St Paul Surgeons LTD Bariatric Center

I First met Dr. Rupp at the informational meeting necessary to get into his program. He seemed very knowlegable and sympathetic to overweight people.

His nurse, Joyce, is fantastic. She did all of the work for the insurance letter, and she keeps everything running.

After consulting with Dr. Rupp, I am very comfortable with him performing my surgery.

He has an aftercare program that he recommends everyone attend.

He was very nice and to the point. He was in a rush, very busy. The staff there was wonderful. I did'nt see much of Dr. Rupp until the surgery I only talked with him once. He was very busy. He visited me twice in recovery, very caring. I wish he would have spent more time instead of the nurses. I guess that's how most Dr.'s are. After care is very important. You must come back to meet with the nurse monthly. Once a year after that. He did dicuss all the risks

My impression of Dr. Rupp is that he is a caring individual who truly understands and cares about the obese patient's struggles and wants to help. He said he believes obesity is a disease, and that people has the obese to thank for their ability to continue the human race! He has over 20 years of experience. My impressions were formed at the informational meeting. The Lifeshape program is run by Joyce, RN. She is worth mentioning because I've had more contact with her than Dr. Rupp. She has been prompt in returning my phone calls. She is no-no nonsense, very well-informed, and also understanding. Joyce and the program in general emphasize aftercare. They offer 3 afteracare choices. Monthly visits for 12 months are expected. A very informational booklet and handouts are available at the info. meeting and initial appt. with Joyce. Both of these appts. are free. Joyce handles the initial contact with ins. co. She is very knowledgable about ins. requirements and probable outcomes. She said that Medica and Blue Cross Blue Shield normally approve.

My first impression of Dr. Rupp's group is that they emphasize aftercare, which I think is really important because I am a redo and my first surgeon had NO aftercare program.

Joyce, his main nurse is super. They make you jump through alot of hoops to get qualified, but it's probabley worth it to give yourself time to think over what you are doing. They requiere visits with a psychologist, a dietitian, a lung specialist (for over 400 lbs).

Dr. Rupp seems willing to take as much time in the consultation as you need to feel comfortable.

Now that I am post surgery and have seen Dr. Rupp in action, I can't say enough good things about this guy. He is truly dedicated to helping the morbidly obese and works long, lond hours to care for his patients.

After having Dr Alden for several years alittle scared of finding a new surgeon. Dr Alden had most of his patients transfer to Dr Rupp after he had retired. One thing I like about Dr Rupp he makes you feel comfortable while talking to you, like moreless a friend. He explains the surgery to you in detail and any questions you might have you get your answers.
His staff in the office is wonderful. Joyce is Dr Rupps nurse . She takes care of many questions, problems with insurance. Joyce is well trained about the surgery and she can answer about any questions you might have.
Anyone choosing Dr Rupp will be well pleased. He is a great Doctor. Dr Rupp recommends aftercare for all patients for the first year and then there after. This is very important I think after your surgery. Dr Rupp has a structured aftercare program he would like all his patients to follow.
Dr Rupp explains all the possible risks of surgery in detail. Any surgery a person has is a risk with many complications that can arise. Being over weight is also a risk.
I rate Dr Rupp number one in the Twin City area. He has done the surgery's for many of years and I only choose Dr Rupp when I need surgery or any other problems that may come about in the future.

I have my initial group information visit on Nov 29, 2000. So far the staff has been OK.

It was somewhat difficult to get scheduled, They didn't get back to my PCP in time, and I missed the meeting in Sept. because of their losing the message. It cost me two months.

Anyway once everything was sent to me anytime I have called has been great and everybody who has gone to Dr. Rupp has liked him.

I am hopeful I will get the same experience.

I have had no information about the process and would have liked a written summary of what the process is. It might have helped me make a decision, I might have seen the process and changed my mind. Who knows.

I attended Dr. Rupp's informational meeting on August 9, 2000.
His nurse, Joyce Thompson discussed insurance
issues and such and then he discussed the
different surgeries, etc.

I had a good impression of him right away. He seemed like a nice man
who cares a lot fro his patients. I then signed up for a free
consultation with his nurse. I had already filled out a
medical/diet/family medical history form and gave it to Joyce
Thompson at the meeting when I signed up for the consultation.

At the consultation the nurse discussed the surgery and what would happen before and after.
They have a nice manual that maps out exactly what you need to do to get
insurance approval. For my insurance, BCBS of Minnesota (State
Health Plan Select) I had to see a dietician and also a psychologist
and take an MMPI. This took 3 weeks to analyze. But I was happy that
the psychologist I saw had done these types of consultations
before and she sent the MMPI to be read by a person who had done them specifically for
Bariatric Surgery patients.

Once all this information got to Nurse Thompson, she sent off the letter to Blue Cross
and we heard from them in less than a week that I was approved (Sept. 19, 2000).

I then had my surgery scheduled for Oct. 12 and that's where
I am at right now. I haven't even had an appointment with Dr. Rupp yet, because we haven't been able to schedule
a time but the scheduler said she'd get back to me.
I did have to go to my Primary Care Clinic to get a referral
to see Dr. Rupp, which I did get no problem. My Dr. was very supportive and I
had already done the info mtg so she was impressed I was well informed.

From my very first info meeting, I could tell that Dr. Rupp and his staff would be easy to work with. He is a very nice and gentle man who seems to really care for the overweight people that come into his office. He does answer any and all questions, but like any other surgeon, he's always running behind. Just a little infor re: the initial meeting was super. They laid out any and all info on the line. They told us the good and bad of all the present and past surgeries. He came across as a great teacher; not someone trying to sell you a load of crap.

Doctor Rupp is a very good cutter. I am the survivor of eleven surgeries and have come to know a great deal about surgeons in general. My impression has not changed. He has an excellent office staff who specializes in bariatrics. Future patients should know his job is surgery. His staff handles all of the preliminary issues very well. They have a standard routine for aftercare which includes follow up visits and a support group. The group is structured and free to attend with an optional support group with the psychologist on a fee basis.
He is very open about there being risks to all surgeries. They emphasize not only this, but they also make it clear that the procedure may need to be reversed in some cases.

Overall Dr. Rupp and his team are a good example of conscience professionals.

Negative . . . he is a cutter, not a bedside confessor. Like most surgeons he is very much to the point. His job is to perform the operation, make sure you are recovering well and move on. His staff follows the post-op issues. If you are expecting more of a surgeon, you need to adjust your expectations.

Dr Rupp and his staff have been very informative. I was referred to him by a friend that has had the surgery done. She was very impressed with him and recommends both him and the procedure highly. I am in the process of setting up a surgery date.

I highly recommend the information meeting that Dr Rupp gives. It covers every question you could have. If he doesnt cover the question in his discussion he does take questions from the floor after the presentation.

The meetings are given in a small room holding about 30 people. You are given written material as well as a verbal presentation with a slide show. He does not hype up the surgery. He tells you the good points, the bad points, the statistics, shows you before and after pictures of clients.