Ioannis Raftopoulos

Bariatric Surgeon
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 with 40 ratings

Ioannis Raftopoulos Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

40 Reviews for Ioannis Raftopoulos
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2/18/19 Update
I am now 8 1/2 years out from my RNY and have had no complications, I’m sure because of the quality of my surgery. I know lots of people who have had Dr. Raftopoulos as their surgeon and everyone one of them is happy with their surgery. He has 25 years of experience and has excellent patient reviews. His practice is at the Holyoke Medical Center in Holyoke, MA.
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Dr. Raftopoulos did my roux-en-Y and a huge hiatal hernia repair 5 1/2 years ago in Hartford, CT. Oh, and a gall bladder removal a month before my RNY. I have been his patient for 6 1/2 years now (got waylaid by a bout of breast cancer). I had and have had no complications since my surgery. I am very very grateful he was and is my surgeon- I made an excellent choice with regard to both his surgical skill and the pre and post op care he provided and continues to provide me. He gives you his cell phone number and is available 24/7 if you need him. He is also promptly responsive with email or office phone calls. He calls you at home right after surgery to see how you are doing. He offers a tummy tuck at 18 months. The quality, experienced surgical skill, and level of care Dr. Raftoupolos provides is outstanding. I am proud to say I lost 130 lbs and with his coaching and my perseverance have kept it off. My health is terrific now, and believe me, it was tanking before surgery. Oh, by the way, I was scared silly before surgery and had a severe case of buyer's remorse after surgery and then was scared silly again when I hit maintenance. However, from my present perspective I would choose both surgery and Dr. Raftopoulos in a flash if I had to do it over again. He is now practicing at the Holyoke Medical Center in Holyoke, MA.

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I did not shop around for a bariatric surgeon because when I went to the informational meeting that Dr. Raftopolous gave I saw a compassionate person who was very knowledgable about bariatric surgery. I had surgery almost six years ago and I lost over 100 pounds with Dr. Raftopolous's help. He also performed gall bladder surgery on me and now I am going to have him do a tummy tuck to complete my incredible transformation. He is so excited about what he is doing sometimes he talks a little too fast but don't shop around anymore if you want the best care with the BEST DOCTOR!

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Dr. Raftopoulos is the best surgeon and physician I have ever had. He is a highly skilled surgeon and the most respectful, caring, attentive and supportive physician. His is extremely intelligent and his level of commitment, communication, kindness and caring are rare qualities in a medical doctor. I will forever be grateful to him for helping me change my life .

I am 2 1/2 years post op gastric bypass , have lost 160 lbs, and maintained the loss. Dr Raftopoulos also did my tummy tuck and did an awesome job! The tummy tuck has been a valuable tool in maintaining my weight loss.

I had been undecided as to whether weight loss surgery was for me - until I heard Dr. Raftopoulos speak at a weight loss surgery seminar. He has the unique ability of making you feel confident that you can do it. And you can, with him as your surgeon!

At your initial meeting with Dr. Raftopoulos, he thoroughly discusses the risks and benefits of weight loss surgery and answers any questions you have. His confidence and knowledge will successfully make any of your fears disappear and you will look forward to your surgery day. He will be there and he will take care of you! He is with you throughout the entire process, making sure you are successful. He is always accessible and responds promptly to all communications. His post op instructions for nutrition and exercise are direct and explicit and he sets goals for you to reach. He is always there to give advice and support whenever needed. You will not be alone on your journey. Listen to him and you will lose the weight!

Dr. Raftopoulos has been there for me, giving advice, answering my many questions, reassuring me and offering support the entire time. I feel wonderful and I am enjoying life as never before! Thank you Dr. Raftopoulos.

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I had surgery in 6/2012 by Dr. R and my entire life changed that day. After 3 years of research, I selected Dr. R. based on his credentials. My journey began in 1/2012 and I went through every test you can think of and it was worth the wait. By May 2012 I was scheduled for surgery and it went very well. Dr. R. was there for the entire journey. After I left the hospital I had his pager, email, and office number for any questions or concerns. He called everyday for the first week when I was home. He is a very professional, caring, determined physician. He takes time with you and shows compassion during your visits with him. He is strict with his instructions as it is apparent that he wants to succeed as much as you do. He understands your concerns and willing to take the time to explain things to you. I have always felt that if I needed him, he was there to answer any questions or concerns you had. My only frustration was having to wait in the waiting room sometimes for an extended period of time. However, when my time came for my visit he spent as much time as you needed with him. That's what makes a great physician to me, caring, compassion and professionalism.

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I had my surgery in June of 2013. Dr Raftopoulos was a fantastic surgeon. In November I received a letter stating he has resigned from St. Francis. Does anyone know where he has gone?

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Dr. Raftopoulos changed my life I am a 21 year old man who is a full time college student. I had the gastric bypass performed by him on May 14th 2013 by November 2013 6 months later I went from 300 lbs to 175 lbs. I went from obese to thin in 6 months. He changed my life by helping me get in the right mind set and pushing my limits. He called every day after surgery for weeks and visited me multiple times a day while I was in the hospital. He's careful, attentive and the best around. I have recommended 3 people to him in the last two months and they are waiting patiently for there surgery now to. If I had to go back in time I would go to him over and over again. By far the best out there.

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This review is about my surgeon Ioannis Raftopoulos MD FACS PhD a Bariatric Surgeon of Excellence. He also performs Gall bladder removal, Hiatal Hernia repairs and other bowel surgeries. He does fabulous plastics for his patients getting all approved to remove excess skin.
This my first posted review and covers the past 3 years because in 2012 when I had my surgery and wanted to tell others in the Hartford area about my surgeon, I was minimally experienced on social sites and mistakenly entered it into my medical history. : (
In my opinion, Dr. Raftopoulos is without exception one of the most outstanding physicians I have experienced in my personal or professional life. I have been a RN for almost 40 years and am 60 so a lot of doctors have crossed my path. Most have been very good, others acceptable, some not so good but few have been truly exceptional. This highly intelligent, scholarly, truly gifted surgeon is medically competent, caring, perfectionistic, driven and expects no less from his patents then he does of himself. He is vested in his patient's success for us and for himself. He holds all caregivers to these exemplary standards of care for his patients during their hospitalization. It has become clear to me that Bariatrics is a passion not simply his means to earn a living.
He gives his all to us and expects that we will be as committed and compliant to our journey as he is to attending to our health and orchestrating our success because he wants it almost as much as we do. At times he can seem stern and quite serious but he deals in life or death and feels tremendous responsibility for the oath he took to “do no harm”. I challenge anyone devoting the same hours to their profession as he does to never be impatient or aggravated. Walk one day in his shoes and you would understand. His life is full of uncertainties when dealing with what for us is an exciting and long awaited life altering operation. I prefer someone who has the courage to be forthright and willing to risk making me uncomfortable with the truth, thus keeping ME honest with myself, than a MD worried about confrontation and provoking anger and needing to be liked.
That being said Dr. R. is the whole package. His other side is one of supreme compassion for his patients that comes through with an apologetic look and softly spoken phrases such as, “I know this is hard for you but trust me this is best. I want you to heal safely.” When I asked if I could drink larger volumes of water at my one week follow up. I have witnessed the joy on his face when he looks at the read out strip from the scale and shares your success with you and says “You can lose all of your weight in 6 months” and then lays out the plan. He is not without a sense of humor and needs one with me because I am prone to silly satire, a privilege I have claimed over the years. Life can get to serious! While he should have one of the biggest egos in medicine he is quite humble refusing to take any credit for any of our success.
Dr. R is “on-call” for us 24/7. When not at the hospital performing surgery and seeing us during our stay, he is seeing patients in the office, returning calls and answering emails, writing countless letters to have our procedures covered including plastics, even on the weekends. He has returned emails after 10:00 pm and has called me back after 7:30pm on his surgery day when I was worried or had a question. I bet very few people can say that about their doctor. This is in addition to other duties as the Center’s Director and his research projects.
I first met him as my 20 year old daughter's surgeon three years ago. He was focused, thorough and quietly reassuring before the surgery. As her mother I was very worried but I was needlessly concerned about her surgeon who I met for the first time that day. She trusted him which said a lot and I supported her. After meeting him I knew why. My very first impression was that of a quiet, confident man. I watched over her until her discharge and grew to respect his expertise and compassion as he attended to her with multiple visits in her 24 hour admission. As if that wasn’t enough he shocked me when advising her to be sure her cell phone stayed on because he was going to call her every morning!!!Never had I heard those words come out of a doctor’s mouth. He did call her as promised. Her surgery was a great success and I watched over the next 8 months as she lost over 100 pounds, reached a normal BMI and blossomed into the happy, healthy person she still is three years later.
I watched her metamorphosis and began wanting my own journey health. Of course I chose Dr. R! It is a decision I have never regretted. I couldn't have asked for a more compassionate surgeon. .I was extremely well prepared preoperatively so the day of my surgery I didn’t have any questions only a few concerns from past operation experiences. One was having so much gas left in my abdomen I would have trouble breathing. The other I would wake up in recovery and be in pain and have to wait to go to my room to be medicated. He simply replied “I don’t think that will be a problem”. It wasn’t thankfully. I don’t remember ever waking up accept when I was at the elevator to go to my room. I would later learn at a support group meeting that was done for me. Others were awake in recovery and remember everything going on around them, my usual post-op experience.
He called every day for week to check on me. Dr. R even came in on a rare week day off to remove my drain after 6:00 pm instead of making me suffer until my scheduled appointment the next day. He even carried out what needed to be done for that visit so I didn’t have to return the next day even taking the time to problem solve protein powders with me. I had the best surgical and post op experience and it didn’t stop there.
He has continued to guide my diet and exercise program knocking over any roadblock I tried to put in my way these past twenty one months. When I realized I would be running soon on the treadmill and was worried about injuring my knees he showed me strengthening exercises to do. Then in response to my being worried about my heart rate he told me not to look at it and reminded me of all of my negative cardiac tests. He spent the time to relieve my fears and compassionately stated “I know this is challenging and you are afraid but I’m not asking you to do anything I don’t do myself.” Guess what? He was right. The day when I had to run I was just fine! No terrible affliction befell me. At my one year surgiversary Dr. Raftopoulos revealed his other expertise and performed my abdominoplasty. My scar is minimal and fading all the time. My stomach muscles are back after 4 children! He did a fabulous job and my back pain vanished.
In 6 months I reached my goal weight losing 100% of my excess body weight with a normal BMI for the first time since I was 33. I have maintained my weight loss to 120 pounds and my clothing size has dropped from a 20W to a 4. He modestly says I've done all this. He's right but without his expertise and the tools he has given me I'd still be obese, diabetic, hypertensive with 8 other obesity related conditions. I am healthy and happy able to live my life now without limitations. Life is once again to be lived with excitement. I no longer fear the inevitable need for insulin and the gradual loss of function and my life. I can’t live forever but because I met this wonderful surgeon the years I have left to live will be filled with joy and participation knowing I CAN DO anything I want to. I would recommend him to everyone contemplating this or any other surgery he performs. I thank God my daughter had the courage to change her life and found him. The both of us are living testimonies to him and his skills as a surgeon and Bariatric expert.
In closing I will say once again as I silently repeat many times a week: “THANK YOU DR.R" for everything.

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I would recommend Dr. Raftopoulos to anyone considering weight loss surgery. I had my surgery in May 2013. Dr. Raftopoulos is a very skilled and compassionate surgeon. He visited me several times in the hospital after surgery and called me daily when I got home to see how I was doing and to tell me how to proceed with the diet plan. Dr. R is a very strict but caring doctor. If you do as he recommends, you will be successful. He answers all your questions and will support you all the way. I am very pleased with the new me. I am a much healthier person now. I have no regrets on having the surgery and choosing Dr. Raftopoulos as my surgeon.

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After a year of reading and looking up the experiences of other folks that have gone through the same procedure as I was looking into, I chose to go to Dr Raftopoulos. His vast experience, knowledge and credentials are what I knew I needed in my life. He is dedicated to making his patients lives healthier, To teach each patient how to live and eat healthier. He is very kind and made me feel very comfortable with my choices. He has a great 'bed side manor,' stays in touch and follows up often.. He leaves no stone unturned when checking a person's medical history from day one. Dr Raftopoulos is dedicated to help those who are willing to follow his advise and "course" of action.
He will answer any question you have at any time. Willing to explain and re explain when needed. He is very caring and is dedicated to the purpose of his speciality. I am now 1 yr post-op and would recommend Dr Raftopoulos to anyone who is willing to follow his lead to a better life. He has changed mine for the better. I would do it all over again!

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Dr. Raftopolous is one of the most caring and professional Doctor's I have ever come across. When I first started thinking about Weight Loss Surgery, I was recommended to Saint Francis hospital, and Dr. Raftopolous. I have to admit after going to 2 support groups and meeting him for the first time, I was very nervous about the procedure. Through much contact email and phone Dr. Raftopolous put my mind at ease, with providing me all the information I needed to determine if this was the right choice for me. His overall determination and care for his patients is beyond compare. He will do whatever it takes to make sure you are successful. He kept me positive on the days I felt like this wasn't the right choice for me. I have never had a Doctor show so much compassion as he did, from the 2 personal checkups the day of my surgery, to the multiple phone calls the first week to make sure all was well. I recommend him to anyone that is thinking of weight loss surgery. If you want someone who will walk with you through this journey, he is the right Doctor to choose. I appreciate all the help and guidance he has given me, and I thank him for helping me change my life, and to be a healthier me.

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