Richard Tillquist Bariatric Surgeon MD

Have an appointment for a consultation on March 27, 2001

First met with Dr. Tillquist 1/22/01, I liked him automatically. He is a rather small man with nice hands and caring eyes. His office staff is very helpful and informative. Dr. Tillquist was very honest with me about surgery and aftercare.

Dr. Tillquist is a very patient, knowledgeable surgeon. He answered all of my questions, and alleviated any concerns I had. He never rushed me or made me feel uncomfortable. His office staff was very professional and personable. Dr. Tillquist touched lightly on the risks from this surgery, but made it sound as if they are very very rare. He did state that he tests the new stomach pouch twice before finishing surgery, and again the next day to make extra certain that there will be no complications from leakage. He said that if the procedure is done via Lap, he also removes the gallbladder to make sure that there will be no problems with gallstones later on. The only thing I personally would have liked to see, is a little more emphasis in the risks balanced with the benefits. However, overall, I was very pleased with Dr. Tillquist, and will be comfortable with him as my surgeon.

3/5/2001: Dr. Tillquist did a great job on my surgery. I didn't have any leaks at all, and no other complications so far. The only issues I had were:

1. The surgery was scheduled to last for 4 1/2 hours, it lasted 6 1/2. He did tell my family that nothing went wrong, he just wanted to make sure that everything was done correctly. He said the RNY took 4 1/2 hours, and the gallbladder removal took 2 hours.

2. He said he would send updates out to my family periodically, but my family never got any. That of course might have been a breakdown with the hospital staff, I can't say for sure.

3. He forgot to leave pain medication orders for when I came out of recovery. It took about an hour, and some nagging of the nurses to get them to page him in surgery to get something for me.

I had a few miscommunications with his office at first - twice they scheduled me for an appt. and then when I got there did not, they did not have me on the books and the Dr. had left. I was pretty fed up and ready to say good-bye to them, but finally I got to meet with Dr. Tillquist and was immediately impressed with him. He was very imformative. I had a laundry list of questions (I had really done my research) and he was ready for all of them. I walked away with a very good feeling about him. He does both procedures - and is, or is almost, doing Open RNY laproscopy like Dr. Chae.
Also if yo uare looking for a supportive PCP I cannot recommend Dr. Carstensen enough! He is by far the best Primary Care doc I've ever had. He's also a bariactric physician and supports the surgery (he is not a surgeon though).

I found Dr. Tillquist to be very friendly and very open. He answered all my questions without hesitation. He was in no rush to be rid of me and seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say. He has a wonderful, caring office staff. They've been very patient with my impatience...lol.

Changed from Dr. Otteman's office to Dr. Tillquist as I didn't relish the thought of waiting 6 months for an initial consultation. Things seem to be speeding right along with Dr. Tillquist's office and they have been easy to deal with. He is very easy to talk to and invites any and all questions. He didn't rush me at all, we talked about 45 minutes, drew pictures of the surgery and discussed procedure in detail including what to expect afterwards. I feel very comfortable with his experience - no mortalities, no leaks and no scopes!!! Works for me!

I had previously chosen Dr. Wittgrove from San Diego. I went through the whole process with him, insurance approval, etc. and now I have decided that I want to have my surgery locally in case of any problems postop. Plus, the financial part of it was also a contributing factor. I am now going to Dr. Richard Tillquist. I have my first consultation with him on 10/30/00. His office staff has been easy to deal with so far. They got me an appointment right away, which was nice. I had my consultation on 10/30/00 with Dr. Tillquist. My revision surgeon is Dr. Gagner in NY - his reputation speaks for itself. He is the best and that is why I am traveling across the country!