Richard Tillquist Bariatric Surgeon MD

Upon meeting Dr. Tillquist I felt comfortable. He let me do all the asking and he answered my questions with ease and reassurance. I would recommend him. He was a very skilled surgeon with a great bedside manner. Every visit I have had to his office, he and his staff treat me excellent.

Good, very quiet, calm, self confident in his skills, knowledgable about the surgery. 1st appt was a get to know him, and Q&A time, he did not appear hurried with us and gave us all the time that we needed. His office staff was very friendly, after the decision was made to have surgery I had a date the next day. My insurance was approved almost immediately, but they did not call me for two weeks to let me know it was approved so I was a little upset with that. Future pts have all your questions ready so you can get all your answers and fears addressed at the first visit, it helps you to make up your mind. Does have a structured care system as far as getting in your nutrition classes, and also visits before and after your surgery. Did address risks of surgery, but downplayed them in my opinion. Overall an 8, will know better after surgery. I would rather have better surgical competence than bedside manner, if you have both you have indeed chosen very well..

I am scheduled for Lap RNY on June 26th with Dr. Richard Tillquist. My initial impression of him was very positive. He was a very warm and kind man. He made me feel comfortable and took his time answering all of the questions I had for him. I am also very satisfied with the level of attention I have received from his office staff. I faxed over two different letters to them with requests for assistance in qualifying for FMLA and STD through my employer. They made the necessary phone calls and returned the paperwork promptly. I was very happy with this, I didn't want to have to be on them to make sure that this got done.

My initial impression of Dr. Tillquist was that he was competent and friendly. I do think he is a very good surgeon and I was very pleased to have a laparoscopic procedure. ( I have diabetes and was conerned about healing issues.) I think my surgery was performed well and my recovery and weight loss have mostly proceeeded acoording to schedule.

There were a few issues after which I think could have been handled better. There was confusion about the date the surgery was scheduled. The office staff seemed busy and did not return phone calls. Dr. Tillquist mentioned a pre-surgery visit with my husband; however after insurance approval, the office said it wasn't needed. The form they sent stated that you should not call the office. I discussed with Dr. Tillquist having my gallbladder removed (as I am over 50 and at statistical risk for gallstones) and I thought he had agreed. I learned when I asked after the surgery that he had not removed my gallbladder.

After the surgery, Dr. Tillquist seemed to me to be somewhat disinterested. He is a good surgeon but did not seem very concerned when I had problems (diarrhea, dehydration, weakness, internal bleeding) He didn't return phone calls and his nurse called back only after I had left several messages. These symptons did eventually improve but I felt like I was not very important.

These are my observations based on my own personal experiences. Other people may definitely have different experiences.

Dr. Tillquist out of Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, Colorado was her surgeon and he was awesome at first and then things changed-rapidly. Before the surgery he seemed to be understanding and explained all the proceedures well. He has a great knowledge about doing the surgery but something went wrong.
Tillquist has a horrible bedside manner. Many times when we were asking him quesions, he would slowly try to shut the conversation off and then tell us he'd see us tomorrow. Often times, he didn't seem to care if she was in pain or even where on her body. After the surgery, the listening and kindness was gone. He was a totally different person. He didn't express any concern or even have any compassion.
He doesn't know what went wrong and when confronted about it, he kept replying "I don't know-but we'll fix her".
When I wanted to involve specialists, he replied "I don't think that is a good idea and I don't think it is time for that yet". This was two weeks after surgery and after 2 weeks of chronic diarrhea (going about every 10 minutes or so.
Tillquist kept perscribing pain medication that she kept telling him she was allergic to (codeine & Vicodin) and also perscribing it in a pill form. (Before the surgery, Tillquist told her to not take pills for a while after surgery).
When Tillquist comes to see her he replies "I don't know why but we'll get you better, I'll fix you.".
When My wife spoke to Tillquist before the surgery about seeing a Nurtitonist or a seeing a Psycolgist, he replied, "You don't need that" That's crazy. You do need it because it will help later on. Trust me. The insurance would not approve it until she had met with dietician first.
Tillquist knows what he's doing in the OR but not out of the OR- In your hospital room he needs to work on that. He also needs to repond to pain medication better and quicker. My wife had no meds for 1 1/2 hours after surgery. Nurses here very mad. She came up to the room with blood all over her chest from the leaking central line. The sleep doctor(can't spell it) put a very long I.V. in her neck cause the pre op nurse couldn't get one in her arm cause she was nervous about the surgery. That wasn't his fault though. They had to send her back down to recovery so they could fix the central line.
Maybe the wait with other doctors is a long one but maybe it's worth it. Remember you are making a big decision- think it over for a while. Dr. Tillquist seems to be a sales man in the sense that he pushes to get the surgery scheduled quickly and get you in and out for the next patient. If you do get the surgery pray you don't have any complications. If you don't (which all but one of Tillquist's patients hasn't) you will be in on of the best surgical hands. The complications I belive aren't related to the surgery diretly. It's the after care that could have seriously injured her. That is Tillquist's responsiblity.
After all this mess and after trying to get now where fast Tillquist walked in and quit her case-just like that. Quit
Dr. Bell took over and that was an answer to our prayers. He tried to answer our questions and if he didn't know the answer he would tell us how he was going to find out. Dr. Bell isn't as friendly as Tillquist was at first but who cares as long as he gets her fixed. Dr. Bell seems slow and relaxed. He comes in your room sits down and talks to you like a person-not a number on a digital counter on the wall.
Dr. Bell doesn't do the surgery Laproscopically as Tillquist does so you may concider this option. If you could combine the two it would be great-good surgeon with awesome bed side manner.
I don't mean to put down Dr. Bell by any means but surgically I don't know Dr. Bell's work and I do know he doesn't know how to do LAP surgery as Tillquist does.
So put the two together and it may equal a Dr. Wittgrove (Carnie Wilson's surgeon).
This is my impression of both doctors some is fact some is my opinion.

What an office staff, Eileen got me in at her soonest
appointment. Dr. Tillquist is so understanding compassionate,
and a great listener. I was scheduled for surgery within 24 hours
with the understanding we would have to wait for approval
from the insurance company. Eileen was great keeping me updated.
Ginny was wonderful in updating me on dates.
Lettie was so nice and listened too as we had
to schedule other tests. This office is
professional and very quick to respond. Dr. Tillquist had a
handout of foods etc, he highly recommended seeing
a nutritionist. He was very clear in explaining what is done and what
to expect. I chose him because to start he was kind and
a great listener.

My surgeon is wonderful, he is very understanding, and his whole staff is very kind, I'm very happy.

Doctor Tillquest talked with me without regards to how long our visit would be. He made me feel comfortable from the get go. He explained what he would do and answers all questions I had. I'm positive I have found the right Doctor to care for me.

I was very impressed with Dr. Tillquist. I was able to set up an appointment within a week. The Husband and I really enjoyed meeting with him - he was very open, did not rush us in the least, and was able to put some of my husband's fears to rest. He was very professional, and took time to answer all of my questions. He didn't talk down to me at all, which tends to be a BIG pet peeve with me when it comes to doctors/medical personnel.

Dr. Tillquist was great. He answered all my questions and then a few! His office staff was very helpful on insurance issues and recommending a PCP they think will be wls friendly. He reminds me of a shy schoolboy at times. Very sweet! The very 1st appt with him is ONLY a question and answer session, so don't worry about what you wear!(clean underwear, etc...)LOL