USC Verdugo Hills Hospital Hospital

My first impression of my surgeon was that he "knew his stuff". His staff, especially Nurse Practioner (Noemi) have very good bedside manners. His bedside manner, however, could use some work. Future patients should know that he is the best surgeon out there! I would rate him as a 10+

My first impression was a good one. He is a very skilled man and he knows what he is talking about. I was pleased and confident that he would do the best he could for me and he did!!!!! My impression did not change he is a God send to people like me who really need to do something, not only for my health but for everyone around me. His office staff are great! His staff helped me through my surgery and made sure that I would be fine and let me just say the team at USC are the best! There isn't anything bad I could say about Dr Katkhouda. He is one of the best in his field and should be awarded for it. Patients should know he is a very busy man and he is there to help everyone so patience is the key. The aftercare is all up to you. I suggest finding a good primary care that is familiar with this type of surgery because if you do run into complications you need to have someone who knows these types of problems. USC has a bariatric center so there are plenty of suppport for all your stages after surgery. The risks to surgery are high for Gastric Bypass you really need to look into your physician and check mortality rates and also how good your health is as far as testing before surgery and maybe consider losing weight to make it easier on you. If you are a smoker definetly stop months before surgery this plays a big part. I would rate Dr Katkhouda a perfect ten for all his help and staff. He is known for his work and like all physicians the more your read and learn the better. It is very important to listen to all the things he asks of you to do. They may seem harsh and even a little out of reach but remember he is doing this for you and your best interests. One thing that is great about Dr Katkhouda is he is very assure of himself and well skilled. He wants all his patients to suceed and make examples of his work. After all he is one of the best in his field. Thanks Dr Katkhouda

My First impression was he was in a big hurry.

My impression did not really change untill after surgery.

Offife staff vary helpfull

He isn't the kind of doctor who is going to hold your hand. If you decide to do this surgery with him make sure you have done the research.

He is an awesome surgeion and I highly recomend him

Vary little aftercare.

Vary briefly, but definately stressed it is a vary serious surgery not to be taken lightly.

I would rate him as a 10 surgically however a 5 personably.

Surgical competence is deffinately his strong point!

well i met with Dr. Katkhouda on july 20 ,my first impression is he is very sensitive to his patients needs he explained both surgeries i was interested in ,lap rny and about the lap band , he has done 600 surgeries with No mortalities (knock on wood)and is one of the pioneers in laparcopically surgery. but is extremly overworked and over booked i cant even call till oct. to see when i can get a surgery date because he's booked solid till feb.2005 well i guess the wait will be worth it since he is one of thee best. hopefully i can lose a few lbs. on my own before than.

Dr. Katkhouda seems to be a very intelligent surgeon. I do have a great deal to say, but would prefer to say it after the surgery.

My first impression of Dr. Katkhouda was that he was very professional and had a great sense of humor. I left his office feeling very optimistic. I only met Dr. Katkhouda one other time after that and my impression was the same. He seemed caring. His CURRENT office staff has been polite and helpful. I don't think Hillary is scheduling surgery dates anymore. She's the only one I had any problem with. Future patients should know that he and his physicians assistant have high expectations. When they tell you to do something, do it, (for example, losing weight prior to surgery). Since I have been post-op, I have been given ample information in regards to aftercare, I only wish I could have had access to the nutrition information packet PRIOR to surgery. Prior to surgery I wanted to know specifics about food, etc..., but wasn't able to get specifics. Other than that, I had all neccessary information. I cannot speak to Dr. Katkhouda's bedside manner because I did not see him while I was in the hospital, but the two times that I did meet with him, I felt comfortable and relaxed and well informed. Overall I would say that he is a brilliant surgeon and highly competent in what he does.

Dr. Katkhouda is an incredibly professional physician. He is very much all business, but he definitely knows his business well! I had been told Dr. Katkhouda did not have the best bedside manner, which was fine with me, since he was by far the best surgeon (in my opinion); however, I found Dr. Katkhouda to be incredibly funny, caring, and sensitive during my hospital stay. The only negative thing I can say about Dr. Kathouda is that he is so well-respected, and in such high demand, that he has approximately a year long waiting list for surgery. Now that I have waited that year and had a successful surgery I must admit that the wait was well worth it.

Dr. Katkhouda has worked miracles in my life. My pre-op BMI was 61.5, which basically excluded me from a laprascopic procedure, but Dr. Katkhouda managed - through an intense four hour surgery, and a lot of hard work - to do mine laprascopic. Just that fact alone makes him great to me! :)

First impression of Dr. Katkhouda. Good, he seemed funny and layed back.

It's been so long since I have seen him, I wouldn't be able to pick him out in a lineup. I hope they don't send in an imposter on my surgery date, cause I wouldn't know, LOL.

I think he's a serious surgeon, with a good sense of humor and way to big a patient load.

Well, I have been around trying to get this thing done since 9/03. My surgery date is 7/7/04. I was with this office during the change of RNP. I have to admit I felt jacked around. Sheesh..hope they don't change me again.

How would I rate Dr. Katkhouda overall. Don't know, let you know on 7/8/04.

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.