Dr. Ara Keshishian-Disciplinary Order

I wouldn't pay too much attention to complaints about the quality of care provided in the hospital until I knew the details of the complaints. I once had the dubious pleasure of working for an organization that maintained a hot line for patients to call about quality of care issues. Not a single one actually was a quality issue. For example: one patient was complaining that when she told the nurses she was cold and wanted an extra blanket, how dare the nurse take 10 minutes to respond? Quality problems are operating on the wrong leg. Not following fall precautions and the patient breaks a bone. Yes, being cold is a discomfort. But not anything that actually harms the patient.

My husband was to have shoulder surgery. They gave him a local in his arm. Then that one in a zillion chance of something happening actually happened. The anesthesia traveled up the nerve to the respiratory center of his brain and he went into respiratory arrest. It was definitely anesthesia error. Many people urged me to sue. I never considered it. He was on a respirator for four hours before the anesthesia wore off. The OR people reacted quickly and took the right steps. After he came around, there was no adverse outcome. Another outcome might have affected my decision, but it didn't happen. Two weeks later, he went back to the same hospital and had a successful surgery. The neurologist that consulted came as soon as he could and he was 27 miles away. Despite my numerous requests for his bill, he never billed us. That was my only complaint. He rendered a service and should have been paid.
 
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WOW.. i am disheartened to report that when I looked up dr. k's medical license on the medical board of california... california has listed "actions taken by other states/fed govt" that he had licenses in Hawaii, Nevada, and Michigan... all part of public record. i went to hawaii's medical board site, but i can't find him; hawaii revoked his license in dec 2016.. and in nevada, he was reprimanded, and when i looked up the code that he violated (in 2015) ... well.. i'll include that here too. michigan revoked his license because of his disciplinary action in california.... i think i am back to square one with this one.

california medical board... look under public record
https://search.dca.ca.gov/details/8002/A/55904/0cf85e233684801df47101aa351c0463

nevada medical board (they list ALL doctors who have had disc action against them)
http://medboard.nv.gov/Patients/Disciplinary/DisciplinaryActions/

this is the code nevada lists in the link above (you'll have to scroll down to NRS 630.301)
https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-630.html
 
I wouldn't pay too much attention to complaints about the quality of care provided in the hospital until I knew the details of the complaints. I once had the dubious pleasure of working for an organization that maintained a hot line for patients to call about quality of care issues. Not a single one actually was a quality issue. For example: one patient was complaining that when she told the nurses she was cold and wanted an extra blanket, how dare the nurse take 10 minutes to respond? Quality problems are operating on the wrong leg. Not following fall precautions and the patient breaks a bone. Yes, being cold is a discomfort. But not anything that actually harms the patient.

My husband was to have shoulder surgery. They gave him a local in his arm. Then that one in a zillion chance of something happening actually happened. The anesthesia traveled up the nerve to the respiratory center of his brain and he went into respiratory arrest. It was definitely anesthesia error. Many people urged me to sue. I never considered it. He was on a respirator for four hours before the anesthesia wore off. The OR people reacted quickly and took the right steps. After he came around, there were no adverse outcome. Another outcome might have affected my decision, but it didn't happen. Two weeks later, he went back to the same hospital and had a successful surgery. The neurologist that consulted came as soon as he could and he was 27 miles away. Despite my numerous requests for his bill, he never billed us. That was my only complaint. He rendered a service and should have been paid.
I agree with you are saying. Errors and mistakes happen but when a person is truly following procedures and doing things out of a paitent's best interests it makes all the difference in the world. That person deserves a break, if possible. The arrogant ass who doesn't give a damn and takes no personal responsibility or offers a genuine apology and attempt to make it right, that person deserves to be roasted.
 
I think you don’t understand how professional licensing works. When you hold licenses in multiple jurisdictions, and you have a complaint (or maybe final action) filed against you in one jurisdiction, you are under an obligation to report the action to the licensing agency in all jurisdictions. Dr. K did so, and the other jurisdictions gave him reprimands after CA decided the case.

In addition, retaining a license to practice in multiple jurisdictions requires payment of yearly fees to each, specific continuing education requirements (which may vary from state to state and not fully overlap), and perhaps since he was no longer practicing in Hawaii, he just didn’t renew it.

As for NV, I think you don’t understand what you read. The cited code (630.301) recites a LIST of reasons for instituting a disciplinary action; the second one is “disciplinary action taken by other jurisdiction” - clearly the reason for the NV action.

In Hawaii, if you follow the link to this: http://data.staradvertiser.com/docs/index.php/docs/28, you will see this:
“California in July 2014 revoked the license of Ara Keshishian, but put the revocation on hold, placing Keshishian on probation for three years instead. The state determined that Keshishian was grossly negligent in his treatment of an obese man who underwent gastric reduction surgery, developed a hernia, had surgery for that, developed complications and eventually died, according to regulatory documents. In March 2015, Michigan issued a formal reprimand to Keshishian and fined him $1,000. His Hawaii license is clean. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs says an investigation is pending, but the web site does not reflect that. Keshishian declined comment.”

In other words, the actions in HI, NV and MI all arise from the ONE disciplinary action in CA, Dr. K’s properly reporting it in all jurisdictions in which he was licensed, and getting a corresponding reprimand in those jurisdictions. He apparently chose to not renew his license in HI - but you should feel free to ask him about it.

You should do your research of course - but you should also carefully read what you find. These are not separate incidents and the NV action wasn’t about a criminal matter.
 
Here is the relevant portion of the NV code - lists multiple possible reasons, and of course it was the second one:

Grounds for Initiating Disciplinary Action or Denying Licensure

NRS 630.301 Criminal offenses; disciplinary action taken by other jurisdiction; surrender of previous license while under investigation; malpractice; engaging in sexual activity with patient; disruptive behavior; violating or exploiting trust of patient for financial or personal gain; failure to offer appropriate care with intent to positively influence financial well-being; engaging in disreputable conduct; engaging in sexual contact with surrogate of patient or relatives of patient.
****
3.  Any disciplinary action, including, without limitation, the revocation, suspension, modification or limitation of a license to practice any type of medicine, taken by another state, the Federal Government, a foreign country or any other jurisdiction or the surrender of the license or discontinuing the practice of medicine while under investigation by any licensing authority, a medical facility, a branch of the Armed Services of the United States, an insurance company, an agency of the Federal Government or an employer.
 
WOW.. i am disheartened to report that when I looked up dr. k's medical license on the medical board of california... california has listed "actions taken by other states/fed govt" that he had licenses in Hawaii, Nevada, and Michigan... all part of public record. i went to hawaii's medical board site, but i can't find him; hawaii revoked his license in dec 2016.. and in nevada, he was reprimanded, and when i looked up the code that he violated (in 2015) ... well.. i'll include that here too. michigan revoked his license because of his disciplinary action in california.... i think i am back to square one with this one.

california medical board... look under public record
https://search.dca.ca.gov/details/8002/A/55904/0cf85e233684801df47101aa351c0463

nevada medical board (they list ALL doctors who have had disc action against them)
http://medboard.nv.gov/Patients/Disciplinary/DisciplinaryActions/

this is the code nevada lists in the link above (you'll have to scroll down to NRS 630.301)
https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-630.html
Pretty sure it is all over the same thing. He did his residency in Michigan and left there on good terms to start a practice in Delano. He hasn't practiced in Michigan or anywhere else for 10-15 years as far as I know. He may just have had a license there for whatever reason. I have heard that he testified in malpractice cases before as an expert witness.

I know you are worried about this case that appears to have led to losing licence in other states. If you can't get over it you need to move on, but in my opinion you are making a huge mistake because he is the absolute best. He doesn't take short cuts. He doesn't do anything half assed. He is the best DS surgeon in the world. He is an incredibly intelligent person who thinks outside the box, but will not take unnecessary risk to the patient. He does take on cases that many others wouldn't even consider because he believes it is his job as a Physician and human being to help out anyone who he can.

Again I believe this is all over the same incident. My son had Surgery with Ara in May or June of 15. I had surgery with him in August of 15, May of 16, October of 16 and November. All after this incident and again, nobody but he is allowed to operate on my intestines.
 
mjctexas where do you live? If you are having doubts then go to someone else. From your posting, it looks as though this is a virgin DS and there are certainly other vetted surgeons who can do the surgery. You do not "need" him to do the surgery if you are not comfortable.
 
i am in tx and yes, i am seeing dr. ayoola and i just made a consult w/dr. erik wilson.... i cancelled my appt w/dr. sherman yu since i couldn't find hardly any reviews about him. and yes, this will be a "virgin" DS ... thanks all for your comments.
 
i am in tx and yes, i am seeing dr. ayoola and i just made a consult w/dr. erik wilson.... i cancelled my appt w/dr. sherman yu since i couldn't find hardly any reviews about him. and yes, this will be a "virgin" DS ... thanks all for your comments.
I'm curious what surgeon you ended up using to perform your DS?
 
Carmela2017 - i had my surgery on July 11, 2017 w/Dr. Keshishian. Everything went really well. I am now 14 months Post and have gone from 220 day of surgery to currently 145 (75 loss so far). Dr. K says I will still lose more, but I have been in the 140s for a few months - a stall I guess. But nonetheless, I have never been lower than 150 in my adult life. I remember being 151 lbs in the 3rd grade, and it only went uphill from there. I am happy with my size/weight now, so if this was it for me, I'm fine. I no longer have to take metformin, my cholesterol is good, liver enzymes back to normal - don't take any meds whatsoever. That was my goal, to become healthier. I can answer any other questions if you like.
 
Carmela2017 - i had my surgery on July 11, 2017 w/Dr. Keshishian. Everything went really well. I am now 14 months Post and have gone from 220 day of surgery to currently 145 (75 loss so far). Dr. K says I will still lose more, but I have been in the 140s for a few months - a stall I guess. But nonetheless, I have never been lower than 150 in my adult life. I remember being 151 lbs in the 3rd grade, and it only went uphill from there. I am happy with my size/weight now, so if this was it for me, I'm fine. I no longer have to take metformin, my cholesterol is good, liver enzymes back to normal - don't take any meds whatsoever. That was my goal, to become healthier. I can answer any other questions if you like.
That's great! Congrats on your outcome. May I ask, what the length of your common channel was? Did you have it laparoscopicly or open? I'm working out my logistics to have my revision done by Dr. K. Why did you decide on him over Ayoola, since you are in texas already? May I ask how long was your stay in California and where did you stay? Did you have someone with you or did you go alone? Sorry for the 5th degree!
 
My common channel is 75 and surgery was done laproscopically. Dr. K did have to make another incision because I have a lot of scar tissue from a previous surgery, so I was more sore and required a bit more healing time than someone who just had the laproscopic incisions. I decided on Dr. K not only from discussions here, but mainly from my initial consult. He was very personable, knew about PCOS (which I have) and the effect it can have on weight loss and his expertise overall. I felt very comfortable with him - just through a phone conversation! I never had a consult w/Dr. Ayoola because after my phone call with Dr. K, I was that confident that I wanted him to do my surgery. I stayed in Cali just shy of two weeks; I was required to by Dr. K. I had to see him at least one time after my surgery before he would release me to travel home. Something about statisically the chances of any incidents happening (like a leak) after surgery tend to happen like with the first few days following surgery. My husband and teen daughter went with me and we stayed at Homewood Suites near Manhattan Beach; our hotel wasn't close to his office, BUT I had initally booked a Holiday Inn & Suites (I can't remember what city now) because of a better price, and OMG.. never again. Definitely get yourself either an Airbnb or a hotel like Residence Inn or Homewood Suites that has a kitchen with 1-2 bedrooms and a separate living area. When I did have to have my follow-up one week after surgery, our drive was only 40 minutes to his office, but the Manhattan Beach area was so nice.. nice of cute shops and restaurants. I did walk around for a bit, until I got tired, but I definitely did not over do it. I did have my surgery in Delano, Cali (which is about 2.5 hrs. from Pasadena) because Dr. K has privileges there and since I was a "cash" patient, it was cheaper there than to have it in Pasadena. And Dr. K stayed in Delano the entire time I was there; in fact, when he does a surgery there, he ends up scheduling a few surgeries while he is there. He checked on me twice daily, and I was in the hospital for two days (I also had a hernia that he repaired).

You're no bother at all... feel free to ask away! When is your revision scheduled for?
 

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