(PRLEAP.COM) (April, 2007). Dr. Dirk Rodriguez has joined the Deaconess Surgical Weight Loss Center as Medical Director. A skilled laparoscopic bariatric surgeon, Dr. Rodriguez founded the first Bariatric Center of Excellence in Texas and was President of the Texas Bariatric Center, based in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Rodriguez has performed more then 1,000 bariatric procedures and ranked among Dallas Best Doctors in 2005. He is also a general and vascular surgeon. A veteran of the US Air Force, Dr. Rodriguez served as a flight surgeon with the 523rd Tactical Fighter Squadron. He was a military surgeon in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm.

Dr. Rodriguez is a board-certified surgeon, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery. He lectures and teaches on advanced laparoscopic surgery techniques nationwide.
He joins Dr. Trace Curry, founder of the Deaconess Surgical Weight Loss Center, which served 350 patients in 2006, the highest number of bariatric procedures in the Greater Cincinnati area.

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