Dr. Ara Keshishian-Disciplinary Order

[Marquis Mark]

Assuming the doctor didn't lie, you would only have the surgical report to know. Unless another doctor went in there or you had an imaging study, I suppose.

 

[Larra]

First, don't look at this as your "first" bariatric surgery, look at it as having the best available bariatric surgery and only needing one surgery. We see so many people with other surgeries wanting revisions, it's really sad.

Next, how do you know what operation you are getting? You discuss that ahead of time with the surgeon, and make it very clear that the only operation acceptable to you is the standard of care DS with 2 anastomoses. If necessary, you put it in writing. Dr. Ayoola is well known to us and definitely does the standard of care DS. I've never heard of Dr. Yu. We know for sure that there are some surgeons in TX doing the not so standard operation with various names - loop DS, SIDS, SADI, etc - so make very sure that the two of you are talking about the same operation and not apples and oranges.

 

[galaxygrrl]

if you are self pay. Add Dr. Equerra to the list. He has lots of fans here and it's 1/2 the price. Happy I did it in MX. Less expensive and standard of care was great.

 

[mjctexas]

i did research dr. esquerra in mexicali.. but i am just scared of getting this type of surgery done in another country. scared of getting kidnapped (LOL), is the facility up to date? is the area safe? are the nurses real RNs? one review on him (and it was a positive one) said that she had a spinal block before the surgery... is that normal? did any of you get a spinal block? yes, he is half price, but i am one of those people who believe "you get what you pay for"...

thanks Larra. i will definitely make sure that i get the DS that stemmed from dr. hess. and yes, i want this to be my ONLY WLS.

 

[Susan in Tennessee]

I have not heard of anyone getting a spinal block there. I had traditional anesthesia and the anesthesiologist was extremely kind and caring. I was really nervous. My entire experience there was great. I had DS June 2016. I was about 228 day of surgery down from 238 before pre-op diet. My all time high was 250-60. I'm 5'1" so we're similar, only I'm older. 58 at time of DS. I'm down 116-118 pounds now, depending on the day.

Yes, I felt safe there, nurses were very good but I honestly did not check their licenses.

 

[Munchkin]

Esquerra is quite safe! I would let him operate on me too. My sister and H had surgery in Spain and the clinica was very old but it was the cleanest hospital I have ever seen.

 

[Susan in Tennessee]

And, I forgot to say, they keep you long enough to make sure you don't have any problems. No being sent home next day or second day. If I remember correctly I was in hospital 4 nights. Maybe I'm unusual, but I had a very easy time, no bad pain, up walking almost immediately. Now I'm not saying I recovered quickly. It took me several weeks to have any energy at all. P

 

[harrietvane]

I spent one night in the clinic and one night with a private nurse in the hotel.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

He was my surgeon. If I need ANYTHING in my abdominal area treated, I consult with him. He is on staff at one of the finest hospitals in So. Cal. and I believe his association there began AFTER this incident.

I have not discussed this with him because I have full confidence in him.

I also do not have ALL the details, but I think I know a few of them...essentially that he had to rely on the info being reported to him as accurate, that he was not in the area (he was moving...his life, his practice, his family...to an area about four hours south of his previous practice), he was OBVIOUSLY stretching himself too thin with patients in two different areas, moving, a very ill family member, and being human--and an exhausted human at that--he fucked up and someone paid the ultimate price.

But...this was a "one off" as the expression (which I don't understand) goes. In real life, he is very attentive and very caring. My surgery was over twelve years ago and all it takes is an email and he's right there...returning the email (be careful with those...he dictates them and he speaks Armenglish, so strange almost-words show up mid-sentence), explaining something, calling, phoning in an Rx...whatever it takes. This behavior...trying to meet everyone's needs...is wonderful, except for the one patient who slipped through the cracks.

While you make your decision, you'll need to choose if you want someone with decades of superb care vs one very bad situation or someone with possibly far less experience who has not (yet?) made that one fatal mistake.

 

[mjctexas]

I called Dr. K's office today to ask some initial questions.. and to my surprise, he answered the phone (I didn't know it was him at first until he told me). I told the guy answering the phone that I had read many favorable reviews about Dr. K and wanted info. on the DS procedure. The guy responded "Why on earth would you choose him?" - I was speechless for a few secs, and then he laughs and tells me he is kidding and that HE IS Dr. K - LOL. He said he was helping Kristina answer phones because they were ringing non-stop! He also talked to me for several minutes about my situation. Let me tell you - my first impression is he seems like a very genuine person, FUNNY ( he said, "i am offering 50% discount on the DS right now", to which i quickly replied, "i'll take it"...and we both laughed) and very knowledgeable. He knew about PCOS (I have this) and how my full hysterectomy could be affecting my weight now; he also briefly mentioned about having to adjust my common channel differently than most due to my hysterectomy. So after this "pre-initial" consult, he then transferred me to Kristina for more info and pricing. So now, I am considering Dr. K but I now need opinions for Delano Regional Med Ctr since this is where he does surgery for his self-pay patients due to cost effectiveness. I've read some negative reviews about the quality of care there at Delano, so I am concerned about that. I also have to factor in my costs for staying there two weeks. I want to thank all of you who have responded to this thread... had I not found this site, I would have stuck with my own opinion from the disciplinary order I read online - THANK YOU ALL!!

 

[DSRIGGS]

I am one of the people who Mark said might be upset that you posted this. I am not. I am from Peoria ,IL and wish I had found Dr K before my DS but I didn't and I have paid a hard price.my absorbing channel was too short for my SBL and consequently I became very malnourished and eventually found Dr K who ended up fixing me. He has since done 3 other surgeries on me. Hernia repair with mesh. Lysis of adhesion and a sigmoid colectomy. He also saved my son's life by doing a surgery that wvery much as outside of the box. He had severe gastroparesis that made him dizzy and nauseous 24/7/365. A surgeon here wanted to cut out all of his stomach. Dr K basically put in a gravity drain and it solved his problem immediately. He also repaired a Nissen wrap that the surgeon who caused the gastroparesis by cutting a vagus nerve and not telling us, had done and it failed twice that has not failed again since Ara fixed. He also found a congenital defect on his intestine that he removed.

I met Dr k when Dianna gave me his email when she knew that I was trying to find a solution for Cameron. I sent an email on an early Saturday morning hoping to hear back from the office later that week. I went to get a cup of coffee and saw I missed a call. It was Do at 5 am in socal. I called back and we talked for 45 minutes. Within 5 minutes he had an answer for how we solve Cam's gastroparesis. He also said any good surgeon can do this procedure and you don't need to spend all the mo ey coming out here. I gave him my insurance card and he would not accept it and bill me. He said , sir, I enjoy what I do.

The bottom line is that I consider Ara to be a very good friend and the best Dr and surgeon I have ever met . He is the best bariatric surgeon in the world and he is an even better person. He saved Cameron's life because he would have ended up taking his own life had Ara not alleviated his misery. I trust no other Dr to operate on my guts.

He made a mistake because he is human but as Larra, Dianna and Sue pointed out he owned it even if it isn't fully his to own 100%. He is a stand up guy that has more patient concern than any Dr I have ever met. I could call, message or email him now and unless with a patient or in ER would return my call within 5 minutes.

He is the best and you can't make a better choice for the DS. By the way he just started back at Delano for self pays because the hospital is more affordable for patients. I have a friend who just flew from Korea and Dr k did surgery on him at delano.. My friend said it was great

Best wishes to you and pm me if you have any questions not comfortable asking on the main board.

 

[Settledownnow]

Dr. K was my surgeon and I had big time complications. I live in Ohio and traveled to CA for surgery. About 2-3 weeks after surgery, I was very ill and not getting any better. I went to the ER. I had a couple of gastric leaks, developed sepsis, pneumonia, liver absences, etc., and was in the hospital for a month. I had all kinds of invasive procedures (liver drains, chest tubes, lungs drained, and more). Dr. K. called/text me every day. I promised him I would not tell this, but one morning I had a knock on my hospital door (keep in mind, I am in Ohio) and in walks Dr. K. to visit me. Yeah, he flew from CA to OH to see me. I started crying. He said, "You don't look as sick as I thought" (what a smart ass). He sat and visited for a while and joked around. What surgeon travels across the country to see a patient? Once I was discharged from the hospital he called/text/email every couple of days until I was really out of the woods. So.... even the best doctors have patients with complications. I was really sick and down in the dumps and his constant contact helped to keep my spirits up.

 

[DSRIGGS]

Dr. K was my surgeon and I had big time complications. I live in Ohio and traveled to CA for surgery. About 2-3 weeks after surgery, I was very ill and not getting any better. I went to the ER. I had a couple of gastric leaks, developed sepsis, pneumonia, liver absences, etc., and was in the hospital for a month. I had all kinds of invasive procedures (liver drains, chest tubes, lungs drained, and more). Dr. K. called/text me every day. I promised him I would not tell this, but one morning I had a knock on my hospital door (keep in mind, I am in Ohio) and in walks Dr. K. to visit me. Yeah, he flew from CA to OH to see me. I started crying. He said, "You don't look as sick as I thought" (what a smart ass). He sat and visited for a while and joked around. What surgeon travels across the country to see a patient? Once I was discharged from the hospital he called/text/email every couple of days until I was really out of the woods. So.... even the best doctors have patients with complications. I was really sick and down in the dumps and his constant contact helped to keep my spirits up.

That is so Dr K like. He feels guilty if a patient is struggling. He believes it his job to follow through with follow up until the patient is healthy .

BTW he is a pilot too so he probably flew himself there.

 

[Susan in Tennessee]

That is an amazing account, thanks for sharing!

 

[mjctexas]

@ RIGGS & SETTLE.. wow, what amazing stories. these should definitely be shared! i have scheduled a video call w/Dr. K for Monday pm... so now all my consults will be in May (was able to move up my June appt - yay!).