Bariatric Medicine Institute Bariatric Center

The program that they have at the SWCC is working well for me. The emphasize the \"Nine Rules\" and Dr. Fisher constantly reminds us to draw a line in the sand and not cross it to be successful. I agree with him completely.rnrnDuring the pre-op meeting, Dr. Fisher looks you right in the eye and describes the complications. He asks you if you can handle it if you have to have nothing by mouth for months in case of a leak. It scared the heck out of me and if I wasn't completely sure of my decision to have the surgery, I would have cancelled right there.rnrnLuckily, the skill and care I received from these doctors has brought me safely through.

He seems like a really nice man. Very happy to be helping people with there weight problem. He answered all the questions I had.

' 3/10/06 Dr. Medlin is awesome!! He makes you very comfortable and has a great bedside manner! You are not just a number to him. He remembers you and discusses any issues with you. Asks you if there is anything he can answer for you and then jokes around with you to keep you from getting nervous. I have only seen him twice. Once for my surgery consult and once for the EGD. I wish in some ways he did general family practice. I would make him my primary MD anyday!rnrnDr. Medlin always emphasizes that a GBP is not a quick get skinny fix

I work in a hospital and therefore have had the opportunity to meet many doctors. Dr. Medlin is definitely different than other docs. He makes you feel comfortable from the get-go, he doesn't have that "Doctor=God" attitude I encounter so very often. He is down to earth. He gets to know you and talks to you like a person. The physician's assistant that was assigned to me didn't always return my calls in a timely fashion, so when Dr. Medlin heard about this he told me to page him directly with any questions/problems. I had to contact him twice and both times he gave me his immediate attention and made me feel like I was his only patient. I've never had surgury before and I was plenty scared getting started on this adventure, but as soon as I met Dr. Medlin for the first time, I knew things were going to be okay. The thing I like least about Dr. Medlin is that he is married. I'm only joking, but his wife is definitely a lucky woman! Future patients should know that he is more than competent and views each patient as individuals. He doesn't use cookie-cutter timelines for his patients, he bases his decisions on how each patient handles the surgury and the recovery. Dr. Medlin stresses taking it easy after surgury. Once you're on the road to recovery, he will remind you time and again how this is just a tool and that he wants to see you go all the way with it. He pushes exercise and eating right. He and his team will help you work through any issues that arise, but they will not let you give up. They want you to succeed as much as you do. I would rate Dr. Medlin a "15/10". He went above and beyond my expectations and provided me with wonderful results! His surgical competence and bedside manner are both great. He fully explained the procedure and risks more than once, and when I awoke after surgury, I found everything went exactly as he described. I had Laproscopic RNY bypass surgury less than two months ago and the only marks I have left are five tiny little dashes on my stomach. They took me off the pain pump the morning after my surgury and I was doing so well, they sent me home. They sent a script for pain meds at home, but I didn't feel the need for them, I never felt any pain. This all probably sounds too good to be true, but it's not. Dr. Medlin is not only a great surgeon, but he's proven to be a wonderful person too. These comments only describe MY experiences with regard to Dr. Medlin, although I cannot guarantee you will have the same results, it is my hope that you do.

I had originally selected Dr. James Atkinson and after I had completed the psych eval and all of the bloodwork and showed up for my appointment with Dr. Atkinson, I was informed that he would not be available for another 18 months due to the fact that he only does 2 Medicare surgeries a month. Information that would have been helpful at the seminar don't you think?

I was offered to visit with Dr. Cottam and they could set up an appointment for the following week. Dr. Cottam then came out to the waiting area and visited with me for almost 30 minutes to answer any questions I had and gave me an opportunity to gather my thoughts prior to our "official" visit the following week.

Dr. Cottam is a friendly, easy going but introspective doctor who is quite involved in research. He is quite knowledgable and easy to speak to. In my opinion, he is relatively new both to bariatrics and surgery in general with less than 1000 procedures under his belt. He was uncomfortable with my aggressive questioning about his personal statistics compared to the national averages and referred frequently about the "practices" averages (3 surgeons) and stated that the hard data I was requesting simply was not compiled, nor did any other practitioner gather this information as of yet. I was offered his latest research paper by the office staff instead who clearly did not understand what I was requesting as they had promised me exactly what I was asking for at the seminar.

In my opinion the office staff is incompetent, rude and unprofessional. (Welcome to Las Vegas). The staff make promises they cannot keep, their documentation is substandard to say the least and give inaccurate information on a fairly regular basis. They also do not return phone calls or e-mails.

The only thing that bothered me about Dr. Cottam is his reluctance to address specific numbers. Otherwise, I liked him very much.

I think anyone who is considering WLS should be knowledgable and prepared when selecting their surgeon.

Aftercare was not discussed, I was informed that post-operatively, the PA would examine my incision sites. I was also informed that in a group format, aftercare and eating instruction and such would be discussed approximately one week prior to surgery.

I am not sure about their aftercare situation as group meetings are limited to post-op patients only (hmmm) and I am loathe to ask any of the office staff at this point. Dr. Cottam did explain that I will be eating pureed food for 6 weeks in order for the suture line in my gastric region to heal.

The risks of surgery were not really discussed as I did not focus on that as much as long term complications.

I am on the fence at this time with the limited information and contact I have had.

As with anything in life, a balance of each is necessary.....his bedside manner is exceptional...now I need to evaluate his surgical competence.

To be continued....

I met Dr Medlin at the information meeting at St. Mary's Hospital and liked him right away. I asked a number of questions, as did others in the meeting, and he answered them all. He even stayed longer than he had anticipated.

My impression hasn't changed since I met him. He is nice, helpful, very knowledgable and caring.

His office staff is good and helpful. They respond fairly quickly to questions.

I knew the risks of surgery upfront because they were explained in detail at the information meeting.

I don't have anything particularly negative to say about him. He denied my request for a medication when I was looking to go home, but the next day he had reconsidered it and gave me the prescription. I think a doctor who will think things over and change their mind is impressive.

I think Dr. Medlin is an excellent doctor, an excellent surgeon and I'd recommend him highly!

Extremely warm and helpful. Very competent, always has time for patients. Best support program in Utah. Great bedside manner. Highest rating overall.

Met with him just over a week ago. What a very compasionate doctor and total opposite of the doctor who put the lapband in. Took over and hour with me, going over everything. Is going to leave the band in that was placed by another doctor and do the RNY over it. The band will be there in case it is needed in the future. My attraction to him and the center is the knowledge they have, plus his experience with people who have had previous abdominal surgeries previously and high risk patients.
I have a lapband for 2 years and it has failed me. It was not totally the band, but the doctor who put it in never wanted to do fills, when he did it would take 30+ pokes to find the port, I would end up with what appeared to be a slice on my stomach but was strickly from the numerous pokes. On my forth fill in 7 months he got an attitude because I said i had no satiety feeling, I was doing the weight loss strickly with diet, but felt starved all the time. He said I can fill you up tothe point nothing will et through. I thought he was just being funny, but he did exactly that, my own saliva would nto go through. So had to go back next day to have another surgeon remove fluid. From that point on I lost faith in that the band could even work. Had a few more fills and never acheived that sweet spot so to say. I ended up gain some of my lost weight back, not a lot but I just could not seem to do any better then I had pre surgery of the band. It was never any different for me. I have many health issues and am unable to do much, pretty sedentary. So I needed help.
I have searched high and low and not many surgeons want to take on another doctors mess. I feel honored that Dr. Cottam is willing to take me, and help me achieve the best that I can be. My husband recently had bladder surgery and I talked to the staff at the hospital in who they thought were the best surgeons, and had the best bedside manner. Dr. Cottam and Dr Atkinson were their choices everytime. Dr Cotam has more expericence in doing revisions and dealing with people who have had multiple abdominal surgeries and high risk.
His was a super nice doctor on my first visit, willing to explain and had patience with me who was full of 20 questions. I was not made out to be a failure like others have made me out to be. The tool of the band just did not work for me. Praying that the RNY will give me the weightloss to keep me motivated and willing to make the life time changes in my behaviour.

Dr. Richards was great. Almost a year after being denied by my insurance i decided to self pay. I expressed concern over not having control of my eating habits but that i would go ahead with the surgery. She said she wouldn't do it until i met with a specialist and figured that out. For a self pay, which is money in the bank, she turned me down.lol. That told me she cared more about my long term success than her immediate monetary gain. The surgery was perfect in every way. No complications and the wounds will heal perfectly and probably won't even see them in a year. One concern though to be honest. Some of the information/communication shared by Dr. Richards and the support cordinators gets mixed signals. It's like two seperate entities with differing view pts on some issues. By the way, the support group cordinators of Jolene, Amber and Andrea are awesome. They really care and do everything to make you succeed. After almost 8 months of not seeing them i walked in and they called me by my first name. Impressive.

I just loved Dr. Medlin. He is so passionate about WLS. He tells you of his b-i-l that choose to go the lap-band route. His staff, especially Patti Sweeney, is a god-send. The St. Mary's Duluth Hospital has a wonderful before and after-care program set up. As well both he and Patti stress the need for a great support group.