Dirk I Rodriguez Bariatric Surgeon

I had my first appointment at Dr Dirk Rodriguez office in Dallas on Thurday March 18,2004. We had a seminar for the first part of the day until 12:15 the information they give is very helpful. Karen, his nurse, is a wonderful person and eager to answer any questions anyone has she has a lot of knowlegde and compasion. We also got to hear about Nutrition and Exercise to learn what we have in store for us. The second half of the day was spent waiting to see the doctor himself and his insurance lady. Dr Rodriguez is great, his is very much to the point too, if you are smoker you need to stop now. I love that about him, he does not hem haw around anything, no sugar coating going on from him. I am very happy with my choice of surgeon, he has done over 500 surgeries, that is reassuring and he even trains other doctors how to do the hand assisted laproscopy. The main thing to remember about this surgery is that you HAVE to abide by all the aftercare rules, if you are not prepared to do the things required of you to be healthy after surgery then you should not even consider having it.
I am looking forward to having this surgery soon. Good luck.

I felt like he was stern and serious but fair.
I think he's the greatest. My life saver.
Friendly and supportive.
I like everything about him.
Be sure you want the surgery and follow his instrutions to the T.
Not much.
Gives patients instructions and expects patient to take heed.
Yes
OUTSTANDING
bOTH ARE GREAT

Dr. Rodriguez is a professional and congenial man. I really didn't have many questions because all the information that is provided at the first consultation, tells you absolutely everything. He listened to the few questions I had and answered them exact. I have to say he expects his patients to follow the guidelines set forth due to the fact that he wants his patients to reach their goals to a healthy life. I have the utmost confidence in his skill. His staff is as professional and congenial as he is. I am happy with my decision to have Dr. Rodriguez perform this surgery and to have him and his staff take care of me through my surgery and my post-op time. I would highly recommend the Texas Bariatric Center to anyone that is considering having Gastric By-pass surgery.

My first time going to his office was a very pleasant experiance because I went without setting an appointment. I was actually waiting on a phone call back from them so I decided to show up and make one in person. The entire staff is very nice and cordial. They answered all of my questions. Dr. Rodriguez has a very air-tight system and gets all tests and procedures handled in a timely matter. He is very confident which is a plus for a doctor in my opinion. I took less than a month to get all tests and paperwork processed and had a date in far less time than other doctors that I've researched. I'd recomend him to anyone.

When I first saw Dr. Rodriguez, he seemed to be a very straight and to the point kind of fellow. As I met with him, he was very personable and answered my questions. He was very straight forward with me. I appreciated that. The staff was very friendly and informative. They are willing to help you in anyway possible. In regards to after care, Dr. Rodriguez and his staff was very pertinent about your following his program to a tea. That includes exercise and following the post-op diet as directed. During the consultation, the staff was very informative in regards to the risks of the surgery. They did not try to sugar-coat anything. Overall, I would rate Dr. Rodriguez and his staff a 9 and a half. Highly recommend them. You are a patient for life.

My first impression of Dr. Rodriguez was that he is very professional and seems to have thought of everything that could get in the way of your success and implimented a plan to help you succeed. His office staff is very helpfula dn friendly.
After care appears to be just as important as the surgery itself. He has a nutrientist and exercise physiologist to help with before during and after care! This really helped my husband to feel secure about me having the surgery. So far I would rate him the best in his field. Also, he very honest and up front with the questions I had for him during my consult. One being how many of his patients have died from WLS. One. I was well pleased with his answer.

My first impression of Dr Rodrigues was that he was very personable and professional. I actually arrived at the hospital about an hour early for my consult. Dr Rodrigues was the first member of the staff there, He saw me sitting there and asked if I was wasiting for him, I asked if he was Dr. Rodriguez and he said yes,so I said yes. He invited me in and offered a comfortable seat, then said the others would be there soon.Linda his nurse did the consult and there were 3 other patients there.It was very informative. My appointment with Dr R was at 2:30 so I had a wait. He was running behind, but that didn't bother me. I am used to waiting at the Dr office. I only had two questions for him, What kind of procedure and how long out of work. he looked at my stomach and listened to my heart and lungs, and said probably hals. and about 4-6 weeks. At the hospital my surgery went great and he came to check on me daily,Again I had no problems so I had no questions,I did a lot of research ahead of time. My last day in the hospital he talked to me about the changes I was about to go through and thanked me for letting him take care of me.I have just started after care, have not had my first followup uet so I really cannot judge that yet.At this point I have 0 complaints,I have already recommended him to 5 or 6 other people.

When I finally met him he seemed nice.
He was running so late I did not have a full appointment time.
He has been very good at following up with me and trying to schedule an early surgery date.
I have heard great things about him.
too bad for me I did not feel we were a match.
His office staff left quite alot to be desired.
I supose I did not like waiting fortwo hours and that he did not give the seminar himself.
After care is very important to him.

I would not give a high overall rating.

Of course surgical competence is most important.
I have heard he is very good at what he does.
I need both.

Of corse this is just in my opinion.
I would have tried to book another appointment bases on information that other patients have given me.
His office is just a bit too far if I have to wait too long.

I FIRST HEARD ABOUT DR.R ABOUT 3MONTHS AGO FROM A NEWS REPORT ON CHANNEL 8 NEWS. THE STORY WAS TALKING ABOUT HIS NEW WAY OF WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY (HAND ASSISTED LAPROSCOPIC SURGERY AKA HALS). DURING THIS STORY THEY TALKED ABOUT HOW DR RODRIGUEZ DOES HAND ASSISTED TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING GOES WELL. AFTER VIEWING THAT SPECIAL, I LOOKED DR R. UP IN THE DIRECTORY ( I WORK FOR VERIZON SO THAT WAS NOT REAL HARD TO FIND) I CALLED AND LEFT A MESSAGE AND HIS NURSE JUDY CALLED ME BACK AFTER ABOUT 2 WEEKS. SHE CALLED AND GAVE ME THE SCOOP ON DR R. AND HIS SURGERY AND GAVE ME INFORMATION ON THEIR BATRIATIC CLINIC. SHE TOLD ME HOW DR. R HAD JUST MOVED TO DALLAS FROM PALESTINE. TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT, I DIDNOT SCHEDULE AN APPT WITH JUDY THAT DAY, I MADE THE MISTAKE OF SCHEDULING AN APPT WITH A DIFFERENT SURGEON (DR. STEPHEN HAMM). DURING MY VISIT WITH DR. HAMM, HE MADE ME FEEL AS THOUGH THE LAPBAND WAS MY ONLY CHOICE OF SURGERY, HE FLAT OUT SAID HE WOULD NOT PERFORM GASTRIC BYPASS AND IF THATS WHAT I WANTED I NEEDED TO FIND A DIFFERENT SURGEON. I AGREED TO THE LAPBAND 01/14/04. AT THAT TIME I DIDNT KNOW ABOUT THIS SITE, AFTER SURFING THIS SITE AND DOING MY RESEARCH ON BYPASS, I DECIDED THE HALS IS WHAT WILL WORK BEST FOR ME. DR. RODRIGUEZ HOSTED A FREE SEMINAR 01/31/04 AT METHODIST HOSPITAL, I ATTENDED THAT SEMINAR AND GOT TO PERSONALLY MEET DR. RODRIGUEZ, HE IS VERY FRIENDLY (AND HANDSOME TOO). I TOLD HIM HOW I HAD BEEN IN CONTACT WITH JUDY, BUT HAD POSTPONED MAKING A DECISION BUT I WAS SURE I WAS READY NOW, HE THANKED ME FOR COMING AND ANSWERED THE FEW QUESTIONS I HAD. ON MONDAY 020204, I CALLED JUDY AND SCHEDULED MY INITIAL CONSULT FOR 02/11/04. SO LETS CROSS OUR FINGERS THAT EVERYTHING GOES WELL. I STILL HAVENT HEARD ANYTHING FROM MY VISIT WITH DR. HAMM ON 01/14/04. I HOPE THIS DOESNT HINDER ME GETTING AN APPROVAL.

=Dr Rodriguez seemed to be a very busy man, but also straightforward. He let us know that the surgery was ONE tool and we had to develop self discipline and other tools to work with it to be a success. He also was straightforward about the fact that if we were not willing to work on all the facets of our weightloss, then we should find a different surgeon.
=His office staff has always been very pleasant and efficient.
=If I would have to 'like something least' then it would be that he runs behind schedule on his appointments often- BUT it is my iumpression that that is only because he is in surgery or spending extra time with the hospital bound patients- which- in fact is perfectly fine with me. It told me (pre-op)that he would take all the time I needed to make sure I was on my best footing- and it lets me know post op that this is what he is doing for others who are(taking their turn)in the hospital.
=The aftercare was fine. There was enough wires coming off me and onto monitors and things that that I could have lits south Pittsburgh if I could generate electricity ( grin) but it let me know that I was being closely watched at the nurses desk.
=Dr. Rodriguez' staff held an educatinal class before our initial appointment that addressed all the questions anyone inthe room had, all the risks of the surgery, the benefits of HAL,and let us know that this was a serious life changing step.
=How would I rate Dr. Rodriguez- simply by recommending him to my friends and peers who are considering this as a future option.
=which is better- being treated with compassion and respect is better..before and after surgery. Dr. Rodriquez does this quite well. Though he can be brusque- I realized it was because he had a pressing schedule, and if we ever indicated a need or concern he quickly set aside those issues to answer all of our questions and reassure us. I appreciate that he always treated us as intelligent people, even on this topic where he knew so much more than we did/do.