Wisconsin Bariatrics, SC Bariatric Center

I liked Dr. Chua right away when I first saw him at the informational meeting. He was funny but yet to the point when it came to the seriousness of surgery. I haven't seen Chua since my surgery. I like Deb, his nurse that does my fills. She is a wonderful gal. On the flip side, some of the office staff has much to improve on. I was not crazy about the nursing care I recieved while I was at the hospital after surgery. Overall, I was happy to have Dr. Chua for my surgeon. I think he does care for his patients and is concerned for their well being. I think it is important to ASK ASK ASK questions and to be clear on every aspect of your surgery. I am glad I have had my band procedure. I believe Dr. Chua is a very qualified surgeon and his bedside manner is just fine.

My first impression of Dr. Chua was gained in July at his seminar. He came across as a soft spoken man who is a leader in his field. I especially enjoyed his sense of humor. I found him to be the same at my consult with him today (9/23/03). The process is taking longer than I like, but I feel that he is the best at what he does, and it will be well worth the wait in the long run.

Dr. Chua's office staff have been incredibly helpful. They have called me back a couple of times to answer questions that I've had and at my request, even called me when an earlier appointment became available.

I feel that future patients should know that there is no one more qualified to do the surgery and I believe that the program is very well structured pertaining not only to aftercare, but pre-op as well.

Agreeing that no one will rate a 10, I would rate my experience so far as an 8. I don't like that I had to wait so long between steps. I saw the nutrionist and had the psych eval on August 6th, but couldn't get an appointment with Dr. Chua until September 29th!! (In my mind, that was TOO long and was 7 1/2 wasted weeks.) They were able to get me in 5 days earlier, which I was happy about, but it was still 7 weeks! I am fearful for how long it will take to get pre-approval from CIGNA now. But I'll have to wait to see how it goes... (maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised!)

09/27/04 Well, I never thought this was going to be easy, but I surely didn't think it would take THIS long to get approval. It has been 16 MONTHS since I first spoke to my PCP about bariatric surgery. CIGNA wasn't the easiest to work with, but after several rejections and appeals, I finally do have approval. My surgery will take place on 10/19/04. But CIGNA failed to let me know that they stopped approving LapBands the month after I first applied! I met with Dr. Chua again on 08/14/04 and we switched to laproscopic VBG, which was ultimately what was approved. (Dr. Chua's office wasn't aware that CIGNA will no logner approve LapBand either.) CIGNA also failed to forward all of the documentation on to the company that they use for appeals. I didn't figure that out for quite a few months and it cost me a lot of time and frustration. But Dr. Chua's office was always there to offer whatever help they could.
10/26/04 I am one week post-op! My laproscopic VBG has proven to be virtually pain free! I have to give credit to what I believe are the highly skilled hands of Dr. Chua, I think he really is a gifted surgeon. I wouldn't have trusted this surgery to anyone else, I truly believe he is the best in his field.

Although, I did not meet with Dr. Chua directly, I met with his assistance (Dr. Valladares)who works close with him. I have read many good things about Dr. Chua, and Dr. Valladares has the same good qualities. He explained everything in a way that anyone could understand. I answered all of my questions and he seems to be very knowledgeable. I was quite satisfied with the consult that I had with him.

The entire staff was very friendly and helpful. I have no complaints.

Dr. Chua is a great doctor.The staff is totally supportive.They have a great post-op support group,and plan for aftercare.He told ALL the possible risks of surgery.I would rate him and his staff a "10".Totally awesome!!

I was very impressed with him at his seminar. For my pre-op visits I have seen Dr. Valderes, but Dr. Chua will be doing my surgery. His office staff, especially Tammy and Kelly are wonderful. They really helped me out with my insurance submittal.

I met Dr. Chua at a seminar in November of 2002. He is a quiet man with a sense of humor. He emphazied the importance of pre-surgery preperation as well as the importance of good after care. He addressed the risks of surgery as well as the benefits. Going to his seminar was the best and smartest move I have ever made. He is an A+ Doctor.

I had my surgery on December 17, 2003 and am now down to a normal weight and am no longer taking insulin for diabetes. God Bless you, Dr. Chua.

Compassionate. I was surprised that every little step of the process is a "process". Everything takes time. I have had to learn patience. I do feel Dr Chua is the "best of the best"

I was very at ease with him and felt he was confident and sincere.

my impression has only improved. He is a very good doctor and a person.

Seemingly unorganized but they eventually got everything worked out.

I first "met" Dr. Chua at a seminar in Milwaukee. He came across as very knowledgable...straight forward... good sense of humor and easy to talk to. My impression of him has never changed. JoAnne and Kelly are very helpful. I have had a couple of bad experiences with another staff member. Appparently I will not see Dr. CHua again once the surgery is completed, but he was very easy to talk to during the consult and gave my husband and I all of the answers we needed to feel comfortable with the surgery. It is hard having a surgeon located so far away... this is really something to consider when you are looking into WLS.

My first impression was good. Dr Chua is a very good Dr and answered all of my questions that I had before surgery. Believe me I had a long list.

I just wish he did the follw-up visits. (At least the first one after surgery)

Office staff is nice. They seem very busy. It was a major decision in my life and I guess I expected a little bit more compassion rather than to "just get processed" - my anxiety of the surgery date itself probable added to the emotion.

Aftercare - I have had several follow-up visits.

He does address the risks of surgery and the MANY pre-op tests look at alot of different areas. Dr Chua then discusses them with you which is great !!

I would rate him a 10 when it comes to expertise.

Surgical Competence is the most important factor to look at - he does a great job.