Privacy Policy

Welcome to Advanced Houston Surgical. We are dedicated to protecting your privacy and safeguarding your personal information. This privacy policy explains what information we collect through our website, how we use and share it, the choices you have, and how to contact us.

Last updated: November 11, 2026

1. Who We Are:

Advanced Houston Surgical is a bariatric (weight loss), anti-reflux and general surgery practice at 6300 W Loop S, Suite 495, Bellaire, TX 77401, led by board-certified surgeon Dr. Rizwan Chaudhry. In this policy, "we", "us" and "our" mean the practice, and "website" means advancedhoustonsurgical.com (opens in a new tab).

2. Scope: Website Information and Your Health Information:

This policy covers information collected through this website. Health information we hold about you as a patient (your medical records, test results, treatment and billing information) is protected health information under HIPAA and is covered by our separate HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices. If the two documents ever differ about your health information, the HIPAA notice applies.

3. Information We Collect:

Appointment requests. The "Schedule a Consultation" form on this website is provided by Hive Bariatrics (med.hivebariatrics.com). It opens as a pop-up when you visit the site and from every "Request an Appointment" button. The form asks for:

• your first name and last name;
• the treatment you are interested in;
• your cell phone number;
• your preferred language; and
• an optional agreement to receive text messages about our services and scheduling (you can reply STOP at any time to opt out).

Hive collects this information for us so we can contact you about your request. Hive runs its own systems and also follows its own privacy policy. Please do not include detailed medical information, insurance details, Social Security numbers or payment information in the form. If you need to share health details, please call us at (713) 263-3900.

Calls, text messages and email with our patient-communication platform. When you contact us, request an appointment or a call back, or fill in a form (on this website, on a landing page or social media ad, or by phone) and agree to be contacted, we store your name, phone number, email address, the service you asked about and our conversation history in our patient-communication platform, HighLevel (also shown as "LeadConnector" in some messages). We use it to call you, send you text messages (SMS/MMS) and emails about your request, scheduling, reminders and follow-up and, if you agreed, information about our services. See section 6 and our SMS & Communication Terms.

Information you give us in other ways. If you call us or write to us, we receive what you choose to tell us.

Device and usage information, only with your consent. If you allow Analytics or Marketing cookies, the tools listed in section 4 collect information about your visit, such as pages viewed, your device and browser type, your approximate location and how you arrived at the site. If you do not allow them, they do not set cookies or collect this information. (Google Tag Manager itself loads on every page, with Google Consent Mode set to "denied" until you choose – see section 4.)

Basic server logs. Our hosting provider, Vercel, automatically processes technical data such as IP address, browser type and the page requested, to deliver the site and protect it from abuse.

4. Cookies and Tracking Tools:

The site asks before using them. When you first visit, a consent popup asks you to choose Allow, Deny or Manage preferences. We group cookies and similar tools into four categories: Necessary, Functional, Analytics and Marketing. Until you make a choice, and if you click "Deny", no Functional, Analytics or Marketing cookies are set. Google Tag Manager loads on every page with Google Consent Mode v2 set to "denied": in that state Google tags do not set or read cookies and send only limited, cookieless signals that Google uses for aggregate measurement.

These are the tools the website can load after you give consent:

These providers may set their own cookies and receive information about your visit. They use it under their own privacy policies. For the full list of cookies, see our Cookie Policy.

Storage used without a consent choice. Some small records are saved in your browser because the site needs them to work:

• ahs-consent (local storage) – your cookie choice, so we do not ask on every page. It is kept for 12 months, after which we ask again.
• Hive's appointment form stores an encrypted session record in your browser's session storage when the form loads. It remembers the pages you viewed and the website or ad that referred you, so that information can be attached to your appointment request. Session storage is cleared when you close the browser tab.

Pages without tracking. We do not load analytics or advertising tags on the appointment request page or the new-patient page. The contents of the appointment form are never sent to analytics or advertising tools.

Google Consent Mode v2. We use Google Consent Mode v2 to pass your choice to Google's tags. Every consent signal starts as "denied" and changes to "granted" only for the categories you allow.

Changing your choice. You can change or withdraw your choice at any time with the "Privacy settings" link in the footer of every page or on our Privacy settings page. You can also delete cookies and local storage in your browser settings.

Global Privacy Control. If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal, we treat it as a choice to turn off Analytics and Marketing, and those tools stay off.

5. How We Use Information:

We use information collected through the website to:

• respond to your appointment request or question and schedule consultations;
• call you and send you text messages and emails about your request, scheduling, reminders, follow-up and – if you agreed – our services, including with automated technology, only with your consent (see our SMS & Communication Terms). You can opt out of texts at any time by replying STOP, and ask us to stop calling or emailing at any time;
• understand how visitors use the site so we can improve it (only with Analytics consent);
• measure how well our advertising works and, if you allow it, show our ads to people who have visited the site (only with Marketing consent);
• keep the site secure and working; and
• comply with the law.

6. How We Share Information:

We do not share your information with third parties for their own marketing. We share information only:

• with service providers that help us run the website and the practice, such as our website host (Vercel), our appointment form provider (Hive Bariatrics), our patient-communication platform for calls, texts and email (HighLevel / LeadConnector) and its messaging carriers, and the Google tools and Hive call tracking listed in section 4 when you allow them;
• when the law requires it, or when we believe in good faith that it is necessary to comply with legal process or to protect the rights, property or safety of our patients, our practice or others;
• if our practice is involved in a merger, sale or similar transaction, as part of that transaction and subject to applicable law; and
• with your permission.

Text messaging and mobile information. No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Information sharing to subcontractors in support services, such as customer service, is permitted. All other use case categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.

7. No Sale of Personal Information:

We do not sell your personal information. If you allow Marketing cookies, the advertising tools in section 4 may use information about your visit to show you our ads on other sites, which some state laws call "targeted advertising". You can opt out at any time by choosing "Deny" in "Privacy settings" or by turning on Global Privacy Control in your browser.

8. Your Privacy Rights and Choices:

You can contact us at any time to ask what personal information we have collected through the website, to correct it, or to ask us to delete it, subject to any legal obligations we have to keep certain records. You can opt out of text messages at any time by replying STOP.

Texas residents. Under Texas law, where it applies to us, you may have the right to:

• confirm whether we process your personal data and get access to it;
• correct inaccurate personal data;
• delete personal data you gave us or that we obtained about you;
• get a copy of personal data you gave us in a portable format; and
• opt out of the use of your personal data for targeted advertising, sale or profiling.

To make a request, contact us using the details in section 15. We will need to confirm your identity before acting on it, and we will respond within the time the law requires. We will not treat you differently for using your rights. If we decline your request, you can ask us to reconsider by contacting us again with the words "Privacy appeal".

These rights do not change how we handle your patient health information, which is governed by HIPAA and our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices.

9. Protection of Children's Privacy:

This website is meant for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information online from children under the age of 13. If we learn that we have, we will delete it. If you believe a child has sent us information through the website, please contact us.

10. Security Measures:

We use reasonable administrative, technical and physical safeguards to protect information, including encrypted (HTTPS) connections for this website. No website, email or internet transmission is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. How Long We Keep Information:

We keep information only as long as we need it for the purposes described in this policy, or as long as the law requires. Your consent choice is kept in your browser for 12 months. Analytics cookies may last up to 2 years unless you clear them or withdraw consent. Appointment requests are kept only as long as needed to respond to you and to meet our legal and record-keeping obligations. If you become a patient, your information is handled under our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices.

12. Links to Other Websites:

This website links to or shows content from sites run by others, such as Hive Bariatrics (med.hivebariatrics.com), YouTube and Google Maps. Those sites follow their own privacy policies, and we are not responsible for their content or practices.

13. Changes to Our Privacy Policy:

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal obligations. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page shows when it last changed. We encourage you to review it periodically.

14. Related Policies:

• HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices
• Cookie Policy
• Accessibility Policy & Statement
• Terms of Use & Medical Disclaimer
• SMS & Communication Terms

15. Contact Us:

If you have any questions about our privacy practices or wish to make a privacy request, please contact us at:

• Phone: (713) 263-3900
• Address: Advanced Houston Surgical, 6300 W Loop S, Suite 495, Bellaire, TX 77401
• Office hours: Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM–5:00 PM; closed Saturday and Sunday

Your privacy is important to us at Advanced Houston Surgical. We strive to manage your personal information transparently, responsibly and securely.