Center for Obesity Surgery Bariatric Center

I can not say enough about Dr.Rutledge. He is the most informed,caring,skilled doctor I have ever met. He made it clear that this was not a miricle cure for my morbid obesity this is a tool. He requires an extensiive evaluation, family support, your acknowledgement to the dangers and expected outcomes. He is always available for me. He also contacts me thru e=mail to "just checking in". He has made available to all his post and pre op patients a support network on the internet. I would highly recomend him to anybody who wants 5 little scars instead of a 12 inch incision, to return to work with in 7 days. to leave the hospital in 24 hrs if you are ready and if you have to pay like I did spend less than $11,000. Dr.Rutledge is always thinking of what is in the best interest of his patients and I feel honored to be one. He has made this Mini Gastric Bypass available to those of us who chose to meet his requirements it took me 2 months to get a psych. evaluation,get letters of support from my family members who also were required to read the manual, then write a letter stating that I understood what I was risking. I can not think of one negative thing about Dr.Rutledge!

I first met him at the clinic on June 13th. I think he is everything I thought he would be. A very kind, compassionate, caring individual. He knows exactly what he is doing and he makes sure that we are also knowledgable of what he will be doing for us. I had to really work to get the information packet together that he requires. And it must be exactly as he says in the Patient Manual. If it is not, he will not accept it. He makes sure we understand what he will be doing, how he will do and the benefits of what he has done.

We have to write a paper that proves to him that we understand the reason we are having the surgery, the complications, and even the follow-up. To me and many others like me, he is a GOD-SEND. I feel that he is an angel that has been sent to rescue me from this miserable life of obesity and for that I will always be grateful.

I cannot rate him because I don't feel like there is a scale with a range large enough to do so. UPDATE**************091800*****
I had surgery 090600. Durham Regional Hospital is the best in my book. They care. When I came out of surgery and was being awakened, for some reason, I could not breathe. I had to have support in order to breathe. I remember Dr. Rutledge was always there. Sometimes he would wake me up, and sometimes he would just come to see how I was doing. I just remember him always being there.

Once you meet him you ask yourself, is he a doctor? He is like no other physician that I have ever known. I feel so fortunate that he was my surgeon. When I was in ICU, and I would hear his voice, I felt very secure knowing he was there, because he cares about his patients. If you are a patient of his you can tell that he is the most caring, compassionate, empathetic doctor there is. To him I will always be thankful for what he has done for me. He restored my hope in myself and gave me the opportunity to have the life I never, ever, had before. I will be in his debt for the rest of my life, because I know that if it were not for God using him, I would not have a life.

As I said when I first posted, I cannot rate Dr. Rutledge on a scale, because I don't think there is one with a range high enough.

I thought him to be a competent surgeon with a big pracitce. I find that he responds to questions very promptly. His office staff is competent but very busy.

I like his ease of contact. Of course, his competence as a surgeon is my top rating of him. There are many good surgeons that are technically good but hard to get through to. Just Email Dr. R. a pertinent question and he will answer within a day usually, or sooner.

He has much emphasis on aftercare. The program is structured.

He let you know, without a shdow of a doubt, that this surgery has risk of death.

Scale of 1----10 he is a 10.

Surgical competence is number one and a bedside maner is good to have, but not necessary. He has both.

Dr Rutledge and his staff are absolutely wonderful! Debbie is a very busy woman and although she is not able to "chit-chat" other than a quick "hello", she has never been anything but polite and informative.. Dr Rutledge has the biggest heart I have ever seen in a person. He tries his best to answer a question, he does not "rush" when he is with you. He takes his time with each and every patient. If you plan on seeing him, plan on being there for about 6 hours.. He does require a "clinic" visit in which you will talk with other pre-ops and post-ops as well as talk with him one on one.. During this time he will also talk with everyone as a group. You will not just be sitting there for 6 hours reading a magazine... You will be talking, asking and learning! He even shows you a video of the operation itself! Out of every Dr I have ever went to I have never known one to be so involoved as Dr Rutledge is... I believe surgical competence AND bedside manner are equally important and Dr Rutledge would most definately get a 12 in that category!!

8/9/00 Met with Dr. Poplawski today and it was a great success!!! I really liked him, he was very informative and seemed very nice, even throwing in a few jokes here and there. I was very impressed.
I really liked Dr. Poplawski but due to the facts I stated above, it looks like if I have surgery at all it will be a self-pay with Dr. Rutledge.

Dr. Rutledge cares genuinely about his patients. If you are thinking about having the MGB, but don't wish to go through the lengthy approval process, then this is not the surgery for you. The reason there is so much involved is that Dr. Rutledge wants you to be EDUCATED in order to best be able to succeed postoperatively. Period.

I've had all my questions answered promtly and courteously. He shows a real caring for those who entrust their care to him.

The office staff is very busy, and excellent to work with!!!

8/18/00 I haven't met the dr yet, but he has a very informational website (clos.net). I've done a lot of research on WLS and decided on Dr. Rutledge because he does the mini-gastric bypass which has a short hospital stay (1-2 days) and short recovery/return to work. I received a very quick response to my inquiry via E-mail and received a letter within 2 days to mail to my insurer.

8/18/00

I would recommend Dr. Rutledge to anyone who is considering WLS. He has been a wonderful Surgeon and has continued to follow-up with me.

One of the things I liked best about him was his requirement that I study his Patient Manual (available for download on his website http://clos.net) and provide him with my understanding of the surgery, the risks and the benefits.

He is available to his patients via email and also via phone. He also attends informal gatherings of post/pre-op patient when he is in their towns or is available in Durham. He's a very down-to-earth guy and although he can come off a bit brusk at times, he is easy to talk to.
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I haven't actually met Dr. R. yet, but I've spoken with him on the phone (he called to answer a question I'd posted on his Onelist) and I've "spoken" to him via email.

I am very impressed with his pre-op requirements in terms of educating me, the patient.

His website http:/clos.net and his Onelist [email protected] have been invaluable in my research. Incredibly, he reads the email and responds personally as well.

Dr. Rutledge suprised me most by returning my first phone call which was placed to him late on a Sunday evening. My first question??? Why are you actually calling me back at this time on a Sunday evening? After speaking with him I found him to be a compassionate caring man who truly wants to help his patients achieve a healthier and more enjoyable life. He is sincerely concerned with all aspects of our lives both before and after surgery.
He understood that this was a terrifying change for me and was able to put myself, my husband and my mother at ease with my choice. I can't believe I was so fortunate as to find him over the internet!
He makes sure all of his patients are well informed. Frequently we seem to know more about our surgeries than the hospital nurses.
Because he does a laproscopic procedure we all experience minimal levels of post operative pain. He provides a great deal of post operative eating suggestions and his staff is the best.
His bedside manner is very soothing and a real comfort. On a scale of one to ten he is most definately a 10! I recommend him very highly.

My first impression of Dr. Rutledge was at my initial consultation.
He is friendly and very aware of
the problems his obese patients face. He tries hard to put his patients
at ease. Dr. Rutledge shows a video of the Mini Gastric Bypass,
an innovative laparoscopic technique that
he has developed. He is very open and honest
about this procedure. He describes how it is different
from the RNY and why he feels it is better.
He discusses openly the possibility of surgical
risks and complications. Preops are given the opportunity to ask
questions in a group forum. He also sees each person individually to address
any unique or confidential concerns. The results of his post-op patients
are impressive. He has a tremendous satisfaction
rating amongst his patients. Dr. Rutledge requires each patient to sign a letter
committing to ongoing follow-up, careful
monitoring of health, regular exercise, etc. He has
a local support group that meets at Durham Regional
Hospital (Durham, NC) once a month for pre-ops,
post-ops and those considering surgery. He has
performed over 270 laparoscopic gastric bypasses.
Because of the laparoscopic approach,
the majority of his patients stay in the hospital
for only 2 nights. He has a comprehensive website (www.clos.net)
and an online support group ([email protected])