Voravit Wongsa Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

I had my initial consultation with Dr. Wongsa on 3/16/01. I traveled from Austin to Houston and arrived early. I waited until about 20 minutes before my appointment before going in to his office. He saw me immediately. He asked me all the right questions. I had several of my own. He answered thoroughly and thoughtfully. Now I am waiting for the insurance to respond.

I LOVE DR.WONGSA!!! I had a bilion questions when I walked in to the initial consultation, and he was so patient with me. I was a revision, and was very scared I would be able to have the surgery done with the laparoscope. He explained all the possibilities to me and made me feel very confident that he would be able to safely perform the surgery. The surgery went very well...even though it took 5 hours! I felt great by my second day in the hospital. On the evening of the second day, I developed an infection. My fever went to 102.4 and my white blood cells were at 26,000 (10,000 is normal). Dr. Wongsa came from home to see me at 2:30 in the morning! He stayed with me, checked me out, and ordered tests for the morning. I had a catscan and an Upper GI that next morning to rule out leakage/other problems with the surgery, and Dr. Wongsa was there with me for both of the tests. After the tests, they saw that the surgery was working perfectly. They could not explain the infection except to say it could have been my body's reaction to the trauma of surgery. They treated me with an antibiotic, and I went home healthy two days later. I guess the point of this long winded story is that I felt absolutely safe with Dr. Wongsa. He is such a sensitive, compassionate doctor. I highly recommend him!

From the minute I met Dr Wongsa I knew that he would be my surgeon if I decided to go through with this procedure. After a lenghty and very informative interview with him, I was sure that I wanted the surgery but only if Wongsa performed it. Dr. Wongsa is one of the most compassionate and caring doctors I have come across in the USA. He is one in a million. I am from Texas but have been living in Thailand off and on for the past 8 years. Dr Wongsa is also from Thailand although his entire medical training was done here in the states. He performed the first Kidney transplant in Thailand several years ago at a very famous and modern hospital in Bangkok. In fact it is the same hospital I use when I am there. I had no idea the doctor was Thai or was from that hospital when I first visited his office. In a nut shell, Dr Wongsa and his staff are wonderful. His reputation, and his office/bedside manner are a refreshing change to what treatment you usually receive from a doctor these days. He's a modern day Marcus Welby, and I would trust him with any type of surgery, mainly because he cares.

No he does not have a aftercare support program, besides himself. Come on folks, how much aftercare support do you really need. We are all there for the same reason, we loved to eat and hated being the size we were. This is a pretty drastic last chance to solve our weight problems. There is no magic surgery, pills or spells. Eat what the doctor says to eat, you will still get a little hungry, well, Boo Hoo, drink some water and hang on. I'm going through it all and on top of it I am going cold turkey from a 30 year old/3 pack a day smoking habit. It's been almost 2 weeks since my surgery. I've lost over 30 pounds. I have been depressed, hungry, angry and not sure I had done the right thing. All because I can't stuff my face full of food like I use to. Hey this is my last hope as it probably is most of yours out there. Give it a chance, get some will power and give it a fair period of time. It's no fun, and not pleasent. Neither is not being able to see your toes or having all the medically related problems that go along with Obesity. Good Luck to you all, I know I will need it, but I'm sticking to it.

PJ

I met with Dr. Wongsa March 12th. He's was really nice and informed me right away that I wasn't big enough. What should have been a compliment, turned out to be disappointing. Anyway, he stresses on having surgery for being healthy not thin. I totally understand. I want to be healthy, and being thin won't hurt. His staff was awesome. And I would recommend the whole staff to everyone. Dr. Wongsa is definitly a 10+.

YESTERDAY I HAD MY CONSULTATION. I WAS KIND OF WORRIED DUE TO ALL THE MEDICAL PROBLEMS I HAVE,INCLUDING A MAJOR STROKE IN 1997. BUT HE SAID ALTHOUGH I DID NOT MAKE AN IDEAL PATIENT FOR SURGERY, I WAS WAY TOO YOUNG TO HAVE THESE MEDICAL PROBLEMS, AND IF I WANTED THIS SURGERY HE WOULD DO IT. HE WAS VERY KIND AND UNDERSTANDING TO MY PLIGHT. HE SAID IT WASN'T GOING TO BE EASY, BUT HE COULD TELL I WAS DETERMINED.HE HAS HIGH HOPES FOR ME, SO DO I. NOW ALL I HAVE TO DO IS WAIT FOR INSURANCE APPROVAL. HIS NURSE, RUTH, WHO IS VERY NICE SAID THAT UNITED HEALTH CARE IS PRETTY FAST. I AM SOOOO EXCITED.

Dr. Wongsa is great. I love him. I had a consult first with a different surgeon and wasn't sure he would be the right one for me. After I met Dr. Wongsa I knew he was the one I wanted to perform my surgery. He is very knowlegable. He talked with me for over an hour and answered every question I possibly had and some I hadn't thought of. I even had him laughing. His nurse, Ruth, is great. She was very helpful and returns every phone call. Dr. Wongsa truly cares about his patients. I rate Dr. Wongsa a 10! I am completely satisfied with his surgical competence and I thank God I found him.

First impression was good. Was very impressed with his knowledge and most importantly his statistics. He's straight and to the point.

02-26-01 I met with Dr. Wongsa today. He was very nice and made me feel comfortable. My roommate and I were both present and she liked him as well. He explained the procedure as well as the difference between it and others we had researched. Dr. Wongsa answered all of our questions and did not make us feel rushed. He also told us we could call anytime we had questions or concerns. Ruth, his nurse, seemed very patient and helpful as well. She also stated we could call her and she would answer any questions we might have. She explained the procedure of getting the insurance approval and that she would call as soon as she had heard from them. Both she and Dr. Wongsa think there will be no problem with insurance approval.....I guess it's weight and see time...heh heh...

He is INCREDIBLE!!! A truly nice guy. His office, esp. his staff nurse, are all just as easy to work with. He's been doing this surgery (r-en-y) for quite a long time (20 years I think). I definitely recommend him.

I had a complication! I am Dr. Wongsa's 4th complication in all his many (I think 20?) years of doing the surgery. It was corrected, and I am doing GREAT--thanks to the fabulous Dr. Wongsa and his fantastic staff! Please see my profile for more info on the complication.

I liked Dr Wongsa right away he was very professional. I know most surgeons are rushed but he spent almost 2 hours with me in his office talking about the procedure and the aftermath and answwering questions.
My impression is still the samw as it was before. The office staff is great they are kind and Ruth is patient and answers your questions in a timely manner. The only thing that I didn't like was that they do not have an aftercare program. He does not emphasize aftercare in the way that I would like to see it emphasized. There is not a structured aftercare program. He addressed the risks of surgery in an informative manner. I was nervous about the surgery itself and the possible things that could go wrong and he explained them all to me very patiently. I would rate him as a top notch Dr. I am not sure which is best yet since I have not had my surgery but after I do I will be back to update this page...wish me luck...