Kelvin Higa Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S. F.A.S.M.B.S.

WONDERFUL EXPERIENCErnrnInformative & top of his fieldrnHas my vote for 100% in his surgical competencernas well as bedside manner.rnStaff are understandable busy, yet I always got the attention I needed.rn

Dr. Higa was very friendly when I meet him for the first time. He asked me about myself...not just health stuff. He was generally interested! I'll write more once I have my surgery!

Dr. Higa is a jokester but he is straight forward. He is very knowledgable and confident and his staff is very nice. He has a very strong emphasis on aftercare. He will monitor your progress to make sure that you are getting the most from this life change. I enjoy him as a doctor but I feel most confident about his surgical skills. He is one of the best!!

I was very impressed by my surgeon's reputation and education. He has done this surgery thousands of times and his office staff is very knowledgable. Dr. Higa travels worldwide and teaches this surgery to other surgeons. He is like a lot of surgeons and lacks a bit in bedside manner but what he lacks his staff makes up for. For me his surgical competence is far more important then his bedside manner. Dr. Higa stresses after care and is a bit stricter in some aspects then some surgeons but he has good reasons and I trust his experience to know he is trying to give me the best start. One way it was easier then many surgeons was that he does not require a long diet before surgery, only a one day liquid fast, and he does not require a bowel treatment.

My surgeon was great and the hospital was the best. I was at Fresno Heart Hospital. Private rooms and waited for nothing.

Dr. Higa was recommended to me by my pain management doctor. I took him a list of local bariatric surgeons and he crossed off every name except Dr. Higa and Dr. Boone. I started doing research about Dr. Higa and found that he is highly educated and has performed thousands of gastric by-pass operations. He also travels the world teaching other physicians how to perform LAP RNY. When I finally met Dr. Higa for my consultation, it was very obvious that he had actually READ my chart and knew about my back and neck injuries. I had to have only one extra test done before my paperwork was submitted to my insurance. I was approved for surgery within a week. My surgery was at the Fresno Heart Hospital which is like visiting a fancy hotel. I only had one nurse that was horrible. Dr. Higa came to see me before he left the hospital at midnight. Dr. Boone checked on me the next day, TWICE, and then released me on Sunday. I would highly recommend Dr. Higa or Dr. Boone for WLS.

This is probably the best surgeon there is for this procedure. I have read alot about Dr. Higa prior to surgery with all comments being very positive. And now I will add yet another positive comment about him, myself. rnHe has a great sense of humor, and I had complete trust in him prior to going into surgery. My father was very impressed with Dr. Higa also. He advised us fully of all the risks prior to surgery and after surgery ... he advised my dad that he had found what was called \"a mess\" going on inside of me, due to previous hernia surgery not being done correctly. He stated that while he was in there, he straightened everything out, and that things look great now. rnI would recommend Dr. Higa to anyone consider surgery, he is very competent and gave me so much peace each time he saw me. I have nothing but high praises for Dr. Higa!!!!!

I had originally scheduled with Dr. KinterrnI have been scheduled for orientationrnDec.6, 2000 and first appointment is Jan. 11th. I was not impressed with Dr. Kinter. I am going to keep looking & researching. I am scheduled with Dr. Higa April 9, 2001 for my first appointment. I've heard he is the best. 4/9/01 I met with Dr. Higa and he seemed very nice and concerned about my health. His staff set-up appointments with a cardioligist, a pshycholigist & sleep tests. After all of the tests I was called to come back in for follow-up. 6/22/01 I again met with Dr. Higa at that time he informed me that I was a candidate for weight lost surgery. Yes! but I already knew that. Now, it is in his hands to get it going from here. I was so happy to think there may be a end to this soon. I hope it will not be long!rn

First impression: great, was very clear in relating info and answering questions, friendly and encouraging. His office staff was pleasant, but next time will take along reading material or work as waited one hour past my appointment time to be seen. UPDATE: Dr. Higa moved offices as of January, 2006. The staff is much easier to contact, and returns calls promptly, and I only waited about 5 minutes for my appointment (which was good because the magazines were mostly for guys - mostly sports but not any I was interested in, like Bicycling). As usual, Dr. Higa was great, very supportive and understanding, and took the time to completely answer any questions. Dr. Huga has a new website, alsamg.com

'I first saw Dr. Ho which she is an Awesome lady