Dr Raftopoulos and the DS?

Hello Connecticut!

I am looking for any information you can share about Dr Raftopoulos at St Francis in Hartford  especially regarding DS surgery.  I have been told by his office that he has done and will do them if requested, but clearly he does more RNY.  Can anyone share anything to help, good or bad?  Thanks so much.

~Lois ~

I have heard nothing butt good things about him. I have no personal experience with him so I can only tell you what others have said. Good luck on this part of the journey. I think it was one of the hardest.

Hi Lois,
 
I have been under Dr. R's care for a little over a year now since switching physicians.
(I have RNY)
He is very thorough... great attention to details.. & is VERY focused on making sure his patients are successful with their WLS. 
I will be honest... he can be a little "hard core" in his approach.. however it's only because he cares on the health & well being of his patients.  I personally like & need that.
He has done an amazing job with my health over the past  1 year & I'm grateful to have him as my Dr.  
My suggestion.. go to his seminar.... get feedback from his team... & other patients... make comparisons with the other surgeons who perform the DS or RNY (if you choose to go that way)  

Best wishes,
Mickey  

Hi Lois!

I work at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center (SFHMC) in the Anesthesia department AND I'm a patient of Dr. Raftopoulos.  Prior to becoming a Dr. R patient, I did research on all the well-known doctors in CT, some in MA, NY, PA, and even OH. 

I decided to go with Dr. R. because of his reputation, the fact that he publishes all of his statistics, and the fact that his pre-op testing is so thorough.  He stated in his information session, "I may do more testing than other physicians, but I don't like surprises."  He wants to know about every single system in your body and how well it's functioning.  Once you meet him, it's clear that he is proud of the work he does and that he truely wants to help his patients. 

That said, yes, he does more RNY than anything else.  I'm not sure about the DS, although during his information session I believe he did say he does perform them.

Hope that helped some!

Hi Allison! 

Thanks for sharing.  I have actually already attended his information session and I liked what I heard and saw then, but have decided to go with the DS since then.  His office says they do them, and I am glad to hear you say that you think you remember hearing him talk about it.  I don't, but I was not thinking about the DS then.

Anyway, I have an appointment to see him on June 25, and I hope to know more about his DS experience then.  Maybe I'll see you sometime at St Francis, if things work out!  Meanwhile, thanks again for the information.

How did the June 25 visit go?

Tammy,

I'll send you a PM.

~Lois ~

Did you ever find out if he does DS? I am looking into a revision from RNY to the DS with Dr. R.

Hi-
I am a patient also with Dr. R and chose him after researching for a long time. I had my surgery on June 1, actually had the vertical sleeve gastrectomy. I really had to stress that this was the surgery for me, as he wants his patients to have the best/fastest results, which he feels is the bypass. I had many reasons for choosing the sleeve, and so far am very happy with the results. I have lost 42 lbs during this process. He is very thorough, and actually because of his testing, found out that I had a hiatial hernia. He corrected this during my surgery-like a 2 for 1 deal. He is not all warm and fuzzy, but I feel he is a very good surgeon and generally cares for his patients and wants the best for him.  Good luck to you! Laurie