Bariatric Medicine Institute Bariatric Center

In so far Dr Richards has been amazing! She is very friendly and knowledgable. She has never made me feel uncomfortable or shameful about my weight. She really has emphazied my goals and what I want. Her office is very great as well, the MA is easy to get a hold of with every question I have thought of :-)

I'll be having a WLS revision surgery on May 17. I'm very excited/nervous and am just praying that things work this go round! Here's hoping that I'll have health (not to mention a nice body) in the next several months.

I like Dr. C a lot. He is very laid-back and easy-going. I could have stayed another night in the hosp if I had chosen to do so - and I should have, he knew better than me - but I was getting antsy to leave.

He has a year-long program of after-care, with weekly support groups on different topics. I went to 2 of them before my surgery and liked the experience. I tasted a sample of a protein shake there and made a choice of what I would buy.

His office staff is very nice and supportive. He and his partner only do WLS and they publish their complication rates - a sign of an excellant physician.

I did have to wait a while to see him but I was the 11:30 appt and he was running late by then.

My surgey will be 2/23/2010...so far I have been very impressed with Dr. Cottam he's been nice and very patient with any questions.I am very excited and have felt very supported from the staff at the office...especially the nutritionist and the excercise lady! They were awesome!!! Well back from surgery safe and sound! Dr. Cottam was amazing...attentive and very caring and informative.He checked on me twice and encouraged me to stay in the hospital another night which that next morning I was so grateful for as I had a nasty bout of nausea which would have been awful at home.The staff at Salt Lake Regional were incredible. One of my nurses there Elliot was like an angel I was alwaqys grateful to see him. When you're helpless like that and people that don't know you take such great care of you it's so nice and comforting!I am 100% glad I chose this Dr and hospital!

First impression was at seminar. Quiet, but exremely experienced. I found out later that he is one of the leading bariatric surgeons in the country. Post surgery, I had several freak complications. An incision site infection, a stricture dialation, and then a whole new surgery because the second stricture dialation blew everything apart. However, Dr. Cottam was able to correct everything laproscopically!! He never had to open me from stem to stern and for that, I will be forever greatful!! He is an amazing surgeon!

My impression of Dr. Richards so far has been pleasant. I have not yet had my pre op visit but so far so good. The office staff was very polite and professional.

Round two with Dr. Cottam has been awesome. I enjoyed 18 months of great health after he did my correctional surgery below. Then last summer the burning sensation returned, and the vomiting returned, along with other unpleasant stuff. I wound up in the ER, and eventually had to return to surgery. I had yet another fistula. We converted the RNY to a gastric sleeve and took down the intestinal bypass. I am only three weeks post-op. He has always listened to me, returns my emails, and phone calls. I find his bed side manner great! We have no health insurance and handled my urgent situation with kindness. He is one of the kindest physicians I have ever met.

I have never received any support from his support program or staff. I cannot say if it is a good program or not. I would use no other surgeon. He tries to find what works for the patient, not make the patient fit into what works for everyone else.

**********************Previous Experience****






I had LAP RNY eight years ago on March 1, 2001. My start weight was 322 pounds. I lost 187 pounds.

I spent the first 6.5 years after my surgery in a living hell. I threw up every time I ate. I had bowel obstructions, pancreatitis, ulcers, and developed a fistula. The complications existed from the very start of my surgery. I could not get my original surgeon to listen or treat my problems. He felt it was all in "MY HEAD". Emotionally it wore me down. Those around me did not understand how difficult it was coping with the pain the surgery had created for me. I felt lost and adrift with no where to turn. I so needed help!

In August of 2007 I learned a new surgeon was coming to Utah. I was told he might be able to help me. I submitted all of my medical records to him.


I was Dr. Cottam's first patient in Utah. At my consult I was just stunned! He listened, he believed there was something wrong with my surgery. He was concerned.

I was his first patient in the operating room in Utah. He found that the technique used for my original surgery was flawed. My original surgeon had created a large "Candy Cane Limb" that was making me sick. Because of the limb, Ulcers and a fistula had developed.

I had the correctional procedure done 18 months ago and have achieved the quality of life I searched for eight years ago.

Today I finally feel ok. The pancreatitis flares its ugly head on occasion, but overall I am much better. I guess after 6.5 years of chronic pancreatitis ...the damage is done. However, the frequency of the attacks is much less. I rarely throw up and can eat like any other gastric bypass patient.

I am an avid cyclist and do many 100+ mile bike rides each year. I enjoy a thinner body. I have kept my weight off. However, if I could turn back time, I doubt I would chose WLS..It has just been too hard. Even those in the field have a rough time recognizing when someone is struggling and how to deal with the issues.

Dr. Cottam is a wonderful skilled surgeon and a great support. Many physicians/surgeons just blew me off. He knew instantly what was wrong with my surgery and bent over backwards to find a way for me to have a correctional surgery. So glad he has the skills and ability and desire to treat the complications of the surgery and the disease of morbid obesity.

I finally have a quality of life.

Well I finally got to meet my surgeon and I really like her a lot!! She is very straight forward which I love and very nice at the same time. I can't wait to get to know her a lot better in time. She answered every question I had with information that I could understand. Her staff is very informative and very nice.I will keep you updated as I go along this journey.

Dr Cottom is a great surgeon. He is very busy and a little hard to get to know but I am happy with my decision.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Dr. Medlin!

Even though he is no longer in Duluth,MN at St. Mary's, I am certain that anyone who has him could not ask for a more caring or competent surgeon.

The St.Mary's staff is also very supportive, knowledgeable, and caring. St. Mary's is a great choice for your WLS.

Cheers!
~Rhonda LeGros