Patient invite/great information!

A patient of mine invited me to jump into this message board.  Great job to all of you guys.  Everything I have read here is straightforward, factual, honest, direct excellent information.  I wish all of my patients came to my office with this information.  I am definitely going to direct all the guys who come to see me, to jump into these threads.  I hope you guys don't mind me jumping in and providing some extra information (straight from the horse's mouth-so to speak), when more details are requested.  The information and posts here certainly warm my heart.  It reaffirms that I am giving the right information to all of my patients prior to & after surgery. 

Plus, I have gotten beat up from time to time over on the other boards, that are dominated by the fairer gender!

We may need to consider posting Man Laws or Man rules on this board!

Good luck to you and good health to all of you.

Dr. Dirk Rodriguez

Deaconess Hospital

Cincinnati, OH

Any information given in this message is general and not intended to address specific medical concerns. Always seek advice from your bariatric surgeon or personal doctor.

Dr Dirk.... we just had a man law conference...the only sure rule.... No Drama... besides that....saggy nuts, boils on you Azz, constant woodies, depression, exercise, ******g in ice cream, running in a marathon...being able to trim you own corns...all fair play.... and you know what....we have a pretty good myth busting squad too....busting up some of the urban legends.... so jump right in.... Now talk to us about this unusual hair that sprouts out of unusual places..... russ ps...did we just get a spell check on this board>>>>>???

Thank you for posting on our forum.  I'm a little skeptical, so I looked you up in the surgeons section of ObesityHelp.com to make sure you are legit.  You do check out. After looking at the number and types of surgeries that you do, I was wondering how you choose which type to do.  Do you reserve the open RNY for your super morbidly obese patients?   Did you start out doing mostly open RNYs and gradually increased the number of lap RNYs and lab Band surgeries?  I ask the latter question since I know that lap wasn't done very often when you started doing the bariatric surgery. Finally, I really find it hard to believe that anyone would beat up a medical professional on any board, but I've been posting on ObesityHelp.com since July, 2000 and it has changed as it has grown exponentionally.  Part of that problem may be in trying to be all things to all people.  When I first joined, the only thing discussed on the site was weight loss surgery and its effects on patients.  We were all just WLS patients and there wasn't all of this sniping among members. But, things have changed.  This is still the best site for most of us to use for information and support. I hope you will continue to contribute to our forum.

Thanks dude.  I understand you checking the creds. Expect it. Wish they would do so on the "fairer" side. I do not choose surgery for my patients. Not ethical for me to do so, unless they are really about to jump in to the bucket of organic debris. Meaning that they are going to choose a surgery that will not produce the results they need medically. Hey, You calling me old! When I started...!!! I try to do lap and start all my cases Lap until it is impossible to do so, or not safe to do it lap.  I have done lap or HAL (Hand assisted laparoscopic) on BMI's of 100. I'm an old USAF warhorse (Gulf War 1), takes alot for me not to be able to do a case Lap, but it does happen. I do what is safest for the patient, not what is fanciest. I do open surgery if it is revisional surgery - VBG to RNY. I have converted Lap Band to RNY via lap. I am now converting Lap Band to sleeve gastrectomy via lap. I ask for my patients to trust me.  Any ideas to improve or increase my credibility and my desire to help folks " on the far side" is greatly appreciated! Thanks to all of you. You have my promise of straight up, common sense answers. If I can;t answer it here, I'll give you my office number . Good health to all of you! THis is a great board! Dr. Dirk

thanks for lending a hand doc.

i've been here for a while and i remember a couple of guys on the board being physicians as well. once you have the surgery you're all equal here.....lol. they got to really see it from our side and had tons of questions. yeah, we just shoot straight from the hip and never play doctor. we have a resident obi-wan named Dx. no doubt you've heard of him. so please post if you think there's anything we ought to know about and please come in just to hang with us. we're crude, rude and a lot of fun! oh, and we try not to ask if you think my ass looks fat in these pants! carbonblob

Wow - having a real doctor post here will be invaluable!  That way those of us who think we know what we're talking about have some checks and balances to be safe. Like they said - "No Drama" is the most important rule.  Otherwise, excessive flatulance, rediscovery of one's penis and bragging about it, strange ways to defeat cravings (the afrementioned urinating in ice cream), it's all fair game. Welcome!

Welcome to the Men’s Forum Doc! I did a survey of Bariatric Surgeons back in ’06 for a Conference seminar, and the approx. number of Male patients seems to still be around 18% of total people seeking Bariatric Surgery. On the converse, Men seem to lead the way for Co-morbidities resulting from Obesity. Any suggestions on how to get more men off their couches and in to a Dr. to get some weight loss program started, even if it’s not weight loss surgery? Some ‘target marketing’ could really go a long way toward improving the mortality rates among men over 50. Drop in when you get a chance! It would be great to have a doc’s opinion on some of the topics that pop up.  Best Wishes- Dx

Dr. Dirk!!!!  I'm so glad you found the forum I told you about.  Guys this is/was my surgeon and he is fantastic!  Please welcome him within the locker room!   You'll find he is straightforward and answers questions/comments very directly.  I am proud to have chosen him as my WLS surgeon and I know you guys will like him. He doesn't like the drama either!  Well Dr. Dirk!

Yeah that was supposed to be welcome Dr. Dirk! You need a picture!

Welcome aboard Doc!! It's great to have a WL Surgeon on here. There are some really knowledgeable guys here who are helping us pre-op folks a bunch. You will certainly be an asset to those of us waiting to have the surgery and get started on our journey to a new, slimmer and healthier life!  Again, welcome. Look for to your insight and expert advice.