John Wright, Jr. Bariatric Surgeon M.D., F.A.C.S.

My first meeting with Dr.Wright went really well. He was pleasant and easy to talk to. I had done ALOT of research so the meeting didnt take too long. He talked to me for a few minutes then did a brief exam. I was really impressed that they had hospital gowns that would fit me ( very very roomy ). The scale also weighed me correctly and I cant be weighed at my regular doctors office. They go through alot of prescreening so I understood the procedure and didnt have that many questions but, he would have answered any I had. Overall, it was a very good experience. The only odd thing was that you wait in the General Surgical area with hundreds of people, with all types of illnesses. Luckily there were several of his patients there who asked me if I was seeing Dr. Wright. I enjoyed talking to people who had 'been there, done that' and were very pleased.

Please feel free to email me with any questions.

HE WAS NICE...NOT ALOT OF BEDSIDE MANNER, BUT A GOOD SURGEON,

I FEEL THE SAME TODAY, AS THE FIRST TIME WE MET.

NICE

I ONLY SAW HIM ONCE DURING MY FOUR DAYS IN THE HOSPITAL.

HE IS A DOCTOR WITH ALOT OF PATIENTS. MY SURGERY WAS SCHEDULED FOR A TUESDAY A.M. AND HE CALLED THAT MORNING A CANCELLED BECAUSE HE HAD A LIVER TRANSPLANT. I WAS NOT UPSET...I HAD THE SURGERY THE FOLLOWING FRIDAY. JUST REMEMBER HE HAS OTHER PATIENTS, SOME SICKER...

NOT MUCH YOU ARE RELEASED FOME HIS CARE IN 4 MONTHS...NO FOLLOW UPS. HE WANTS YOU TO CONTACT YOUR PRIMARY CARE PHYICIAN.

NO

YES HE ADDRESSED THE RISKS OF SURGERY.

I AM A HEALTHY PERSON.. THIS IS MY ONLY EXPERIENCE WITH A SURGEON. HE SEEMED FINE.

SURGICAL COMPETENCE...HE MIGHT WARM UP WITH TIME...

First impression - professional & competent. Change in impression - none. Office Staff - professional. Most liked - At my consultation appointment I was taken in exactly on time - no waiting for hours in the lobby. The doctor was in my room within 10 minutes. No waiting, I appreciated that as I value my time just as much as they value theirs. Least liked - after my initial call for information, I had to have a telephone consultation with Dr. Wright before they would schedule an appointment for me. Due to my work schedule, I was missing his calls. I requested that he set a time to call so that I would be sure to be available, or that he call after a certain time of day. This request was not accomodated. His secretary seemed a bit short with me at times and put out with my requests. I have to admit, however, he did not stop attempting to call. Eventually, I ended up calling his office and just happened to catch him in. Overall, it was frustrating but it worked out well. Aftercare - thoroughly discussed before consultation appointment during telephone consult, followed up with an information booklet which outlined aftercare explicitly and it was discussed in length at consultation appointment. Rating - A+. Best attribute to me is surgical competence AND bedside manner. If I had to choose only one, it would definately be competence!

I first talked with Dr Wright a couple of days ago. May
9. He had called and missed me once. Called me
back at my workplace the next day. He wanted
to see if I had any questions. He answered my
questions and told me to call back for an appointment
the next day. He seemed nice enough. I am
looking forward to seeing him and going to the
support group. Called Lisa the next day, she
stated that she will call me back next week. Not
setting up new appointments till late June.
This was a little dissapointing. I guess they
are really busy.

5/21/2000
Lisa called me, have an appointment with Dr Wright
for June 30, My husband said that he is going to go
with me. I think that he now understands why I want to
have surgery and is wanting to learn more.

8/2/2000
Have to have special papers filled out to be
off for surgery. I have a 15 day limit to get
them filled out & back to my employer. Lisa was
very helpful. She was calm and made me
feel confident that everything would be ok. I
am just afraid something will go wrong.
She is very nice and seems to want to help.

I would love to hear correspondence from anyone that has
had surgery by Dr. Wright. Please e-mail me at
salli@spazmail.com

10/02/2000
Had surgery on 9/26/2000
Have to say very impressed with Dr Wright and
his staff. The surgeons that worked with him was also
wonderful. I can't believe I feel as well as I do just
having this major operation. Had my Gallbladder removed
at the same time. Lots of people would be off work
for 6 weeks for just a Gallbladder Surgery. As of tomorrow it
will be 1 week since I had my surgery. I am sore but feeling
very good otherwise. I am also very appreciative of
this Dr and his staff doing this surgery and doing it so
well. Keep up the good work.

My first impression of Dr. Wright was that he was very nice. He answered my questions and was very pleasant. His assistant, Dr. Mauer, was with him. She did the initial assessment and I felt very at ease with her also. Dr. Wright's personal assistant, Lisa, is so helpful. At first I thought she was not going to be nice, but I was so wrong. I have another appt. with Dr. Wright for August 23rd (my pre-op visit) and will have all pre-op testing done that day.

10-02-00 I am 1 month post-op now and I just wanted to post my feelings about my surgeon, Dr. J. Kelly Wright, Jr. (Vanderbilt University Hospital, Nashville, TN). Dr. Wright is a wonderful surgeon, as well as his assistants. He treated me with the utmost respect and kindness, along with professionalism. Dr. Wright is strictly business, with not much joking around. That's okay with me, he has saved my life and for that I will be forever thankful.

I have contacted Dr. Wright's office, filled out my initial consultation sheets and have my first consultation August 25th. I'm a very impatient person so at first things started slowly. 6-27-00 I emailed Dr. Wright after reading his profile on the internet and it helped that he was a doctor in my PPO. 7-3-00 I didn't hear a response from him (soon enough for me) so I called his office and spoke with Lisa. She took my information and said she would send me out some information. A couple days later I received an email from Dr. Wright telling me to call his office and Lisa would send me information. Already done. I received the information, read over and missed Dr. Wright's first call 7-18. Missed 2nd call. After calling back several times I finally spoke to him the next week and he had me call Lisa back for an appointment...8/25 is the day.
8/25 My first appointment went well. My blood pressure was up considerably (probably due to the traffic and parking situation in Nashville..AAGGHHH). I met with Dr. Buerguet (sp?), and she went over the risk of the surgery and my medical history thoroughly. She gave me a general exam and then Dr. Wright came in to talk to me. He was very straightforward, in which I expected from reading all that people had to say about him. He focused in on my umbilic hernia and how he would go about repairing that during surgery. My husband and I felt very comfortable with him. He said he would write the letter and send it to Cigna and if all goes well I could be scheduled by the end of September.
8-28-00 Called Lisa to see how long I should wait before I started hassling Cigna. She said that Dr. Wright would submit the information this week so I should wait until at least the end of next week. I might give them till the 11th of September. Ha-ha.
9-20-00 I had to gather alot of information for Cigna and send in to Lisa so my paperwork wasn't mailed to them until 9/06. I called 9/11 and 9/14 to see if they got it, and Cigna indicated they didn't see anything in the system. Called 9/18 and Delores said I was approved. Called Lisa that day and left a message for her to call. Called me 9/19, but I was out of the office. Called early on 9/20 and I have a date of November 14th. The soonest they have open. My pre-op appointment is 11-01.

Dr. Wright was sweet and attentive. He seems to really care and I am glad to have found him. His staff are helpful and courtious. He has a nurse with such a sweet and precious way about her.Dr. Wright will sit down and explain everything and answer any questions you might have. Vanderbilt Medical seemed to work like a well oiled machine at least on this visit I must say I am impressed and they have a meeting group where you can meet and see others that have had the surgery and they are open ,friendly and honest with you about all the aspects. If you are considering this surgery talk to your surgeon and attend at least one meeting it will be so helpful and don't be afraid to ask questions.So I guess at this stage I would say he seems to be great.I just talked to Lisa and found out my insurance from KY. does not give a fax number so it will take a few more days before they get it.I will call again to the insurance to see if I am approved next thurs. Pray for me they are already booking surgery into August so I will have to be out of work for the whole 4 to six weeks.It will be worth it if I can just get my health back I am too young to feel this way.I went for my pre-op visit and he was again straight forward . I talk to another doctor first which she again went over each detail again and I signed that I understood all the really bad things that could happen. Then Dr. Wright came and went into it alittle more and ask if I had any questions . He was alittle somber but I understand that . This is it and it is really going to happen and I am so grateful.Again I cannot say enough about his staff they are fabulous.

So far I have only spoke to Dr.Wright on the phone and from that I recieved nothing but positive feedback. I also have spoken to Lisa who is a sweetheart. I will come back and add more as I come in contact with them more.

I found Dr. Wright to be a very caring human being. He has changed my life....for always. I would recommend him and the staff of Vanderbilt to anyone.

Dr Wright is very straight forward. He will tell it like it is. He doesnt try to talk you into doing something you dont want. Actually he will tell you all of the risks, how uncomfortable you will be just after surgery, and that this surgery is not a quick fix. You have to pay very close attention to the foods you eat (or dont eat just after surgery), and how important it is that you take care of yourself and that you must change your lifestyle in order for this procedure to work. This surgery is a tool to help you.
I did a lot of research before consulting Dr Wright. He can't tell you everything there is to know in an hour. I think its very important to be know your stuff before meeting with any doctor, in order to be prepared to ask very detailed questions.

7/29/00 Post-Op
Although I didnt see Dr. Wright much during my 6 day stay at VMC, he has a many other doctors who work with him and check on you a couple times a day. When I did see him he did have a great bedside mannor. All the docs are usually in a hurry and tend to just pop in a out.
I would like to comment on Dr Gray. I saw Dr. Gray everyday. He is the BEST! He is very personable, kind, and understanding.

Even though I know other patients staying there at the same time as I, there seemed to be verying types of care. The majority of my nurses were fantastic, even when I was in a bad mood and I felt horrible.

Overall the care was great, and all the nurses etc, tried to make me feel as comfortable as they could, even on days when there was really no hope.