"I have to say that Dr. Tillquist must be awesome! The longer I'm "out", the more convinced I am. When I compare my experiences to what other people on this board and in support groups go through, it constantly reinforces that Dr. T is the best. And to top it all off, I recently attended a lecture that was sponsered by a different surgeon, so most of the people there were his and when the speaker asked for people who had lost over 100, 2 out the 3 were Dr. T's patients! (I think there were only 4 of Dr. T's there altogether!) He's also very open to learning about new aspects related to WLS beyond actual surgery.
I've had my initial consultation. Dr. Tillquist is a very thin man! (Though several assistants in his office are slightly overweight.) His staff is friendly and prompt. Other post-op patients in his office were very happy. He is knowledgeable and answers questions thoroughly. He seemed able to tell that I already had a lot of info, so he picked up from my questions and went from there. Surgery was scheduled immediately following the consultation. He requires a pre-surgery nutrition class and strongly suggests support group meetings. He also requires monthly follow up visits for a year. So far, so good....
All pre-op work went smoothly, I was simply told the dates and times to be places, it would have been nice to know exactly what to expect, but I called and got the short version. I did not have to jump through so many of the hoops that I read about - no sleep test, psych, eval, loosing weight ahead of time, etc, etc... All I had was blood work and an EKG. He just said he could help me and set the date!
I had total confidence in Dr. Tillquist's abilities. I wasn't nervous at all about the actual surgery. He is very experienced and knowledgeable and didn't give me any hesitation.
Surgery went well, I've had amazingly little pain from the incisions. In fact, I used the morphine more when I wanted to sleep than for pain!! He visited each morning - 7:15am like clockwork. And clearly communicated to the nurses so there were no delays in his orders.
I don't feel any strong personal connection with him, but I've really only met him a couple of times in extraordinary circumstances. Maybe after a year of follow up visits, I'll consider him a friend! I know that I'll be thanking him for saving my life and giving me a future!!
I would definately recommend him!
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"Extremly supportive, willing to help, willing to find out/seek advice when she doesn't know. Even when I was 440, she never seemed condescending/negative and I never felt uncomfortable with her. She suggested WLS to me and is quick with referrals. She also wrote an appeal letter to Cigna for my panni. Definatley recommend!"
"Dr. Bishop is extremely knowledgable about obesity and WLS. He has much information and LOTS of handouts. He will prescribe drugs to help, but believes in a multi-prongs approach. He has a strong desire to help, but is short on the specifics. He can tell me what to do, but not how to do it. He did actually have some concrete suggestions, mostly they weren't new though. He does explore beyond just food issues which may lead to solutions. However, he doesn't tailor things to ME, everything is more generic. The thing I most remember from him is the phrase "mindful eating". Essentially - keep a food diary. That does help me, but I knew that before. I haven't seen him for awhile, but I don't think I'm ready to give up yet. Maybe he'll eventually help. "
"This is a very nice man, but he didn't help me at all. Each session was basically a repeat of the same info and he didn't have anything really concrete to suggest. Certainly nothing new. He did write a letter for me in my panni appeal to Cigna. That was helpful!"
"This was my first hospital stay and was probably as positive as a hospital stay can be. The nurses were not WLS specialists, so weren't always able to answer questions, but they were helpful and encouraging (mostly!). "
"Kelly did a fantastic job at clearly explaining a lot of very specific info. The group was large, though, so she got a little bogged down on time during the "fast-track" class. I had done a lot a research previously and she tied it all together nicely. She was very knowledgeable and able to answer questions brought up in many areas. She was also extremely accepting and sympathetic even though she is a tiny, cute thing herself!
Kelly's follow up care is exceptional. I have called her numerous times over the past 2 months with various questions and she is always willing to return calls and provide thorough answers. She's been a real support!!!"
