Michael A. Russo, MD

After the Lap Band failed (slipped) I saw Doctor Russo to remove the band and do a revision to the bypass. During the surgery the doctor removed the band, however was unable to do the conversion due to the excessive scar tissue associated with the band. The doctor removed the scar tissue and planned for me to return to complete the conversion in 3 months. After the surgery my insurance denied the request for me to return for the follow up surgery to get the bypass done. Ellen from the office went above and beyond working with me and dealing with my insurance trying to get the approval to finish the surgery. Although the attempts were not successful, I truly believe that she did everything in her power to get it done. Everyone in the office is very nice and helpful and I would definitely recommend Dr. Russo.

Dr. Russo explained my procedure in a way that make you so comfortable. He made you feel like he truly cared about you not that you were just another patient he was getting paid for. He never made you feel like he was in a hurry when you had questions for him. I will always remember how he came at night after putting his child to sleep. He came back to the hospital around about 10pm at night cause I was not feeling good and had them run a CT scan on me only to find out that I had pneumonia. He was there every step of the way including trying to get help to get IV started since I was a hard stick to walking down to get scan he stayed there. I greatly appreciate him during my journey.

I can't say enough positive about Dr Russo. He is amazing. He makes you feel so comfortable and like you are the only person that matters to him at that moment. I never feel rushed or that he doesn't have the time to spend with me at my appt. I would highly recommend Dr. Russo for any of your weight loss needs

Hi everyone, I hear a lot of good stuff about the surgery and I hear a lot of bad stuff about the surgery. I noticed many people have complications afterward. My surgery is on the 19th of this month and I want to hear some good stories. My surgeon is dr. Michael Russo in Fountain Valley. His experience is only 5 years but I've only seen a couple reviews about him so if anyone knows any more about him, I would love to hear. Please share with me your experience so far even if you haven't had the surgery yet. I will post my journey process to share with you guys. So far, I started my journey 2 months ago. I did the doctors talk, went to a couple meetings, therapist appointment and my one-on-one with my surgeon. I was not required to Diet for a certain amount of time. I'm pretty nervous especially with reading different kinds of reviews. I am very excited as well to change my life for the better. I have 3 kids and I am a single mom and have always been overweight. Right now I weigh 244 pounds and hope to at least lose 100. I'm on my iron, multi-vitamin, vitamin B tabs as requested. My issue is I love to eat and I crave food all the time. Did anyone have this issue and how did you overcome it after surgery? Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Updated on 12 Apr 2016:
So tomorrow I have my upper GI and EKG. One more week till surgery. I am currently taking my vitamins and trying out some protein shakes. I'm determined, let's do this!! :)

Updated on 23 Apr 2016:
Well, I had my surgery April 19th and went home the next day. I'm pretty sore and adjusting to the liquid diet is difficult for me. I'm still hungry after my jello, broth or pudding. I added some strawberry whey protein to a little bit of milk and it was pretty tasty. If any one can give me tips that helped them, I would greatly appreciate it. I'm hanging in there and will update more soon. :)

Updated on 26 Apr 2016:
So I wasn't drinking as much water as I should have been and then I couldn't catch up. So I became very dizzy and had shortness of breath for the last few days and they were getting worse so I went to the ER. They gave me fluids through IV, chest x-ray, CT, checked my blood, EKG. I had also tripped and fell over my Sons toy a few days ago and I thought I hurt my insides so they checked everything and it all came back normal. Thank God! Was just dehydrated. So a little reality check to make sure I stay on top of my daily water intake so this doesn't happen again. Very Important! I have never been a really big water drinker but things have changed and this is a whole new life. :)

Updated on 26 Apr 2016:
Okay while I was sipping my water, I swallowed wrong or it went down the wrong pipe or whatever but it made me start coughing really bad and I have never felt pain like that in my life. It is still sore. Just be extra careful and do anything you can not to make yourself cough.

Oh and here are a few pictures

Updated on 29 Apr 2016:
So most of the soreness has gone away. I was having a lot of trouble with being dizzy but has gotten better when the doctor prescribed me something. My other issue is always being hungry, can anyone help with that? I don't want to fail, I really want this. I have lost 10 lbs already tho. :)