Question:
Attn: COLORADO - DR. TILQUIST's patients.....

Dr. Tilquist is my surgeon, I'm scheduled for Aug. 5. I have my hospital appt and appt with him the last week of July. What should I expect, is there anything I should know, what were your experiences - did you like him, how long till you were out of the hospital - did he look for certain things before releasing you??? In general, could you just share? THANKS!    — jen41766 (posted on July 14, 2002)

July 14, 2002
Hi Jennifer, Their is a yahoo group called OSSG. May of the women in this group are post op patients of Dr T. I am a pre-op and my surgery is scheduled for Aug 26th.
   — Deb A.

July 14, 2002
Hello...Dr. T was my surgeon. I am 4 months post-op as of yesterday, and believe that he is probably the best surgeon in the state! I have not had ONE problem with my new system. I have not had a stricture, a dumping experience, or anything that many others on this site battle. I am told that Dr. T makes the stoma bigger than what other surgeons do, and that helps us not to get strictures, or have difficulty with certain foods like others have (meats, rice, etc.) For your pre-op appointment, you will spend most of that time with the surgery assistant. They will ask you a hundred health-related questions, take some blood, do an EEG, and give you the pre-op rules (like no drinking or eating after midnight, where to go, what to bring, etc.). Then with Dr. T, you'll have another chance to ask questions, they will weigh you and take your picture. The pre-op appointments are pretty easy. As far as how long you'll be in the hospital, I had surgery on a Wednesday morning, and went home Friday afternoon. He wanted me to stay until Saturday morning, but my insurance only allowed a 3-day stay. Make sure you know what your insurance will approve, otherwise you'll be paying for any extras. I brought my insurance approval with me to show the nurses. They had to call Dr. T and tell him I wasn't authorized to stay another night, so he called in a prescription for liquid Vicodin at my pharmacy, I went and picked it up and went home. The big thing he looks for before releasing you is passing the leak test, which you will probably do the morning after surgery. You will wake up with an NG tube, which suctions out "gunk" from your pouch and helps heal it. It will be removed as soon as you pass the leak test. They also want your oxygen levels up and make sure you can keep some broth and sugar-free jello down (also make sure they bring you the SUGAR-FREE stuff; I had to send my tray back twice because they brought the wrong tray in). He also wants you up and walking around as often as possible. All in all, the few days you spend in the hospital are miniscule compared to how wonderful you will start feeling about a month afterward! I will say a prayer for you! Good luck and God Bless!! (Lap RNY 3-13-2002, down 62 pounds! Woo-hoo!)
   — LaRayne H.

July 14, 2002
Dr. T is FABULOUS! On my page I put everything I remembered from surgery, feel free to read it if it will help you. There really are no surprises Dr. T will tell you everything you want to know and will answer all of your questions. I had my surgery 4-24-02 335 pounds and as of today I am 275 pounds. Good luck to you and there are support groups up at Littleton hospital the 1st and 2nd Friday of every month. The 1st Friday is a free group and made up of mostly Dr. T's patients. The 2nd Friday is the one that the nutritionist Kelly runs, it's 10.00 per session. See you on the losing side! :)
   — princessmelany

July 15, 2002
Dr. Tillquist is very nice and very competent at what he does. He treats all of his patients the same pre op as he does post op. They are not just another number, he is genuinly concerned for them. Dr. T is a quiet, reserved kinda funny guy who will answer any questions you have for him. I suggest you take a list of things you want to ask. I know that once I get in his office I forget half the things that I wanted to ask, so writing them down and taking it with you is a good idea. I had Lap proximal, and was in the hospital (Porter) three days. He visited me everyday, and let me pace my discharge according to how I felt. I have had no complaints or complications at this point and I'm almost a year out. His office staff are very friendly, Eileen will be dealing with you mostly, as she does his bariatric patients insurance and scheduling. Good Luck to you, you will be in good hands.
   — Carey N.