Ridgeview Medical Center Hospital

4/24/04 Post-op My surgery was 4/19
The day of the surgery Dr. Chute visited with me and my family briefly and then away we went.

I saw him later that day to discuss my pain and things to do after I went home. That was about it.

I have my post-op appt 5/10, but I guess I will only see the nurse. This really does disturb me, because I don't even feel that I know my surgeon. His manner is great, I just wish I could experience more of it, by seeing him at my visits instead of a nurse.

My first impression at my pre-op (2/9/04) was that he was a very calm, polite person. That at this point is my only impression since I won't see him again until surgery (4/19/04). The office staff was fine, neither outstanding nor bad, just okay. They were professional, but not gushing.

Aftercare is very much stressed by Dr. Chute. He made it clear that if patients are not willing to commit to aftercare needs, exercise, nutrition, vitamins, B-12 shots, and office visits, than we should change our mind and pass on the surgery. I appreciate his candor and emphasis in this matter. It allows me to see the importance of this life-changing decision.

He wanted to make sure I understand everything and that all my questions were answered. At the time of my preop, I didn't know it was my preop. I thought it was my first consultation. Afterwards he said, let's get you scheduled with Krista! Surprise! If I had known, I would have asked many more questions. One thing the staff could have done is let me know that this would be the only time I would meet him before surgery.

To this point, I find Dr. Chute to be quite competent and prepared for my surgical experience. I will let you know soon.

I met Dr. Baker on 2/4/04. I was so happy with my visit. He was very thorough, patient and really made me feel like I was not wasting his time. He took his time with me and made sure I felt good about what I'm going to be going through.

The clinic as a whole is wonderful. Everyone in the whole office is so cheerful, knowledgable and helpful. I also feel very prepared for what I am about to go through. They have made this process so easy.

"These opinions are my own and not necessarily those of ObesityHelp.com"

My first impression of Dr. Jeff was wow he looks young and what’s up with those glasses. Once I began to talk to him though I definitely noticed his caring and sensitive personality. He is very detailed and looked me right in the eye and sat and spent time getting to know my personality my situation & me. I left there feeling better about the decision to have surgery than I ever had before. Before my surgery I was having problems with my gallbladder and he gave me his personal pager number and told me to page him if I had ANY problems or pain associated with this at all. One night I did have a problem it was on Friday evening December 29th and I paged him and he called me back in less than 5 minutes and advised me to go to the hospital and he would call them and let them know I was on my way. (This was about 3 months before my surgery) I spoke with Dr Jeff later that evening on the phone at the hospital and he advised me that he was researching to see if he could get an OR to do both surgeries at the same time. The next day he still could not find an OR that had a big enough time slot so he booked my surgery for later that week (the first opening that they had). I had my surgery on Monday January 5th 2004 (the day before my B-day when my scheduled date was not until March 16th) The surgery went great and the scar was beautiful (it didn’t even bruise) His bedside manner is great. I looked forward to seeing him everyday when I was in the hospital. I went home on Wed 1-7-04 feeling great. 2 days later all of a sudden I was having SEVIRE PAIN in my abdomen. I paged Dr. Jeff at about 11:00pm and he had my mom rush me to the closest hospital. I went to Methodist and was there for 4 days and they could not find what was wrong with me. Since it was not Dr Jeff's hospital he could not see me himself but he did stay in contact with me and the Dr.’s there several times a day even convincing the Dr.’s to do several tests to try to determine what was wrong with me. The Dr.’s at Methodist wanted to send me home after the first tests because they could not find any problems. I was in constant contact with Dr Jeff everyday THANK GOD! On Monday the 15th I was transferred to Unity with the thought that I was having a Bile Duct Leak and would need surgery again to fix the problem. Upon arriving at Unity I saw Sr. Jeff and he gave me a HUGE hug and said he was “so glad that I was back there so he could take care of me.” He ran another test and found that there was no Bile Duct Leak at all. He thought that it seemed more like a blood clot. He treated me and I was home in a day and a half and have felt GREAT ever since. I will NEVER forget the caring and expertise that Dr. Jeff has given me. He has helped to change my life FOREVER!
The office staff is wonderful too. I can call and give them my name and they know who I am. They have always been courteous and professional toward me. When I have needed to get in contact with Dr. Jeff they have taken the request and delivered it to the correct person in a very timely fashion.
One thing that you should know is that Dr. Jeff is a very caring person and will take the time to teach you and help you in the most practical ways he can, As with any GREAT Dr. his time is very valuable. Please do your homework before you go in. It helps to have questions written down and prepared before the appointments.
I have not really heard Dr. Jeff talk extensively about after care but they do say to read read read the book and follow it to a T! They are serious about water and the follow-up apts. with the nurses too. I am planning on moving out of state and he asked me to make sure that I come back to visit him before I leave even if I am not scheduled for a follow-up visit because he just wants to say good-bye and see how far I've come.
He has encouraged me to go to the Images support group meetings and to follow-up with a therapist if I feel it is necessary. Over all on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) I would give him a 25! I could not have asked for a better surgeon. I would definitely recommend Dr. Jeff to anyone! His bedside manner is the best I have ever seen of a Dr. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me and I will assist you with whatever I can!
Jessica

Dr. Chute is a very mild mannered man. He listens extremely well. He has an incredible bedside manner. The staff at general and vascular surgery consultants are the greatest! They are very helpful and so nice. I've never had an unpeasant expirience with them.
Dr. Chute took a great deal of time with me. he took 4 hours with me after having done a surgery previous to me the same morning. He still did it Lap.
I highly recomend Dr. Chute and his team. My mother also had him for her surgeon a year ago and would also highly recomend him.

Dr. Chute is a very mild mannered person. He is very aware of the sensitivity of bariactric surgery and of personal comfort. He is also responsive to concerns and requests. He performed lapriscopic surgery on me and did not produce any bruising on the incision sites. This goes with his gentle nature. It was a good experience all around.

2/20/04
I had my pre-op appointment with Dr. Jeff Baker last month and feel confident about my upcoming (3/30/04) surgery. He was able to answer my questions and was good about telling the statistics for success/failure of this procedure. I did not feel rushed, but I did forget to ask all of my questions. Fortunately, I have been able to call the Bariatric Unit and have all of my questions answered.

WEHERE IS THE SPELL CHECK
Young. But very knowledgeable. He was also caring.

The staff is very up beet. They always have a smile. Especially when I ask to be buck ass naked when stepping onto the scale. (she make me remove all my heavy stuff before the first weigh in) any thing to be lighter. They make you loose 10% of your fat weight before your surgery. Kind of helps to know if you are committed.

Dr. Jeff's father is a bariatric surgeon so he was involved from an early age. (I skydive. Owner’s son or daughter that grow up in a skydiving atmosphere seam to make the best skydivers.)

The after care is a major part of the clinic. I guess you could skip that part if you want.

The risk of surgery was explained very thoroughly.

I like their ideas and values of their surgery techniques. They do it open. Not lapasopicly.

on a negative note I do not see any thing "BAD" with the clinic. We must still be in the honeymoon stage.

Dr. Chute was very nice. I felt comfortable with him right away. We had a great discussion about the surgery and I had all my questions answered. I brought my family with me and he made them all feel welcome. I feel very comfortable with him.

He was very Mellow person but overall very nice. all of the staff was so nice. he went over the procedure and talked to me about life time changes and the commitment that you haave to make. he was also very good at letting me know about all the risk.

Dr. E. Chute is a newer member of the team of general & vascular surgeons at Abbott Northwestern Hospital. He is an Associate Clinical Professor Surgery, University of Minnesota Medical School and has been in private practice of vascular surery at Abbott since 1990. He has wonderful credentials, seems to be a very caring, extremely intelligent and soft spoken man. He was very easy to talk to. At the present time he does all his RNY surgeries along side Dr. Raymond Drew. At my consultation we had a lengthy conversation of the benefits & risks. We discussed the possibility of having an "open" RNY as opposed to the laparoscopic if complications should arise. We talked about follow-up, the diet I will be following for 2 weeks,the possibility of blood clots, ruptures, etc. I left feeling very reassured and "cautiously" optomistic! I work at a clinic with more than 30 residents, and have heard nothing but praise for Dr. Chute's expertise.