Rex Luttrell Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

Dr Luttrell was on my list as taking CIGNA and,after speaking to the head of Bariatric Surgery at St. Vinecnt's, I chose this surgeon. I have yet to meet with him as at this time we are waiting on my approval from CIGNA, which I am suppose to hear from them this week. Everything is in God's and their hands.

I met with Dr. Luttrell today. The hospital was running late, because of a staffing problem, which made me late getting to his office. My husband and I walked into the clinic and sat down, in about 10 seconds my name was called and Mei took us to a patient room. We were in there about 3 minutes and Dr. Luttrell came in to speak with us concerning the procedures. He is WONDERFUL, the entire clinic is great. He answered all my questions and my husband's. I am nervous about the procedure; however, I am so glad to know that Dr. Luttrell is taking care of me.

Mei is his nurse and she is absolutely the best ever. I have called and bugged them to death, I am sure, but she was always there to answer my questions and help me out with insurance and scheduling. They really bent over backward to get me scheduled for surgery before the end of the year. I have already paid my deductible for this year and needed to have the surgery before paying another $400 deductible. They really came through for me.

What did I like least about Dr. Luttrell...he told me about ALL the complications...some I would just rather not know. :)

I am trying to think of something I did not like about the consultation, but everything has been very smooth for me. I have not had any of the horror stories that other people have. I'm very thankful for that. I did ask if I would have to stay the full 3 days, I was hoping to be able to go home sooner, but he wants to make sure there are no complications whatsoever. I think he is a great surgeon - so far.

Post operative Care - Before this appointment I had not had anything bad to say about Dr. Luttrell; however, I live two hours away from the hospital and had my first follow up appointment. I was in with Dr. Luttrell for probably not even two minutes. He asked about my scars and how I was doing, but didn't look at the incisions or do anything. He spoke to me about protein and that was it. I asked him a few questions and he was evasive about the answers. I asked how much of my small intestines were bypassed and he said the typical amount...about half. I was wanting to know the centimeters. I should have asked him that, but I could tell he was trying to get out of the room. I wasn't pleased. He told me he would see me back in a few months. There was no cost for the appointment, since it was post operative care; however, it cost me time and gas money to drive four hours, two hours there and back. They scheduled me for another appointment in March; however, I will not be going to that appointment. I don't see a need, unless I am having problems.

I had a great 1st impresson of him. Though I had to wait for a long time after scheduling an appointment for 7:30 AM. (It is a very long drive from Bentonville to make it there at 7:30 AM)..The visit was fine. His office staff is the best. I was not sure who was more excited when I got approval, Judy or me. I originally was scheduled with another doctor at St. Vincents, but liked Luttrell better. Felt more comfortable. Madolyn was my original contact in the office and after working on this for 2 years she was still there when I finally got approval.****Since the surgery I have increased my faith in Dr.Luttrell. My scar looks wonderful for a scar. His after care is great. He has restored my faith in doctors. I would not recommend anyone else. He is the best.

I first met with Dr. Luttrell 10/16/02. He was very informative, confident and considerate. He sat down, took time with me and talked to me on my level. He informed me of the goods and bads of surgery and was patient enough to let me ask even more questions.
Dr. Luttrell's office staff is superb. I was out of state while working on insurance approval and setting up appointment and surgery dates. Everything went so smoothly you would have thought I was in the office. May, Dr. Luttrell's nurse, is very prompt in returning phone calls and getting things set up. She returns calls just as she says she will. I was never at home waiting for the phone to ring. She deserves an A+! I was informed promptly of all out of pocket expense that was expected so that there were no surprises.
The best thing about Dr. Luttrell was that I did not feel at all intimidated by him as I have felt so many times sitting in the doctors office.
After care was discussed and pamphlets given to me to help me with my change of life after surgery. He also informed me of different groups (including this one) I could join for support.
The aftercare program is in written format and appears to be structured but may be difficult to stay totally on track without personal intervention. I live 3 1/2 hours away from his office so will not be able to routinely attend support meetings which may make things a bit more difficult for me. I am not too concerned though because I know that if I have any questions I can call the office for that added support.
All risks and benefits were reviewed with me in detail and some of them were even mentioned twice just to make sure I understood. Dr Luttrell is very informative.
I would certainly reccommend Dr. Luttrell to anyone who is researching this procedure.
Both surgical competence and bedside manner were top-notch.

I originally met with Dr Steve Katsis in Tulsa, but after being denied I started exploring other options, and that has led me to Little Rock. I haven't met with Dr Rex Luttrell yet, but I have my consultation a week from today and I am so looking forward to it. I have spoke with the nurse their, her name is Mae and she is so nice and she suprised me when she returned all my silly phone calls so fast. I thought that was awesome. Also I have spoke with I assume the billing department and I just called up to ask questions and they weren't hurried at all and explained everything to me and gave me lots of info, they make you feel real comfortable about the whole process. And one more thing. They put me in contact with the billing at Baptist hospital and the lady that handles the self pay patients was so incredibly nice also. You know these people have alot on there plate all the time, but they never act like that. I thought that was so amazing, I'm in customer service and I'm not even that good. I'll post more when I meet with them. I can hardly wait!

WELL I MET SEXY REXY THE DAY BEFORE MY SURGERY AND WAS VERY PLEASED. NOT JUST BECAUSE HE WAS EASY ON THE EYES BUT HE HAS A GREAT BEDSIDE MANNER. HE ANSWERED MY QUESTIONS AND JOKED AROUND WITH ME SO THAT THE STRESS I WAS FEELING WENT AWAY. HE WAS A VERY CARING DOCTOR. HIS OFFICE STAFF IF GREAT ALSO. MAI HIS NURSE HELPED ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAD BEFORE I EVEN SAW THE DOCTOR AND ALWAYS RETURNED MY CALLS IN A TIMELY MANNER.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND DR LUTTRELL AND HIS STAFF

WELL I HAVENT MET ANYONE IN THE OFFICE YET. I LIVE 3 STATES AWAY AND HAVE ONLY BEEN ON THE PHONE WITH THEM. MY SURGEON IS DR. LUTTRELL OF LITTLE ROCK AR. I FOUND THEM AFTER MY PRIMARY INSURANCE (COVENTRY OF WICHITA KS)REFUSED TO COVER THIS PROCEDURD. MY SECONDARY INSURANCE IS TRI-CARE AND I HAD TO FIND A DOCTOR CLOSE TO ME AND THAT I FELT COMFORTABLE WITH THAT EXCEPTED TRI-CARE. I SEARCHED THE INTERNET AND READ OTHER PATIENT RESPONSES ABOUT MANY SURGEONS. I PICKED SEVERAL AND CALLED THE OFFICES TO TALK ABOUT MY CONCERNES AND TIME FRAMES THAT WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT. DR. LUTTRELLS ASSISTANT MAI WAS VERRRRY FRIENDLY AND MADE ME FELL WARM AND FUZZY INSIDE AND I WAS SOLD. I STARTED MY JOURNEY 1 MONTH AGO AND ALREADY HAVE A SURGERY DATE OF SEPT 5 2002 AND CAN HARDLY WAIT

liked very much

Haven't met him yet. Just plan on using him for the surgery when i get approved. Co-workers have used him and have nothing but great things to say about him.

4/3/02: My first impression of Dr. Luttrell was, "WHAT A HANSOME MAN!"... But, seriously, he was very personable & made sure that I had asked all the questions I had. He really took the time with me. His office & staff...I was very impressed at how easy it was to find his office in the city, then it was even easier to find his office within the 5 story building. The staff were very effecient & friendly. The thing I liked least about Dr. Luttrell was how pessimistic he seemed about my insurance situation at first. But, you should know that he really appreciated the time I had put in to preparing for our first meeting & all of the research I had already done. He said that really makes his job easier. He stressed a good diet & vitamines after surgery. He very much wants to see his post op patients periodically, at least yearly. He was very informative about the risks of the surgery & put numbers & percentages on the experiences he's had with his 500 surgeries so far. He's beginning to perform lapriscopic bypasses & made me feel at ease with the fact that he has been performing other types of surgery lapriscopically for quite some time. For the most part, I think I give him an A so far!