Noel Williams Bariatric Surgeon MD, FRCSI, Director, Penn Metabolic & Bariatric

My daughter had her surgery on 10/26/01. she went to see Dr. Williams when she couldn't get approval for Dr. Andrei, because he is out of network. She loved him. She felt he was very personable. I had my visit with him 3 days before her surgery. I thought the same thing. I didn't have to wait long, and everyone was pleasant.

He has a support group that meets every month. I hve not gone yet, but plan to take advantage of it.

1/7/02 I am 4 days post-op. I am still having a good amount of pain. I am moving a little easier every day. Can't be without pain medicine for longer than 5 hours. I am taking 2 percocet each time. So far I have not vomitted. Last night was my first night home and I could not lie flat in bed. Reflux. I slept on my reclining sofa. I was pretty comfortable considering. I went to bed at 7am and slept until noon. I felt better then. I am taking each day one at a time.
They only negative thing I can say about my care is that I only saw Dr. Williams on the day I was discharged. I consider myself lucky. Most don't see the operating surgeon until there post-op visit. The one nurse I had, Stacey treated me well. I have no complaints about my hospital stay.

I met with Dr. Williams for the first time today. He was very very nice as was his staff. He answered all my questions about what to expect from the surgery . before, during and after. His staf was great! I couldn't compliment them enough on how comfortable they made me feel. The one thing I will say was it was a rather long wait .. my appt was at 1:00 but I didn't get to see the Dr until about 3:00. But all in all, the wait was worth it.

I will talk for the first time to Dr. Williams next tuesday July 24'01. I will let you know about my experience with him later.
*7/24/01* Went to talk to Dr. williams and he's a very likable person. The office was full of people, had to wait about 3 hours for him to see me. Even though he is super busy, he encouraged me to ask all the questions I have and he didn't rush the appoinment at all. I don't have any bad comment to say about him or his office staff at all. On the contrary, everybody who talked to me, from his medical assistant, secretary (heather), nutricionist (allison) are super nice and very helpful. I recommend him to anyone. I will starting going to the support groups this week, hopefully. Seems that UPenn has a well structured WLS program.

7/24/01 I called his office last week, but no one was there. The good news is I got a quick return call from the office. I am hoping to schedule a consult soon.

Dr. Williams is a very busy doctor but has busy as he is he still took the time answer questions.He set a date for surgery July 31,2001 providing I get an approval in time.He once to proform the surgery before he goes on vacation August the 1st and if this date works out I will be able to attend the fall semester which starts Aug.23,01 and hopefully back to work also. I Thought that was very considerate of him.The staff is friendly and patient.

He's very soft-spoken yet confident and I have heard that he is and excellent surgeon and is referred to as "the king" by his patients! He is works with two other doctors at HUP in Philadelphia, all three of whom are known for their surgical expertise. His secretary, Heather, is wonderful and always available. His nutritionist, Allison, has outstanding personal skills and knowledge in the field of WLS!

The HUP program offers a full aftercare program as well as a monthly support group meetings which I've already attended. I found to be very informative and helpful and warm!

I was so impressed with Dr. Williams. I felt very assured that what I am getting ready to have done is in the hands of a very competent, well knowledged, kind person. He made me feel so at eased, and the rest of his staff really made me feel that I made the right decision. Dr Williams not only spent time talking to me, he spent time listening to me as well. I am the one that decided on the bypass surgery and he was fine with it. He spent as much time as I needed with him, and also explained the entire program to me. What I like best about Dr. Williams is the fact that he didn't come off as being a doctor that is gonna do the surgery, extend his hand out and say, "Good luck. My job is done." He is gonna be there post op as well. His staff came in to introduce themselves, and show their support also. I feel very confident that I am in the right hands for this life altering surgery.
I am really trying hard to find any negative feedback from my visit. I went to him on 5/31/01, by 6/5/01 my insurance had approved the surgery, and by 6/08/01 all my tests and evals were scheduled and surgery was set for 6/22/01. If there is anything decouraging to say about Dr. Williams, his nutritionist did say to me that I lucked out when I did to get my appointment with him, because he has a 2 year waiting list now. So I guess that is a negative point to view.

Dr. Williams was extremely nice and informative prior to the surgery. He took his time and explained all the risks and benefits of both the VBG and the Gastric Bypass though I had the impression he preferred to do the VBG. His office staff and residents were very nice as well. The day of the surgery and afterwards, my personal experience has been somewhat different with him. I did not see my Dr. at all the day of the surgery which was a little disconcerting and now that I have had the surgery I feel somewhat abandoned. The response time from him and his office to questions and issues that come up is extremely slow. He is associated with a support group through the University of Penn which he briefly mentioned during my initial consultation. My first post op visit was roughly 3 minutes long 10 days after the surgery. He said that he did not need to see me for another 3 months. These are only my personal experiences and I am not making any statements about what others may or may not experience. Second post op visit was much better. The doctor took some time to answer all of my post-op questions. Given my conversations with other weight loss patients and the post op pain that they deal with I must say that Dr. Williams must be an excellent surgeon as my post-op pain was minimal.

Dr. Williams... He's at Penn. I think he's great. He answered all my questions. He made me relax and he treated me with dignity. I feel like I am in good hands.