Dr. Ara Keshishian-Disciplinary Order

[mjctexas]

Hi - I am new to this site, but have been researching doctors for my DS surgery. I have read good things about Dr. Keshishian, but in my extensive "googling" today, I came across this disciplinary order for him. If you read the file, you will see that he was negligent in a death in 2010. he admitted to this... if you read the file, you will see all the details. i WAS considering him, but now he is off my list.

https://www.healthgrades.com/media/english/pdf/sanctions/HGPY200D43C980893140507112014.pdf

 

[Marquis Mark]

Hi - I am new to this site, but have been researching doctors for my DS surgery. I have read good things about Dr. Keshishian, but in my extensive "googling" today, I came across this disciplinary order for him. If you read the file, you will see that he was negligent in a death in 2010. he admitted to this... if you read the file, you will see all the details. i WAS considering him, but now he is off my list.

https://www.healthgrades.com/media/english/pdf/sanctions/HGPY200D43C980893140507112014.pdf

I've seen that, too, and I understand your anxiety. I still see Dr. K for follow up though. My own thought is that sometimes a screw up like that can make someone a better doctor/person. Now, if I saw violation after violation, I would say no. But if I saw just one then I'm going to presume that he learned something from it and would be even more conscientious in the future than had it not occurred.

Just my two cents.

By the way, I suspect there might be some people on this board that are going to get upset that you posted this. I hope they won't. All information is important and people have every right to get all the facts before deciding what best for them.

 

[mjctexas]

i appreciate your feedback.

 

[Duckman]

Thank you. Interesting read. Patient died of untreated sepsis.

 

[galaxygrrl]

I

By the way, I suspect there might be some people on this board that are going to get upset that you posted this. I hope they won't. All information is important and people have every right to get all the facts before deciding what best for them.

Agreed this should be posted.

Thank you. Interesting read. Patient died of untreated sepsis.

I don't know the whole story, but I googled it and it's a blood infection that is not treated. Will let others who know more than me weight in on that, but it seems like a big deal to miss a blood infection.

mjctexas if you want an alternative to Dr. K, you might look at Dr Rabkin in San Francisco.

 

[DianaCox]

I have never been treated by Dr. Keshishian (the older Dr. Robert Rabkin was my surgeon, and I have followed up with the younger Dr. John Rabkin), but I know him fairly well, and I would put my life in his hands. I have discussed (within the bounds of HIPAA of course - based on the publicly available legal documents) this incident with him, and I believe there were mistakes made by more than one person, for which he was ultimately responsible. It was a very unfortunate situation, for which he was given 3 years of probation - which appears to have expired over a year ago.

Just a thought - you could ask him about it. He is still one of if not THE best DS surgeons, and a really good man, IMNSHO. I would not rule him out over this.

 

[southernlady]

I’ve seen that. Posting is not an issue. But like DianaCox said, I’d trust him based on what I’ve seen about him.

 

[Munchkin]

I don't know him and I would let him operate on me. It's almost impossible to find a doctor who has been in practice as long as Keshishian who hasn't lost a patient. It's just the law of averages. If you pick up a scalpel a few thousand times, eventually you are going to nick something. Or be held responsible for something someone else does or doesn't do. If you find a doc who has been practicing for decades and never made a mistake, you have probably found a doctor who doesn't DO anything. He/she never takes on a risky or complicated case and accomplishes little other than covering his/her backside.

Since we are all human, it should be about total surgeries performed vs surgeries with an adverse outcome.

Maybe I am a bit more tolerant because I remember the likes of Heap and Husted. People flocked to them even after being told over and over these people were pimping unknown, untested procedures that were more than a little OTT. Remember the Vergito? Haven't heard word one from any of those patients in years. I hope they are still alive. Wasn't Heaps 'thing' called the mini gastric bypass? One of these patients still posts on that other site and he has now lost both his legs. There is an infamous doc in MX too but his name escapes me right now. Just my opinion but none of these people should be allowed within miles of a scalpel...or a prescription pad.

 

[hilary1617]

Hi and welcome mjctexas! I like you already as someone who does the due diligence!

I agree with the others that though this is a troubling data point, it does appear to be isolated. Additionally, the problem seemed to be more of a lack of aftercare during a time when he was unavailable due to a move vs. a challenge with cutting. While still not excusable, hopefully he has learned from this experience, but more importantly a patient can mitigate challenges in this realm by having a strong personal advocate (friend/relative) pushing for action.

I know how much an advocate can do to assist from experience because I had a plastic surgery go wrong. Once I was discharged, my legs turned purple and I ran a temperature, but surgeon did not properly identify deep vein thromboses or pulmonary emboli. He examined my legs, which were clotted from ankle to thighs, misdiagnosed it as customary post-surgical bruising / swelling and an infection, for which he prescribed antibiotics. My mom was concerned that he was dismissive - she pushed me to the ER and did not let up until I was admitted with a proper diagnosis.

I personally would trust Dr. Keshishian to operate on me - based on six years of reading about various patients' very positive experiences with him, particularly difficult cases. He seems to be an excellent cutter and that is the most important consideration in a surgeon.

All the best on your journey. I love my DS!

 

[Larra]

I am also aware of this case. I understand your concern. I don't know Dr. K as well as DianaCox and some other people here, and he has never been my doctor, but he has operated on a lot of people that I know both from this website and IRL as well, and I believe he's an excellent surgeon. He takes on patients that other surgeons can't or won't help, not just the easy and straight forward cases, and his results are excellent. I don't know where things went wrong in this case, but like others who have posted here, I believe this to be an exception to the reputation of an excellent surgeon.
I would let him operate on me without hesitation. You of course must make your own decision, and you do have alternatives. Just make very, very sure that your surgeon does the real, 2 anastomosis DS and has experience with the DS. If you have another name in mind, run it past us.

 

[galaxygrrl]

Unless you are in SoCal and then Dr. K makes a lot of sense, I would talk to both Dr. Rabkin and Dr. K and see which one you like better if you need to travel. They are both good guys and great DS surgeons.

 

[k9ophile]

As much as medical science has advanced over the years, there are some things that just happen. I have read the medical records of people who have had problems. As others have said, it's rarely the sole responsibility of just one person. Sometimes, the patient withholds information, that if known, would have caused the physician to treat the case differently. (I actually heard a resident advise a patient to omit the history of seizure disorder and anti-seizure medication. His reasoning was that insurance companies trade information and if the patient wanted to change insurance the new company could deny coverage for a pre-existing condition. An anesthesiologist should be aware of those things.)

Larra has made a good point about many of his cases are high risk. Dr. K seems to have an excellent record with those exceptional cases. I also agree that you absolutely must have confidence in your surgeon.

Best wishes.

 

[mjctexas]

Thank you all for the encouraging responses. My first thought to dismiss was based on his aftercare, not his skill - guess I should have clarified that. I am near Houston, TX, so I am meeting with Dr. Ayoola in Denton, TX (at end of May) and with Dr. Sherman Yu with Texas Laproscopic Consultants here in Houston (in mid-June). This is a major life changing surgery for me, so I definitely want top rated surgeons. I've read so many positive reviews on Dr. K, but was just "put-off" by the disciplinary order I read on him. And yes, I would travel to him. I do have a question though - TLC (Dr. Yu) has told me that for a DS surgery, I would be in the hospital for 1-2 days... does that sound right to you? After reading many reviews of those who had the traditional DS, they said they were in the hospital between 3-5 days... so I'm just curious what your hospital stay was with DS. I also hope that I qualify... this will be my first WLS, my current stats are 5'1 and 220 lbs... so just over 40.. at my highest I was 280 when I was a teen (now in my mid-40s).. but i'm tired of not being able to maintain a weight loss.

thanks again for your help.

 

[Marquis Mark]

I was in for 6 days after my DS, but I milked it. Could have been out in 4. I actually enjoy hospitals, airports and supermarkets.

 

[mjctexas]

how do you know AFTER surgery that you actually received the right surgery?

i enjoy the supermarkets too... part of my prob LOL