Dr. Paul Robert Bourguignon, MD

I was diagnosed with colon cancer in the Descending colon. I was referred to Dr. Bourguignon for the surgery. In the initial appointment he was very open and clear to explain the procedure and what it will take, the intention was to use Da Vinci Robot but at the time of the surgery it was decided to do Open Surgery. I woke up from surgery feeling pretty good. On the 3rd day after surgery I was discharged from the hospital. The recovery was very smooth and on the second week after the surgery I felt I have recovered most of my ability to walk and have a "normal life" . Subsequently everyday it went by, it was better and better. Dr. Bourguignon is an excellent surgeon, extremely caring for his patients, he will see you every day and take care of details. Today 3 months have passed since the surgery and I will have to say I feel GREAT! Thanks to Dr. Bourguignon surgery and care.

I first met Dr. Bourguignon in the ER of The Westerly Hospital. I had come in with a complaint of consistent isolated stomach pain. As it turned out, it was diagnosed as a Gallbladder issue and would most likely need to be removed. Dr. Bourguignon was the surgeon present in the hospital at the time and came to the ER to review test results and reviewed same with me. I was a little groggy from drugs administered by the ER staff, so my memory may not be exact on the particulars. He let me know that I would definitely need surgery and would have to be admitted this same afternoon. As I have a young son, I was not wild about this idea, as I wanted to make arrangements for him and explain what was happening, before being admitted to the hospital. He worked hard to convince me to try to make arrangements from there, over the phone if possible, as the pain meds I was given would eventually wear off and I was also vomiting quite a bit by this time. I eventually saw his point and… complied with his request. I was admitted later that afternoon and he came to my room and personally thanked me for not leaving, which eliminated not only the medical concerns, but also the hassle of going through the re-admit process. The next afternoon, I was taken into surgery. After recovery, Dr. Bourguignon came to my room and explained what he had found and done to resolve the issue. I was in hospital longer than initially anticipated, due to a few complications. In addition to these complications, which I won't get into here, my bowels were taking longer to "wake up" then what was usual and my stay was extended to 11 days. This had NOTHING to do with Gallbladder surgery specifically, but because of other unforeseeable occurrences and the complications associated with general anesthesia. I only mention it to explain my extended hospital stay. Dr. Bourguinon, locally known by several other monikers i.e. "Dr. B" and "Dr. Beefcake" (my inside info was that some nurses call him this and he doesn't like it), I saw him at least once a day while in hospital and had regular contact with the hospitalist on duty. Dr. "B" takes a personal interest in his cases and is very willing to provide information and explanations, ad nauseam, if necessary, to his patients. He will also not hesitate to override a decision made by someone other than he in regard to his patients. I had been vomiting enough bright green bile to half-fill an above ground pool during my 11 day stay. With repeated clean-ups required by everyone, including nurses. I get that they are busy and if maintenance is not available they have to do the work themselves. Some did it cheerfully with only my well being at heart, while others did not adopt the same attitude. At one point, a nurse came to my room insisting on inserting an NG tube. I flatly refused the procedure. I'm sure her reasons were sound, but I just wasn't having it. During our dance routine, consisting of the nurse telling me to lie down on the bed and me backing away and refusing, Dr. "B" walked in. I told him I didn't want the tube and he said I didn't need it. What??? I'll leave an explanation of that to the reader's imagination.. He also reversed an order for a CT scan that had been ordered, deeming it unnecessary, based on medically sound reasoning and his experience and expertise. This demonstrated to me that he is unwilling to put a patient through unnecessary procedures and tests for the sake of anything other than his patient. Soon after, all was resolved, and I was discharged. I followed up in his office a couple of times and was treated well there also, except for the stack of paperwork I was asked to fill out. Even though I had already been his patient, I had not yet been to his office. I wasn't required to finish the paperwork before he saw me, and in fact, he took most of it from me saying it was not needed. Perhaps his support staff should follow his example and eliminate extra work for the patients. Just a suggestion. Overall, I can recommend Dr. "B" highly and wouldn't hesitate to advise consulting him.

Cannot say enough about good things about this doctor. Wished all doctors could take a class from him. Just happen to be on call when I went in for emeregency appendisidiss. Great bedside mannor, provided detailed explanation to my wife after surgery, which comforted her. I thought i had arrived at a different world at the follow up. I arrived 5 minutes before my scheduled time, check in and began filling out the 6 pages of paperwork. I only had time to complete 2 pages before i was sent to a room, had my vitals taken and 5 minutes later the doctor's in the room removing the drain. In my 50 years of life, i cannot rememeber ever visiting a doctors office and leaving the parking lot with 30 minutes.Again, I wish more doctors could take a few lesson from Dr. Bourguignon

Had a partial colectomy and hernias repaired by "Dr.B". The best experience I have ever had with a Doctor. Considered one of the best General Surgeons in this area. I have many Doctors as friends of the family, and they concur.