Hi - I'm Jen.
I live in Northwestern Connecticut.
I had "J-Pouch" surgery at Yale New Haven in 1985
thru 1989. My operations were done by John Seashore and Dr. Grabowski was my GI.
At the time of my operations It was believed that I was suffering from UC but just last year I was Diagnosed with Chrohn's. Right now I have kidney stones and I spent almost 20 min on hold with my GI's office trying to make appt. I'm ticked. Want a new doctor in a small office, not a factory. I just want to be treated like a person. Anyhoo - thanks in advance and I hope to be able to help one of you one day.
Jen

Jen: Sorry to hear about your troubles. I had J-pouch surgery in November 2006 at Hartford Hospital. My GI was Joel Levine at UCONN and my surgeon was Jeff Cohen. He certainly isn't at a small practice but I always found him responsive and he is an expert in the field. Best of luck.

Hi Jen,

I'm sorry to hear you are having some trouble now.
My G.I doc is Dr. Abera Abay of the Norwich GI Group. He is very thorough, and has always made me feel like I am getting extra attention from him. I had my step 1 (1/2/07) and TD (3/1/07) at Hartford Hospital. My surgeon was Dr. Paul Vignati, of the Ct. Surgical Group in Hartford. He is the BEST! AWESOME bedside manner, and my new hero. I have had zero complications. Hope this info helps, and you start feeling better soon!
Monique

I had Dr. Vignati, too. Awesome doctor, as Monique said. He's in practice with Dr. Cohen, as well. I have a friend who is a surgical tech and she can't say enough about Dr. Vignati's skill, patience, and his kind treatment of the nurses and surg. techs. (She was actually in on my surgery at Hartford!) I highly recommend Dr. Michelle Smedley for a GI. Her specialty is Crohn's and UC. I loved her. Large office, but she treats you as a peer and fellow human. I had looked long and hard for a decent GI. She's in Hartford,(same building as Dr. Vignati) Avon, Enfield, Bloomfield. I know it's a rather long way from NW Connecticut, but I would say the trip is worth your time.
'Wish you the best!
Paul

Thank you so much for your replies and recommendations.
I think I should weigh the drive vs. the care.
Thanks again!
Jen

Hey Jen-
I tend to not get on the site as frequently as I'd like lately since I'm interning and working 40hrs/wk plus another 20hrs for commuting. I live in NY but I go to school in CT so all my doctors and surgeons are based in CT. If you're looking for someone from Yale, my vote for GI is Dr. Joann Hong-Curtis. I can't even begin to give her enough kudos. It may appear that she belongs to a "factory" since she is apart of CT GI Consultants, however I have never had a doctor as amazing and caring as her. If you just said my first name to her, she would immediately know who you are talking about. (Although I do joke that I am her favorite ) My surgeon is also affiliated with Yale and that's Dr. Walter Longo. He is chief for colo-rectal surgery and has been doing the j-pouch procedure for some 30 years now. Although personality wise he lacks compared to Dr. Hong (aforementioned GI) his stoic nature softens after a few visits. I've even managed to crack a few smiles from him. In addition to his credentials though he truly cares about his patients. When I was post-op from surgery #1 out of 2, he gave me his personal cell phone number to call him if I needed "anything." Again, I like to think I'm also his favorite patient

If you want any of the contact info, send me a private message since checking my e-mail is alot more routine than coming to the site lately.

Good luck!

-Taryn