Kevin K. Au Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S.

Love him! Love him! Love him! He is obviously totally passionate about what he does. He is consistently professional and cheerful. He keeps you in the loop and is willing to answer all questions and listen to comments. There was nothing about him that I did not like. In fact, right before I had my preop with him, I pulled a string on my panties and they fell apart in the bathroom, seven minutes before my appointment. I checked in to see him, feverently saying prayers that he would not have me undress. Guess what? His nurse handed me a gown and said \"Take everything off except your panties.\" I started laughing and told her my problem and made her promise to tell me that I was not a pervert who liked to go commando, that I had an accident and was without underwear. Dr. Au dealt with these news with total class. He did not mention it and did the appointment with missing a beat or embarrassing me. Needless to say, he has a fan for life. The girls at my office laughed so hard when I told them this..but Dr. Au really rocks.rnrnDr. Au's office staff can be described in one word: stellar. You could not ask for a kinder group of people. I am very fortunate to have them as my health team. They are sensative, responsive, and very reassuring.rnrnWhat you should know about Dr. Au is that he is an avid fisherman and a bundle of energy. He's a sweetie. He totally emphasizes aftercare and there is an extensive system set up before the surgery that includes their exclusive support groups and a dietician that regularly calls.rnrnDr Au makes you aware of all of the risks. Despite the risks, he does put things in perspective so that you can make an educated decision.rnrnOn a scale of 1-10, I rate Dr Au a 15. He's definitely one of the best and very admired by his staff and co-workers. I was very impressed. He has fantastic surgical competence and bedside manner. rnrn

DR. AU IS A GREAT DOCTOR!HE REALLY KNOWS WHATA HE IS DOING!THE STAFF IS AWESOME AND THEY ALL KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING, AND ARE VERY HELPFUL. HE EXPLAINS WHAT TO EXPECT BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER SURGERY.IF I WAS LOOKING FOR SURGEON, I WOULD CHOSE DR. AU TO BE MY SURGERON.

I thought that Dr Au was a very nice man when I met him and all my worries were immediately gone. He is informative and funny. I love it when he walks into the room and in his happy, boisterous little accent say Hello Mrs Will`iams! After I changed to my new married name, I think it confused him. LOL

Dr Au has retired. Harriet their aide has retired as well.

My first impression of Dr. Au was that he was very to the point. He didn't joke around and was very straightforward. But he did crack a smile or two! The office staff is great. The do their best to help you out. Would highly recommend Dr. Au.

7/12/05: My surgery is scheduled for August 10th. Dr. Bock was scheduled to perform the procedure. He is an avid cyclist and was training for the Seattle to Portland ride this last weekend. Apparently, he had an accident on either Thursday or Friday and broke his collar bone, ribs, and pelvis.

All July and August surgeries have just been cancelled!

His surgery coordinator is trying to get me in with his associate surgeon for the same day. Dr. Au is currently on vacation this week, so I won't know the status of my surgery until Monday. I have not met him yet, but have heard wonderful things about him.

My husband's insurance renews on September 1st and we don't know if the surgery will be a benefit any more.

7/18/05: I found out Dr. Au will perform my surgery on August 10th as planned! YAAAAYYYY!!! Only 17 days to go.

great
only better
terrific
can't think of anything
excellent care
insists on it before performing surgery
yes
very educational
a
both great

He was very pleasant and a real joy to work with. I had the surgery done laproscopicaly and it was done very well. I was very pleased with his work and I highly recommend him.

Dr Au requires that you sign up for one year with the nutritionist. They help you get the most out of the surgery and to know the best way to use your new tool. Even though it was difficult with my limited income to come up with the $725, I think it is well worth it and a definate plus to the program.

My first impression of Dr. Au, he's a kind, gently and very caring man. The office staff is just as wonderful as him. They really do care about you as a person and understand what it's like to be morbidly obesie. They are there 100% after you've had surgery and yes they have a structured care. The make you fully aware of any risks and that the surgery is a tool. Overall I would rate him a 10.

Group Health does things differently-- you don't have a surgical consult until you have all your pre-op testing (sleep study, psych eval, echocardiogram, gallbladder U/S)completed. Then you have an orientation class at Group Health, where you meet your surgeon and learn about the required after-care program, in which you are required to participate.<p>Dr. Kevin Au has been a general surgeon at group Health for 25 years. I found him to be very enthusiastic, knowledgable, rather funny and very nice. He does have an accent (I think he is from China, but I didn't ask and I don't care)-- his accent can make it hard to understand some words. I think he's really into fly-fishing because that's how the exam room was decorated (reels, rods and nets) but I didn't ask.

I met Dr. Au (pronounced ow as in ouch) on Friday, July 12. He seems like a really caring man. I was quite impressed. His assistant's last name is Grimm.... Ow and Grimm.

Everyone at Group Health has been terrific to work with. Harriet, who helps run the program, has been wonderful in her assistance, as has everyone else.

I'm particularly impressed by two things...

1) Rather than answer questions individually, in a 1/2 hour appointment, Dr. Bock (the founder of the GHC program) schedules a monthly orientation with 10-12 patients at the same time. It's a 1/2 day meeting that is very informative. Besides hearing and questioning, Dr. Bock, a nutrionist comes in and answers questions, as does a social worker (psych). VERY informative. After the orientation you meet one-on-one with the MD who will be doing your surgery, as well as an anaesthesiologist (might or might not be yours).

2) GHC covers the surgery, asking that each patient pay $725 for one year of nutritional (over-the-phone) counseling. Obviously, the more you put into the counseling, the better the results. I think it's great that patients are required to do this.