Voravit Wongsa Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

I was very impressed with how personable Dr Wongsa seemed to be. That did not change over time, I only grew to like him even more. He was very infomative about the surgery and seemed to be happy that I was interested in what he had to say even though he knew I had already been researching for the past two years and had already talked to another surgeron. He knew when to joke around and when to be serious; which makes me even more confident in choosing him as a surgeon. His office was very nice....small, but no one else was in there but me. Not one of those, let's sit here and wait to be seen for two hour deals, like at Neweigh. Dr Wongsa doesn't have an after care program, which sounds bad at first, but when you realize that you are the one that is going to make this work and you're going to do it no matter what it takes, it doesn't seem so bad....besides, I have this web site!He explained the risks of surgery in detail, but also explained that these risk rarely happen, especially to those with a smaller BMI like me.
Overall, so far, I rate Dr Wongsa a 10+, we'll see how things go if I get approved. As far as surgical competence and bedside manner, I think having both are important and will make the whole experiance much easier. If I am approved for surgery, at this time, I would definetly put my faith in God that Dr Wongsa is the best surgeon for me.

My first impression of Doctor Wongsa was that he was a really nice guy who did care. And one that wanted to help. His staff is really nice. He really emphasizes after care and he MAKES you understand about your eating habits. He really stresses the fact that you will be basically FASTING your body. And that in time it will grow to feel accustom to your new way of life.
We talked about the risks, I knew there was going to be some. But I am not really too worried about it. I would rate Dr. Wongsa a 10 on a scale of 1-5. He is great.
I think he is more than competent to be my surgeon and I think will have great bedside manner.

I met with Dr. Wongsa on Jan. 25, 2001. I liked him very much. He seemed to be very patient and kind. I had several questions to ask him with a lot of "why's" to follow the answers he gave me. He took his time and answered all of them to my satisfaction even though he had an office full of people waiting. I cannot say enough good things about his nurse Ruth. She was absolutely fabulous and wonderfuly helpful with everything.

I met Dr. Wongsa on Tues, Jan. 30th. He is a very nice man. He was thorough, informative, understanding, patient, kind, and he answered all of my questions. He seemed to be a more serious type but my mom and I had him laughing in no time. I left his office feeling very good about his skill, competency, knowledge and rate him a 10 out of 10. His office is very small. His wife is a Pediatrician and is located next door. They actually share the receptionist and the nurse. The receptionist, Jennifer is nice. His nurse Ruth is very sweet as well. He has NO waiting list at all at this point. He does the RNY LAP and that is what I am seeking. I should have an approval this week from insurance and my surgery will then be scheduled for probably the week of Feb. 12 or Feb. 19. Dr. Wongsa is not an avid supporter of support groups. He stated that you must be strong yourself and not totally depend on other people for support. He and I discussed this at length and I helped him to understand the importance of support groups. He discussed the risks, he explained his theory on the post op diet. He stresses that he does NOT believe in a liquid diet. He wants his patients to eat meat and only 3 bites per meal and 3 meals per day. He is very strict about what you eat but he said if I eat exactly as he tells me to, within 6 mos, I will have over 140 lbs LOST. So, I trust him with this. Will keep this updated.

I first went to NeWeigh and thought it was a good place. With in a week they had misinformed me and got rather short when I started to ask questions about the possibilty of a different hospital because of the complaints I had heard about Bellaire. They were procrastinating getting my package sent to my insurance for approval so I started to look for another doctor. Then a friend of mine told me about DR. Wongsa. HE IS WONDERFUL!!! He makes sure you understand the benifits AND drawbacks for the surgery and makes sure you are still going to go through with it. It is nice to feel like I have a concerned doctor it finally gives me peace of mind to know I will be care for.

I liked him...seemed caring. Not overly personable, but that's ok. I really liked the fact that he has been doing wls for many years and laps for over a year. He has a 98-99% success rate for laps, rarely, if ever, converting to an open.

Ruth, his nurse, was nice, but not overly knowledgable about the procedure. I had forgotten my list of questions for him, and called her when I got home, and she couldn't answer very many, and some were basic questions. But, she did get the rest answered for me, so no real problems.

The thing I liked least about him, is that he doesn't really put too much emphasis on support groups or meetings. I DO. Plus, he doesn't want you to ever drink anything with calories. Even skim milk. Diet sodas are ok, but no milk? Plus, no carbs...only protein and a few vegetables. We shall see...*evil grin*

Dr. Wongsa is very personable. He answered all of my questions honestly and had no quams about telling my exactly how it is. He will sit with you as long as it takes to answer all questions. My impression of him as a person is that I would want him as a life long freind. I rate Dr. Wongsa a 10.

I was very impressed with Dr. Wongsa. He took his time to talk with me, didn't try to rush me, and explained the surgery in detail. He made sure I knew all the risk involved.

His nurse Ruth was terrific.

I've been very satisfied with the way they took care of scheduling my appointments and surgery. It took less than 3 weeks from my first appointment to the date my surgery is scheduled - which speaks for itself.

Dr Ferrari was my first choice. I've been dealing with the girls at Neweigh for the last few weeks, specificly Carla. She has been helping me get things in the right order.
HOWEVER, the wait for Dr Ferrari AND Dr. Jay at Neweigh is far to long.
Today (1/15/00) I schedualed an appointment with Dr. Wongsa. My second choice. (Only because he does not have a structured after care program.....but I found out I could still go to Ferrari's aftercare program even after surgery with Wongsa...that solves that!)
I go for my first appointment/interview with Wongsa tomorrow.

Dr. Wongsa is NOW my surgeon, officialy.
I realllly like him! After I pulled it out of him - he was alot of fun! Very informative, however he told me the same stuff I already knew. He knew that though but just went over the basics and risks. He even pulled out the actual instruments used during his Lap RNY proceedures lol. I told him how I had watched a Lap RNY on the internet and he asked if I wanted to see the tools, so I said YES! lol Also, I asked if he used staples, tape, or sutures to close the 5 or 6 tiny cuts, he said staples. I asked if he would or could please use sutures, and he said sure - just remind him the morning of surgery! woohoo. I like him alot. He is VERY quick! (much quicker than Ferrari. He was VERY impressed that I had my Diet History, Family Medical History and Co-Morbidities typed up. He said I was a perfect candidate for this. Also, once I told him about United healthcare and explained how they have a 48 hour approval/denial deadline now, he went ahead and schedualed my tests right away. (ultra sound and Upper GI), first, instead of waiting until AFTER approval. Since he pretty much KNOWS Ill be approved.
So On thursday 1/18/01 I have an appointment with one of his interns to do those tests. A day or so after that I should get my insurance approval. And possibly THE VERY NEXT DAY I could be in surgery!! He said NO LONGER THAN A WEEK AFTER INSURANCE APPROVAL!! wooohooo i love him!

Will update more soon!

Dr. Wongsa is wonderful. He was very attentive and explained, in detail, every step of the operation to my husband after surgery. He came to visit 2 times a day and has been very supportive.

The office staff is very helpful and truly concerned for your well being.

He believes that you should have plenty of protein and solid foods as soon as the staples are out.

His surgical compitence and bedside manner are both GREAT!!!!

To date, I really do not have anything negative to say. I had surgery 2 months ago