Hi... i am looking to get DS and wondering if anyone here has had a DS w/Dr. Kashishian in California? If so, can you provide some details on your experience w/him?

thanks!

@mjctexasLet me put it this way.,,if I lived on the west coast I would've had him do my DS.

Also sent you a PM.

My wife and I have dinner with him periodically in our support group, which is largely composed of Dr. K and Dr. Rabkin veterans, mostly 10-20 years out. I can't comment much on his program currently, but as above, he would be our choice for being here in SoCal, and from travelling from out of state, either are quite good and it would come down to whichever is more convenient for travelling.

Best in the biz!

thanks for the replies. i have chosen dr. k to perform my DS ....

@mjctexas When is your surgery? I'll be following your progress and wishing you the best.

july 11... so just under a month away!! completed bloodwork, EKG & chest xrays yesterday. Thank you so much. I will post an update after surgery, and it will likely be me because my husband doesn't really do much on the pc.

On the West Coast, the BEST DS surgeons are Dr. Ara Keshishian in Pasadena, CA and Dr. John Rabkin in San Francisco, CA. They are also the most skilled at revision surgeries. Another great DS surgeon is Dr. Folahan Ayoola in North Texas (Denton, Frisco, & Flower Mound).

They all do the real DS, not SIPS (aka SADI), which isn’t the same thing. With SIPS/SADI surgery, you don’t get long term fat malabsorption, will have less weight loss than DS, there is no medical code for surgeons to honestly bill for it as insurance companies consider it experimental, and yet you’ll have permanent requirements for extra vitamin & mineral supplementation to prevent serious deficiencies.

Edited June 26, 20188 yr by MarinaGirl

Thanks Marina. Why are you wanting a revision to DS?

2 hours ago, mjctexas said:

Thanks Marina. Why are you wanting a revision to DS?

Where did I say I want a revision to DS?

sorry, i misread from a different post :-)

I have the same stats as you and will have my DS on the 12th here in Texas! I am so ready - and scared and anxious and excited. Good luck with your travels and I'll be following your journey!

@meltingmeDS thanks for the well wishes ! just sent you a PM. i am so close to surgery now and getting things ready. good luck to you too! I will be following u as well :-)

i will post a different thread/update once my surgery has been completed.

Just adding my praise for Dr. K! I had my DS with him in 2012. Truly a wonderful surgeon and really seems to care about his patients. I live in Texas now but flew to California from St. Louis to have DS at the time. I researched for about a year and Dr K was highly recommended for doing DS especially on BMI over 60.

I had surgery with Dr. Keshishian in July 2018 (LINX device removal, hiatal hernia repair, and Nissan Fundiplication). It went very well; however, I have some other issues that I’m seeing him about currently - Upper GI in Dec 2018 showed previous repairs are great and now the next step is another EGD endoscopy at the end of Jan 2019. I really love and appreciate this surgeon as the ones in my home state were not able to do the surgeries or properly diagnose the GI issues I’ve been experiencing. Dr. K is great at DS surgery AND at complex abdominal/intestinal/esophageal conditions.

Dr. Rodrick McKinlay in Salt Lake City, Utah is also an expert DS surgeon. He did my DS in 2017, and I would highly recommend him. He has also trained other surgeons in the procedure.

Edited January 12, 20197 yr by Strivingforbetter