Robert Rutledge Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

Very committed surgeon who really enjoys helping people, upbeat and chipper bedside manner. His office staff is overworked and somewhat curt. He emphasizes aftercare strongly and wants you to followup with him daily after surgery. His preop education program makes sure you understand all the risks of surgery, and have realistic expectations of what surgery can do. Overall rating = excellent. A real class act.

Dr. Rutledge is the most kind, caring and talented surgeon I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. As a registered nurse, I have met many surgeons, and none of them even come close to being in Dr. Rutledge's league. My first impression of him was that he truly is concerned with your obesity and knows that it is not some moral deficit that you have, rather a medical problem that can be surgically treated with great success. My impression of him only improved with each time I talked with him. His office staff is very busy and can be short with you at times, but don't let something like that keep you from considering this wonderful surgery. There absolutely nothing I dislike about him. He has very strict criteria and a very thorough teaching program to involve you in all the benefits and risks involved and your part to help make this a success. Aftercare is very structured and is explained thoroughly in the patient education manual you receive. This manual goes over the procedure, the risks, and the expected outcomes. I like the fact that with over 300 of the laparoscopic Mini Gastric Bypass surgeries he has done, Dr. Rutledge has never had a death. On a scale of 1-10, I would certainly have to rate Dr. Rutledge at least a 20. His bedside manner and his surgical competence are both phenomenal. I have never regretted for one moment choosing him for my surgeon. I will always thank him for giving my life back to me.

I have only spoke to Dr R on-line. He has been very helpful and informative. He wants to make sure you fully understand the risks and benefits.

I met Dr. Rutledge on February 26, 2000 at my first clinic visit and he is a very caring and knowledgable person. He is truely concerned for people who are morbidly obese. His staff is also very nice (and very overworked!). They keep their sense of humor even when it is very busy!

I liked Dr. Ruteledge, he is a very smart man, He is calm and sensetive towards the problems obese man & woman .
I have not had the surgury yet as of this date. So I am not sure what his hospital manners will be like. I will have ever keep you updated.
From what I do know I can tell you
Dr. Rutelege is very strong on patients haveing full knowledge of what to expect.
So read your manual! It is very inportant, Dr. Rutelege takes his work, {this surgery}very serously and expects you to also.
DR. Rutelege will go over with you the inportance of taking your vitiams serveral times. He has a patient manaul book out that goes over everthing you will need to know before and during your after care.

Once again as I said Dr, Rutledge does not take this precedure lightly, Heis very strong about what you will need to have done pre-op and how you should take care of your self post -op.
His office workers are very busy but reliable, They too will expect you to have your papper work in order. They are no longer accepting faxs. So Do not fax your medical records. I'll give you some adivce and tell you to hold on to them and just bring them in when you vist.
The Patient Education Manual booklet he gives you will contain everthing you need to know. HE & His staff expect you to follow what it says. I did notice that they tend to get annoyed when a patient doesn't seem to follow the booklet.
As I said I haven't had mine done yet but other patients of his say that He keeps him self always availabe to his patients. I have heard him say several times to call him when ever needed the he and his staff do indeed return all phone calls.
Over all I would rate him as a good doctor.

Dr. Rutledge made me feel comfortable from
the first. He's extremely knowledgeable and
very caring. I've never had a dr. like him.
My impression of him only got better with each
encounter. He ALWAYS LISTENS! His staff is
great and I feel for them with the amount of
work coming in now.... Sometimes he is too
direct. This isn't a bad thing, just
uncomfortable because it might not be what you
want to hear!
If you want the best WLS surgery ever, go see
Dr.R. Quick recovery time, short hospital
stay. No tubes! The aftercare is phenomenal!

The first thing Dr.R emphasizes are the risks
involved with this surgery.

How would I rate Dr.R? The scale doesn't go
high enough to do him justice!
If you are looking for the most skilled surgeon
and the one with the best bedside manner you
could possibly have, then choose Dr.R

MY first immpression of Dr. R was a good one. My husband went with me for the 1st clinical visit. This lasts about 4 hours and you are with other patients who are either learning about the surgery, getting ready to have the surgery or just had the surgery. Dr. R is very thourough with his information and he wants to make sure you are aware of all the risks. His technique is done LAP and he usually has his patients going home within two days. The surgery takes about 30-60 minutes average time and no drains, NG tubes or Foleys.
Right now I am waiting insurance approval. My husband was equally impressed with the doc and had a lot of good questions for him. He does not rush the one on one you will have with him. He wants to make sure you feel good about the procedure. You have to complete a 12 step process before he will operate and you must meet all of the criteria. He has a very stringent after care policy and he will e-mail you right back if you have any questions. Some of the patients I talked with said he will call you day and night to check on you and you can call him anytime as well.

Dr Rutledge is someone who trully understands morbid obesity and after a year of watching the online support I still believe that if he made NO money he would still do this surgery for those who need it.
As the doctor gets busier there are things that the patient NEEDS to do them selves. Dr R , currently has a limited staff and they are personable and helpful, but babysitting, they will not do, the patient needs to take responsibility for checking with their insurance ect. There is nothing I dislike about Dr R; he is forthright, tells it like it is, does not spare your feelings, and will NOT let you do this if HE is unsure you are ready to do it.I think the Dr really wants to know that you are COMMITTED with all caps to this procedure, no wishy washy stuff in your choice! The after care program is strict and those I have seen have problems are the ones who have wavered from his path. The risks of this surgery must be outlined in a paper the patient will write. It needs to be 10 pages hand written or 5 pages typed that address the risks and after care. My overall rating would be a 10! I admire the Dr's surgical competence and have
read others praise him for the work he did when he found scar tissue or a hernia he was not expecting. But all that said he also has a great bedside manner and allows the patients to tell him their concerns, whether it is pain or when they will get to leave! I am not sure if I would be doing this if he was not doing this surgery! Matter of fact my cousin(the doctor) I mentioned earlier, suggested this 2 years ago and I Pooh poohed her! I think that says something! :)

Doc R. is a very sweet guy. His paitient manual
and web site is the most extensive of any one that
I have seen. His site is http://clos.net.
Debbie, his main support person is nice and
direct. His office has been swamped with patients
of late (that's what happens when you're good).
Clinic visits can be very long - but only because
there are so many (50-60) of us there. But
that gives you plenty of time to talk with
other pre-ops, the post-ops who are there, and
watch is informative videos (including the
surgery itself). There is a Mini Gastric Bypass
e-mail support group available at onelist.com and
there is a monthly support group meeting for his
patients. That info. can be found at his website.

He and his manual is very explicit about describing the
risks as well as the benefits of the surgery.
Patient contact is a required step before the
sugery occurs. He encourages all to talk with
those who have had complications as well as those
who had smooth sailing.

My surgery date is 3/1/00 so I'll tell you the rest later.
I thinks he's pretty cool.

I am in the beginning stages of this long process. I have met with Dr. Rutledge and he was wonderful. He was very informative and very personable. He tells you like it is but he also cares about all of his patients. He speaks of them by name and their progress. He keeps in contact with them and really wants to know what is going on in their lives. His office staff was great. They were very helpful and informative. They will answer any questions you have.

My papers are to be sent to the insurance company this week. Now all I can do is pray!

I have no doubt in my my that Dr. Rutledge can be trusted with my life.

Dr. Ruteldge is a wonderful and caring person, that was the first impression I had of him and I still do have of him. His staff was friendly and helpful. He will take excellent care of you, he is very thorough. He puts a lot of emphasis on aftercare, I spoke with him almost everyday for approximately two-weeks after surgery then less and less over time. The last time I spoke with him was in December. He makes completely sure that you understand the surgery and the risks as well as the benefits. On a scale of 1 - 10, I would give him a 10+. His surgical competence and bedside manner are equally excellent.