William Richards Bariatric Surgeon MD, FACS

Dr.n Richards is the greatest. I had absolute confidence in him before my surgery and nothing has changed that opinion. Christian Ketel has provided the most support. I have continued to see him both in the office and through the support group.His disposition and the information he has provided have been one key to my success. The follow-up has been thorough and has helped address the few problems I have had. rnrnI knew the risks going in. I have had no nausea, very little pain and no major complications. Any problems I have had are due to my inattention to my responsibilities. Dr. Richards is terrific and I wouldn't want to go to anyone else. I have absolute confidence in his surgical competence.rnrnI honestly have not had a negative experience. The only down side for me is that the weight loss slowed after the first 80 pounds and has virtually stopped after 120 pounds. I still have a long way to go.

Dr. Richards was just wonderful from the very first day. He was kind and answered all my questions including the one about how close he is to God. He and his entire staff were very helpfull throughout the stay. Actually he was so understanding and thoughtful when my ankle was broken and he had to postpone my surgery date.rnrnHis nurse practicianers are fantastic!! Dr. Richards and the Vanderbilt Staff are the best. I would highly recommend them to anyone considering WLS.

My first impression of Dr. Richards was that he was very kind. He answered all of my questions and acted like he had all the time in the world. He has a wonderful bedside manner and I liked him immediately.

The Vanderbilt aftercare program is awesome. There are support groups available, an after hours number you can call if you have any questions once the office is closed for the day, etc. I feel totally comfortable having my surgery with Dr. Richards at Vanderbilt.

Cheryl Wilyard

Wonderful! Surgery was very successful. Highly recommend him!

My first impression of Dr. Richards is that he is all business, but that is exactly what I would expect from someone with his background. The staff at VUMC are great people. They do their best to make you feel as comfortable as possible. The program at VUMC gives the patient more information than you would believe! I have done plenty of research and still learned more from this program.

I will update with more once more time has passed.

Dr. Richards was very professional and straight to the point. He does not candy-coat any of the facts. He informs you of the risks involved. He really seems to know what he is talking about. The staff is very nice but, hard to reach. Before and aftercare seem to be of the utmost importance. As far as bedside manner, well, I was not looking for a friend, I was looking for a compitent, professional, well-informed doctor and that's what I found in Dr. Richards.

He was great, very straight forward, no beating around the bush. Christian handles most of the follow up, and is a real treasure. I'm very happy with the Vandy, all the staff.

I honestly don't remember what I first thought of Dr. Richards. The first time I met him was at the seminar. I was familiar with Dr. Melvin because he had removed my gallbladder about 6 years prior. When I went to Dr. Richards' office, he came into the room and said that he had heard alot about me. My first thought was "Uh-oh!". I have nothing but good things to say about him AND his staff. They have all been WONDERFUL!! You must know that if you are going to follow his instructions, he will do everything he can to help you. However, if you think you can do it YOUR way, he won't have time for you. I have nothing but respect for Dr. Richards. He explained everything before surgery and his staff has continued to be there whenever I have felt like I needed someone.

My first impression of Dr Richards was that he was a very serious and down to business man. I have an unusual immune system condition, so he was very interested in my case as he had never operated on someone with my condition before. He is a highly respected surgeon, and great at what he does. He isn't warm and friendly, but I would rather have an extremely competant man rearranging my body than a friendly guy!

His aftercare program is wonderful. The nurse practioner and nutritionist are great at answering questions and are very available when you need them. I would HIGHLY recommend the Vanderbilt Center for Human Nutrition and Dr. Richards. He's saved my life!

I knew I liked my surgeon when I first met him. He was so caring and considerate. He didn't look down on me as so many people had in the past. Also his office staff was very concerned and willing to do anything they could to make my visit a very pleasant one.
Dr. Richards explanied the surgery with great care. He covered everything including the risks and complications that could occur.
He then waited very patiently while I asked any questions.
I would highly recommend Dr. Richards to anyone that is considering weight loss surgery.