Center for Laparoscopic Surgery Bariatric Center

Dr. Rutledge has you jump through hoops to work with him, but I wanted to have the laparoscopic surgery so I am going with him. The hoops force you to do the research so I was kind of glad that I had to go through it.

I have sent Dr. Rutledge my patient package and I should be getting a date soon. I have sent him some questions via e-mail and while his answers were quick they were also a little flippant. For example, I sent him a question about how many calories I should be taking in and his answer was "don't worry about it."

Now that I am post-op. I have to say that the reason Dr R is so quick with his answers is because about 1000 groupies email him every day. He treated me and my family with respect and compassion. Very glad I chose him.

It is now my two year anniversary with the MGB. I have lost a grand total of (drum roll please) 72lbs! I would say that Dr. Rutledge is a very charismatic individual, full of energy and able to sell ice water to eskimos. His statistics are biased and his surgery is NOT a weight loss surgery. There is no support for those individuals who have complaints, complications or criticism for the great Dr. Rutledge. Buyer Beware!

From the time I met Dr. Rutledge, he inspired confidence. I knew he had been a trauma surgeon for 20 years and I knew that he could handle any emergency that came along. I continue to marvel at his surgical skill and at his personal care for his patients. He was busy. But he was always accessible to me. In February of 2001 I had an acute hepatic episode which was originally thought to be a complication of my surgery. He was right there to treat me and to consult with my local Dr. It turned out not to have anything to do with my surgery and I appreciate his willingness to accept responsibility for something that was not even in his court and to help to solve it. I felt very prepared for surgery after having read his manual and after having attended a clinic. My contact with many post op patients added to the education I received before and after surgery. Although I would have been satisfied to have just surgical competence, I was rewarded by having had a great surgeon with a wonderful sense of humor and great caring for his patients. I would recommend Dr. Rutledge to anyone. And did. My daughter had surgery with him three months after me and a number of my friends have also.

I found Dr. Rutledge and his staff to be pleasant, helpful, knowledgeable & forthcoming with an information requested.

Dr. R has a manual you can receive online at www.clos.net and you really have to go through a very thorough as well as completely informative manual before he will even consider you as a patient.

His surgery costs $17,000 in total (hospital, his fee & anesthesia). He doesn't take insurance but will help you get reimbursed.

After you go to his website and see for yourself I can't imagine anyone going anywhere else!

I can't wait until I get through my packet and get my surgery date!

Toni Colon
Gastonia, NC

I had surgery with Dr Rutledge 9/29/00 and couldn't be happier. I have lost 130 lbs so far! He is a very skillful laprascopic & trauma surgeon and a wonderful person to boot. I feel that he truly cares about the morbidly obese and doesn't see us as lazy or stupid because conventional methods of weight loss don't work for us. He has a really good sense of humor when you meet him in person. His whole approval process can seem a bit daunting but in the end you WILL be well informed about what is going to happen and what could possibly happen. He makes sure you understand the possible risks and complications, options etc before he will accept you as a patient. I would rate him very good overall!

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He is wonderful! check out his website...

http.//clos.net

2 year up-date... this man is totally AWESOME. he continues to be caring and supportive. He hosts annual picnics, christmas and valentine parties for us as well as informative clinics and conferences. He has shown grace and compassion over and above what has been called for.

At first he seemed somewhat abrupt and standoffish, but as I got to know him and more about the procedure his genuine nature of caring and compasison became evident. He responded to my every need and question prior to surgery and since surgery - every question, every need. I could not have asked for a more compasisonalte and caring individual to have provided me this new lease on life. I owe him my life and truly mean that.
Future patients should now he is very demanding in your holding up your wnd of what he is providing. It may seem overwhelming and too much, but the outcome is well woth the work. Remember, nothing worth having is easy. This is not an easy procudure and recovery is not easy. It is damn hard work and you have to be committed to making significant lifestyle changes, BUT IT IS WORTH EVERY OUNCE OF HARD WORK.

Dr. R. is a wonderful surgeon and I would give him the highest recommendation. His competence is the highest and his bedside manner is unmatched. He takes each person as an individual and ememebrs you even if he seems out of the normal setting.

I MET DR. RUTLEDGE AND INSTANTLY KNEW HE WAS THE SURGEON FOR ME. MY APPROVAL WAS LONG AND HARD BUT AT THE TIME I WORKED FOR THE INS. COMPANY AS A REVIEW NURSE AND I KNEW I MET CRITERIA AND THAT THIS WAS A COVERED BENEFIT AND PURSUED THE ISSUE UNTILL THEY DISCOVERED THAT A DATA ENTRY PERSON HAD LOADED IN THE CONTRACT THAT I WAS COVERED UNDER WRONG(FORGOT TO PUT IN THE CLAUSE BEHIND THE EXCLUSION UNLESS MEDICALLY NECESSARY).THE SURGICAL PART WAS EASY MINE WAS DONE LAP. AND I HAD NO PROBLEMS FROM THE SURGERY. I HAD GSTRIC ULCERS GOING IN AND THEY DID ACT UP AND I HAD TO TAKE MEDICATION FOR THEM AND STILL DO. MY WEGHT WAS 274 AND NOW I WEIGH 160 AND I AM 5'6". I AM 33 YEARS OLD NOW AND MY SURGERY WAS DONE 6/99. WHAT MADE ME COME ON AND TALK WAS I READ A QUESTION ABOUT WLS AND PREGNANCY. I FOUND OUT I WAS 7 WEEKS PREGNANT WHEN I WAS 1 YEAR POST-OP. WE TRIED TO HAVE A CHILD AND WAS SUCESSFUL PRETTY SOON. I DID GO TO A PERINATOLOGIST PRIOR TO SURGERY AND HE MONITORED MY HEALTH. WE NOW HAVE A WONDERFULLY HEALTHY 9 MONTH OLD DAUGHTER. SHE IS A BLESSING BECAUSE WE WERE TOLD ALMOST 5 YEARS AGO DUE TO MY HEALTH PROBLEMS WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO HAVE OTHER CHILDREN. WE HAVE A 9 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER BUT WANTED HER TO HAVE A SIBLING.. MY SURGEON DID NOT RECOMEND PREGNANCY BUT DID SAY TO SEE A HIGH-RISK GYN AND LET HIM DECIDE. MY SURGEON WAS WONDERFUL IN EVERY AND I HAVE NO COMPLAINTS. THE ONLY REASON I WAS LOOKING AT OTHER WEB SITES IS THAT MY HUSBAND IS LOOKING TO HAVE THIS DONE AND NOW DR. RUTLEDGE NO LONGER ACCEPTS INSURANCE!

Very caring and kind. What surpprised me most was his honesty, ask him anything, even if it is about something negative and he will give you an HONEST answer. His office staff seemed a bit overworked but you can expect that considering he is one of the BEST surgeons! I was very pleased, he made absolutely sure I knew the risks before he accepted me as a patient. The process you go through to get accepted by Dr. Rutledge ensures that you fully understand the process. In addition he makes you contact at least 10 former patients so that he is sure you have done your homework.

After I did all my research about the different procedures offered, I decided that the only surgeon I wanted to do my operation was Dr. Rutledge, in fact I flew from Florida to NC and paid the "Out of Network" expenses with my Health Insurance just to have Dr. Rutledge do my surgery. Overall Dr. Rutledge is a 10+++