Dirk I Rodriguez Bariatric Surgeon

I really like my surgeon. He is very straight forward with you. He's not promising magic. He expects us to work. He told my husband that he is glad he will support and help me, but not to enable me. I had to be self sufficient. To know how to do my own food, exercise, and other needs. I understand he helps to train other surgeons. The last appointment I had there was a local news station doing a commentary on him. He seems like he will be great with follow up care. He does Laproscopic and Hand Assist RNY along with Lap Band. He makes me feel safe.

I fell in love with Dr. Rod when I first met him.
I never felt like a number. I had met with several doctors who made me feel like they were herding cattle. They never directly spoke to me or looked me in the eye.
Dr. Rod made me feel confortable about him and his abilities in just a few minutes. I felt like "Things were going to be OK" at the first office visit.
After I was approved and the surgery was scheduled I still felt that he was interested in helping me not just putting another notch in his surgery belt.
The day of surgery he really made me comfortable and I had no worries.
All went well.

5 monthes later I have lost 88lbs. He has been encouraging in the office visits and I love that he tells it how it is and looks me straight in the eye.

Dr. Rod is the complete package. He has a great presance about him. He knows what he is doing and his beside manner is great as well. I would and have reccommend him to my friends who are interested in the surgery.

my first impression of dr. rodriguez was that he was very professional and definitely very intelligent & a perfectionist. the only thing i did not like was that he did not spend but about 10 minutes with me on my first visit. he was very kind when it came to surgery time & he always walks in & calls you good-looking or gorgeous. he is very complimentary. his office staff is wonderful. his nurse karen has had several lengthy conversations with me when i was having some troubles after surgery. they get very excited for you when you are approved for surgery. they are also very thorough. the only thing i did not like about the doctor was that when i had some troubles after surgery and had to go back into the hospital he implied that i was lying about my symptoms and said that anything i was experiencing was not from the surgery. i got the impression that he doesn't like to admit any flaws in his surgeries. i found out later that many people had the same problems i did and it was due to some medication i was given after the surgery and the surgery itself. it all settled down after about 2 months. he does have a very structured aftercare program. he wants to see you every 2 to 3 months for a year after surgery. he emphasizes that the surgery is only a tool and that you must exercise regularly, eat a lot of protein & drink a lot of water. he is a very competent doctor & has a very low incidence of complications from his surgeries. i think that he could listen a little more to the problems you are having and take into consideration that it might be due to the surgery and not always the patient's fault. i did feel very safe going into surgery under his care.

My first impression of Dr Rodriguez was that he was kind, confident and extremely thorough. I got the impression that he has the process worked out like a well oiled, well monitored machine. He is friendly and sensitive to questions and concerns, but occasionally I felt like I was given cookie cutter answers. I think this is probably because there are only a few creative ways to say the same thing a thousand times. His office staff has always been friendly and professional, no one has ever come across as rushed or bothered by my or my husband's questions. I would pass on to other patient's considering him as their surgeon to not expect someone who is going to hold your hand and baby you and try to win you over emotionally. He comes across as an intellectual type who has spent alot of his time on perfecting this surgery. He knows his stuff and it shows. He is VERY ADAMANT about his after care. You even sign a contract for success where you promise to follow his after care program. It is very structured with a dietician and exercise specialist that meets with you from DAY ONE. I had 3 pages of questions and he went through every one of them with me and jotted down his answers for me even after I suggested that most had been answered in the seminar earlier that morning. On a scale of 1-10, I would give him and his staff an 8. The only thing that may make them a 10 is if they were a bit more pampering, but in reality, I would take surgical competence over touchy feely gushing any day.

My first impression of Dr. Babineau was favorable. He seems to have a sense of humor which is a good thing. The people around him consider us as people not numbers. He seemed the same way. He is young, this can be a very good thing and sometimes a bad thing, I'm counting on the good things. He doesn't stress aftercare as much as I'd like but I have a very strong support system and I've only seen him once so...

One really good thing about Dr. Babineau, he looks you in the eye. This is a very good thing.

Don't have any negatives yet but will list them if and when the occur.

I had my pre-op with Dr. Babineau on Tues. the 6th and everything was a go. I preregistered for the hospital and I was very excited. Ready and willing. The doctor was ready and so was I. Spent more than half the day.

On Wednesday August the 7th he had his nurse call me and cancelled the surgery. His reasons were somewhat spurious to me. He declined to do my surgery because of the high risk (dah!), my orthopedic problems, I have bad knees, one of the reasons I'm having the surgery and my psychological problems. What psychological problems? I don't have any that would preclude the surgery. I have some but my psychologist is 100% behind the surgery! I am completely cleared for this surgery by my M.D., my orthopedic doctor, and my Psychologist. But Dr. Babineau didn't even have the courtesy to call himself to cancel my surgery, two days prior to my surgery mind you, he had his nurse do this. I feel that is he was uncomfortable doing my surgery he at least owed me the courtesy of calling me himself and the courtesy of a reference or two to a doctor who would be willing and capable of doing my surgery. He is too young and obviously a coward if he cannot face his patients when he changes his mind. I'm highly disappointed in him.

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Picked my new surgeon. Dr. Dirk Rodriguez in Palestine, TX. He is a very well established surgeon with the experience and knowledge to do the surgery. On the first visit he discouraged me from having the surgery at his hospital because of my physical problems. After a month or more of searching for another surgeon and not finding one where I could even see a doctor for more than 4 months, I called Dr. Rodriguez and asked him to do my surgery. He was more than willing to do so.

Bless him. He took only two weeks to schedule my surgery, did a great job and was straightforward about the risks, my part in recovery and post-op.

He is up front but compassionate. He seems to understand the problems of extreme obesity and will help as he is capable. He is insistent on you taking care of your part.

I like him. And he has a really great staff. You will love Karen.

It is now 10 months after my surgery. I have lost 175 pounds. Not bad for someone the doctor really didn't feel would be a great success! Snicker, Dr. R. fooled you. Dr. R is a great guy and extremely supportive. He is very realistic, and knows that people that have the amount of weight to lose that I did frequently cannot succeed even with RNY. We can only succeed a little. But I fooled him, pleasantly. So far I've lost 175 pounds, am currently at a plateaux, but will continue until I've got all the weight off and I owe it myself and to Dr. R. He is helpful if I have a problem and supportive whether there are problems or not.

This is a doctor who cares about his patients and has the staff who also cares. I highly recommend him. He is knowledgeable, caring and most importantly, no nonsense, he won't lie to you.

He will tell it like it is. Risks, your responsibilities, your needs after the surgery, and all you are facing. The lifelong commitment you are making. This guy knows what he is doing and what he is talking about and he will turn you down if he doesn't think you are serious about this or don't need it. A very Good man!

The only bad thing I have to say about Dr. R is that he didn't tell me that he didn't think I'd succeed at the surgery. He told my doctors but not me. Shame on him, he should have known that I love a good challenge. TeeHee, I win! He considered me a huge success at 80 pounds now he can chuckle all the time!

Dr. Rodriguez was a very nice, direct, compassionate, intellectual, comforting, educated man. His staff is very helpful and patient. Dr. Rod has a very structured aftercare program that includes a strict diet and exercise regimen.

My first impression of Dr. Rodriquez is that he is a very caring person about his patients. It got better I like him more just for talking to him and meeting with hime. His staff is very nice and percise they believe in doing there job and not lingering on, they didnt even make me wait on my paperwork they usually make u pay and then send u info or even talk not there office they sent me everything I needed and I didnt even half to pay untill I got to the hospital. They that are very caring about there patients and I would recommend him and staff to everyone. He emphasize alot on aftercare for his patients to make sure they are doing what they are suppose to do. He also emphasizes on exercise (dont get alarmed arthritis patients), I have arthritis and they showed me ways to exercise to. He lets u know that there are rish but he also lets u know what the risk would be if I didnt have surgery. I rate him a 10+++++++. I know that he seems very surgical competent but I will let u know about the bedside manner.

Dr. Dirk is great. He knows what he's doing. He answered all my questions, and told me what he expected of me up front. Oh yea, he's pretty good looking too! =)~ Karen, Dr Dirks nurse coordinator is great! She's so nice and very down to earth. The rest of the staff is great too. I did have a few misunderstandings with Andrea who deals with the insurance aspect of the surgery. Everything worked out just fine though. They are all very polite. The only thing I didn't like about going to the seminar is I had to pay $100. I think he's now charging $150 or so. Dr Dirk makes you sign a contract for success. It states that you WILL exercise, seek mental help if needed, and follow the dietary guidelines they set for you.

My first impression was that he was very friendly and very much able to make you feel comfortable.My impression changed over time when I began having problems, and he kept telling me I had done something wrong. I am a nurse, I was a "Poster cild" type patient. I measured everthing , I was careful, followed the rules to the "T".I worked for a Dr who watched every bite I put in my mouth. But after having the 1st surgery in 2-99 and loosing over100lbs I SUDDENLY began having NO restriction at all & gaining weight after about 16-18 months I think. Finally after getting my lawyer to call Dr, molina, he agreed to re-do the band. So in April 2001 I had it done & man it was tight & still is I had an upper gi done a couple weeks ago & they said it is approx. 15cc's in size. I've lost almost 200 lbs now & am VERY happy. I appreciate that Dr. Molina re-did it, but I didn't appreciate the way he made me feel when it failed the 1st time.It is my impression that it is the surgeons RESPONSIBILITY to do in-person follow ups- he does one over the phone. Which I was told by another surgeon that was unheard of in the state of Texas.I mean, if you feel okay with this thats cool, but I felt(being a nurse) that he needed to see me in person.If you consider having this surgery,Dr Molina is a very good surgeon and is obviously very qualified, but you should have several surgeons in mind, check them out, talk to some of thier patients... I am thankful to have lost the weight.But I didn't feel it was a "PERSONAL" Dr/Pt bond, like my other friends felt after thier surgeries with thier Dr's. His very informative pre-surgery (required) seminar was in my opinion) full of "HIMSELF" His statistics showed that he is almost perfect, and he did not mention any re-dos and why they were redone, to my recollection anyway.Overall I would rate him a 7-8 on a scale of 1-10. The hospital was very neat, clean,& officent, I was taken good care of by the nurses.His office staff was very knowledgable and helpful.His office nurse Jean, was a sweet,smart & friendly nurse.She always returned my calls promptly or had him call me.These were just my personal impressions of my own experience and I am making no statements about what anyone else has experienced.

My Surgeon is Doctor Dirk Rodriguez formerly from Palestine Texas newly relocated to the big D and I do mean Dallas Texas.


All I can say one word Genius!!

Thank you Dr Rod Im on my way to a new Life. of losing :)


Christine Holguin