Education for every step of your surgical journey.
This site exists to answer the questions patients actually ask about hernias and gallbladder disease, in plain language, written by your operating surgeon.
What brings you in today?
Pick your condition below for a plain-language guide: what it is, why it happens, your treatment options, and a downloadable PDF you can keep.
Gallbladder Disease
Gallstones, biliary colic, and when it's time to have the gallbladder removed, usually as same-day robotic surgery.
→ 02 HerniaInguinal Hernia
The most common hernia in men and women. Learn the anatomy, then choose open or robotic repair to see what recovery looks like for each.
→ 03 HerniaInguinal Hernia in Women
Why the female anatomy matters for inguinal hernias, including round ligament handling, femoral hernia risk, and robotic repair approach.
→ 04 HerniaUmbilical Hernia
Hernias near the navel in adults: why they form, when to fix them, and open vs. robotic repair.
→ 05 Complex repairIncisional Hernia & Abdominal Wall Reconstruction
For hernias that form at a prior incision, including complex cases that need an abdominal wall rebuild, open or robotic eTEP.
→ 06 ApproachRobotic vs. Open Surgery
How Dr. Rodriguez decides which approach is right for you, and what to expect from each.
→Not sure where to start?
Recovery Timeline
Pick your procedure and see what recovery looks like, week by week, from the day of surgery to your first follow-up visit.
See your timeline → While you waitWaiting Room Games
Short, plain-language games to pass the time before a visit: map the abdomen, follow a drop of bile, and sort surgery myths from facts.
Play a game →Surgical experience most practices don't have
24 Years, U.S. Navy
Retired Navy Captain. Combat surgical deployments, trauma fellowship at Shock Trauma in Baltimore, and surgery residency at Walter Reed.
SRC Surgeon of Excellence
One of a small number of surgeons nationally certified in both Robotic Surgery and Hernia Surgery.
70+ Publications
Active researcher and textbook editor, on faculty for training the next generation of surgeons.
Chair of Surgery
Medical Director of Acute Care Surgery at Texas Health Fort Worth, a Level I trauma center and American College of Surgeons verified Emergency General Surgery program.
What patients say
"He explained everything in a way I could actually understand, and I was back to work in a week."
"I was nervous about robotic surgery. The team walked me through every step before and after."
"Caught a problem another surgeon missed. Grateful for his attention to detail."
Have you been a patient? Please visit Google to leave a review. We'd love to hear your experience.
The person behind the practice
Most weekends, you'll find Dr. Rodriguez in the kitchen making the family's pizzas, out back manning his 900°F Ooni, or, alongside his wife Sarah, cheering on their son Eli as he competes in distance swimming around the Metroplex. He believes a surgeon who's honest about real life understands his patients better.
Meet Dr. RodriguezLatest from the Blog
Notes on robotic surgery, gallbladder and hernia care, and how Dr. Rodriguez actually uses technology in practice. Updated regularly as a reference for patients and colleagues.
Choledocholithiasis and Cholangitis: When a Stone Escapes the Gallbladder
August 10, 2026
What happens when a gallstone leaves the gallbladder and lodges in the common bile duct. How the blockage causes jaundice, how the Tokyo Guidelines diagnose and grade the infection that can follow, why two guidelines run two different clocks, and when the gallbladder should come out.
Read more →Acute Cholecystitis: When the Stone Doesn't Come Free
August 3, 2026
What happens when a gallstone blocks the gallbladder's outlet and stays there. How the Tokyo Guidelines 2018 define, diagnose, and grade acute cholecystitis, why the operation belongs on the same admission, and what we do when the patient is too sick for one.
Read more →Why Every Gallbladder I Take Out Comes Out Robotically
July 31, 2026
Part 3 of the bonus series. The case for adopting robotic cholecystectomy, the strongest evidence against it, and why the field is not yet settled.
Read more →Visit Us
800 5th Ave, Suite 400
Fort Worth, TX 76104
Office: (817) 250-7030
Fax: (817) 250-7031
Clinic Hours
Monday – Thursday: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday: 8:00 am – 4:30 pm
Saturday & Sunday: Closed
Closed major holidays.
This site is for patient information. For urgent symptoms, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. After-hours, our answering service reaches the surgeon on call.