John M. Kellum M.D. Bariatrics Bariatric Center

5/17/01-Went to mcv to meet with Dr.kellum
and it went fine.I was able to get in the office and not have to wait very long.The office staff did seem a bit busy.Dr. Kellum was friendly and gave point blank info about the surgery.There was also a visiting surgeon from michigan there to observe under DR's Sugarman and Kellum which did seem impressive.Dr.kellum let me know that it would be month before he would hear from the insurance company on approval or not.Overall the initial visit was left on a positive note and upbeat.I do feel comfortable with Dr. Kellum.

6/22/01-Received call from Dr.Kellum's nurse and Dr.kellum wanted to know if I would consider joining a study and having a somewhat different surgery done.It is a BPD witha duodenal Switch,therefore I have another appointment to discuss all aspects of this surgery on 7/24/01;so far away due the M.D. being on vacation.Honestly I prefer him well rested...

My first impression of Dr. Kellum was great. He was very nice & told me a lot of what to expect. The office staff was very helpful in scheduling everything around my husbands work schedule to make sure he could be with me. The staff takes you through a class that shows you how to take care of yourself after surgery and for the rest of your life. They were all great.

Dr. Kellum was straight to the point and very imformative. I have only met with him once and was very impressed. The staff was nice, however the wait was long.. just like most doctor offices!

Dr. Kellum requires you to have a major physical with him two weeks before surgery and then follow up care with him every three months for the first year, then once a year there after.

I am still pre-op but so far I would rate him high on my list.

I thought Dr. Kellum was very professional. I am confident in his abilities. I was very pleased with his staff. Everyone was very knowledgable and friendly. His secretary had helped me quite a bit to get my insurance referral straight and she was very sweet. I got insurance approval very quickly. I must attend a class before surgery and then I have a schedule for post-op care.

Dr. Kellum is very friendly and sensitive. He is easy to talk to and very informative.I found him to be very helpful. I really have no complaints about him. His staff is very friendly and supportive and everyone makes you feel comfortable. He was very thourough in explaining the risks both by video and in person. Literatue was provided that was very helpful. He addressed the issue of after care and the importance of it as well as the importance of going to the support groups. I feel that both surgical competence and bedside manner are both very important, and I feel comfortable with Dr. Kellum.

7/1/00
To date I have only corresponded via e-mail with Dr. Rutledge (MGB procedure).
I am very impressed with his web site. (www.clos.net)
I filled in my patient information form and within 2 days Dr. Rutledge's office send in a request for pre-authorization to my insurance company (Cigna).
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10/11/00
Still waiting on insurance approval from the original request. However, I will not be having Dr. Rutledge do his MGB procedure. Too much distressing information coming out about his procedure:

See http://www.fourlane.com/mgb/

I am hoping to have Dr. Sugerman do the RNY instead. I am waiting until Cigna first approves me to have gastric bypass surgery and then I will proceed to have Sugerman submit a request. I have not seen Sugerman yet. Right now, it has been pretty messy getting insurance approval, so I don't want to muddy the waters with a new request right now.

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11/25/00
I was approved by Cigna for Dr. Rutledge. I decided to go with one of Dr. Sugerman's associates, Dr. Kellum. I would have had to wait until late January 2001 just to have a consultation with Dr. Sugerman and possibly until March or April for the surgery.

I had a consultation with Dr. Kellum on November 17th. He said that he would have to do my procedure open because I have had previous abdominal surgery (gall bladder and appendix 10" scar) and also because he will be doing a long limb RNY. He said that regardless of the scar tissue from previous abdominal surgery, he has to do the long limb RNY open. No date yet. Still getting jerked around with Cigna on final approval with my new surgeon.

Answers to questions at left:

-- What was your first impression of him/her?He's nice. A little gruff, but very willing to answer any questions.
12/29/00 - He is not gruff with his bedside manner. He is very kind.

-- How would you describe his/her office staff?
His staff are wonderful!! Very respectful and friendly.

--How much does he emphasize aftercare?
Very much. He talked about the importance of taking vitamins (plus I had to meet with a nutritionist) and the importance of exercise post op.

-- Does he/she have a structured aftercare program?
They have a support group that meets monthly. His office is 50 miles away, so I would probably not attend regularly, but I may go check it out.

-- How did he/she address the risks of surgery?
They sent me a pamphlet that lists the surgery risks and Dr. Kellum talked about some of the risks in my appointment with him. Also, we were shown a video that explained the risks and their probability of occurrence.

-- How would you rate him/her overall?
My first impression is very good. All of his staff is very helpful and nice. I will update after I have my surgery (scheduled for 12/18/00).
12/29/00 - Dr. Kellum was very good. He came by to see me every day while I was in the hospital. In addition, since the Medical College of Virginia (MCV) is a teaching hospital, I got attention from a lot of interns as well. I feel that I was very well taken care of.

Dr. Kellum's nurse is also very good. We had to attend a 2 hour gastric bypass class pre-op that went over what to expect pre and post op. She emphasized the importance of walking as soon as possible in the hospital and at home. She said that she could tell at post-op's 2 week follow-up which ones had exercised and which ones had not by how these people felt.

i had my surgery 4-12-00, and it has been a nightmare
every since i started, people you need to get
more information about the surgeon and people
that he has operated on before youlet him
do anything to you

I LIKED DR.KELLUM. THE PROCESS YOU GO THRU ON YOUR FIRST VISIT IS A LITTLE STRANGE. I WAS WITH 3 OTHER PEOPLE AT THE SAME TIME.HE TALKS OVER EACH CASE IN FRONT OF THEM.OTHER THAN THAT AND THE WAIT IN THE OFFICE FOR YOUR FOLLOW UP CARE I HAVE NO CONCERNS.I THINK JILL MEADOR IS SUPER VERY SUPPORTIVE AND HELPFUL.THEY REALLY DO FOLLOW YOU AFTER THE SURGERY. THEY WANT YOU TO EXERCISE AND STAY ON A HEALTHY DIET.FOR ANYONE THINKING OF HAVING THE SURGERY I SAY DO IT.THERE ARE RISK AND THEY TELL YOU ALL ABOUT THEM. THE ONLY THINK I WISH THEY HAD TOLD ME WAS ABOUT AFTER I AWOKE I FREAKED OUT FOR A HOUR. I HAD NEVER HAD SURGERY BEFORE AND WHEN I CAME TO I COULD NOT MOVE A MUSCLE OR EVEN OPEN MY EYES. I WAS SCARED AND THOUGHT I WAS PARALYZED. AFTER ABOUT A A HOUR I COULD OPEN MY EYES FIANLLY AND START KICKING MY LEGS. I HAD A TUBE DOWN MY THROAT SO I NEVER COULD TELL ANYONE I WAS AWAKE. OVERALL I AM QUITE HAPPY WITH THE SURGERY AND STAFF AT MCV.

My first impression was difficult because I went to Dr. Kellum inquiring about a different type of procedure and had to wait in the waiting room several hours. Unfortunately, my weight was out of the range for that particular procedure. Dr. Kellum steered me towards a more appropriate procedure: a gastric bypass. That day I wasn't happy. Today I'm very glad he did. My impression of him changed immensely after that day. In my opinion, he's got to be one of the greatest. He really knows what he's doing, took care of all of my special needs more than adequately, & handled all of my subsequent problems. My size was larger than most, & they accommodated all of those needs with flying colors. I had the same experience with his staff. That first day I didn't have a good impression. Following that day, I found them to be the greatest. They became more than "my doctor and his staff." They became friends. The thing I liked least was the waiting period in the office during pre & post-op visits after a very long commute. Another thing I was not happy about & something that keeps me from returning for my required annual visits is the physician billing faction demanded payment of the portion remaining after insurance immediately & were quite inflexible with arrangement of affordable payments. I would recommend anyone considering the surgery have that completely understood beforehand. The structured aftercare program I find to be excellent. They are not only great doctors/nurses, but they really care: before, during, & after. We had to take a class before surgery besides discussing the risks with former patients and the medical staff. My overall rating would be beyond a 10. I think the doctor's surgical competence is beyond 100%, and the bedside manner of the staff is beyond 100%. My negative would be the billing department for the physician service. I'd rate it a zero. Jill, the gastric bypass nurse, is fabulous & super knowledgeable about all aspects of the surgery. A harrowing experience was made tolerable by having the best medical staff possible. I recommend them highly.

Dr. Kellum is wonderful. I was impressed with him right from the start and I haven't changed my impression at all. His staff is first rate too. The Gastric Nurse, Jill Meador, is a sweetheart who helps make the whole process easier.

The thing I tell everyone interested in this surgery, is that they should make sure that the surgeon has a LOT of experience in this field. There are a lot of "hacks" and "Wanna be's" and some of the bad stories I'm heard can be directly traced to the inexpeience of the surgeon.

I consider him and his staff some of the best in the country and would use them as a yard stick by which to judge all the others.