I was a critical care fellow at LSU 1993-1995 & was able to spend 5 weeks @ the CCF for a visiting rotation on the Nutrition Support Team in the spring of 94. Doug was my assigned attending. It was a super enjoyable & informative educational block. He went out of his way to make me feel welcome. He found out that I was a runner & he joined me on a Saturday morning run around the CCF campus on a day off for him.  I am sad to belatedly discover his passing. He was truly one of the good guys. 

I recently found out about Dr Seidner’s death upon calling Rodney, the GI nurse Vanderbilt to find out how to be in touch with him. 

I am sure I am only one of hundreds of patients who has mourned him along with others. His brilliance, wit, (sometimes sardonic), and tenacity as a physician with complex clinical situations was unmatched. 

Condolences for your loss. 

Dr. Seidner was one of the most compassionate doctors I've ever come in contact with.  He took the time to explain things and actually listen to the concerns brought to him.  I can only imagine how this spilled over into his personal life.  I hope his family and loved ones have peace in his absence. I offer my most sincere condolences during this difficult time.

I was a patient of Dr Seidner. He was at The Cleveland Clinic when my Louisville GI sent me to see both Dr Seidner and Dr Falk. He was the most comforting presence. I had been diagnosed with Gastroparesis. My local GI had sent to me to be evaluated for TPN. Dr Seidner explained my choices, none good.  I asked if I were his sister what would you suggest. He asked me to envision my life. What did I see. I told him independence’. He said good, we can work with that. No one before had asked me about my goals. I was on TPN temporarily, 2 1/2 years, while I got stronger. As the gastric stimulator technology improved, he called me.  He was in Nashville at the time.  I had continued to be seen by him in Nashville.  He told me it was time to reconsider the stimulator.  I was in the city that had one of the best GI Motility Clinics in the country. It takes about 12-18 months to get in.  Dr Seidner called Dr Stocker.  He told her I have an interesting case for you. I got a call soon after.  With Dr Seidner you’re not forgotten as he leaves the room.  His mind was always whirling to find a better solution.

We talked about music. I’m a violinist. We talked about travels.  But mostly we talked about not giving up on anything that matters.  I have a chronic disease. I’ll never be cured. It was by accident I found out about Dr Seidner. While seeing Dr Stocker she told me. Dr Seidner gave me an incredible gift.  He reinforced in me to never give up.

I first me DrSeidner when my drJessicaphillpot referred me to him and his team, I suffered for many years with dehydration and all that goes with it, 
He got me on my feet and I cannot express my gratitude enough 
He was an awesome man and dr
My heart is heavy upon hearing of his passing 

Words are inadequate during this time of profound shock and overwhelming loss. I feel very blessed and thankful to have been Dr. Seidner’s patient for the past 18 months, and his expertise in treating intestinal issues has been tremendously valuable and helpful to me. Appointments with Dr. Seidner were never rushed – he was always thorough, patient, kind, down-to-earth, approachable, and genuinely caring and compassionate. He positively impacted countless lives, including my own.

My last direct communication with him was through the Cleveland Clinic MyChart system, where he responded to my inquiry at 6:24 p.m. on a Friday evening! My last virtual appointment with him happened to occur on my birthday, and he very kindly wished me a happy birthday, too. These thoughtful, generous gestures were second nature to him, and he truly treated people like family (and not just another medical patient).

My condolences and prayers go out to his family, friends, colleagues, and patients. The world has lost a brilliant physician, a tireless advocate for people facing intestinal issues, and a thoughtful, compassionate human being.

Dear Family of Doug,

I am saddened to learn of Doug's passing. He was a tremendous help in setting agendas for nutrition education and training of physicians and medical students. His insights and love for people were tremendous. Please accept my sincere sympathies and know he is resting in perfect peace with our creator.

With loving and fond memories for Doug,
Charlotte Pratt


Dr. Seidner became my go-to doctor for issues with a gastric feeding tube by the luck of the Clinic draw.  I feel that I really won that draw.  He dealt with issues of placement and replacement of hardware for me with the utmost in professionalism, tempered with humor and compassion.  I only seemed to see him when there were issues, but I was always glad that he was there when I needed his help.  I deeply enjoyed interacting with him and was looking forward to my next scheduled visit.   I am deeply saddened by his passing and I extend my heart-felt sympathy an support to his family.  

Beautiful service today. You all spoke so eloquently and shared so many wonderful memories. I'll never forget Uncle Doug's sense of humor! Love & hugs to you all from NY.

Love,
Kerry

Doug and Mary became cherished friends during the two short years when we all lived in Nashville. When Mary brought me into her book group, which met on Friday nights, Doug organized "the Book Widowers" for dinner outings so the husbands of the group members wouldn't spend those Friday nights alone. He awed us with his cooking skills and early-morning runs. He happily joined us for music of any kind, anywhere. He introduced us to the Science Club, a lecture series we never would have found on our own. He shared no end of jokes only a gastroenterologist would come up with. We'll miss Doug terribly, but we'll never lose the memories, and we look forward to sharing them with Mary while we create new ones.

What a shock it is to lose such a warm and wonderful doctor and family member so suddenly! Doug was my cousin. He was nearly a decade older than I so our youth weren't tightly woven, but he often gave credit to my father for being his inspiration for pursuing medicine. As my career is also in healthcare, I found myself connecting with Doug on a professional level as well as for a little medical advice along the way. He certainly had a penchant for an opinion, explanation or robust perspective to share. He was so thoughtful and generous. I'm certain his best traits will live on through his friends and family.
All my heart goes out to the family. We will miss you Doug.

 Years ago, I worked with Dr. Seidner at the Cleveland Clinic, Dept. of Gastroenterology as his secretary. My memories are of a very professional, extremely kind person who performed his duties with care and compassion. He had the respect of colleagues and patients.
May your memories of him bring you comfort.

My wife Anne and I met and became close friends with Doug and Mary while living in Nashville. Thanks to them, we also developed friendships with many other wonderful people in Nashville.  Although we have since moved to Denver, our relationships with Mary and all those we met through them will continue.

We will miss Doug, but through him and because of him, our lives are so much richer. We will never forget him.

Mike Ranallo   

My deepest condolences to the family of Doug.  What a beautiful tribute the ceremony was to an incredibly compassionate and brilliant man.  His sons made me laugh because how they described their father, it's exactly how I also remember him as a teacher/mentor.  As one of his fellows at CCF (2004-2007) his amazing explanations of what, how and why ring strong to me, even today, when seeing patients. He was a brilliant teacher who infused laughter to make the learnings stick. It seemed like he never had a bad day - and that was contagious.  May he Rest In Peace and his family find comfort in their memories of him.  God bless. 
Jason Guardino

Dear family and loved ones of Doug, please accept my sincere condolences on your unfathomable loss. I had the privilege of working with Doug on developing new medical therapies, and his contributions to patient care and the medical sciences are and always will be invaluable and greatly appreciated.
Doug, you are sorely missed. Rest in peace.
Yours respectfully, on behalf of Zealand Pharma, Mark Berner-Hansen.


Doug Seidner (Or Dr Seidner as I called him and always will) was my mentor and eventually partner for over a decade. He played an extremely important role in the physician I have become today. I am so saddened by the loss of his strong, reliable and compassionate presence in the nutrition support community. I will remember his smile, his always open door, his "easy button" he kept on his desk,  and " Dr. Seidner time" which was always a little late but meant spending extra time with a patient or colleague that needed a bit more.  Dr. Seidner, I miss you and will think of you often. 

Doug and I made it through medical school at Syracuse together, traveled through Europe for a month where we slept on trains and were best men at each other's weddings and watched our kids grow up.  We shared in so many fond memories and good times over the years.  He will be missed so much but I know he will still be looking down from above and he knows he remains in all our hearts.

Doug and I knew each other for close to 20 years as we  advanced through our respective medical and surgical careers with a shared passion for intestinal failure. We became very good friends over the last 6-7 years.  We were as unlike each other as they come. Doug was patient, warm, kind, deliberate and cerebral, many qualities I can only aspire to.  As I said to him often, especially when seeking his wise counsel -  'he was the Eeyore to my Tigger'! I will miss him deeply especially for the long conversations we came to enjoy latterly, discussing how to improve the world of intestinal failure.  I have lost a close friend and colleague - the world of intestinal failure has lost a pioneering leader and educator.

The Center for Human Nutrition is shocked at the loss of their colleague and friend. It was such a gift to have him return to the Cleveland Clinic. Our Nutrition Support Team,  Center for Gut Rehab and Transplant clinicians and our fellows who worked with him on a daily basis are deeply grieving and feel the void. On a personal note, I have known Doug for 26 years and what I learned from him and the friendship we developed during that time enriched my career and life. He was one of the most generous, kind-hearted persons I have ever met. Our time with him was too short, but we are fortunate to have had him and his memory with live on with us.

I send my condolences to the Seidner family. I am receiving multi-disciplinary short bowel syndrome care because of the work he has done. I always remember him to be a kind, gentle, and smart physician. His commitment to the Short Bowel Syndrome, intestinal failure, and gut rehab field has left a lasting impression. Thank You Dr. Seidner. 

-Swapna

To Dr. Seidner’s precious family I offer my deepest sympathy on his untimely early death.  As a physician he shared his knowledge and expertise time and again with patients who met him through the Oley Foundation. We have lost a rare resourceful caring physician. He is irreplaceable .
Prayers 
Felice Austin 

My deepest condolences to Dr. Seidner’s family. While I only worked with him for a short time during my nutrition fellowship, he made a tremendous impact on me which which endures to this day. His intelligence was only surpassed by his sincerity and compassion. May he Rest In Peace . 

I am literally shocked.  Just found out.  My condolences to the Seidner family.  I have known Doug since we were both Fellows and he interviewed in 1990 for a job at UCLA.  I loved his stories of professional clamming to help pay for med school or expenses.  Doug was a great person, a terrific doc, a friend and even a good colleague despite being at different institutions and not just because we often agreed on things.  I will miss Doug.

Mary Dee & family, I was so sorry to hear of Doug's passing. Please accept my sincere condolences. Know that you are in my thoughts & prayers.  Betty

I would like to start by extending my heartfelt condolences to Doug Seidner’s family and loved ones. 
I got to know Doug first during my residency training at Cleveland Clinic some 23 years ago. I got to know him well during my GI fellowship 3 years later. 
I have extremely fond memories of him. He was a great physician who loved to teach. More importantly, however, he was a fantastic human being full of compassion and empathy. 
He was a joy to work with. When working with him, I knew that not only I learned a lot, but also was going to have fun doing it. 
This is a huge loss to the GI community in general and to all of us who learned so much from him in particular. 
He will be sorely missed. 
Mansour A. Parsi 


I had the privilege of working with Doug during his first appointment at the Cleveland Clinic. I have fond memories of our interaction with Doug and Mary.
Doug was a great clinician but, above all, we were all impressed by his dedication and compassion to his patients and his passion for education. I am sure that he will be dearly missed by many.

First of all my deepest condolences of the loss of Dr. Seidner. Just last week a patient needed either Dr Kirby or Dr Seidner for nutrition consultation.  Yesterday I looked at my emails yesterday and saw the notification that Dr. Seidner had passed away. He is still needed for his medical value in nutrition but now remembered as a doctor who had a passion for patients who struggled with their diagnoses in Digestive Diseases. Again, my deepest sympathies to the wife and family in this time of grief. 

Dr. Doug Seidner was a gastroenterologist who recently rejoined the Cleveland Clinic after building the nutrition program at Vanderbilt University.  Doug was recognized as one of the top nutrition experts in the country.  He was a brilliant physician who had keen insight into complex digestive diseases.   What most impressed me about Doug was his humble manner and quiet, thoughtful approach to patient care, research, and education.  

He was passionate about education and had committed himself to teaching nutrition to students, residents, fellows, advanced practice providers, and, literally, any caregiver who would listen!  In a short period of time, he elevated nutrition education at Cleveland Clinic to new levels.  

I will miss my regular meetings with Doug. The first half of each meeting we spent discussing family, current events, and all worldly matters outside of work. "The stuff that really mattered," as he would often remind me.  Words that ring in my ears even louder today.   He will be missed by all and leaves a lasting impact on our Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute family, and entire medical community.  

On behalf of Cleveland Clinic's Department of GI and DDSI my condolences to his family and loved ones.

I worked with dr seidner the entire time he was first at CCF starting at S40.  I recently saw him when he returned and got a wonderful hug from him. He will be missed by all of us. My deepest sympathy to all of the family   The world has lost a great physician. 

I feel privileged to have been trained by Doug when I was a fellow at the Cleveland Clinic 21 years ago. So much of what he taught me has affected my career as a gastroenterologist. I learned so much from him. His passion and  enthusiasm inspired me. I also have fond memories of having journal club with all of you at your home.  We all loved learning from him while eating his world famous filet mignon with horseradish sauce! He will be greatly missed.

Although we had lost touch in recent years, Doug and Mary were good friends in years past and I remember them both fondly. Doug had the most easy going spirit and was such a pleasure to be around. He was my son David's cub scout leader and I know that he has fond memories of that time. RIP to a really fine man. Condolences to the family.

Dear Mary, Matt and Gregg,
It was an honor and sheer joy to be trained by and work with Doug at the Clinic. His constant smile, light hearted joy and gracious manor toward everyone was an inspiration and will never be forgotten . His beacon will shine in my heart forever and I hope to pay it forward as Doug always did. God bless his peace and comfort your sorrow. Carol and George

It was always an interesting and fun day being assigned to Dr. Seidner’s room as an endoscopy nurse when he was scoping on our unit.  He always took the time to thoroughly explain and answer patient and family questions about the procedure he was performing. He was a kind and caring doctor. 

A favorite memory I have working with Dr. Seidner is some of the silly phrases he would say while scoping, like- “canoodle in the colon” or “dipsy doodle”. 

I will truly miss working with him. It was a privilege to assist him in the endoscopy unit. Sending my deepest condolences to his family & friends. 

Doug was not only a excellent doctor and teacher, he was truly engaged in his patients care. I learned so much from assisting him in GI procedures
We have lost a great man, my sympathies to his family 

Mary and I wish to extend our deepest condolences over the loss of this wonderful husband, father, friend and of course consummate physician. 

The memories that resonate the most about Doug come from the famous card games that the GI faculty would have in the "old days."  In addition, I recall going out to dinner with Doug and Mary and my wife and having a great time.

OBITUARY

Douglas Lee Seidner

July 5, 1957 – August 21, 2021

Berkowitz-Kumin-Bookatz Memorial Chapel

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