Munroe Regional Medical Center Bariatric Program Bariatric Center

First impression-friendly--great personality--well informed and informative to me. He answered every question I asked and I had alot. His office staff was very friendly --the lady who works with the insurance company was extreamly nice and informative. I even discussed the morbity rate with Dr. he was very open and answered all my questions and told me all the extra precautions he takes to prevent problems. The only problem I had at my visit was the chair in his exam room-it had arms and I had a hard time sitting there--uncomfertable.

I think he's great. I sent him an email when I first started researching information and he emailed me back right away. I did not see him in his office because I am on medical assistance. I saw him at the Med-Surg clinic at St. Luke's Bethlehem. Drawback, he is only there once a month. He thoroughly explained everything to me -- about surgery, after care, and discussed "apron"-ectomy.

At first impression seemed professional and very busy.

He still seems like a down to earth guy with empathy to those who have tried and failed at weight loss.

Staff is great. Rhonda walked me through the entire process. Very accessible, especially in such a busy office.

The only aftercare that I am aware of is the follow up visits and the support group that meets at the hospital.

Because I'm such a numbers junkie, I would have rather have heard statistics of his patients personally vs the overall avg of complications.

He did point out in writing and verbally several times the risks and dangers.

This doc is the best of both worlds. He has great bedside manner. Seems very "not worried" or anxious about anything. But most importantly is surgical competency. I did my research. There were only 3 docs in a 60 mile radius from where I live that I would have been comfortable trusting my life and I chose HIM.

Dr. Hoddinott was very thorough. Despite what you read about and your own personal research, listening to him helped me feel more comfortable about my decision and my husband more at ease. Everyone on staff is very knowledgeable and helpful. I did experience a bloodclot under my incision and an infection. Not knowing what was happening when the infection was leaking I had a calming reassurance from Dr. Hoddinott and his staff. Risks of surgery were discussed along with proper diet and nutrition.

I work at the hospital where Dr. Hoddinott performs surgery. I am an RN but I now work in the business side of healthcare. Initially, I considered going outside of the network to maintain my anonymity and privacy. Once I started attending the hospital's support group meetings it bacame clear that this was the surgeon, this was the place, and now was the time! I called for my appointment. His office staff mailed me prescriptions for my pulmonology consult and chest xray, psychology consult, and nutritional consult. They also told me to have my family physician submit a letter to their office containing my diet history. Since I had to wait for two months to see Dr. Hoddinott, I busied myself making the rounds to the various specialists to meet my pre-operative insurance requirements. I started right away, and I am glad that I did not waste any time since scheduling with each specialist required at least a 4 week wait. Also, I spent many hours on the internet researching bariatric information. First I met with the the dietition. She was a valuable resource of information, explaining the surgery itself and the dietary needs immediately post-op through the first year. The psyciatric and pulmonary consultations were easy. I was required to perform a breathing test, and he reviewed my chest xray films. My family physician sent in my dietary history...now I was all set! By the time I saw Dr. Hoddinott, all the leg work was done. My impressions initially would have to be exactly as I read them from other patients on this site...he put me at ease immediately, explaining the procedure, risks, and successes. He drew me an anatomical picture of the procedure and told me about the hospitalization and aftercare. Leaving his office, I felt confident that I had made the right choice coming to him. Prior to surgery, he performs an EGD to make sure that there are not stomach infections or serious conditions that may delay or modify his plans for surgery. I elected to have this done without anesthesia so that I could just walk to the GI lab from my office and drive myself home after work. Honestly, it would have been easier with the anesthesia, but the procedure was fast, and I felt that this was minor in comparison to all the pain and unhappiness I have felt in the past with regard to my size. My insurance approval arrived about a month later via letter to me and telephone call from his office telling me that they went ahead and precertified my admission. They offered to move the original surgery date up from 4/4/03 to 3/24/03. So, as of today, 3/14/03, I am eagerly awaiting my surgery. The support group at the hospital has put me in touch with many people who are progressing along the bariatric pathway. Some have not made their decision yet, others are in various stages of their post operative course. One had her surgery about a week ago. I visited her on her third day of a four day hospital stay, and she looked great! Another person is having surgery a few days before me and we are in constant contact. I am sure we will be resources for each other in the days to come. I AM SO EXCITED! I will let you know more later...

4/16/03 The surgery went as expected. All is well. I stayed in the hospital for 2 full days counting the day of surgery, going home on the morning of the third day. My incision is closing well. The staples came out last week. I have lost 17 pounds so far. I do have some food cravings, but manage to get by them in my head rather than acting upon them. I am well satisfied with the amounts of food that I do eat (much much much much less than my intake, pre-op). Dr. Hoddinott has told me to start exercising (walking) and I am scheduled to go back to work next Monday....SOOOOO I am very satisfied. Let me just say that it feels great to be on this side of the surgery (DONE)!!!! More later...

Dr. Hoddinott is very patient and professional, encouraged questions, very thorough in explaining all of the possible procedures and why ruex en Y was best for me.
His staff treated me as an individual and all have been friendly and responsive.
I was a bit wary because his is younger and has not done as many bariatric surgeries as Dr. Hoddinott however everyone I have talked to gives him rave reviews for being an outstanding trauma surgeon, no complications with the bariatric surgeries to date and extremely competent reputation.
He encourages the monthly support groups and web sites so I'm fully informed beyond what he tells me.
So far so good!

Today March 17th I had my first visit with Dr.Hoddinott. I was very impressed with his professional manor. He was very easy to talk to and he answered all my questions. I would recommend him to anyone. Well I'm on my way to the next step. Insurance approval.

Dr Hoddinot is a very nice man and very informative. He as been doing surg since 1986.My appt with him was not rushed at all. His staff that I met Erica,Rhonda and the rece ptionist were all very nice .

I had a long list of questions and he answered every one without making me feel that he was in a rush


My surg dat iiis May 6,2003

<BR><BR><font size=4 color="maroon"><B>March 2003<p>I am now 5 months post op and although I still have a few digestive issues I am glad I had this surgery [Duodenal Switch] with this surgeon at this hospital. I am down 55 to 60 pounds depending on which scale I was weighed on and by which doctor or office in which it was located....Click on my name to see my profile which also contains my before and after photos.<BR><BR><font size=3>August 1, 2002... <p>

HOORAY I had a great visit with my surgeon and if all goes smoothly I will be having surgery on Tuesday, October 1st, 2002.

But the best news of all is I will be having the Duodenal Switch rather than RNY. DS had been my first choice.

The RNY is a great operation. It is the one performed by the greatest number of surgeons, and I would not hesitate to undergo it if the DS were not available to me.

First impression of Dr. H is "what a great tan" ... what an intelligent doctor and a really great human being. He gets an A+ in people skills from me.

He was relaxed and made me feel comfortable. My husband liked him too and his approval was unsolicited.

Great office staff ... I very much enjoyed my first visit.

Dr Hoddinott from the first meeting was very compassionte and concerned about my health problems My impression over time only increased for the better as I had serious complicatins after surgery and he was very efficient about taking care of all my problems.

His office staff is very efficient and helpful they answer any questions you may have and on a timely basis no waiting around for them to call you back.

I would highly recommend him to anyone looking to have this surgery without any qualms at all.

The aftercare program is very helpful, the nutrisionist is great and they do have a support program.

Dr Hoddinott in my opinion is great, as a surgeon very competent his bedside manner is terrific he would come and sit on the bed and talk to me and reassure me that I would do great.