USA Health University Hospital Center for Weight Loss Surgery Hospital

He is a little man...i was shocked when i seen him...he was very helpfull and made sure i knew all i could about this surgery...he was kinda shocked when i opened my book and started throwing questions at him...he couldn't believe how much i knew and how organized i was with this...after my surgery i will let you know how that goes...dr. richards was great and all the doctors that worked with him were full of energy and so helpfull...the surgery went great and all of his doctors and him came to see me every day and when i got home 2 of them called me to make sure i got home ok....

8/1/01
Dr. Richards was very professional and patient. I had to take my 19 month old daughter with me and she was very disruptive. He would wait until she quieted down and then explain/answer my questions. He even recommended a parenting book which he had used to raise his three daughters.

He did insist that I attend the support group meeting(s). This is going to be a difficult thing for me to do, since the meeting is at lunch on Fridays, and I work 35 miles away. But he stressed that I just need to make it happen.

8/22/01
I attended my second nutritional counseling session with Dr. Richards office. It went well and for the time being I’m going to start taking Xenical, 1800-calorie diet and exercise. We talked about my insurance approval and my paperwork hadn’t been sent to the insurance company yet. I gave them the fax number and the name of the person to contact at BCBS, so I’m hoping that my paperwork will get sent in this week. I’ll be checking in with them on Friday to make sure.

In the meantime, I attended my first support group meeting last night. It was a fairly large group around 25-35 people, and every one of them friendly. I got some tips about things I hadn’t even thought about. It was so encouraging to see and hear people who had lost 40, 50, 100, and even 275 pounds and that they are keeping it off. One woman remarked that she had only lost 72 pounds since her surgery (4 months post op), and I thought, “Wow, if we were in any other type of program, 72 pounds would be fantastic, unbelievable results”. Of course everyone jump right in and reinforced her success and reminded her that she’s not competing with anyone. There was one lady who had lost 175 lbs and was two years post op who described her complications with the surgery. She had a leak and became “septic (?)” and as a result was in the hospital for two months, and then at home for two more months on fluids, antibiotics and oxygen, before she could even start with her new diet. She came very close to being a statistic, but asked if she would do it again, she said yes. That impacted me. She was basically admitting that she would rather die on the table in an attempt to get better, than to live a life of slow death from being fat. If she’s had that kind of relief, then I’m looking forward to surgery that much more.

9/14/01 Dr Richards' office has yet to file my paperwork. I'm beginning to wonder if I have chosen the right office group and Doctor.

I THOUGHT HE WAS REALY NICE. EVERYONE IN THE OFFICE WAS GREAT. I CAN'T SAY ANYTHING BAD ABOUT HIM. HE TALKED WITH ME FOR A LONG TIME AND ANSWERED ALL 25-30 QUESTIONS I ASKED. ANYONE GOING TO SEE DR RICHARDS SHOULD NOT BE NERVOUS HE IS A GREAT GUY. HE WANTS EVERYONE TO BE IN A PROGRAM AT THE VANDERBILT CENTER FOR HUMAN NUTRITION. THIS PROGRAM EVALUATES YOU ONCE A MONTH FOR 12 MONTHS AFTER SURGERY. HE WAS VERY FORWARD WITH ALL THE RISKS. HE WANTS ALL HIS PATIENTS TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY ARE GOING TO DO. OVERALL I THINK HE'S GREAT! HE IS VERY COMPETENT SURGICALLY AND VERY NICE AND CONSIDERATE OF MY FEELINGS.

I met with Dr. Richards yesterday. He seemed to be sincere and know every aspect of the surgery and willing to answer any questions that I had. His staff are very understanding. He emphasized learning how to eat now, and emphasized aftercare a lot. He let me know that it is a risky surgery. He also wants me to be very certain this is what I want. I have only talked with him once so I can't really rate him. My first impression of him was great. I feel like I am in good hands.

I had my first appt. with Dr. Richards and I found him to be very helpful. He answered all my questions and listened to all my concerns. His office staff has been great. He wanted to make sure I understand all the problems and the change I will go though . He seems to be a very caring doctor.

he seemed very nice. he was very informative and straight to the point about the surgery,the risks involved,and aftercare.he answered any question i had.the office staff is very friendly and helpful.his surgical competence,and bedside manner seemed very good.he said he would get right to work on getting my insurance to approve.