Robert Rutledge Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

I found Dr. Rutledge and his staff to be pleasant, helpful, knowledgeable & forthcoming with an information requested.

Dr. R has a manual you can receive online at www.clos.net and you really have to go through a very thorough as well as completely informative manual before he will even consider you as a patient.

His surgery costs $17,000 in total (hospital, his fee & anesthesia). He doesn't take insurance but will help you get reimbursed.

After you go to his website and see for yourself I can't imagine anyone going anywhere else!

I can't wait until I get through my packet and get my surgery date!

Toni Colon
Gastonia, NC

I had surgery with Dr Rutledge 9/29/00 and couldn't be happier. I have lost 130 lbs so far! He is a very skillful laprascopic & trauma surgeon and a wonderful person to boot. I feel that he truly cares about the morbidly obese and doesn't see us as lazy or stupid because conventional methods of weight loss don't work for us. He has a really good sense of humor when you meet him in person. His whole approval process can seem a bit daunting but in the end you WILL be well informed about what is going to happen and what could possibly happen. He makes sure you understand the possible risks and complications, options etc before he will accept you as a patient. I would rate him very good overall!

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He is wonderful! check out his website...

http.//clos.net

2 year up-date... this man is totally AWESOME. he continues to be caring and supportive. He hosts annual picnics, christmas and valentine parties for us as well as informative clinics and conferences. He has shown grace and compassion over and above what has been called for.

At first he seemed somewhat abrupt and standoffish, but as I got to know him and more about the procedure his genuine nature of caring and compasison became evident. He responded to my every need and question prior to surgery and since surgery - every question, every need. I could not have asked for a more compasisonalte and caring individual to have provided me this new lease on life. I owe him my life and truly mean that.
Future patients should now he is very demanding in your holding up your wnd of what he is providing. It may seem overwhelming and too much, but the outcome is well woth the work. Remember, nothing worth having is easy. This is not an easy procudure and recovery is not easy. It is damn hard work and you have to be committed to making significant lifestyle changes, BUT IT IS WORTH EVERY OUNCE OF HARD WORK.

Dr. R. is a wonderful surgeon and I would give him the highest recommendation. His competence is the highest and his bedside manner is unmatched. He takes each person as an individual and ememebrs you even if he seems out of the normal setting.

I MET DR. RUTLEDGE AND INSTANTLY KNEW HE WAS THE SURGEON FOR ME. MY APPROVAL WAS LONG AND HARD BUT AT THE TIME I WORKED FOR THE INS. COMPANY AS A REVIEW NURSE AND I KNEW I MET CRITERIA AND THAT THIS WAS A COVERED BENEFIT AND PURSUED THE ISSUE UNTILL THEY DISCOVERED THAT A DATA ENTRY PERSON HAD LOADED IN THE CONTRACT THAT I WAS COVERED UNDER WRONG(FORGOT TO PUT IN THE CLAUSE BEHIND THE EXCLUSION UNLESS MEDICALLY NECESSARY).THE SURGICAL PART WAS EASY MINE WAS DONE LAP. AND I HAD NO PROBLEMS FROM THE SURGERY. I HAD GSTRIC ULCERS GOING IN AND THEY DID ACT UP AND I HAD TO TAKE MEDICATION FOR THEM AND STILL DO. MY WEGHT WAS 274 AND NOW I WEIGH 160 AND I AM 5'6". I AM 33 YEARS OLD NOW AND MY SURGERY WAS DONE 6/99. WHAT MADE ME COME ON AND TALK WAS I READ A QUESTION ABOUT WLS AND PREGNANCY. I FOUND OUT I WAS 7 WEEKS PREGNANT WHEN I WAS 1 YEAR POST-OP. WE TRIED TO HAVE A CHILD AND WAS SUCESSFUL PRETTY SOON. I DID GO TO A PERINATOLOGIST PRIOR TO SURGERY AND HE MONITORED MY HEALTH. WE NOW HAVE A WONDERFULLY HEALTHY 9 MONTH OLD DAUGHTER. SHE IS A BLESSING BECAUSE WE WERE TOLD ALMOST 5 YEARS AGO DUE TO MY HEALTH PROBLEMS WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO HAVE OTHER CHILDREN. WE HAVE A 9 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER BUT WANTED HER TO HAVE A SIBLING.. MY SURGEON DID NOT RECOMEND PREGNANCY BUT DID SAY TO SEE A HIGH-RISK GYN AND LET HIM DECIDE. MY SURGEON WAS WONDERFUL IN EVERY AND I HAVE NO COMPLAINTS. THE ONLY REASON I WAS LOOKING AT OTHER WEB SITES IS THAT MY HUSBAND IS LOOKING TO HAVE THIS DONE AND NOW DR. RUTLEDGE NO LONGER ACCEPTS INSURANCE!

Very caring and kind. What surpprised me most was his honesty, ask him anything, even if it is about something negative and he will give you an HONEST answer. His office staff seemed a bit overworked but you can expect that considering he is one of the BEST surgeons! I was very pleased, he made absolutely sure I knew the risks before he accepted me as a patient. The process you go through to get accepted by Dr. Rutledge ensures that you fully understand the process. In addition he makes you contact at least 10 former patients so that he is sure you have done your homework.

After I did all my research about the different procedures offered, I decided that the only surgeon I wanted to do my operation was Dr. Rutledge, in fact I flew from Florida to NC and paid the "Out of Network" expenses with my Health Insurance just to have Dr. Rutledge do my surgery. Overall Dr. Rutledge is a 10+++

I met Dr. Rutledge at a clinic visit with about 50 other people. I thought he was quite a funny man with alot of personality. He was very sweet and interested in the people that were there. I met alot of post ops there and they couldn't say anything bad about him. I feel that he is an excellent surgeon and doctor. I met a woman before she had surgery and we became friends, she had a leak and was very ill. Dr. Rutledge stayed with her and she recovered after aweek in the hospital. She said she was so glad he was there for her. He knew what it was immediately and went back in to repair her leak. She had taken steroids and they feel that that was the cause of the staple going through the connection. I have been back to clinic a few times and I have also called him on the phone and he even called me on a saturday. I never had any problems and am doing great.I had to write a ten page paper about the surgery and the risks so I feel I am quite knowledgable about this surgery. I am not in the same town as he is but I have to go to my pcp and have him send updates to him. We also have a lot of support group meetings all around the country. He is now working on a better after care program.He didnt have a very good one meeting with him he realies alot on a persons pcp to keep him posted on you postop. I would have surgery again with him in heart beat. My 2 sisters had surgery after they seen how well I was doing. One had surgery in Rhode Island and she had lots of complications, and one had it in wilmington. The one in wilmington did great but she did have to stay in hospital for 3 days and her surgery took 4-5 hours. Mine was only 35 minutes and I was out the next morning. My surgery also was alot less expensive. My hospital bill was $11,000. My sisters was $39,000. Dr. Rutledge doesn't normally take my insurance but after meeting me and talking he took my insurance, I will always be so grateful to him for giving me a second chance at having a happy life.

My impression of Dr. Rutledge is that he is a very caring and sensitive person. Over time, I have come to see that he is interested in the well-being of his patients, as I often receive emails from him asking how I am doing. His office staff is WONDERFUL. Barb and Diane are the sweetest folks, and though they have so much work, they always found time to answer my questions. Dr. Rutledge's requires post-ops to follow up at three month intervals either with him, or in conjunction with your own PCP who will consult with him. Dr. Rutledge requires an extensive amount of research on the patient's part (all information is provided on his website), in order that his patients become fully aware of the risks of surgery and other factors. I was delighted to discover that Dr. Rutledge is a former trauma surgeon, so I knew that not only was his bedside manner an asset, but also his surgical competence. Overall, I would rate him a 10!

he was a very kind Doctor from meeting him first. no same empression there were very attentive. ask everything at first visit.I really didn't get to see the doctor much after first visit so could tell you much about the bed side manner. but i would recoment this doctor again. because i beleive he did a great job with my surgery and is very noledgable on the typer surgery.