Ara Keshishian Bariatric Surgeon MD, FACS, FASMBS

I met Dr. Keshishian and his staff on January 16th and his whole staff was very friendly and Dr. K made sure I understood the risks involved before I left his office. He even wanted to meet my husband so he could explain the risks to him and "to see if my husband liked him" LOL. My surgery date is set for January 30th!!!!!

Dr. Keshishian presents as an efficient, skilled physician who respects me and who treats me as the intelligent person I am. I felt no castigation from Dr. K or his office staff for being a very round individual. I cannot emphasize enough how well treated I was by Dr. K and staff.

The risks of surgery, the surgery itself, and the aftercare program were gone over in detail with lots of time delegated to any questions which I might have.

I haven't had surgery yet, but as to the pre-operative patient, I cannot rate Dr. K and his staff highly enough. If I had anything negative to say, I would; however, so far there has been nothing negative to say.

On December 7, 2001, I met with Dr. Keshishian's Care Coordinator Dee Tinkle. She is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO AWESOME. She answered any and EVERY question you can think of. The best part is that she has had the surgery so she was talking from experience as well as her field of care. The office staff was nice. The office was filled with postops so we got to sit there and talk to them and ask them about their experience with Dr. Keshishian. I met one woman who was one week postop and there to have her staples removed. Looking at her you would never have guessed that she just had surgery a week ago. SHE LOOKED GREAT. To top it off she had already lost 15 lbs. Other than the fact that I was at the office from 10 AM until 5:30 PM...all in all I am glad I chose Dr. K to perform this delicate surgery on me. He is a very soft spoken, mild mannered man who does seem to be genuinely interested in how you feel and if you understand what you are getting yourself into. I am tentatively scheduled for January 3rd, 2002 (pending insurance approvel) and am frantically making arrangements to travel the 900 miles round trip. Once approved I will know more. I actually look forward to being a postop so I can begin my journy to my new life.

Updated 11/29/01...Had the surgery, went through the recovery. Still love Dr K and his staff.His surgical skill is very impressive, and his follow up skill is great too. I didn't have much in the way of complications, but when I did go to the ER at the end of the first week, Dr. K was terrific. He met me at the hospital, and stayed while I got an ultrasound to check for a Pulmonary embolism. I think I was just over reacting to a stitch in my side, but he was very accommodating to me. Dr K and his staff, and the bariatric wing daytime staff were great. The night time bariatric wing nurses were not the best, and the ER staff left a lot to be desired. Overall, I was very happy that I went with Dr. Keshishian and his hospital. I think they literally saved my life.

Updated 8/11/01...I have met Dr. K and his staff, and WOW! They are very nice, caring, efficient people. I can not say enough good things about them. Handled everything very quickly and thoroughly, got insurance approval for me right away, and have been accommodating in trying to keep my friend and I together if possible. I did forget to get them flowers, but have it on my list of things to do when I'm down there for surgery.


I haven't met Dr. K yet, but I am SO impressed with his staff already, I'm going to take flowers in to them when I have my first consult on 7/27. They have answered all of my questions with patience and knowledge and accommodated my best friend and I so we could be seen on the same day because we were coming from so far away. In my opinion, we couldn't be receiving better care so far. If the staff at Dr. K's office reads this, THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I haven't met Dr. Keshishian yet but I have my consult on July 17th. I have been extremely impressed with his staff! Of all the places I've contacted, Dr. K's office was the only one that answered my questions personally right away and didn't first require me to come to a seminar (sales pitch) or consult. I look forward to meeting the doctor and will update when I have.
7/20/01 See my personal comments for a more complete description of my experience. Briefly, I found Dr. Keshishian to be very friendly, sincere and attentive. His staff is wonderful. Everyone I've dealt with so far has been very nice and very helpful. He has an aftercare program that he stresses but is willing to work with out-of-town patients on alternatives. He addressed all the risks but seemed more interested in making sure I was making the right decision for my situation. Right now my overall rating would be a 9 out of 10.
11/25/01 Dr. Keshishian is the best doctor I've ever had for anything! He was there twice a day while I was in recovery and was always concerned about how I was feeling, if I was in any pain, if I had any questions, etc. On my 10 day follow up when I got my drains and staples removed, he was just a kind and attentive. When we were done, I asked if I could hug him. He hugged me back but was kind of shy and it was very sweet! My overall rating is now a 10 for Dr. K and his staff! They've been there for me over the Thanksgiving holiday when I had even the stupidist questions. And as for bedside manner compared to surgical competence, I insist on BOTH! I will never again put up with a rude or unkind physician after having experienced the best!

I have found Dr. Keshishian's staff to be wonderously helpful and professional. They are always extremely responsive, as is Dr. K. When I met Dr. K, the first thing that struck me was that he honestly cared if I was comfortable on the exam table. He was very well-spoken when I asked him questions about the surgery, and he was eternally patient with my questioning. He made me feel as though he would sit and answer my questions for the next hour and a half, if it took that long. (It didn't! :). I would recommend Dr. K in a heartbeat.

I HAD MY CONSULTATION WITH DR. K ON 10-03-01
I FIRST SPENT ABOUT AN HOUR IN A HALF WITH HIS WIFE DAWN, WHO WENT OVER EVERY DETAIL
ABOUT THE SURGERY AND ANSWERED ANY QUESTIONS.
SHE WAS VERY THOROUGH AND VERY NICE. THEN I FINALLY GOT TO MEET DR. K WHO WAS SO NICE.
HE WAS VERY GENTLE AND JUST MADE ME FEEL THAT HE WAS THERE FOR ME FOR AS LONG AS I NEEDED HIM. NOT FEELING RUSHED WAS NICE. AFTER THE EXAM, HE DRILLED ME ON KNOWING THE POSSIBLKE COMPLICATIONS, AND KNOWING THE WHOLE STORY OF WLS, THE GOOD AND THE BAD.
HE ANSWERED ALL MY QUESTIONS AND EDUCATED ME. WE HAD A REALLY FUNNY MOMENT, AFTER I ASKED HIM IF THE SURGERY WOULD BRING ANY CHANGES TO MY MONTHLY CYCLE. HE SAID THAT SOMEWOMEN STOP HAVING PERIODS BECAUSE OF THEFAT BECAUSE FAT MAKES YOU HAVE EXTRA ESTROGEN IN YOUR BODY. HE SAID THAT GOES FOR MEN TOO. THAT IS WHY OVERWEIGHT MEN HAVEBREASTS AND SMALLER TESTICLES. I TOLD HIM THAT MY HUSBAND WAS OVERWEIGHT AND WHAT DID I HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD WHEN HE LOST WEIGHT (SINCE HE'S GOING ON A DIET WHEN I GET MY SURGERY) HE SAID THAT IF HE HAS ENLARGED BREASTS THAT HE WOULD LOOSE THEM. I SAID THROUGH A SMILE THAT I COULD'NT HOLD BACK,"THAT IS NOT WHAT IWAS INTERESTED IN" HE COULD'NT HOLD BACK AND SMILED. AT THIS POINT I THINK HE THOUGHT I WAS CRAZY AND PROBABLY WOIULD'NT PASS THE PSYCHE TEST. ANYWAY I JUST FELT A CONNECTION WITH HIM. HE LATER MET MY HUSBAND AND COULD'NT KEEP FROM GRINNING.ANYWAY BACK TO CONSULTATION, I TOLD HIM THAT I REALLY WANTED TO HAVE THE PROCEDURE DONE LAP, BUT BECAUSE I'VE HAD 2 C-SECTIONS AND OTHER ABDOMINAL SURGERIES HE SAID THAT IT MIGHT NOT BE POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF ALL THE SCAR TISSUE. HE SAW MY DISAPPOINTMENT AND THEN SAID THAT COULD START THE PROCEDURE LAP AND LOOK INSIDE AND IF HE COULD PROCEED HE WOULD, IF NOT HE WOULD HAVE TO DO IT OPEN. I AGREED. I WAS JUST SO PLEASED THAT HE WAS WILLING TO TRY TO PLEASE ME IF POSSIBLE, BUT STILL GOING TO DO WHAT IS BEST FOR ME AND MY HEALTH.

It seemed like he had all the time in the world to spend with me. I didn't feel rushed. He has a good sense of humor and made me feel "not so nervous" before starting his examination. Dr. K's office staff are like a large family. I enjoyed my time with Dee going over the binder and all the info regarding before, during and after surgery. Although it was a little bit of a struggle to come up with the fee for the aftercare program, I really feel like it is an important part of the care. Knowing I have a nurse assigned to me who I can reach 24/7 is a great relief. So far the only "down side" that I can see regarding Dr. K is that I have to travel 5 hours one way to get to see him. He does however take both of my insurances.

Dr. K and his staff(especially Dee Tinkle) have been the most icredibel support
group a person could ask for when undergoing something so
scarry and wonderful all wrpped up into one.
They are a small facility, but that gives you incredible one on one care that is
SO IMPORTANT! Don't confuse small with inadequate. They are all very well trained
and have an icredible facility. Everything you(and they) need.

I would highly recommend Dr. K. to anyone concidering WLS. especially the Duodenal Switch.

He is a most caring and competent physician and human being. All his staff really care
about you and your well being to the fullest.

Thanks to All the staff & Dr. K.!

I attended an informational group session at the Delano location along with other pre and post op patients. I found that the atmosphere was relaxed and not pretentious as can be observed in other environments. I was originally approved for the Rouxen Y with Dr. Felix in Fresno, however, I backed out. Something about his approach to the whole thing was too lacadasical and that he really wasn't concerned with my individual health needs. He didn't even request any pre-operative testing. Dr. K on the other hand, is very soft spoken, serious and patient. He exhibited a very intelligent and professional demeanor. Initially, I was apprehensive, about the DS all though I've known about it for over a year, but now I'm sure it is the procedure for me. Dr. K reallly emphasizes aftercare, and it appears that he likes a handson approach to patient care. Each of my interactions with him the most recent being 10/16/01 have been positive and he remains consistently approachable, competent and concerned for his patient's health. He has discussed with me my interest in the lap procedure which he is newly incoporating into his practice. He has shared his concerns that he thinks that the open procedure would be best since that is his specialty and where most of his surgical experience lies. He said that he has previously performed one DS lap and the patient is recovering as expected. I left the consultation a little bummed about that, but happy to even have the opportunity to start a new life. I e-mailed him again and waiting for a response to ask if he could start the procedure lap and if necessary switch to open. I really want the lap procedure if he is willing to do it.