Duke Bariatric Program Bariatric Center

Dr Sudan is a very serious man who cares about his patients and truly wants to see us succeed at gaining a life free of obesity. He performed my biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch on 9-20-2011. The operation started around 7 AM and because of an unexpected gall bladder full of stones that had to be removed lasted 9 hours (give or take). Other than problems with my IV line (narrow veins...why they didn't put in a PICC line to begin with?!?!) my recovery has been uneventful and here I am less than a week later at home to get on with my new life. I would and have recommended Dr Sudan to other future bariatric patients. Don't expect to joke and laugh with him since he seems to be very reserved and dignified. However, I didn't want a surgeon who could be charming and funny...I wanted a top-notch bariatric surgeon who could get me safely through the operation!!! Dr Sudan definitely did that and I look forward to working with him and his staff to meet the goals I have set for myself.

I can only review Dr.Portenier for those things I've experienced. My surgery went very well overall so I can give him props for the "cut/paste" since it was supposedly under his hand. I met the Dr. one time - but luckily met his surgical intern the same day. Dr.Portenier spoke loudly enough that I actually wondered about HIS hearing. He was friendly enough and seemed to know his business - was able to answer most of my questions as long as they applied to the surgery and not the more overall services. However, I did not see him - nor did my family - at ALL the day of my surgery. He called for me to come up to the OR early and then still did not take me until after my scheduled time. Even though I was then running a little late - they did not tell my family that so my family thought I'd been in surgery for hours when I really had just gotten into the OR. After the surgery, instead of meeting with my folks, the doctor asked them (via a nurse) to call the OR so that he could speak to them. My mother believed the worst and was in tears. In reality, Dr.Portenier had just moved on to the next patient - I can only hope that he/she was not open on the surgical table waiting as he spoke with my family over the phone! I was not able to see Dr.Portenier at the 3week follow up either as he was unavailable. All of the other staff members at the Duke Weight Loss Center have been great - but Dr.Portenier has not yet earned my stars. I mentioned this to his nurse and she suggested that we schedule my next appointment on a day that he was sure to be around and she would make a point of pulling him into our appointment. That sounds good, but isn't it a shame that such needs to be done in order for a doctor to actually see his own patient!

Love him and Dr. Lee, They are the best!

Dr. Ranjan Sudan is a wonderful surgeon. He has a wealth of knowledge. I highly recommend him for the RNY procedure. He is somewhat humble about all of his accomplishments that I have read about. I also loved his nurse practitioner, Kitza. She is great! So far I have no complaints about the Duke Weight Loss Surgery Center or Durham Regional Hospital. Everything went well. My recovery was slower than I had hoped, but I think that was just me.

My first impression of Dr. Portenier was very good. He was very informative and took the time to answer in depth all of my questions. My surgery went so much better than i expected. I had virtually no soreness after the first 24 hours and his PA was so good during aftercare. I am two weeks post op and will see him again in one week. The only complaint I had was with the triage nurse at the clinic, Barbara. She was abrupt with me on the phone when I called 3 days post op with a question about my fluids. She needs to remember that we the patients and our insurance companies are paying her salary. I plan to let Dr. Portenier know, but that was the only problem I've had with Duke WLS Clinic. Everything else.......BRAVO!!!!!

Dr. Sudan is a great Doctor. He is quiet, but he knows his stuff. He is very confident in his work and does a great job. My surgery went well. The staff at Duke did a great Job at returning my calls and the insurance department did a great job at getting all of the required papers and documentation that I needed to get insurance approval. I look forword to working with Dr. Sudan in maining my aftercare. He's a great Doctor!

2/18/11 Surgery went great. He did a very good job!! I give Dr. Sudan a big Thumbs Up! I've had a few questions/issues and he came to the office between surgeries to see and chat with me. Gave me his opinion, and did a diagnostic test just to confirm. All seems to be OK, but I was very pleased with the attention he gave to my concerns.

I met Dr. Portenier during the group meeting 2 weeks before surgery. He wasn't going to be able to make it to the meeting but we requested him since I hadn't had the opportunity to meet him. He seemed really nice. I spoke with him again right before surgery when he told me he was changing my procedure from regular to the navel procedure. I didn't like that very much. I didn't have the opportunity to research the new procedure and prepare myself for it, however, I trusted him. After the procedure, he did stop by the hospital to see me. I was in a lot of pain so I only remember this briefly. That was the extent of my interactions with Dr. Portenier. His staff was ok. They had all of the information. The Clinic staff is GREAT. They are very nice, always smiling, very patient, etc. I enjoy it every time I have to go to the clinic. Overall, this is a good experience.

Dr.Portenier is the most kind, warm, comical, down to person ever!'
He is very, very confident in what he does and you can tell he truly enjoys his job!
He really makes you understand what all the procedures will be and assures you that he is going to take care of you..i love him!!!!!!!

My first impression of Dr. Sudan was that he came across as very serious but I liked that. He was very thorough in answering my questions and very forth coming with information. The office staff have all been to my satisfaction thus far. I can't say that I least like anything about Dr. Sudan, so far I have no complaints. I love the fact that he wanted to know and meet the person that would be giving me aftercare; and he did. I am currently developing an aftercare program with my surgeon. He addressed my risk of surgery, as well as the whole staff team, in a very straightforward way. Nothing was sugar coated but at the same time I felt safe enough to go through with this despite the risk factors. Overall, results of surgery pending, I would rate Dr. Sudan a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10 simply b/c I need to have more interaction with him to know for sure, but so far I like what I've seen. Both are great, but surgical competence far outweigh, for me anyway, bedside manner.