Kelly Francis Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

My initial impression of Dr. Francis was that she seemed cold and distant - not feeding my emotional side.rnMy opinion changed in that i found that during my pre-op they determined that my gallbladder needed to be removed. Since I wanted lapo Dr. F said that she would do her best to complete the removal w/o the big scar. After surgery, my sister told me that the majority of the time in surgery was Dr. F trying to remove my GB that was encased with fat - she succeed - after 1.5 hours she removed my GB and i came out with just 8 little bandaids. After hearing this - i felt her distance was outweighed by her skills and determination.rnDr. F checked on me later in the day and then her co-physicians took over the weekend care. Dr. Ali and Dr. Chan were both very kind, encouraging, and took the time to chat with me about any concerns i had.rnMy post-op visits with her became more friendly but i think it was also my attitude that changed. I understood her \"way\".rnCompetence vs bedside manner - in surgery definitely competence.

Dr. Francis was always very open and honest with me. I'm an RN so you can't pacify me with 'non-answers' or use medical terminology I won't understand. Everything was explained to my satisfaction pre and post-op. There were no unexpected surprises. Her office staff (Lite Dimensions) are very capable and helpful. They never gave me the run around. Once I was approved to get into their program by my HMO they took care of dealing with Blue Cross and making sure I had the correct studies done. Lite Dimensions recommends their support group after surgery. I went once pre-op and wasn't impressed, so I never went back post-op. I probably should have but it's a long distance from where I live. I did have one episode of severe pain (on a Saturday evening, of course) and Dr. Francis called me back promptly. I followed her advice and felt better shortly thereafter. I would rate Dr. Francis and her group as excellent, both in surgical competence and in bedside manner. My only complaint has to do with the hospital they use, Fountain Valley Medical Center. I felt like I was in a Third World country. Nobody spoke English!!!! The nurses only spoke Vietnamese and Filipino. It was rude and alienating. The male nurse who admitted me didn't know how to use the scale to weigh me pre-op. I asked him if he was a temp (registry) RN and he said he had worked on that floor with gastric bypass patients for 6 years!! They didn't have a large blood pressure cuff, so they used a small one positioned incorrectly on my arm. When I asked a question he would giggle and say, \"What are you? A nurse?\" The ICU RN was much better than the floor RNs. I was surprised that they had me hold on to a table with wheels to ambulate. Hello! They have invented a thing called a walker to help patients ambulate. I'm grateful I didn't fall while hanging on to the table. Once my cardiac monitor was alarming so loud it brought me out of an apneic episode, I looked at the monitor and could see it flashing in large letters, APNEA, APNEA. My CPAP mask had slipped off and I had stopped breathing. No one responded to the alarm, I put my mask back on, took some deep breaths and the audio alarm finally stopped. I was in the ICU on the 1st night after surgery because I suffer from sleep apnea. I'm glad the alarm was so loud!

I first met her at a \"doctor's talk\" when my surgeon was going to be Dr. LePort. When I first met her I thought to myself \"Maybe I should have chose her!\" but later that day I met Dr. LePort and was okay with my decision because I liked him just as much!!!rnrnThey told me 2 weeks before surgery that LePort no longer takes my insurance. So My first thought was Dr. Francis but investigated my choices a little further. I just knew she was the right doctor for me though!!!!rnrnWhen I saw her the day before surgery she actually had remembered me from the doctor's talk so that was cool! She was really nice, really confident, really blunt and to the point. She answered any questions I had and everything seemed to be A-OK. WooHoo!!!!!rnrnThey rolled me into surgery, I think I saw her before surgey but I don't remember :) Time was sorta confusing! rnrnShe had a PA come in and check on me the next day after surgery because she was in surgery. But the PA I believe \"Hoang\" was present for my surgery, so he told me I did great, etc! rnrnMy nurses did tell me that Dr. Francis was in contact with my nurses all night long after surgery (I had a really high heart rate!) ..rnrnSO It made me feel good to know she was keeping up on me and everything!!!rnrnAfter moving to a normal room (outta ICU) even tho I saw the PA that morning, Dr. Francis surprised me by stopping by my room and asking how I was. She was really nice and explained the possible causes of my heart rate and was on her way!rnrnI was released the next morning.rnrn*I* personally thought she was great, nice, and very straight to the point! I liked that alot about her!! Plus she's young so its not like you're talking to your grandmother!!! I liked her and highly recommend her!!!

She is very nice and put me at ease very quickly. Answers all my questions and is very encouraging. I recommend the lap band and lite dimension to everyone.

I really loved Dr. francis. She was kind and thorough. She took great intrest in my progress. I never had a question or concern that she didn't take plenty of time to explain or comfort my concerns. I have had only good experiences. I have never been ill because of it nor have I had many dumping problems. I have had afew but not excesive. I love being thinner and feeling great about myself. The office staff weere very co-operative and kind. I have only good things to say about them. If you were to ask me \"would you do it over again and have the same surgical staff and office staff \" I would answer with a great afirmative. The aftercare is phenominal. They have a group that meets twice a week with dieticians. They are very knowledgable about the proceedure and it's after care. My doctor was very up front with me about the risks going in. She would not even accept me until I had an evaluation from a psycologist. They are very good and concerned about each person on a personal and individual level. I would rate this team as the best. I know many other patients that have had the surgery with other doctors and were not really satisfied with the after care. I not only felt comfortable with them but was taken care of very well. I personally feel the doctors were very competitent but my daughter had the same surgery and she was just as satisfied. I know it may seem impossible to have had such a good experience twice in a row but I really and truly have nothing bad to say about it. I have lost 150 lbs and am maintaining at 135-140 all the time. I had my surgery June 24, 2004. My daughter had her surgery in January of 2005 and she started at 350 and is now at 175. She has a handicap and when we both started out we were riding an electric cart because we could not walk any distance. My daughter is just now 35 and has two young children and now she walks better and so do I. She now only wears braces on her legs. I know there are not always success stories because my neice that started this whole thing and lost quite a bit of weight in now back where she started. It is not easy to give up alot of food but it is well worth it in the long run. I can keep up with my grandchildren quite well now and I don't have to have surgery on my other knee to be replaced. Giving up pop is not easy though. I had problems with that for a while but I replaced it with Propel water and I also supliment my protein intake with Isopure protein drink. Sometime I get in too big a hurry or to busy to eat my proteins so I use the liquid or I eat high protein bars. Good luck to all of you that are thinking about this because it is a very big step but if done right it is worth it. Remember you change your way of think about food and over indulging.

So, it's been exactly 4 months out today, and I actually haven't seen my surgeon since 2 days after surgery. I just would like her to let her know that, I feel AMAZING, and I would have never been able to do this on my own! I've tried so hard since I was 10 years old to loose the weight, but just kept GAINING it! And now, I've lost the equivilant of a CHILD and am shopping for clothes out of the plus size section, and just feeling great! Thank you Dr. Francis for your help in starting my new life!

Dr. Francis feels like she scares people off but the truth is, she's just tellin it like it is. She's actually kind of funny. She's very straightforward. I unfortunately didn't have a lot of time around her prior to the surgery to get to know her but while I was in the hospital she did come to visit me. Answered all my questions, soothingly rubbed my legs and told me I was doing great--made me feel like she cared. So far, I am very pleased with her work.

I really liked Dr. Francis, she was easygoing and laid back which helped keep me at ease. I would highly recommend her.

Dr Francis did the \"Doctor Talk\" I went to a few months ago. I was very impressed. She seems to really know this surgery and was so informative. She answered everyone's questions thoroughly and patiently. I will have my one on one in two weeks. Then surgery a week later.

I chose Dr. Francis without ever meeting with her one-on-one. She was one of four very well-qualified surgeons in the Lite Dimensions program my PCP referred me to. To the amazement of myself and my husband she was more impressive than we could have ever imagined. She is young and confident and unbelieveably patient, answering each and all of my questions without rushing, even though she was 1 1/2 hours behind schedule that day. I could go on FOREVER about her as I am truly happy with my decision to have her operate on me. I can't imagine anyone meeting with her and not feeling that she is 100% capable of performing this surgery and keeping you well and alive. Her surgical competence is superior but I also loved her bedside manner. She treats you with a motherly quality, referring to me as "sweetie," but without coming off as condescending. I just love her, and so does my husband. Oh, and when I had a moment of fear and I called her at midnight, she was so supportive and even called me again first thing in the morning because she was "worried" about me. And, I was fine. The only drawback is that because their offie is so busy you will have trouble talking with or seeing the surgeons in follow-ups, but they have very competent PAs there to do the follow-ups and answer any questions that may come up. As in any situation, the patient has to be proactive in getting the aftercare attention they need. Call twice or even three times if you need to.