing for pictures wearing nothing but a tissue paper thong!! I initially planned just to have a tummy tuck but after the consultation I decided to go for the lower body lift. He also did some liposuction on my thighs.

I am the manager of a small department at Morristown Memorial Hospital, which is where I had my surgery. I have always found that the best way to find a good doctor is to ask the nurses. As I was mentioning to various nurses that I had selected Dr. Fodero to be my surgeon, I kept hearing rave reviews. There are several excellent plastic surgeons who operate here, but according to the nurses, Dr. Fodero has the reputation of also being an artist. A number of nurses who work at Morristown Memorial have used him for their surgery, and several others told me he’s the one they would choose.

One of the other things I especially liked about Dr. Fodero’s practice is that he has a wonderful staff. It is important for every doctor’s office to have adequate nursing support, and Dr. Fodero’s nurse, Lynn Brandom, is fantastic! She went over in detail everything I needed to do to prepare for my surgery and to take care of myself afterwards. And since she has had the same surgery I was having she was able to give me a lot of good tips. She even gave me her home phone number and offered to come to my house if I needed her. The office staff is very helpful and everything seems to run very efficiently. Most of the time I was able to be seen at the time scheduled for my appointment. It was unusual to have to wait and it was always for a good reason.

Dr. Fodero was very attentive while I was in the hospital. He came to see me every day, even during a bad storm that dumped almost two feet of snow. He was never in a hurry. In fact, he pulled up a chair and sat down by my bed. We talked awhile before he (gently) took off the bandages to have a look at how everything was healing. He also asked about how I was doing with the pain. He’s very proactive about providing adequate pain control. I was on three different kinds of pain medication while in the hospital, including a special pump that delivered medication automatically into the tissues where the surgery was preformed. (I went home with that pump as well as a prescription for an oral pain medication.) As he was leaving my hospital room he reminded me that he was available if I had any problem and not to hesitate to call. I did have a few minor problems while I was in the hospital and he responded immediately when called.

After being discharged from the hospital I went back to Dr. Fodero’s office for follow–up about twice a week for the first month. Considering that I had a lot of surgery done at one time, the initial recovery sometimes felt a bit overwhelming. It was reassuring to be told at every visit that I was healing normally, and that he was pleased with how everything looked. The results of the surgery are even better than I expected. When I got back to work, everyone noticed the difference and commented on how fabulous I looked. Six weeks after surgery, Dr. Fodero took another set of pictures to compare with the ones he’s taken at my initial consultation. The “before & after” pictures were absolutely incredible. Needless to say, if I decide to have further plastic surgery I will definitely go back to Dr. Fodero and I would recommend him highly to anyone looking for a good plastic surgeon.

M.C.
Date of Surgery: 2/9/06
Letter written: 5/26/06