Dirk I Rodriguez Bariatric Surgeon

Good.
Office staff was nice and informative.
He seems to care. Good bedside manner so far.
He emphasizes after care a lot...exercise.

Showed me the risk first...told me that they should scare me.
Bedside manner best so far....wanting to talk to some of his patients.

3/3/03 Well I;m 10 days post op and today I feel really good. I will not lie, ut the first 4-5 days after were a 9 on the scale of 1-10 for "not having a good day" scale. Dr. Rodriguez was great in the hospital...he was even sick and was still great. The surgery went really well from what he told me. The ICU nurses were wondeful. When I was moved to a regular room I was not as satisfied with my care. I think the patient to nurse ratio is a little high. Luckily I spent more time in ICU with my 3 wonderful nurses.

***12/19/2002 PRE-CONSULTATION***
I have received a very thorough, but brief packet of information from Dr. Rodriguez' office. Karen is the WLS coordinator and Judy is the insurance coordinator. Pleasant staff, explained things clearly, quite prompt once the ball got rolling. The packet included a booklet about the procedure, risks, benefits and what post-op commitments would be required.It had a (relatively short) set of forms to be completed before the appointment. It had discounts for a motel and pharmacy nearby, and a pretty good map.(It's not like Palestine is a HUGE place!) The map was useful because the staff had marked the motel and pharmacy as well as the medical center on it. These little touches, which probably cost very little to Dr. Rodriguez' practice, make a big difference to my perception of efficiency, competence and kindness as an overall first impression.My appointment is on December 23.

***12/23/2002 CONSULTATION APP'T AND SEMINAR***
I went to a seminar at Advanced Surgery Group with a family member (good idea) and we listened to a pretty good video and the RN/WLS coordinator, (Karen) and asked NUMEROUS questions to poor Karen! I think we were a most curious bunch! I felt Karen was honest and encouraging and totally "unsalesmanlike." She seemed to want to help us reach our goals and was quite frank in pointing out if the surgery was not for us.
I think Dr. Rodriguez is my kind of doctor. He's direct, he doesn't worry too much about the way you got here, looking into WLS surgery, but is here to help you now. He is clear about his expectations from you, and the things he can and cannot promise. I like his enthusiastic manner, open smile. He pays attention to what people are telling him. He seems to rarely miss a thing. He could actually keep up with me and my rapid-fire questions. He seemed genuinely interested and capable of helping me. He warned me about some potential problems with my insurance company (Aetna), and so I can only hope that I will be approved on the first try. I am very impressed.

***3/2/2003 POST-OP IMPRESSIONS***
I respect this doctor very much. I have never had to wait more than a day for a call-back from Karen, nor more than an hour for a call-back from Dr. Rodriguez when I had a question on day 10 after surgery. He is a good surgeon, and my incision is healing well. He was encouraging at my first post-op appointment and urged continued exercise and commitment to the post-op dietary plan. Everything he explained, via the seminar or pre- and post- op has been useful, complete information. I highly recommend Doctor Rodriguez for this procedure. It is unique, and I believe it is a "best" of both laparoscopic and open technique. I feel safer with this procedure in comparison to either one alone. And I feel great, 4 weeks post-op!SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO KNOW: Dr. Rodriguez' Board certification is in Cardiovascular Surgery. He is eminently qualified to reat this disorder which has such an impact oncardiovascular health.

I haven't met with Dr. Rodriques yet. I'm just beginning with the process. I've heard about him from a friend and his office is close to my hometown. Can you give me some input on him. Thanks.

Today I met with Dr. Rodriguez. He seemed to be a gentle soul. He did not sugar coat anything, got straight to the point about the surgery. His office staff is wonderful and very busy! Ginger is GREAT. I loved the seminar...learned alot! There is nothing that I didn't like about the Doctor or his staff. I think future patients need to know that Dr. Rodriguez travels all over & teaches other Doctors the Gastric Bypass surgery and that his staff is VERY knowledgable about the surgery as well. Dr. Rod totally emphasizes a very structured aftercare along with EXERCISE. I was told that the surgery was VERY major, along with the risks and exactly what to expect. Overall, Dr. Rodriguez on a scale from 1-10, is diffinately a 10. I like how he has great surgical competence and bedside manner. So far, I have nothing negative to say about Dr. Rod or his staff.

I was really impressed with the seminar. I liked the fact that there were a smaller number of people attending rather than a a group of 50 at some others I've attended. I was presented a wealth of information about the surgery and what to expect afterwards, especially in regards to aftercare. In addition to the seminar I found the notebook of information to be very helpful as well. My visit with Dr. Rodriguez was brief but I enjoyed his straigtwordness and bedside manner. He seems very confident and competant as well. I would rate both the Dr. and staff as very nice and effecient. I would rate A++++

Well, I have only had one visit with Dr. Rodriguez, but I really liked him. He was straight forward, and willing to answer any and all questions my husband and I had. Plus his staff is very knowledgable as well. I am anxious for my next visit.

Dr. Rodriguez was excellent. I was very comfortable with his capabilities and experience. I chose him because I liked the fact that he was teaching others new techniques and methods, and had a great deal of experience with this surgery. His office staff was really nice. Karen is a very caring, empathic nurse. She took the time to answer any questions I had about anything. Aftercare is emphasized very heavily, because you have to attend a seminar before the surgery to go over their expectations for your diet and exercise afterwards. The risks of the surgery were very forthright during the seminar. I would rate Dr. Rodriguez very high because I think he is a pioneer in the field of bariatric surgery. He is very comfortable with the technique. His bedside manners are good, too - he's very busy and you can tell that he is somewhat time restricted, but he answered any question I had completely and fully when I asked. The hospital was also great. They took very good care of me there. The nurses were very kind and sympathetic to any need I had. The only negative thing I can say about my hospital stay was that there was a time during the night shift that I was pressing my button to call a nurse, and it took over 10 minutes. I don't know if they were on a smoking break or what, but they didn't come. I particularly liked the ICU nurse. He was very good and eased some of my embarrassment over things he had to help me out with and I could not do for myself. I would recommend this hospital highly.

On January 20,2003 My husband and myself attended a seminar given by Dr.Rodriguez staff member the seminar was very well presented and full of information it was not sugar coated at all. I would hope by this point in anyones decision making process they are not looking for something sugar coated. After the seminar I had an appointment to meet with Dr.Rodriguez. He seem to be very busy that day and was late to the appointment. Hopefully that is not something that happens often. I am very confident that Dr.Rodriguez has the skill and talent to perform this surgery, he seems to have the knowlegde and expertise to get the job done. They stress over and over to be a sucess there are certain things you have to commit to and if you can not commit then this surgery is not an option for you. You have to exercise, you have to drink alot of water and fluids all day, you have to take care of yourself, you have to take in the protien, stay away from high fat and high sugar. But by this point these are things you should not be doing anway right. Aftercare is very important if you have read this so far you know that. The staff at Dr.Rodriguez office are the best they are very helpful and great to work with I believe that they also play a big part in the process of you getting to know who Dr.Rodriguez is and what he expects of you as his patient. I was very lucky I have great insurance they were very quick with there answer after a very well written letter was sent on my behalf by Dr.Rodriguez. The surgery was appoved and my surgery date is set for 3-11-03. I can't wait.

12/23/2002 I had my first meeting with Dr. Rodriguez today. I spent the whole day in Palestine. During the morning I went to a seminar conducted by his nurse Karen. It was very informative and I was able to meet some other very nice people going thru the same experience. I had an appointment in the afternoon to meet the doctor. My appointment was at 1:45 p.m. and I was out the door and on my way back to Dallas by 3:00 p.m. The research I had done on him prior to making an appointment was positive and my actual face to face meeting did not reveal any surprises or negative feelings. He is confident(not arrogant)and knowledgeable about this surgery. The surgical technique he uses is cutting edge. I am putting my trust in his abilities and I am grateful to have found a surgeon with his skill and reputation. Now I am just playing the waiting game while my insurance(BCBS PPO) responds.
01/06/2003 Just found out that my insurance letter did not go out until today. That's two weeks from the day I visited the doctor. Still playing the waiting game.
1/9/2003 Insurance company finally has my letter. I hoping to have an approval within two weeks. This waiting is such torture! I'm going to call BC/BS everyday until they approve me! 1/16/2003 BC/BS approved my surgery on 1/15/2003. I hoping to get on Dr. Rodriguez's surgery schedule for January 27th. I'm still waiting on confirmation from his staff. Finally the agony of waiting for approval is over!
1/21/2003 I have a surgery date! January 30th.

NO COMMENTS YET, WILL UPDATE AFTER APPOINTMENT.