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Post by ynona74 on Jan 2, 2012 1:17:32 GMT -5
Happy New Year everyone...
I am trying to find a Great surgeon in So. Cal for my DS. I have United Healthcare and have yet to find one that is close to me who will do a Laproscopic Biliopancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch. You know every time I say that my husband says bless you...like I just sneezed. Typing it out right now, I think now I know why. It's a mouthfull.
Anyway, Does anyone know of a Great doctor who will help me on my road to health?
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Post by sherbearmama on Jan 2, 2012 1:23:40 GMT -5
Dr. Keshishian is your best bet. Dr. Crookes will do it, but he won't do it laproscopically. But Keshishian has a HUGE following and I've heard that he's one of the best here. I'm with Kaiser so I went with their only DS surgeon here in SoCal. But if i wasn't with Kaiser I would have gone to see Keshishian for sure.
By the way, most people who know about the DS just call it the "DS" or the Duodenal Switch. The BDP thing has been dropped. ;-)
Good luck and please keep us/me posted on your journey. Where in SoCal are you? We've got a SoCal DS group that meets a could of times a year. There will be a posting before the next one.
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Post by Paula on Jan 2, 2012 1:24:40 GMT -5
Lucky for you, you have at least 3 DS surgeons in California that I know of. The two names I see most frequently are Dr. Keshishian down in Glendale or Dr. Rabkin up in the Bay Area. Dr. Crookes is also in So. Cal. at USC. You can find their information listed on the surgeon page of DSfacts.com.
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Post by califsleevin on Jan 2, 2012 1:27:35 GMT -5
The best that I can think of here in SoCal would be Dr. Keshishian in Glendale. Dr. Crookes at SC does them sometimes but I think that he's more of an RNY guy. My wife went up to SF for her DS with Dr. Rabkin a few years ago - I think that was before Dr. K had much presence locally - and I did likewise for my VG this year. Rabkin has support groups in Ventura and Orange County and does follow up appointments in Ventura, so most everything for the surgery itself can be done semi-locally.
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Post by sherbearmama on Jan 2, 2012 2:26:56 GMT -5
Crookes is well known for being a very good surgeon who is quite experienced in the DS. He doesn't allow people to just walk in and dictate what surgery they want though. I've heard that he likes to know that you know what you're getting yourself into when you get the DS. I think you'd be fine either way. But like I said in my previous post, last I heard, Crookes only does the DS open--not lap. But Keshishian (who offers a great deal of information about the DS to his patients) has a substantial fee attached to the surgery that insurance won't cover (in most cases at least). However, if you're to go to one of the best DS surgeons, I'd think it would be worth paying the fee. Plus he'll do it either Lap or Open. YOu should know though, that when you're going in for the DS, it could start out lap and end up open--depending on how difficult it is to get the job done. I'm pretty sure most surgeons let their patients know that open is always a possibility.
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Post by ynona74 on Jan 2, 2012 10:59:59 GMT -5
Thanks everyone. I've had Laproscopic surgery before to remove my gall bladder. So I know an open procedure is sometimes necessary.
I'll look into the Dr.'s you suggested and I already have feelers(so to speak) at USC. I live in Lakewood, CA. and USC isn't that far. Plus my cousin had her RNY surgery there years ago. That's why I know RNY isn't for me.
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Post by sherbearmama on Jan 2, 2012 11:07:47 GMT -5
Best of luck!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2012 11:42:21 GMT -5
Thanks everyone. I've had Laproscopic surgery before to remove my gall bladder. So I know an open procedure is sometimes necessary. I'll look into the Dr.'s you suggested and I already have feelers(so to speak) at USC. I live in Lakewood, CA. and USC isn't that far. Plus my cousin had her RNY surgery there years ago. That's why I know RNY isn't for me. I just want to echo the good information you have already received. Dr. Keshishian is the only doc in So. Cal to perform a laparoscopic DS. However, he has a significant fee which isn't covered by insurance. Last I heard it was $3,000.00 for a virgin DS and $4,000.00 for a revision. Dr. Crookes does not have a program fee but he only performs the DS as an open procedure at this time. If money is no object then Dr. Keshishian is the way to go. If money is a consideration then an open DS is not the end of the world. There are pluses and minuses to each method. Good luck in your journey. |
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Post by SLVinNorCA on Jan 2, 2012 12:20:20 GMT -5
My 2 Cents worth...
Pick your Surgery
Pick your Surgeon (carefully)
Let the Surgeon decide the Lap/Open part (their reasons are usually for YOUR best outcome)
I've met with Dr K and believe his reasons for Open DS are ONLY in the best interest of each Patient.
For my money, Dr K is the BEST you will find (the most experience).
btw, I'm a pre-op & Dr K did NOT pay me to write this. It's just my opinion.
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Post by califsleevin on Jan 2, 2012 12:20:46 GMT -5
Dr. Rabkin doesn't have a program fee - he wraps those expenses into his general surgical fee, but then doesn't participate in any (or many) of the insurance networks, so your insurance copay may be a little higher as a result, but still less than the program fees charged by others. That may be enough difference to pay for travelling to SF. As it turned out, my insurance covered his fee 100%, even though he was out of network, so you never know on those things!
One work of caution in researching these guys is that it seems that the Dr. Husted Travelling Road Show has landed in Corona, so you probably want to stay away from that.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2012 12:25:20 GMT -5
My 2 Cents worth... Pick your Surgery Pick your Surgeon (carefully) Let the Surgeon decide the Lap/Open part (their reasons are usually for YOUR best outcome) I've met with Dr K and believe his reasons for Open DS are ONLY in the best interest of each Patient.For my money, Dr K is the BEST you will find (the most experience). btw, I'm a pre-op & Dr K did NOT pay me to write this. It's just my opinion. HUH? Dr. K does lap most of the time - just not on RNY->DS revisions. |
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Post by Seeking Healthy on Jan 2, 2012 12:44:09 GMT -5
My 2 Cents worth... Pick your Surgery Pick your Surgeon (carefully) Let the Surgeon decide the Lap/Open part (their reasons are usually for YOUR best outcome) I've met with Dr K and believe his reasons for Open DS are ONLY in the best interest of each Patient. For my money, Dr K is the BEST you will find (the most experience). btw, I'm a pre-op & Dr K did NOT pay me to write this. It's just my opinion. Dr. K Rocks! (and no…he didn't pay me to say this either.)  Like Diana, I had the understanding that he did his virgin DS's Lap and his revisions open… Might want to call his office to clarify. Good Luck. SH |
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Post by teachmid on Jan 2, 2012 13:51:51 GMT -5
I highly recommend Dr. K....but I'm a little biased. He is one of the top DS surgeons in the country if not the world.....along with Dr. Rabkin. Nope....he didn't pay me either for this advertisement.
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Post by momtoteens on Jan 2, 2012 14:49:20 GMT -5
Another Dr. K fan here! I traveled from Ohio to California to have him perform my surgery (revision), and gave up a lot to scrape together the program fee, but I have zero regrets and would make the exact same decision again.
Susan
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trxxyy
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Your Mom
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Post by trxxyy on Jan 2, 2012 15:51:38 GMT -5
I had my virgin DS open by Dr. Keshishian. I wanted to have it done laparoscopic but for whatever bizarre reason my insurance (Anthem BC) denied me but approved me for an open DS. Since my surgery I have read enough from both lap and open DS patients that recovery time is very individual so lap doesn't necessarily mean a quicker recovery.
-shelly
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Post by grdngrl on Jan 2, 2012 18:13:30 GMT -5
Dr. Rabkin wanted/required me to pay for the entire bill up front because BCBS CA would have sent the check to me since he is not a provider. He must have gotten burned in the past. Although I understand his policy in this regard, I couldn't write a check for 15,000 up front. Just something to keep in mind although it sounds like you will be having surgery in SoCA.
Good Luck!!!
Wendy
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Post by sandyv63 on Jan 2, 2012 20:52:18 GMT -5
Another Dr. K patient here. I traveled from Florida to Glendale to have him perform my surgery and I'd do it all over again because there is no other surgeon I'd trust. He is awesome.
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Post by SLVinNorCA on Jan 2, 2012 22:17:29 GMT -5
My 2 Cents worth... Pick your Surgery Pick your Surgeon (carefully) Let the Surgeon decide the Lap/Open part (their reasons are usually for YOUR best outcome) I've met with Dr K and believe his reasons for Open DS are ONLY in the best interest of each Patient.For my money, Dr K is the BEST you will find (the most experience). btw, I'm a pre-op & Dr K did NOT pay me to write this. It's just my opinion. HUH? Dr. K does lap most of the time - just not on RNY->DS revisions. I meant IF the decision was made for open, not that he does only open. IF he decided on open, there is GOOD reason for it and I would trust him with that decision. |
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Like Diana, I had the understanding that he did his virgin DS's Lap and his revisions open… Might want to call his office to clarify.
