Saline Memorial Surgical Weight Loss Services Bariatric Center
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My first impression of Dr. Luttrell was than he was kind and nonjudemental, which is rare when you meet a physician and you are obese. His office staff included Karen who also seemed kind but the day I went she did not follow up on my surgery date and misplaced all the contact information I gave her for my primary care physician. When I called about this she was very, very apologetic and then took care of it immediately. I still have confidence in her skills and abilities; I just apparently caught her on a very busy afternoon or on a bad day, which we all have sometimes. Aftercare has not been discussed in dept yet. He did make sure my PCP was willing to follow some of my aftercare since I am 2 hours away and was more than willing to work with my PCP. Dr. Luttrell gave a power point presentation and he definitely addressed the risks. I had researched enough that this was nothing new to me but the friend that went with me is now more nervous than ever. I feel surgical competence is the most important but then again I did not choose a surgeon within 30 minutes of my home because of his reported bedside manner.
Dr. Luttrell is a very caring doctor. He and his office manager, Karen Williams, went above and beyond to make my aunt and I feel comfortable and help us get this approved quickly. Mine was approved after first letter. My aunt has still not been approved and both Dr. Luttrell and Karen have done EVERYTHING they can to assist her in this. They take the time to answer any and all questions and explain things thoroughly. A+++
My first impression of Dr. Luttrell was on the phone, he seemed to be happy to anwer any questions I had pre op and was not at all put off by frequent,daily, phone calls. He was not always there when I called and his staff anwered my questions, but when he was he was very accessible.
My impression of him changed little after we met in person and I had the surgery. He answered my questions and made sure I was takem care of during my stay in the hopsital.Post op, I called alot and because I live out of state he nade hinself very available to me and my calls. He even took a call on a Friday night at 9pm!! (I paniced for nothing)He was really nice about it.
His office staff was very helpful and Karen was always trying to get me the answers I nedded ASAP. She is a good egg. Madeline and Judy were the best too. And Angela Moussa, the dietician, was a blast to meet.
Dr. Luttrell is very quiet, but very skilled and knowlegable.
He stress aftercare, but since I am out of state my personal Doc is handling the tests and checkups and will send info to Dr Luttrell. He has been very accomodating.
He explained all the details of what could happen and left me with no illusions, this is major surgery.
I wouls rate him as a very competent and skilled surgeon who does a great job. I will and have reccommended to others.
Both competence and manner were excellent.Like I said he is quieter than I would have liked. You just have to the right questions to ask and he is very happy to help.
I met Dr. Luttrell on 1-25-05 and he came in to introduce himself while i was weighing in. I went to his seminar and he seemed really nice and seems to know what he is doing. He answered questions and I did not feel like I was being talked down to. I am hoping I will be able to have the lap band surgery, but I am having to wait for the insurance approval right now.
Rex performed my wife's (Roseann Allen-Matthews) gastric bypass surgery in February of 1999. She had undergone radiation therapy for cervical cancer several years earlier and, because of this, many of her internal organs are fused together and had a large number of abdominal adhesions. All of which made performing her surgery very difficult and no one was surprised when she developed several complications.
Rex was always extremely responsive to Roseann's needs -- even to the extent of giving up a holiday with his family when she went to the ER on Labor Day with a surgical wound infection. My already high personal regard for Rex was vastly increased when I remarked that this procedure could have been performed by his clinic's on-call surgeon and he replied "I know, but I just couldn't let somebody else work on her." That attitude pretty much sums up Rex's comittment to his patients.
I should point out that, as of October 2004, Roseann has lost 90% of her excess weight, reaching her lowest weight early in 2001. She has since regained 16 pounds (this is a typical occurrance called "bounce"), but says that she would readily do it all again, despite all the problems she had.
She now enjoys a normal diet (excluding ice cream and other sweets), no longer suffers from lower joint pain, fits comfortably into almost any chair, no longer wakes me up at night with her snoring -- in short, a "normal" life.
The year following Roseann's surgery, we designed and launched Rex's web site (now on the web at www.weight-loss-surgeon.com) and I still (as of 10/29/04) maintain the site and perform internet P.R. functions for him. Roseann and I both consider Rex a friend and, even after almost 6 years, he still asks how she is doing almost every time I call him regarding a web site matter.
Negative Comments?
Even though this site encourages members to balance the praise with "negative" or "neutral" comments, I really can't find anything bad to say about Dr. Luttrell. He is competent, kind and thoroughly comitted to caring for his patients. I am very impressed by the fact that he also emphasizes proper nutrition as a necessary part of reaching and maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle.
Conclusion:
The recent publicity surrounding weight loss surgery undergone by Celebrities such as Carnie Wilson, Roseanne Barr and Al Rokor has caused a flood of new surgeons and clinics into the field, with the predictable result that the number of deaths and serious complications has increased -- most of which are due to the surgeon's or hospital's lack of training and/or experience. If you are considering weight loss surgery, you should select both a surgeon and hospital based on their experience, reputation and comittment to their bariatric patients -- Dr. Luttrell certainly qualifies in this regard.
Obligatory Disclaimer:
At ObesityHelp's suggestion, I will here state that the above is based on my personal experience with Dr. Luttrell, and I cannot make any promise or warranty as to the experience of others.
He was very nice during our first meeting. His office staff was very accomadating when it came time to schedule my surgery date. I called in at the first of March, within 2 wks I went for my consultation and had my surgery on the 22th. It was all very fast but this is how I wanted it.
He was very informative in our intial meeting even though I had been thru this process before with about 3-4 other docs. His after care includes visits every 3 months and he is always just a phone call away. I have my lab drawn every 6 months here in my home town and his staff always informs me of any needed changes.
I would rate Dr. Lutrell and his staff a 10+. I have nothing negative to say about my whole experience so far. Even my mother was impressed and she is a hard sell!
I went to the Bariatric Center at St Vincent with my husband in May of 2004 to get a letter sent to my insurance company. I met Dr. Ozment who was very informative and soothing yet realistic.
On June 28th I had an insurance approval and 60 days to have my surgery done. Finally on July 21st at the Pre-Op visit, I met Dr. Lutrell. WOW! Was he ever nice and very personable. He put all of my fears to rest and answered all of my questions - even the silly ones that didn't relate to the surgery! I was so thankful and excited that this was the center that I would be involved with for my Open Gastric Bypass.
St. Vincent Health System's Bariatric Program is wonderful and I'm really looking forward to joining the support group on the first Thursday night of the month.
The staff is really great too!!! Judy and Madaline as well as Angela have been so great in scheduling and answering all of my questions and not making me feel like the FAT person that most Medical Offices do. These poeple are sinceerely there to help their patients out - not just to make money.
Very friendly office staff. Michelle is great. When I talked to her on the phone I was very impressed. Dr. Luttrell was very open to answering questions for us and I really enjoyed our visit. Office was very comfortable. I have had to call Michelle a few times to ask questions and she has been helpful.
I have met with him one time so far, and he was informative, but the seminar from Dr. Ozment is priceless.
I met with Dr. Luttrell again today. He is very nice. He is more than willing to answer any questions that you may have. I have researched him and sent my letter to the medical board. It came back and I am happy with the results.