USC Bariatric Surgery Bariatric Center

Dr. Crookes is a very nice man. He is direct and to the point. He treats you like another human being and not like a slug. I just happened to be in the hospital cafeteria today and observed something about him and others around him. He had a smile the whole time while getting his coffee. As he was wandering around looking for a place to sit, people kept coming up and talking to him. They seemed to be genuinely pleased to see him and talk to him. When I left he was sitting at a table with 3 women just chatting away. Maria, his office scheduler, is extremely overworked. She does answer her emails more often than her messages, so if you want to talk to her, email her at [email protected]. All other email names you may have are wrong and she won't answer them. Veronica is his office person and you just couldn't get much ruder than her. I don't care how overworked you are, you don't work in patient care if you have a daily attitude. All in all, I am very pleased that Dr. Crookes is my physician.

When I first met Dr. Crookes I felt that he was a doctor who truly respects his patients and has the patience to explain anything that is not completely understood.

Maria has kept me pretty well informed, set up all of my pre-op appointments, and sent the information to my insurance for approval. She does her job well and has saved me a lot of time and trouble. The receptionist Veronica however has treated me with disrespect and outright rudeness when I have tried calling the office for specific and valid reasons on more than one occasion.

The thing that I liked least about his office was that getting an appointment with him took several months, and they only perform a few procedures a month for people with my particular insurance.

Dr. Crookes addressed the risks of the surgery very well. In fact, before you can even begin the pre-approval process, his office requires you to go to a seminar, which discusses many aspects of the surgery.

Overall, I would rate Dr. Crookes very high. He is one of the few doctors I have been to (including other bariatric surgeons)
who treated me as a capable, intelligent human being, rather than a lazy, weak-willed person who should just be able to lose weight.

First impression was FANTASTIC. He is extremely informative and I feel very comfortable knowing that he'd do my surgery.

Impression continues to remain the same.

Staff is very professional, caring and confident.

Haven't found anything I don't like about my surgeon or his staff.

I'd HIGHLY recommend my doctor! Feel free to talk to me about him.

He strongly emphasizes aftercare and has a structured aftercare program.

He was very informative regarding the risks of surgery and prepared me for anything that may happen.

Overall rate him (on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the lowest), I'd rate him a 9.5

Which is better? Surgical competence; however, bedside manner is nice to have as well. My doctor had/has both!

I am due to have my first Consultation on November 7th, In a word I am SOOOOOOOOO ready for this. I attened my First Meeting on Saturday, I was really disappointed to see that not may people knew about Obesityhelp. Dr Anthone spoke fisrt, He is a young Dr, and very Knowlageable in his field. After him Dr Katkhuda spoke, I was very impressed and after the meeting I ran into him I was able to talk to him for a few minutes, Intorduced myself, WE chatted for a few minutes and I was impressed after those few minutes. I am really looking forward to the 7th and hopefully getting that Magical date.

I thought he was wonderful! Very upfront, spent plenty of time with me. Answered all my questions in a relaxed and comfortable manner. Gave me all the pros and cons good and bad! This guy is a pioneer of Laproscopic surgery from France. I felt very comfortable with him doing my surgery, and of a successful outcome. Couldn't ask for a better surgeon!

What a wonderful man! I met with Dr. Katkhouda 10/17/02 and I must admit that before he walked in the exam room I was terrified, after was a different story entirely. Initially there seemed to be a lot of waiting, I was in the exam room for about 35 minutes and that always makes me crazy. After he walked in he put me completely at ease. Dr.Katkhouda answered all my questions, no matter how ridiculous they may have seemed. He was professional yet warm and soothing. To me the most important thing was that he was honest, and straight forward. He showed me with the help of his purple stomach pillow how the procedure would be done on my stomach and explained the risks and complications fully. His office is extremly busy, (a good sign) and I noticed something that strangely put me at ease, his office was full of a broad spectrum of people, not exclusively WLS patients (less of a cookie cutter feel. There is a aftercare program and he almost demands that you participate though it is in your best interest. When I was about to leave the office I stopped and asked did i need to do anything, or bring anything to my pcp, I heard the best thing ever "No, we take care of all that for you.!"
Hooray!!! Though I missed the famous Anna, she was ill, I left there with a smile on my face and the relization that the rest of my life is waiting for me and I can live it in the body I was supposed to live it in thanks to Dr. Katkhouda!

My first impression of Dr. Katkhouda was that he was a very knowledgable and kind man. My first impression of him was correct and has grown to a feeling of gratitude for his skills, thankfulness for being in such good hands and for having this surgery and most of all...respect for him wanting to help people...he truly cares about his patients. His sincerity and kindness are very endearing. I totally trust him and he has helped me postoperatively with his support in getting this weight off.
When I had my surgery, I believe I was one of the first of his bariatric patients and Anna, his secretary was very helpful and kind as well. Of course I was nervous about having the surgery, but knew that he was a very skilled laparoscopic surgeon and was reknowned for his work.
I am now almost 11 mos. PostOp and have to rate my experience with Dr. Katkhouda as the best ones I have had (in terms of having a medical procedure done). He truly cares about his patients. I have talked to many of his PostOp patients and they all have voiced to me that they just love him.
I am happy to see that since he has started doing this particular surgery, the word has gotten out about him...his skills and his caring nature...and his office has been flooded with calls. I hope everyone's experience with Dr. Katkhouda's skill and his kindness, will be as good as mine has been. Yes, I adore my surgeon!!

August 6, 2002

My first impression of Dr. Peter Crookes was a great one. Although I thought he would be cold and callous as most doctors are with obese patients. He was great though. He gave me hope. I left feeling confident and well informed about the procedure at hand. We set up pre-op for July 9,10, and 11. I've completed this process and am no waiting for the next phase. It is now August and I still have not heard anything. I am very impatient and call every week to leave messages to the coordinating specialist. No luck yet. I am a little frustrated with the waiting but I guess everyone has to endure it.


SEPTEMBER 26, 2002

ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS HE IS NOT ONLY A FANTASTIC SURGEON BUT AN EXCELLENT PERSON. HE ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT YOU AS A PERSON AND GIVES IT TO YOU STRAIGHT WITHOUT THE RUDE OR INSENSITIVE REMARKS. HE TALKED ME THROUGH THE ENTIRE PROCEEDURE SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE IT WAS DONE. HE EXPLAINED THE BENEFITS AS WELL AS THE RISKS THOROUGHLY. HE CAME AND CHECKED ON ME TWICE A DAY WHILE IN ICU AND ONCE A DAY WHEN I WAS TRANSFERRED OF ICU. OTHER DR.S ALSO CHECKED ON ME REPEATEDLY. I THINK IF YOU ARE CONTEMPLATING SURGERY YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY CONSIDER DR. PETER CROOKES. I HAVE HAD MANY SURGERIES (OF DIFFERENT NATURES) AND I CAN HONESTLY SAY THIS MAN MAKES YOU FEEL WONDERFUL AND INSPIRED. HE IS A KIND HEARTED SINCERE MAN AND MY FAMILY LOVES HIM! AND IT HELPS THAT HE HAS A CUTE AND FUNNY IRISH ACCENT. OVERALL HE IS A GREAT GUY. IT WAS DEFINITELY WORTH THE WAIT. HE ALSO DID A GREAT JOB ON MY INCISION. MOST DOCTORS WOULDN'T HAVE TAKEN THE TIME TO MAKE IT LOOK NICE, WELL AS NICE AS IT CAN GET, BUT HE DID. I HAVE A VERY THIN LINE DOWN MY STOMACH. NOTHING MORE! AS YOU CAN TELL I AM EXCITED AND THRILLED WITH HIM! HOPEFULLY YOU WILL BE TOO!!!

7/5/02 I was very nervous when I went in for my first office visit. I had already spoken to Anna about 5 times trying to make my first appt. We had to reschedule twice, because the doctor had some other things booked for those dates. She was very helpful. She sent me all the New patient forms to my house the first time we rescheduled. My little brother spilled water on them, so I had to call her and ask her to resend them, but she never did send them. She's a very busy woman as I soon found out. When we got there that was the first thing she told me. I finally got to meet the doctor he couldn't have been nicer! He did inform me of all the risks and didn't mind at all that I had taken my boyfriend and my mom with me. He told them that they would have to help me, that it would become difficult at times and they had to be there to help me out. He explained all the risks and the ups and downs of the surgery. He explained to us how he was going to perform the surgery and told me that I had to be prepared to make food my enemy and not my first love. He emphasized the fact that I would have to take the vitamins no if ands or butts. After everything was said and done he told me that he was going to get somebody else besides Anna to help her out with wls patients. He told me that she was very busy with other types of patients and until Heather started working I would have to make sure I stayed on top of things with Anna. Over all I think my office visit was a 10.

Dr. Katkouda seemed very professional--not a warm, fuzzy kind of guy, but very upfront, kind and supportive. I was so calm after meeting with him, and feel like I am ready for surgery. He is great!

Anna, his personal assistant, is a jewel. Willing to help. Hard to get them to call back when you leave a message, but once you get her...willing to help.

He went over everything. Safety is number one with him...after care is very important.

He went over the risks, and his rate of complications (0%, mortality rate for him personally (0%).

I would highly recommend him to anyone. He is a pioneer in the field of laparoscopic surgery...one of the best!