Dr. Robert Pinnar Reston, VA

[LovingWhatIs 0]

I agree the pictures were a bit weird and over the top. I will give him that feedback. But they DO take insurance. My girlfriend just had it done and her insurance covered most of it. I don't know why you got that information.

[LovingWhatIs 0]

Cirrus - you had me laughing my sides off about the mags in the waiting room. hilarious!

[BethFromVA 5]

I agree the pictures were a bit weird and over the top. I will give him that feedback. But they DO take insurance. My girlfriend just had it done and her insurance covered most of it. I don't know why you got that information.

I got it from them. I actually had a very lengthy call with his admin person about it, but this was back in October. Maybe he decided to take it within the last four months because I'm sure people were put off by the cost to themselves when they could go down the hall and likely get it from his dad.

But yes, if they take any feedback at all, the picture thing pretty much was a turn-off.

[pmcohenpac 0]

I just wanted to give a heads up to the folks in Northern Virginia /So Md that Dr Robert Pinnar split from his son Eric. They used to have a practice together. Eric (son), sold his half of the practice to a big corporation and has moved to an office next door. Robert, stayed on his own and kept his long time PA Paul Marino (fill guy). Paul rocks! Both are good doc's.

Beth from VA wrote: "I actually went to Eric's seminar. I thought he was good, but... and I preface by saying this is MY experience and others may not see it as an issue like I did.

First and foremost, the seminar, while informative, was filled with WAAAY to many kids' pictures -- about 15 minutes' worth. It was very overboard, in my book. We are there, nervous, wanting to find out about the band, and we sit through that, yet when it came time to answer questions at the end, I felt a couple people there were a bit rushed while the staff packed up their stuff while answering one man's questions. It could be that they only have so long for the room, but if so, they should quit with the family album.

Okay, that's nothing more than a pet peeve. But what really bothered me is when I went to schedule an appointment to talk to him and get the ball rolling, it was going to cost me about $450 or $475 for them to "process my paperwork." :thumbdown: I was a bit taken aback, but I made an appointment anyway, thinking maybe this was normal.

Before I ever made it there, though, I LUCKILY called to see how much I would be out based on what my insurance covered. That was when I fould out they don't accept ANY insurance at all. They don't tell you this in the seminar OR when you are signing up. I also believe the "processing fee" is a way to financially obligate you so that when you find out they don't accept the insurance, you are already into it a big chunk of change.

While I was talking to the receptionist about these concerns and said that his father was listed as a provider on my insurance, she tried a song and dance about setting up a payment plan, etc., to make it easier on me. I asked why on earth I would want to set up a payment plan when I could go with a doctor who was a provider? Then she tried to tell me how Eric had whatever certification he has after his name, some decal that says he teaches how to do Lap-Band or has done "x" amount over the years, but I said to her, "Yeah, but he must have learned something from his father, who has been doing it longer."

It just started to feel like a shuck and jive to me. However, in his defense, I WILL say that those who have used his office have nothing but nice things to say about him. It's just that for me, I felt like I was talking to a used-car salesman, and I walked away not feeling very comfortable with him".

RESPONSE:

***I am not in the habit of looking at the forums, but my wife read this and urged me to try to set the record straight, if I can. I am Phil Cohen, Dr Erics' PA as well as friends of Dr Robert and PA Paul.

As I have come to understand it, when Dr Eric and Dr Robert parted ways, a lot of it had to do with Dr Erics' desire to focus on banding. As many experienced band patients know, most of the weight loss and avoidance of complications, happens as a result of the aftercare. Being able to allocate resources for good band aftercare is not inexpensive. It is both labor/time intensive and requires specialized equipment (i.e. bariatric rated furniture, scales, fluoroscopy) which run into many tens of thousands of dollars. Proper aftercare is also enhanced by having a dedicated team (bariatric psycologist, nutritionist, exercise physiologist, sleep medicine physician along with the appropriate support staff in the office and the OR) in close proximity for easy availibility when questions arise. It is difficult to assemble this type of practice with these resources unless the focus of your practice is bands and its related medical conditions. It is my understanding that Dr Eric wanted to focus on bands and Dr Robert desired to have a more balanced practice, doing bands and other General Surgical procedures (i.e. hernias, gall bladders, bowel, etc.). Both Dr Eric and Dr Robert are excellent people and fine physicians, but the plans for the future direction of the practices were different.

Dr Roberts' long time PA, Paul, is also an awesome individual. He and I have been friends for more than 15 years. He is the reason that I am now with Dr Eric. When father and son split, Dr Eric needed a full-time PA; Paul was not able to commit to full-time, which would have required that he leave Dr Robert and his other surgeons that he has worked with for decades. Paul called me and inquired about my interest in the position with Dr Eric. I had an excellent job at the time, but it was something that Paul said that turned on a light for me and sparked my interest in the treatment of morbid obesity. It was the best move I have ever made.

As far as Dr Erics' seminars are concerned, yes, he does spend a little too much time with his kids pictures and all of us have suggested that he shorten the number he shows. On seminar nights, though, he does not get to see his kids. I get the feeling it allows him to feel just a little more connected and we respect that. The feeling of being rushed at the end of the seminar is, unfortunately,

something we regret and hope never to have perceived again. Being available for as many questions as anyone is willing to ask at the end of the seminar, is what we try to do.

The insurance issues are much more difficult to clarify. In brief, Dr Eric is an out-of-network provider with all insurances (which means that if we accepted the minimal amount of reimbursement that the insurers offer as an in-network provider, we would not be able to pay our expenses). Other practices accept minimal reimbursements but have to trim their expenses elsewhere in order to survive. I believe that proper care requires a more comprehensive approach, and that means having more than a 5 minute conversation with your provider once a month.

Our office dedicates a large amount of our resources trying to navigate and coordinate the difficult reimbursement environment for our patients. At the first office visit (if patients wish to proceed), part of the visit is dedicated to the investigation of each patients particular insurance benefits and requirements for coverage with the hope that each patient will be advocated for in the most favorable manner possible. Everybody's situation is different. Policies can be described as having in-network or out-of-network benefits or no benefits at all for bariatric related illnesses. It is not unusual for an initial office visit to exceed 3 hours. There is an orientation to the program with a "patient liaison" (most often it is with someone who already has a band) ~45 minutes, review of your medical history including review of food choices and eating behaviors ~30-45 minutes, time with Dr Eric ~60 minutes, then ~45-60 minutes with the Insurance coordinator. Lastly, scheduling and planning visits with sleep medicine, psychology, nutrition as well as what you will need from your family doctor. Insurance companies rarely reimburse for these initial visits with our office and I am quite confident that there is little profit to be made from the fee collected at the initial office visit.

Beth from VA writes: ["So I start inquiring about the dad and the lady hemmed and hawed (still, I didn't realize he wasn't in the same office as they work out of the same address, just different suites). This woman tried to get me off the subject of dad and then finally admitted he didn't work with son. However, they have this "great payment plan," no interest, yada yada. I asked what makes that so great since dad is IN my program and my cost is far less. Then they said cuz son teaches it. I figured, heck, if father and son both do this, likely sonny boy learned from dad".]

Dr Eric helped develop the Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery program at the Guthrie Clinic in Pennsylvania when he was a Resident Surgeon there in the mid 1990's. It was mostly Bypass, VBG, etc. This was before bands were available in the US. When the Lap-Band was FDA approved for use in this country in 2001, both Drs. took the training courses and I suspect they both learned a lot from each other. The difference, as I see it, is Dr Erics' practice is focused on bands. Dr Robert does bands and other procedures. Dr Eric is a proctor (teaches other surgeons how to do bands). They are both fine physicians. They still sit at the same dinner table together...

I am very proud of the work that we do in our office. I feel a tremendous amount of personal satisfaction participating in the journey towards better health and quality of life for our patients. None of us are getting monetarily rich doing this. But if all I wanted to do was get rich, I would have chosen a much different line of work. Thank you for reading this lengthy response.

Feel free to contact me at the office...no charge.

Edited June 12, 2009 by pmcohenpac

[BethFromVA 5]

Thank you for your response, and I will also clarify (and maybe offer some insight) as well.

I have run into some of Dr. Eric's patients, and they appear to love him and his staff as much as I love Dr. Robert and his. You couldn't get me to leave Dr. Robert, Paul, Sue, and Shara for a million dollars, and I'm sure Dr. Eric's patients would say the same.

My biggest beef with Dr. Eric was how I felt he handled the matter of the insurance and the huge up-front fee. I just felt it was a bit... shady. And when you're putting out as much money as we do as patients, we want to not feel as if we're being sold a bill of goods -- even if we're not. We don't want to FEEL like we are.

I too had a rather extensive meeting with my doctor, with Paul, and with Sue before my surgery, and it did not require the $450 or so fee. Maybe your office does more, I don't know. But again, as a patient, we want to know what we are paying for. If all we know is that one office charges this huge fee and the one down the hall -- which accepts insurance as well -- does not, it leaves the door wide open to a lot of speculation.

I could say that money was my deciding factor, but it wasn't. Again, I say this was MY experience, but when I am trying to get questions answered as we're being rushed out the door of the seminar, it pales in comparison to the way Dr. Robert's staff was able to answer my questions and listen to me. I certainly don't feel listened to as staff is collecting their belongings and tidying up the room.

As for Dr. Eric and his slide show, I understand it has been mentioned to him by numerous people to scale it back if he feels he needs to do it. WAY back. Sitting there for 15+ minutes looking at family slides is not exactly what we as potential future clients want to do. We are there to learn about our surgery options, and he is there to tell us about them and then make himself available afterward for questions from us.

The thing that bothers me is, since people in your office have suggested he scale it back, and back when he was with Dr. Robert's office the same thing was recommended by staff there, and people like myself have complained about the time he takes doing this, it tells me he doesn't listen when he should. Granted, I'm just seeing a snapshot which likely doesn't represent him as a doctor, but as a consumer, I look at these things.

We too are away from our families the nights we come in for the seminar. Not only that, we are there to find out about a procedure that is scary and awesome at the same time, in the sense that it could proverbially change our lives. We want to find out as much as we can in the hour or so that we are there and not waste time looking at photo... after photo... after photo -- ad nauseaum.

The first couple pictures were cute, but it got to the point where it came across as unprofessional, in my opinion. Like what he was there to do took second place to his kids (which, I understand, our kids DO come first, but still -- we're there for a seminar, not show-and-tell). I think maybe he needs to listen to potential customers and his staff and scale it way back or knock it off altogether. Granted, it's his business, but I will say that it certainly added to my reasons not to use him.

I think it would also be beneficial to be up front and honest about the whole insurance thing and that huge up-front fee. I wan't sure what the situation was until I asked the right questions after the seminar. However, I stand by my assertion that the information was not given easily. I had to ask the same question a number of different ways to try to get the answer.

The feelings I have about the presentation were based on these things. I am certain he is a fantastic doctor; he just wasn't for me. The things I listed above are the biggest reasons why. And I will also say that a friend of mine also went to Dr. Eric's seminar some months before we met and had the exact same reaction to him as I did -- again, based on the things listed here -- and ended up going to Dr. Robert.

Now, if it doesn't matter to him how he comes across and business is booming, then take what I say for what it's worth and share it with him or don't. Maybe how he comes across doesn't matter so much if he's reaching an adequate number of patients to satisfy him and pay the bills. If he learns something from this and it makes him an even better doctor than I'm sure he is, then this exchange wasn't for naught.

[pmcohenpac 0]

Believe it or not, Dr Eric gets many compliments from seminar attendees about his kids' pictures; it has been commented by some that it gave them a feeling of his being more human. I have also heard from some who have felt as you do. I wish you good health and success. Thank you for taking the time to respond.

[BethFromVA 5]

Believe it or not, Dr Eric gets many compliments from seminar attendees about his kids' pictures; it has been commented by some that it gave them a feeling of his being more human. I have also heard from some who have felt as you do. I wish you good health and success. Thank you for taking the time to respond.

Thank you for the kind words.

I will say, though, kids' pics (a couple) is one thing. Fifteen minutes of feeling like you got stuck in your neighbor's living room while they whip out the slide projector as a captive audience is another thing altogether -- especially when it infringes on the time one has to talk to him afterwards. Just food for thought for the doc.

[Dpkheel 0]

This is for BethFromVA and Sooner: First I have to say WOW. How very very uninformed and opinionated you are. That's really fantastic! Really, you don't like to see pics of the kids? As you said you are all in there nervous as can be, looking around to see the other people in there and you have a medical doctor (who are supposed to stay impersonal) trying to make it easy on you and to make you a bit more comfortable by showing his family. Yeah how dare he. You all are a bit overdramatic, no?

Now for the fee. Are you kidding me? Really? You don't think its appropriate to charge a fee to do the admin part of the surgery? You have, or I did anyway, 9 yes 9 pre-op appointments. Who handles all of that for him? Who coordinates? Who follows up so when you are ready to have the surgery they have everything they need from all of the other doctors? Who coordinates logistics with the hospital, the OR, the anestheseologist, assistants, nurses, etc? Oh you think he waived his magic doctor wand and that's all done? THAT'S what the money is for. Are you really this blind or just niave?

As for learning from Daddy (that was a good one by the way, man how wrong you are) Robert's staff should be ashamed for saying anything of the sort, not only is THAT the most unprofessional thing you experienced THAT is borderline unethical (Sooner needs to be more careful before using that term so loosely) not charging a fee or "rushing at the end of the night". Have you bothered to check if Eric is one of the top 200 Bariatric Surgeons in the country? Hmmmmm, is Robert? I'm just curious, clearly I'm a patient and a huge fan of my treatment from Eric and his staff but just how much research have you done? Fact is "sonny boy" taught it to dad who NEVER even did bariatric surgery before 2003. Get your damn facts straight - my God these blogs piss me off when people like you spit out opinion not based at all on ANY facts. Eric did bariatric surgery 7 that is SEVEN years before daddy!!! What is wrong with you?

I will openly discuss with ANYONE that actually has their facts straight, the surgery and the pre-op and post-op, that said the two of you Beth and Sooner are NOT allowed to contact me until you do some reading and I prefer it's not picture books. EDUCATE yourself and THEN you may comment. How dare you.

I hope your surgery went well - it saved my life, Eric saved my life.

[BethFromVA 5]

This is for BethFromVA and Sooner: First I have to say WOW. How very very uninformed and opinionated you are. That's really fantastic! Really, you don't like to see pics of the kids? As you said you are all in there nervous as can be, looking around to see the other people in there and you have a medical doctor (who are supposed to stay impersonal) trying to make it easy on you and to make you a bit more comfortable by showing his family. Yeah how dare he. You all are a bit overdramatic, no?

Now for the fee. Are you kidding me? Really? You don't think its appropriate to charge a fee to do the admin part of the surgery? You have, or I did anyway, 9 yes 9 pre-op appointments. Who handles all of that for him? Who coordinates? Who follows up so when you are ready to have the surgery they have everything they need from all of the other doctors? Who coordinates logistics with the hospital, the OR, the anestheseologist, assistants, nurses, etc? Oh you think he waived his magic doctor wand and that's all done? THAT'S what the money is for. Are you really this blind or just niave?

As for learning from Daddy (that was a good one by the way, man how wrong you are) Robert's staff should be ashamed for saying anything of the sort, not only is THAT the most unprofessional thing you experienced THAT is borderline unethical (Sooner needs to be more careful before using that term so loosely) not charging a fee or "rushing at the end of the night". Have you bothered to check if Eric is one of the top 200 Bariatric Surgeons in the country? Hmmmmm, is Robert? I'm just curious, clearly I'm a patient and a huge fan of my treatment from Eric and his staff but just how much research have you done? Fact is "sonny boy" taught it to dad who NEVER even did bariatric surgery before 2003. Get your damn facts straight - my God these blogs piss me off when people like you spit out opinion not based at all on ANY facts. Eric did bariatric surgery 7 that is SEVEN years before daddy!!! What is wrong with you?

I will openly discuss with ANYONE that actually has their facts straight, the surgery and the pre-op and post-op, that said the two of you Beth and Sooner are NOT allowed to contact me until you do some reading and I prefer it's not picture books. EDUCATE yourself and THEN you may comment. How dare you.

I hope your surgery went well - it saved my life, Eric saved my life.

Obviously you have mental issues, so I'll let you pass.

I expressed my opinion of Eric. I also said I am sure he's a great doctor, that his patients seem to really like him, etc. However, spending over 15 minutes of MY precious time when I'm there to learn about the LapBand by watching the first four years of his kids' lives is NOT productive and NOT what I signed up for. And from what I can tell, he has been told by his staff -- first in Robert's office, then also again when he branched off -- to lay off on how MANY photos he shares (if he feels the need to do so) and focus on what we're THERE for: information on surgery.

The fee? I had all the same stuff done in Robert's office and they didn't charge me.

The bottom line is I had to go with the one/s I felt most comfortable with, and Eric was not the one. I'm sure he cares, but his air the night of the seminar was one who was too busy and too self-involved to care about people's questions or the time he was wasting. You can never give somebody a second first impression, and that was mine of him. You can't denounce my experience, though I'm sure you'll try.

The one thing I HAVE noticed is many of his patients seem to be emotionally unstable and unhinged. They obviously can't handle anything that flies in the face of what they think. Oh well...

Dr. Robert and his staff are the best I have ever dealt with, bar none. I stand by that a thousand percent.

[Dpkheel 0]

Well Beth thanks for saying I have mental issues, you seem like a very kind person.Though I see you blew past everything else I said other than the fee which Robert does charge though that may have started after your surgery.

I have sat in about a dozen or so seminars with him and he doesn't come anywhere close to 15 minutes but since facts seem to be lost on you while opinion is served up I will leave it alone and let everyone else reading these posts judge for themsleves.

Of course you had to go with who you were more comfortable with, that makes sense, I ask only this: why then would you feel it necessary to come on here and blast a doctor after sitting in one 2 hour seminar? You have several posts on here and seem very willing to just spew opinin and back it with nothing factual. If it were only opinion such as "Eric seemed arrogent or that was way too many pics of the kids" that's fine. That's NOT at tall what you do in these several posts.

It just amazes me that you found Eric unprofessional and compared him to a used car salesman but you find nothing wrong with what Robert's secretary told you. It's like the blind leading the blind but what do I know - I'm clearly just a guy with mental issues. As opposed to a bitter lady that has the time to respond to response after response on a lap-band web-site. Hmph, yeah I can see what you mean.

[BethFromVA 5]

Well Beth thanks for saying I have mental issues, you seem like a very kind person.

Just following your lead. My original post was about Eric, not YOU, yet YOU decided to get personal with myself and whoever else did not bow at the Eric altar. Think about it.

I have sat in about a dozen or so seminars with him and he doesn't come anywhere close to 15 minutes but since facts seem to be lost on you while opinion is served up I will leave it alone and let everyone else reading these posts judge for themsleves.

Then obviously you didn't sit in the seminar I did because I was looking at my watch. Unless, of course, my watch had the facts wrong. :bored:

Of course you had to go with who you were more comfortable with, that makes sense, I ask only this: why then would you feel it necessary to come on here and blast a doctor after sitting in one 2 hour seminar? You have several posts on here and seem very willing to just spew opinin and back it with nothing factual. If it were only opinion such as "Eric seemed arrogent or that was way too many pics of the kids" that's fine. That's NOT at tall what you do in these several posts.

Obviously I can add the fact that you can't read to your obvious mental instability. I have said time and again that these were MY experiences, MY opinions, and that others likely disagree.

It just amazes me that you found Eric unprofessional and compared him to a used car salesman but you find nothing wrong with what Robert's secretary told you. It's like the blind leading the blind but what do I know - I'm clearly just a guy with mental issues. As opposed to a bitter lady that has the time to respond to response after response on a lap-band web-site. Hmph, yeah I can see what you mean.

Obvlously you don't see the irony in this paragraph, so I'll just leave it alone for everybody else to enjoy.

Now... if you're so much more above the fray, walk away from this thread.

[bellyfatgone 0]

I went to the free seminar with Dr. Pinnar on 4/6/09 - it was fantastic! The staff is very pleasant and I instantly felt at ease.

They do have a program fee now for post op - $1500 is due 10 days before surgery, and then 1000 more in $100 installments each month. This pays for all the aftercare you receive for a year - they will not bill your insurance. Unlimited visits, fills, etc.

Anyway, I am looking to see if I can sign up for the flex spending program with my health insurance, because they say you can use that to pay for the fee. Also, these expenses are tax deductible.

I'd love to hear from anyone else and their experience with Dr. Pinnar. :thumbup:

did you end up going to Dr. Pinnar for surgery? I'm doing more research on local Surgeons because I've heard that most others don't charge that $2500 fee. Just wondering what others are doing.

[fatchihuahua 0]

I had surgery with Robert Pinnar over three years ago. He is an excellent doctor who I would highly recommend :redface:. I also LOVE his PA, Paul :cursing:, and nurse, Sue:thumbup:, who do the fills. And don't forget Sharra :thumbup: at the front desk. Great staff. Aside from the $450 program fee, my insurance, United Healtcare, paid for everything! I pay a portion for office visits and fills, but it is a small price to pay. :wink2:

[bellyfatgone 0]

yes, they seem nice. But the program fee has gone up dramatically since you had your surgery. It is now $2500.00!!! I have switched surgeons and am now going to a center of excellence hospital/surgeon.

[fatchihuahua 0]

Sorry to hear about the fee increase. Just wanted to make sure you know that there is a difference between Dr. Robert Pinnar's practice and Dr. Eric Pinnar's practice.

Dr. Robert Pinnar participates in most major insurance plans which can offer substantial savings if he participates in your plan.

Dr. Eric Pinnar (to my knowlege) does not participate in insurance plans. Therefore, if your insurance will cover the operation, I would go with Robert Pinnar.

I don't know how much things have changed in the past few years, but when I looked for Lap-Band providers, most of the providers had initial program fees.

Good luck in your search! :thumbdown: