Center for Obesity Surgery Bariatric Center

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.

My first impression of Dr. Sarantos was how nice he was.
My impression of him got better with each visit. He is a very caring person.
The office staff was always helpful.
There was nothing I didn't like.
This man is a very caring man, I can't say enough good things about him.
His aftercare is very thorough.
Yes he does have a structured aftercare program.
He gave us the % rate of deaths which was only 1%.
I rate him the highest mark he could get.
Both surgical competence and bedside manner were great!!!!!!

All of my remarks said here come from the heart. There were no bad experiences with him or his staff.

My doctor is amazing he is so calm and straight forward. I was really impressed with him also talked to staff at North Florida they seem to really love him. They say he lets nothing stress him out. I find that a big relief. The office staff is very friendly and helpful also. Emphasizes on after care alot. Told me everthing that he will be doing during the surgery. Let me know exactly what kind of pain to expect and effects of certain things if I so them wrong. Went over all the risks of the surgery in complete detail. The good the bad and the very ugly.

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+++

I met Dr. Rutledge at a clinic visit with about 50 other people. I thought he was quite a funny man with alot of personality. He was very sweet and interested in the people that were there. I met alot of post ops there and they couldn't say anything bad about him. I feel that he is an excellent surgeon and doctor. I met a woman before she had surgery and we became friends, she had a leak and was very ill. Dr. Rutledge stayed with her and she recovered after aweek in the hospital. She said she was so glad he was there for her. He knew what it was immediately and went back in to repair her leak. She had taken steroids and they feel that that was the cause of the staple going through the connection. I have been back to clinic a few times and I have also called him on the phone and he even called me on a saturday. I never had any problems and am doing great.I had to write a ten page paper about the surgery and the risks so I feel I am quite knowledgable about this surgery. I am not in the same town as he is but I have to go to my pcp and have him send updates to him. We also have a lot of support group meetings all around the country. He is now working on a better after care program.He didnt have a very good one meeting with him he realies alot on a persons pcp to keep him posted on you postop. I would have surgery again with him in heart beat. My 2 sisters had surgery after they seen how well I was doing. One had surgery in Rhode Island and she had lots of complications, and one had it in wilmington. The one in wilmington did great but she did have to stay in hospital for 3 days and her surgery took 4-5 hours. Mine was only 35 minutes and I was out the next morning. My surgery also was alot less expensive. My hospital bill was $11,000. My sisters was $39,000. Dr. Rutledge doesn't normally take my insurance but after meeting me and talking he took my insurance, I will always be so grateful to him for giving me a second chance at having a happy life.

My impression of Dr. Rutledge is that he is a very caring and sensitive person. Over time, I have come to see that he is interested in the well-being of his patients, as I often receive emails from him asking how I am doing. His office staff is WONDERFUL. Barb and Diane are the sweetest folks, and though they have so much work, they always found time to answer my questions. Dr. Rutledge's requires post-ops to follow up at three month intervals either with him, or in conjunction with your own PCP who will consult with him. Dr. Rutledge requires an extensive amount of research on the patient's part (all information is provided on his website), in order that his patients become fully aware of the risks of surgery and other factors. I was delighted to discover that Dr. Rutledge is a former trauma surgeon, so I knew that not only was his bedside manner an asset, but also his surgical competence. Overall, I would rate him a 10!

I said that Dr.Sarantos was to young.

He knew what he was talking about and I was
not his first surgery.

The office staff was very nice and helpful,
I left the office with all my question
answered.

I did like him.



I was told about my after care on my first office
vist.
Yes!

They first gave me a blue book to read and
after I read the book we talked about the risks
he answered any question I had.

B+

Both.

Dr. Sarantos was very knid, knowlegable, and seemed to care about me as a person. He explained everything throughly and had read my chart ahead of time so he was familiar with my case.
The office staff is polite, but not overly helpful. My insurance company was very difficult to work with and I had to win my case without any help from Mary, the insurance clerk. They would not provide the additional letter that the insurance company requested. I was referred to the ASBS website.
A dietician talks to you at your first appointment.
You MUST pay $250.00 at the first visit or you will not see the doctor. If you do not have surgery $80.00 will be refunded.
So far, I really like Dr. Sarantos and his nurse LuAnn.
The aftercare program is very structured and you must agree to follow the plan.
You are given an open book worksheet to complete and sign to make sure you understand all the risks and procedures involved with the surgery.