Experience with Dr. Agha? Travel for LBL worth the risk?

Hi there,

Well it's time for plastics. I've had two consults with the surgeons most experienced with WLS patients here in the Seattle area (Dr. Dry and Dr. Egrari). Both are great, one probably does a better job with arm and breat. The other slightly better with lower body and thights. I'm actually considering a franken-body approach. But that's another topic...

While looking around for information I ran across Dr. Agha. I got pretty excited after looking at his before and afters and watching his talk on YouTube. It's hard to discount the results he has in his before and after pictures. I also tend to think his spiral thigh lift is more along the lines of what I need. But no matter how great his work appears to be, there are two things that concern me...

First, I'm not sure how to weigh what seem to be at least two bad experiences I found via google. One I read about here on ObesityHelp involved a bad situation in the recovery house. A second review I found referred to a poor outcome and a negative experience in a post-op appointment. I also read a post somewhere that said to go look at malpractice filings in Orange County somehow implying that there were several (I only found one and the hearing hasn't happened yet so no information is available).

I really don't know how to weigh these bad experiences at all. I can't find any postings of any kind on the two surgeons I'm considering locally -- good or bad. I'm sure that there isn't a single surgeon anywhere that doesn't have a negative outcome in some form or other. What about all the positive posts and the after photos that all appear to show great artistic surgical skill? Should any negative postings at all make me run away? It's confusing.

Second, I'm thinking that no matter how great the surgeon, a lower body lift is a pretty major procedure to do out of town. I'd have to stay down there for 2-3 weeks. People I know who've had lifts tend to have at least something minor happen along the incision line that needs attention. Part of me just feels like having aftercare with a local doctor is just better in the long run even if the before and afters aren't quite as "wow" for me.

Any thoughts? Anyone work with Dr. Agha and care to share their experience?

Thanks!
Britt

Thanks for posting this question. I look forward to responses. I had a consultation with Dr. Agha as well. I will not be traveling but, I live about 1 hour from his office.

I went on several consultation I like his work the best. I am seriously considering using him in November. I will not use a recovery facility so that is a non-issue. I will mostly likely have to split my procedure up due to finances and time off of work.

I am 99% sure he is the surgeron for me.

I am from Illinois and am in Newport Beach right now until early October to undergo a hernia repair, LBL, BL/BA, spiral thigh lift, bra line upper body lift and arm lift with Dr. Agha in two surgeries (in an 8-12 week period - I want to get as much as I can done in a short timeframe for work reasons). I have had one surgery to date and I am amazed with the results so far. I am in Prive, the recovery house his office recommends (they must have stopped recommending the other as this is the only one they directed me to), and have received excellent, friendly and attentive care.

I am here by myself which was very scary for me AND even moreso for my family who didn't understand why I had to leave Chicago to find a PS, but I had consulted with several PS doctors in Chicago and, while they did great Mommy Makeovers, I did not feel that the photos they showed me could be applied to me as my stomach/butt/mons areas were a huge, deflated MESS. I started looking outside Chicago and my short list of doctors whose website photos and reps indicated they could handle a patient like me were Agha, LoMonaco and Katzen. There might be a few others but I quit looking when I saw Agha's website gallery -- there are several "before" women in the total body lift gallery who look like (or worse than) me and had beautiful results. In fact, he just posted his "Extreme Transformation" photos (see the photos of the last woman in the total body lift gallery -- she needed so much work that she has been under his care for a year. Her results are astounding.

I had a virtual consultation with Agha (I sent photos and then had a telephone conference with him). I then flew out here to meet with him and get a plan of attack for my surgeries.

Travelling so far for surgery took a lot of planning on my part, but it has been totally worth it. Please email me with questions. I'll be happy to answer anything else I can help with.

Patricia

Thanks, Patricia. I'll definitely want to check in with you and find out more about your experience.

b

I have an appointment scheduled with Dr. Agha in September for a consult. My target surgery date is Jan or Feb.

Looking into aftercare since my help is going to be limited. How is Prive? Not sure I can afford the prices on the internet. May I ask how much per night it is?

Lisa

 I strongly suspect that most surgeons who have been in practice for a decade or longer have faced at least one malpractice suit, which in turn most likely settled.  In a field like plastic surgery I think that is even MORE likely to be true.  First of all, let's face it - nobody, not even the very best, has 100 % perfect outcomes.  Even the very best may make a mistake - very infrequently, but it still happens.  Plastic surgery is an area where patients may have unrealistic expectations about what results will look like.  It's also an area where emotions come very much into play (afterall, it is affecting an individual's appearance).  Unrealistic expectations + heightened emotions = increased likelihood of lawsuit.  I should probably add that the fact that most of this is selfpay also probably just adds to the likelihood as well.  (Aren't you more particular about things bought on your dime?  I know I am.)

All that is to say, running across one or two incidents online would not scare me off.  Seeing a consistent pattern of them would. 

Some of the questions I would have are around professional reputation with other physicians, particularly plastic surgeons.  Is he frequently addressing groups of physicians on technique?  That would be a good sign.  What do other surgeons say about him in private?  (Do you have a friend of a friend who can find out?)  I grew up in a medical family, and there's no better endorsement than seeing someone whom another physician trusts with their loved ones. (NOT just because he's the guy across the hall in the same medical building or the doc gets lots of referrals from him for some reason.)  What are his complication rates?  How many times a year does he do XYZ procedure?  (I sure wouldn't want a LBL from somebody who does 5 a year).  I realize Dr. Agha specializes in this, so I'm sure that isn't an issue.

Wow, Chana, I couldn't have said it better myself.  I work in the legal field and we run into the same issues with malpractice.  Unrealistic expectations, emotions and money can land you in a malpractice suit that will likely be dismissed. 

Good feedback. I really agree that there are always going to be people not happen and people that sue, even with the very best doctors. There are some doctors that seemed to have multiple negative reviews so I steered away from them early on. With Dr. Agha it was a little harder to decipher - I didn't see a real pattern of unhappy folks and quite a few people really happy with him.

b

I am a former/current patient of Dr. Agha.  I had 2 surgeries with him so far and am planning at least 1 to 2 more.  I have NOTHING but GREAT things to say about his work and professionalism that I have had since first meeting him in 2008.  As for the recovery house that has nothing to do with the doctor and his work.  I was given and did my OWN research on recovery houses in the area.  He didn't tell me which one to go to so any experience is truly on me and while I would let him know of my exeperience.  Now the poor outcome, what was it?  Is it just you don't like HOW it turned out or did they feel/were they butchered by Dr. Agha.

With that said it's hard to decide but untilmately it's up to you.  After everything I've undergone to lose weight (luckily he's in MY area) I wanted who I thought was the BEST and would give me the figure and shape I've always envisioned and that was Dr. Agha.

I have several surgeons near me who might have been cheaper but then living with "cheaper" results I don't think so.

Ms Shell

I ended up going out of country to Dr Sauceda in Monterrey Mexico.  I could only get off work for 8 weeks and decided to do it all at once.  I was in Monterrey for 2 weeks, and home for 6 before going back to work after my LBL, BL, arms and medial thigh lift and a full neck & face lift (4 days after my body work).  I'd seen Dr Sauceda's work on a few patients and how all his patients loved him.  He's very upfront with what he can do and can't do.   I decided not to go with UBL after his recommendation, and now am looking to go back in 18mo to fix my upper back. 

If you want to see some of his work, click on Dr Sauceda in my siggy line.  There are photos in the photo section on the right hand side.  To see mine, you need to be a friend and I'll send you the password.