Voravit Wongsa Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

I will meet Dr. Wongsa on 9/21/01 for my first consult. I have spoken to his receptionist, Jackie on the phone a couple of times and she seems like the sweetest person. She is always very helpful and friendly. So far from speaking to her and from what other people have had to say about Dr. Wongsa and his staff I feel very comfortable with having him as my surgeon.
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9-21-01
My husband and I met Dr. Wongsa today and we both just loved him. He was very direct and to the point. He took time to answer all of our questions and made us feel very comfortable about this decision. His staff is also great. They were very friendly and helpful. Hopefully I can have my surgery in the next month or so. I am really looking forward to it.
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12-06-01
After being denied in September because of a mix up with my paper work I have finally been approved for surgery. I was told by the insurance rep that I had initally been approved in late October but because some of my paperwork was accidently left out of the original request for surgery I was denied. I sent in an appeal on November 7th along with ALL the paper work needed and a couple of photos. Now if I can just get a surgery date I will be all set!
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12-07-01
Ruth called me today with a date. The surgery is scheduled for December 19th. They had to rush because after the beginning of 2002 Dr. Wongsa will no longer working with Aetna. I am now waiting for my pre op tests to be scheduled.
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12-12-01
I went today for my pre op interview at Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center in Houston. I was really impressed with everyone I met. The longest I had to wait was for the actual interview and that was because I had gotten there 30 mins early. I also stopped by Dr. Wongsa's office to be weighed and had lost 2 pounds...it's not much but that is 2 pounds closer to my goal.
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I did it!!! I had the surgery as scheduled and everything went as planned. Dr. Wongsa was wonderful, as usual. He, Dee and the nursing staff at CyFair took great care of me. I was in the hospital almost 48 hours to the minute. He came in on Friday morning and said do you feel good, wanna go home? Of course I said YES!! To date I have lost 8 pounds pre op and 21 pounds post op. I feel and look better than I have in a very long time.

He was great, had lots of questions for him and he had the anwers..
No change I will use him for my surgeon. He take his time not in and out..
So for the office staff has been great.
What I like least about him noting so far...
NOW just wating fo Ins.

My surgeon is awesome. I felt very comfortable in having his do this surgery. He is very strict, but this is because he wants you to do your best. He had other patients in the hospital and we all has a speed recovery.

His staff is very nice and helpful. Dee, his nurse, came to see me everyday while I was in the hospital.

Ruth, another nurse, fought with the insurace company for approval. We finally got it and I had surgery on 12/11.

I can\'t tell you what my first impression was because I was so nervous that my mind was going 100 mph. I had prepared for this meeting so much that it was ridiculous. He is more prepared than I could have ever been.

I had typed a letter about myself and then a page of questions to ask. Well, before I got to ask them he was so thorough that he had answered most of them before I even got to ask them.

However, the letter saved a lot of time because I told him all of the diets and meds I had tried. I listed all of the doctors I had seen and also my previous surgeries and allergies. I mean to tell you it was a medical resume. Ha Ha

As far as his office I had read about it being small and everyone was right, it was small. He was very direct about what he expects of you and lets you know if he thinks you are ready for this or if he thinks you need to get more serious. Fortunately, for me he felt that I had done plenty of research and was ready for this and all we had to do was get things rolling.

Dr. Wongsa explained everything very clearly. He gave me the little cup and showed me how small my pouch would be. It will be 1/2 oz. that is really small and will be a shock to you if you aren\'t prepared for it. Check it out and see how much food you get for 1/2 oz. You need to mentally prepared otherwise your chin might hit the floor.

He has done this surgery for several years and feels that each doctor has their own technique or touch that makes them feel that what they are doing is the best for their patients. He is very confident in his skills and that is a good feeling, to know that he is secure enough to tell you about himself and his work.

He doesn\'t have and aftercare support group. However, he makes it clear that your success and your health is his number one priority. Follow-up for the first year is very important to him.

Overall, I would recommend him to anyone that is serious enough to make the commitment to see this through. He will let you know if he thinks you are ready or not. Don\'t give up, if he tells you something you don\'t like because, he does have your best interest in mind. He wants to know that you are going to succeed at reaching your goal and changing your life.

I have met people who Dr. Wongsa has been firm with and that is why I stress your need to be serious. He isn\'t afraid to tell you how he feels and therefore you shouldn\'t be afraid to tell him either.

One of the questions he asked me was could I live without sweets? My answer was yes, but it will be hard. I want to succeed and cheating isn\'t going to get me there. It is what helped get me where I am today and I don\'t want to be like this anymore. So cheating is not an option.

I have my first consultation with Dr. Wongsa about the surgery on Nov. 21, 2001 at 10:15 a.m. I have seen, and met him before when I went to an appointment with a friend of mine who wants to have the surgery. We have both done a lot of research on this surgery, and she has a surgery date set with him. I'm hoping my first consultation with him will go well. He really seemed like a nice guy when I went with her to see him.

11/20/2001
I went to see Dr. Wongsa today. I was so excited when his office called me yesterday, they said he had to leave early on the 21st so could I come in on the 20th at 9:00am. So I did. Dr. Wongsa seemed like a really nice, really down to earth person. Even though I have been researching this surgery for a while now, he made everything about it very understandable. My boyfriend got to be in the room with me, which I thought was nice, and we both just felt very comfortable talking to him about the surgery. His office will be sending out a request letter for approval to my insurance company Cigna PPO. The only thing that kind of worries me about the whole thing is the insurance approval. I had a whole list of information to send to the insurance company, and Dr. Wongsa said I was naive. That the insurance company wouldn't give a damn if I sent them letters or not. He said he would write them the kind of letter they would like to see. But when I asked him if he thought It would be hard to get an approval he said he didn't know because Cigna is really iffy. That was weird because I had heard I had one of the best insurances for this procedure. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. The only thing I can do is wait until Cigna gets the papers,and hope, and pray that they will approve me. If they don't, I guess the only thing I can do is appeal. The only thing he required me to do was sign a form saying I will eat only protien, no fat, no carbs until my next appointment with him. He said he wanted me to lose a little weight.

As much as my surgeon was evaluating me, I was interview him. I had a positive feeling about Dr. Wongsa. He was intelligent, confident, open to questions, and down to earth. He was straightforward regarding risks and difficulties.

The office staff was very helpful and patient throughout. Eagerly answering any questions, and assisting with necessary paperwork.

I liked Dr. Wongsa. He was very direct and
to the point. He did explain that the sucess
would depend on me and he explained the risks.
I got the impression that he did not think
I was ready but I'll show him that I am!:)
He has done 250 laps rny and has only had to
open on one. He says he has had no deaths from the
procedure and complications are only about
3%.
Regarding surgery- The drug man was excellent.
He got it 1st try and I am a hard stick. Gave
me a happy shot and I remember nothing until
I got to my room. No recover room memories.
There was no foley and all other tubes were
inserted and removed while I was out. I can
honestly say that I had no surgery pain. Only
soreness.... Dr. does not believe in gall bladder
drug. Says if it goes bad, then you come back
and have it taken out.

I have only seen Dr Wongsa briefly for a short interview, so I dont really feel I know him. I went to him based on information I found online. He said to call him with any questions I had and I did that a few days ago, but he hasnt returned my call yet. Will be happy to follow up when I know more.

I really liked Dr. Wongsa. He was down to earth and no beating around the bush. His office staff was nice, and i'm glad he'll be my surgeon. Not a lot of aftercare, he told me he'd see me for a year then i'm on my own.

He was very straight forward. I asked lots of questions, and he took the time to answer them. I didn't feel as though he was trying to sell me the surgery, only to give me the facts that I needed to make the right decision for me. I was impressed that he emphasized how much committment was required from me to get the best result from the surgery. I spoke to alot of Drs before seeing Dr Wongsa. He is not in my city, and I had to be very persistent to get a referral outside of my geographic area, but it was well worth it. He didn't leave me floating on some euphoric cloud with visions of size 6's dancing in my head. I left his office contemplating the enormity of what I was about to do, and how it would effect my life. I decided, based on realistic expectations, that surgery was for me.