USC Bariatric Surgery Bariatric Center

My first impression was that he was late. I talked to Dr. Cohen first who went over the surgery with me and told me that I was a good candidate. After about an hour and a half of waiting I saw Dr. K who seemed very eccentric but also very confidant in his abilities. I didn't see him again until the day of surgery but in the end I really liked him and know I was in good hands.

His office staff is really busy and you can't depend on them to follow thru on anything. Fax everything yourself because they will always deny getting a fax from your PCP. I have also found them to be very rude.

He hasn't said much about aftercare other than working with the dietician. But he does stress that it's important.

I would rate him a 10 and his office staff a 2.

dr. katkhouda has no bedside manner pre-op: he is very clinical and abrupt, but i still felt comfortable being very honest with him. i had no doubt that he was a competent surgeon and his skills would be in the operating room and not in conversation. he was extremely disrespectful to a fellow patient in my hospital room. however, after surgery he was pleasant with me (because my surgery went well...he likes to blame the patient for failure and the surgeon for success!) once the surgery was done i was much more comfortable with him, talking back if he gave me attitude or when he was abrupt. one of his nurses said, "he can smell fear."
dr. k's staff is very pleasant. his waiting room isn't the prettiest, nor are the exam rooms, but i didn't care as long as they were clean.

dr. katkhouda has no aftercare except that you have some access to a nutritionist. i decided early on to get as must support post-op as possible, so i go to a therapist, a support group, and yes, even weight watchers.

i would highly recommend him for his surgical competence. i wasn't looking for another friend, i was looking for an excellent surgeon. he has the F.A.C.S. designation, which is a higher level of certification for doctors (i don't know much else about it) which made me feel more confident in him as well.

I like Dr. Crookes. He seems like he genuinely cares for the well-being of his patients. For once, I didn't feel like cattle being shuffled in and out of his office. His staff appears professional and very curteous. He has an endearing Irish accent that can be a wee bit difficult to understand at times but other than that, he's great. He took the time to answer all of my questions thoroughly and patiently. I feel comfortable having him perform this surgery on me. I will update some more once I've had the surgery.

My surgeon was Dr. Katkhouda at the USC Medical Center. He is the surgeon that my HMO (PacifiCare) works with, so I had no choice. It turns out he is a brilliant surgeon, so I lucked out.

I actually heard him before I met him. He was in the next room doing a consult. He left the door open & I listened. Why not? You can't have enough information!LOL He ended up turning the patient away because he said he needed a more radical surgery than the RNY.

My first "face to face" meeting with him was tense. He is not exactly the lovable type and does not suffer fools gladly. And while I don't believe I am a fool, he was not impressed with me. On one future meeting with him he actually raised his voice to me. However, after surgery he seemed a different guy. He actually held my cheek in his hand and told me how happy he was for me.

He addressed everything he should of in my consult. Risks, benefits, aftercare.

His staff is OVERWORKED!!! It takes forever to get a real live person on the phone and forget about scheduling a surgery date any time this year!

DR. K: surgical competence: 10/10
bedside manne: 7.5/10

I'm sure it's been said here before, but Dr. Crookes is just the most adorable little Irish man! He is just genuinely nice and very caring. He has a way about him that let's you know that he's really listening to what your concerns are, but then he's relaxed about everything and so you end up feeling more relaxed as well. It's as if he's saying 'oh yes, that is a problem, but it's easy enough to fix' (now say that in your best Irish accent!)

The Pros -
His bedside manner
He came to followup everyday I was in the hospital
He often comes to speak at the support group meetings (or just shows up to visit with the group)
His surgical competancy seems very high
He seems very focused on helping the obese
The wait time for surgery is relatively short at approx. 3 months
He has a regular schedule of follow up appts
When I had an issue with my incision, I called the hospital at 6am to leave a message for him - he called back within 8 minutes!

The Cons -
His appts are rather brief - I wish they could be longer
I wish he had a bigger better staff around him - they seem a bit stressed and overworked (particularly the front desk)
Several of us who have recently had surgery noticed that our scars are very crooked - could be just that our bellies lay differently when we're horizontal though!
It can be difficult to get in for an appt - intitial consults can take a long time

4/12/04: I had my 1st meeting w/Dr. Kaufman today & to be quite honest, it was pretty much what I expected. I have been researching WLS for about a year so I felt well prepared. I'd read somewhere that appt. run late. My appt. was @ 1:00 but not seen until 1:40. I was done @ 3:00. What I find most surprising is I didn't feel like I was kept waiting, nor that a number of things happened to take up so much time (1 hr. 20 min). Actually it was a very pleasant experience.

I found Dr. Kaufman very professional, maybe even struggling to not be too friendly. I was very comfortable with both he & Maria (Program Coordinator/Nurse). The few questions I did have were very adequately answered (mostly by Maria prior to the Dr. coming in). Maria visits with you initially (takes medical history, provides lab orders, etc), then the Dr. comes in & there was a brief discussion then they both leave while you get in a gown (see above for a chuckle about that:-). He felt my abdomen, listened to my breathing, & chatted a little more.

Probably my only concern is he's relatively new to WLS. Though he does have 100's of lap. surgeries under his belt. Anyone interested in discussion Dr. Kaufman, please feel free to contact me.

My first impression is that he was very impressed by himself. Quote " I Love people like you" Any way I choose him for his quality of work not his bedside manner. Since the last time that I saw him was May 2003 I see that he has changed his tune some.
When he came over to see me before and after the surgery he was very pleasant but straight to the point. He had his fellow go over all of the risks of the surgery and handle any questions that I had. I think that he is a wonderful surgeon and a brillant doctor he just needs to lighten up.

What was your first impression of him? He look younger then the picture I saw him before the meeting.

How did your impression change over time?
Well not a thing so far because am waiting for a Sx date.

What did you like least about him? That we didnot talk for a long period of time, we talked for about 15mins or less. I wished it was more time to talk to him.

What should future patients know about him? He have way too many patients, he so triple book with so many people trying to see him so it's going to be a long wait.

I was extremely impressed with Dr. Kaufman's professionalism, how personable and friendly he is, and his willingness to listen and answer questions. His office staff is friendly, warm and genuine, and Maria, his program director is wonderful beyond words. Dr. Kaufman is highly skilled, well respected and has a great bedside manner. I just can't say enough about my experience with him and his office staff.

The first time I saw Dr. Katkhouda was at a mandatory weight loss seminar conducted by USC Hospital before they will accept you as a patient. I thought he was intelligent and articulate. At the time, he was one of only two surgeons at the hospital that conducted gastric bypass surgeries laproscopically. He had performed thousands of these surgeries and explained the procedure in layman's terms. An excellent speaker and great doctor. When I met him in person during my first one-on-one visit, my impression did not change -- I still found him to be intelligent, somewhat personable but pre-occupied and unable to devote personal individual care to his patients. His office staff was also efficient and well versed in this procedure explaining in great detail the risks of the surgery. His physician assistant at the time was wonderful although she has now moved on to another department. I feel this leaves a definite gap in personal contact. That impression played out all through the before care, hospital stay and aftercare. His nutrionist is very intelligent and has done her homework although I would like to have met her on a one-on-one basis but this has never been offered to me. I have spoken to her a few times on the phone and she is very good about returning phone calls and answering questions. Gastric bypass surgery is an invasive life-threatening procedure, and I thank God every day that I am here to talk about it without too many complications and this is thanks to Dr. Katkhouda and his staff. Dr. Katkhouda is a brilliant surgeon and his fellow physician, Dr. Cohen, is excellent. However, he tends to be arrogant in his comments and his weight loss goals for his patients can be unrealistic. For example, I was on a diuretic before surgery to control my blood pressure and Dr. Cohen and Dr. Katkhouda told me to resume it two days after surgery. My PCP pointed out to me after surgery that this is a danger and would dehydrate me, make me hold on to water and cause no weight loss. After I lost only one pound the second week after surgery, I mentioned this to Dr. Katkhouda. Surprisingly, he did not take the use of the diuretic seriously and instead told me to up my water intake and stop eating 'fatty foods' because he 'had done everything he could to make me lose weight' and losing only one pound must be because I was eating the wrong food. This was simply not true. I wasn't eating any 'fatty foods.' His idea of upping water intake meant I needed to take in a minimum of ten glasses of water a day. This is an impossible task as a new bypass patient. Sips of water are all you can have which may only add up to one or two glasses initially. I initially listened to Dr. Katkhouda, became depressed and also extremely dehydrated and had to self-diagnose myself away from the diuretics before I ended up in the emergency room. The same goes for Vioxx which is known to cause bleeding and ulcers in GBS patients. I mentioned this to Dr. Kathouda because he told me to resume this medication two weeks after surgery and he out and out disputed this although the bleeding and ulcers were not only pointed out by my PCP but is well-documented by other surgeons. It pays to be well-informed about aftercare with Dr. Kathouda because the buck stops with him after surgery. Dr. Katkhouda is not quick to encourage but instead will make you feel it's your fault if you have not lost the weight HE feels should be gone. His bedside manner is wanting. Overall though, he is an excellent surgeon. If I had a choice between an incompetent surgeon who patted your hand every minute and one who knew what he was doing when he held my life in his hands but found it hard to give you a kind word of encouragement no matter how much you lose [1 pound or 10 pounds], I would take the competent surgeon. If you happen to be using Dr. Katkhouda, I suggest you join a support group both online and offline that will help you over the rough periods and ensure that your PCP knows you inside and outside because you will not get the aftercare you need from this doctor.