Helmuth T. Billy Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

i thought that he was great. he explained all procedures in detail. his office staff was also excellent.

Yeah! Today I am exactly 4 months post op (my surgery date was April 27, 2004). Dr. Billy and his staff are simply AWESOME! Honestly, I am very happy that Dr. Billy is my doctor because he really does care about his patients and their progress. Dr. Billy and his staff are very thorough in explaining everything about the procedure. They are really with you every step of the way. Dr. Billy has a great bedside manner, a wonderful sense of humor, a heart of gold, very knowledgeable, and of course, excellent surgical skills. I am forever grateful. Without a doubt, I would recommend him to anyone that asks.

Dr. Billy seemed very warm and very knowledgeble. He was easy to talk with and very encouraging.

My first impression, of Dr. Billy, did change somewhat. He continued to be a great source of help and encouragement but he was also very down to earth. He was never patronizing as I've experienced with some doctors/surgeons.

He is an educator as well. It is his philosophy that all Bariatric Surgery patients should be followed up for the rest of their lives. They are encouraged to join the local WLS support groups and monitored to be sure they are following the recommended practices of successful post op WLS patients.

I realize that no one is perfect, but my experience with him, so far, has been positive.

HIs staff is absolutely wonderful. I feel so free to share my feelings and concerns knowing that I will be heard.

Future patients should know that he is excellent in his field and very conscientious about his follow up. He will never abandon a patient after they have recovered from surgery. He plans to be there for his patients for the rest of their lives.

He is very up front about the risks of the surgery. He has been open about losing a patient early on in his career. It was, of course, very devastating to him.

I would rate him as excellent. Not only is he surgically competent, he has a wonderful "bedside manner." These attributes are very important to me.

Dr. Billy is absolutely fabulous. His staff was always very helpful. Dr. Billy is very emphatic about aftercare & support group meetings. All areas of risk were presented prior to surgery.

I first met Dr. Billy at a Seminar at St. John's Regional Medical Center. I felt that he was very knowledgeable but also very compassionate. He was honest about his experiences and advised me to talk to others who have had the surgery with him before my surgery. During my pre-op appointment we had a lengthy discussion about the risks of surgery and my responsibilities after my surgery. While I was in the hospital I had tremendous support from both him and his staff. Since my surgery my opinion of him has only grown more positive. He is helpful and available and very dedicated. He will spend the time needed to discuss concerns and has a very structured program for aftercare. To me that is one of the most important things because I do NOT want to fail! I had my surgery on April 7, 2004, and I have never felt that I am going through this journey alone! I have felt support behind me every step of the way. His office staff is awesome. They are always available through phone or e-mail, and very supportive. They are also very kind, compassionate, and caring. Going into this, as an obese person, it was so refreshing to find these qualities from Dr. Billy and his staff, because that is not how obese people are treated, in general. There are support groups twice a month and all are given a phone list of all patients who are willing to be contacted. Through these contacts I have gained a strong support base of fellow patients who I call friends!
Dr. Billy's bedside manner is just as excellent as his surgical competance. I would reccommend him highly for weight loss surgery. I feel as if he has saved my life and for that I will be forever grateful!

My Doctor was really good to me. I had started this process in April of 2003. My PCP at the time took me on a Roller Coaster ride and made a lot of excuses as to why we needed "more time" to get the paperwork done. I went to DR Billy after a friend suggested him to me. He tried too, but by the time I got to him I already new I was going to pay cash if I had to. His staff was great, helped when they could - listened to me complain when we hit a dead end. I think the best part of DR Billy is that he is not there to baby you. He will not fill you with empty promises and is pretty up front. You need to go to him when you have decided the following: 1) you are going to listen to his advice on aftercare 2) you are not expecting this to be an easy cure-all to a long time of bad habits. 3) you are fully comvinced this is something that you want for yourself and no one else. If someone asked me about DR Billy, I would have to say he is great to have on your team if you are ready to start working hard. He is a busy man, so if you need a lot of extra attention from your DR and not his staff, he may not be the one for you. And yes.... I paid cash.

GOING TO HIS MEETING MARCH 22,04 TO LEARN MORE .

The first time I met Dr. Billy was at his seminar in Truckee. I found him to be very comfortable to be around. He was very relaxed and did not give a sales pitch. He holds his seminars in small groups so it is a more relaxed setting. He was very thorough in his answers and explanations. He made sure that you were well informed and understood the serious nature of the procedures. In his presentation he tells you he got into bariatrics because his patients are important to him and it shows. He was very knowledgable of his office. I was very impressed. His office staff has been wonderful. Heather in the insurance dept. has been great to work with. She is very friendly and will do anything to assist you. DeAnn in Truckee has answered all of my questions and has been helpful. He is well liked by the patients I have spoken to about him. He is spoken of highly in the offices I have contacted for pre op appointments. So far I have been very impressed. I will post more after my first visit with him.
10/1
My husband and I met with Dr. Billy on Saturday 9/27. His Truckee office staff, DeeAnne and Sarah were wonderful. My appointment with Dr. Billy was very relaxed. He was very easy to talk to and we felt like we were talking to someone we knew. He said that I should be able to have surgery in two or three weeks. I has my surgery on 10/28/03 in Ventura, California. I had a very good experience. Dr.Billy and his staff are wonderful. I would highly recommend Dr. Billy to anyone who asks!

Dr. Billy is now preciding in Ventura, ca. I met him at a overview meeting, my husband and I were very impressed with the Dr. My surgery was done in Ventura 4-15-03 Dr. Billy is a outstanding surgeon and he truely cares about his patients even after 4 months if I have a problem he returns my calls within 10 minutes. His staff is always very helpful and they will help as much as they can. Dr. Billy did a laproscopec procedure for my surgery and he kept me in the hospital for 3 days since I lived in Santa Maria, then he had my Husband and I stay in Ventura until the following Monday just in case I needed him. He was very careful about letting me know the risks involved in the surgery so I could make a well informed decision. I would rate his overall ability and bedside manner with an AAA.

My first impression of Dr. Billy was that he was a very friendly, compassionate, and intelligent doc. He seems very involved in his patients after-care, and I liked that a very much. My surgery is set for July 8th--7 days left.

His office staff is AWESOME. From the beginning my husband and I always felt blessed to have so many caring people around us. Heather is billing is part-mom, part-cheerleader, and part pit-bull (to the insurance companies that is)! The Two Sara's (Sara Lee and Sarah-the other one hee hee) are wonderful. They would ask every quetion and then ask for more. They made sure I understood all the facts, ma'am. I have been so happy to have met Denise in the Truckee office first. She made me at home, first on the phone setting up appts, then afterwards helping me sort out all the tests. Plus she always had a good laugh for me--very important!