John Wright, Jr. Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

My first impress of Dr. Wright (Vanderbilt-Nashville) was I thought he was too serious! My impression soon changed when I realized what a serious surgery I was about to have and that Dr. Wright just wanted to make sure that I was mentally and physically able to succeed. His office staff was GREAT...helped everyway they could with getting my insurance approved! For future patients planning to choose Dr. Wright as their bariatric surgeon, all I can say is there is not a more competent physician as he is. It's been 8 years and 188 lbs since my surgery and I am still complication free! If I had my choice between bedside manner and surgical competence....duh, I would choose competence every time, which is exactly what I received with Dr. John Kelly Wright! Thankful to that man for making the biggest change in my life ever! I'd do it all over again tomorrow if I had to.

My surgeon was great!! Took very good care of me!

i liked dr. wright from the beginning, but i will warn you that he is very stern and thorough. he saved my life in 2004 and again in 2007, when he bisopsied a lymph node in my groin region. it was cancer. my internal medicine dr. had not thought it was serious. i am in stage 4 cancer, i have had surgery, radiation, and i am hoping to see dr. wright in 2008 for my checkup. god bless him!

Thank you all who told me of your first experience of Dr. Wright. He was like many surgeons I had met before in a clinical setting in that he was wearing his professional attitude, but I promise that behind his eyes you could tell that he honestly cared about what he did. One of the most impressive things was his confidence in his team. He assured me that he would not be doing all of the work but would be relying on his chosen team. What can I say, this was a sign that he knew what he was doing.rn I am still waiting for the second visit. I'll keep you posted.rnrn07/30 07:12 PMrnIt was true this visit to Dr. Wright and to Vanderbilt was so different than my first. He was jovial and humorous and positive about the 16 lbs weight loss. Blood tests done in April were repeated along with an EKG. All of my questions were answered and I am his first surgery on August 21. I met several other patients while there. One had had the surgery in May and had last 45 lbs. Another, Jennifer goes in on the 18th and was as positive as I am that this is the Surgeon for us. Vanderbilt is undergoing construction and is a mess to get around. I am fairly familiar with Nashville and still it was hard to avoid road costruction, gas line reconstruction and hospital additions. I am excited but have reservations about crushing all of my meds after surgery. But on a positive note I was assured that I won't be without my morning coffee for long!!! -- Pamela Chaversrn9/15/04rnToday I am having a colonoscopy. Last Wednesday, I had an endoscopy. When I had my yearly check up I had assumed that since it was in Dr Wright's literature that a scoping would become a part of a yearly checkup, and I was having a lot of gastric problems, imagine my surprise when he wanted nothing to do with taking the resonsibility of ordedring a scope.rn I have a wonderful new internist and a good gastro and so I am sure this will be sorted out. But I am considering switching to a local surgeon for my after care.rn If you are local to North Alabama or South Central Tennessee, there are more choices now locally than there were a year ago. Dr. Wright's reputation for skill is excellent. the care I recieved at Vanderbilt was horrid.(They actually let me lapse into Paxil withdrawal).rn Timing is everything. Check to see when Dr. Wright in going on vacation before making up your mind wheteher to use him.

I new when I got there that my surgeon was all bussiness. He was very direct and to the point. And not very friendly. He had alot of student Dr. that made me feel like a cow in the herd. But I knew that I was in very capable hands. His office staff was some of the best I had been around. Always ready to answer any question or call you back when you needed. I just wish that the Dr. had been more hands on and had a better bedside manner. You could be sure though when it was serious that Dr. Wright was going to be there. I felt safe with him.

When I first met Dr. Wright, I could tell that he was an extremely professional man. He went right into telling me all the risk of the surgeries and did not sugar coat anything. I felt very secure with my decision to have Dr. Wright as my surgeon from the beginning. I dont want any sugar coating on anything and he didnt do that. There is not alot of an aftercare program. He expects you to be educated and informed when making the decision to have this surgery. During my hospital stay, I didnt see Dr. Wright very many times, but he had resident doctors that made many, many visits daily to my room. Each of the residents was very compassionate and caring. They was more than willing to help me with any concerns or questions that I had. I would give Dr. Wright a 10. I thank God that I had such a well practiced and professional surgeon on my side.

'I agree with what most everyone else says about the first impression of Dr.Wright.He doesn't have to sell himself

At first I found Dr. Wright to be very cut and dry. He almost seemed hateful at first. He started out by telling me all the bad things about the surgery. Then he told me that it IS possible to loose weight with diet and exercise. WELL, I blew a fuse with that. I told him if I could lose it that way then I wouldn't weigh 381 lbs. I also told him that this wasn't an easy decison. That I had researced this procedure of years, and that if he wouldn't help me that I wasn't giving up. That I would find someone who would. Well, with that, he smiled at me, and told me he would be happy to do my surgery and he would submit my letter to my insurance.

In 2 weeks, I had my approval.

My second visit with Dr. Wright was a lot more enjoyable. He was still kind of cut and dry, but not as stand-offish.

I saw Dr. Wright twice while in the hospital. He was very friendly and concerned about whether I had any pain or not.

My follow up appts with Dr. Wright have all been very enjoyable. He is very concerned with each and everyone of his patients.

Dr. Wright is a very competent surgeon. If I had to do this all over again, he is the ONLY surgeon I would consider for the procedure. This man has saved my life. For that I will be forever grateful.

Dr. Kelly Wright is a no nonsense, tell it like it is. I personally like that kind of doctor. My surgery is scheduled for 1-9-06. I know this is not a cure. This is a tool. The way I see it is this is my last chance at life. If I could lose the weight any other way I would have done it by now. Dr. Wright knows this. He was up front about all the complications that I could face...He didnt hold anything back and didnt sugar coat anything. I really feel safe with this Doctor.

Dr. Wright was very professional and very to the point. Answered all the questions that I could remember to ask. I was so nervous and excited, I just couldn't think. I had done my homework researching Dr. Wright and not one negative remark about him... Every comment was excellent...
It has been difficult getting in touch with his assistant Lisa. She is polite, but .....
I now have a surgery date. Nov. 21, 2005.
Pre-op appt. and tests on the 9th. Very excited.
My pre-op went well. His office staff is wonderful.
Dr.Wright was very thorough, he made sure I understood the risks, since I am hep-c. He gets a 10+ for my pre-op. I feel very confident that Dr.Wright is one of the best in Tennessee.