Fresno Heart and Surgical Hospital Organization

Thank you Dr. Boone and the team at ALSA for helping to give me the most precious gift anyone can ever receive: the gift of good health and a new perspective on life. Dr. Boone is an amazing person and I am glad that I chose him as my surgeon. He was very kind to me and has worked with me to overcome some hurdles. I am now in the care of Dr. Benjamin Shaedle up in Sacramento. Also an amazing team that I am privileged to know. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

I would recommend Dr. Boone for anyone considering weight loss surgery. He is very informative and willing to take time with you to answer all questions. His office staff is great too.

DrBoon is agreat person and very informative and have a great staff who very helpful with my questions regarding steps to be taken regarding surgery through insurance and classes and labs needed. I am a week out of surgery and have had just 2 days post op that was difficult but now i feel great and Dr Boons staff are great .love david hill theripist i feel he is a great person . I would rate Dr Boon and staff a 10.

Although I look forward to my surgery, I haven't had it yet, I'm still waiting. I've done most of my appointments and I'm hoping it won't be too long. Dr. Higa was great! He answered all of my questions and quickly put my mind at ease. Everything regarding Dr. Higa, Psychologist, and other members of that office went well except for Dr. Higa's staff coordinator Christine. She is very rude when I speak to her. I feel like I have to constantly call her to see what the next step is etc... I wish they had a check off list to let you know what comes next. That would be easier than having to talk to the rude staff member! I will post how surgery goes...

Dr HIGA and his entire TEAM were awesome and the hospital Fresno Heart I felt like I was in a 5 star hotel Dr Higa and Dr Ghassi did an emeg RNY Revision I had no choice but to put my full trust in them and I am so glad I did The first person I got to deal with was Dr Moon what a wonderful young Dr I teased him that he did not even look old enough to drive he laughed and assured me he was Dr Higa makes his rounds with his entire Team each morning each Dr knows you meets you and speaks to you Dr Higa is very direct and he told me that he would do what was best for me once he got in there ...he fixed a hernia that should have been fixed during my first surgery !! I have only been into his office post op to have drain tube removed I am only 9 day post op I have been down the weight loss road before I was only 4 1/2 yrs out ...if you choose Higa and Team YOU will be lucky he is not a talker he is a go get it done right kind of Dr ...one of his Dr's is Dr Boone he was pretty funny to ...I was praised for wanting to be up and out of bed just a few hours out of surgery I was an Emeg admit and was added onto his already busy surgery day I did not even go into surgery until 10:00 pm he found my problem fixed it and all I can say is how thankful I am ...Most Dr's will not even touch another Dr's surgery but he did and I can see why he is the best !!

I could not say enough about Dr Boone, the doctors that work with him, and the office staff! My overall first impression is that he was kind & caring and really wanted to help his patients through this "affliction." In the times that I saw him, another doctor from his office, or any staff, the treatment was the same; exceptional!! The office has some pretty specific aftercare instructions and diet recommendations as well as a follow-schedule. I moved away (out of state) shortly after my surgery but the office was kind enough to provide me with written instructions well through the first year post-op.

My first impression with Dr Keith Boone was that he is informative, and very professional. He has great bedside manners. He made my husband feel very assured that I will be taken care of. His office staff was great. All phone calls were returned and they kept me informed throughout the process. The office has a great aftercare program. While I was in the hospital "Fresno Heart and Surgical Hospital", I had a psychologist and a nutritionist come in and explain the support that was available after care and what my diet would consist of. Also they explained what my first week would be like. They emphasized that aftercare and support groups are essential for success. He made me well aware of the risks of surgery and what I would have to do to make myself have a good outcome. I would rate him overall a 10. Excellent , competent, overall a great experience.

Dr. Higa was professional, focused and all about business. I found him to be knowledgable and very thorough. I presented with abdominal pain and asked him could my RNY be converted to a DS. I was fearful about having more surgery considering my history of small bowel obstruction and abdominal hernias. I quickly assured me that he could perform the surgery and I immediately trusted him. He's so calm and sure of himself. He ordered an upper endoscopy to rule out that an ileus was causing my abdominal pain. Turns out I didn't have an ileus but instead likely have a gastric fistula. I hope to get an exact diagnosis quickly so that the revision can be scheduled by December 30, 2010.

Dr. Higa's office staff are mostly quiet and don't much engage in small talk. Jennifer, Dr. Higa's nurse, is very nice. She spent about 15 minutes with me answering my questions about possible causes for my abdominal pain.

I wish Dr. Higa and staff would explain the next steps more. They tend to leave you hanging as a patient when you are checking out. A written plan with next steps, pending tests, actions for the patient, etc., would be very helpful.

Dr. Boone was very friendly and informative. I did feel like he was a little too rehearsed at times, but he made me feel very comfortable overall. His office staff was very helpful. They even got the paperwork for temporary disability together for me and faxed it in after I filled it out. Aftercare is one of the main aspects of his program, and monthly support group meetings are offered at the Fresno Heart and Surgical Hospital. In the seminar before the surgery, he addressed the risks of surgery and gave specific statistics about all of the risks. I felt like I had to jump through a lot of hurdles to get to my surgery date as far as having to take nutritional classes and psychiatric evaluations (required by him, NOT insurance), but I think he was just trying to make sure I was ready and able to handle life after WLS. Overall I felt like Dr. Boone was great, and the Fresno Heart and Surgical Hospital was like a hotel.

WLS Seminar - 2/6/10 - Dr. Boone hosted a WLS seminar and I was impressed with his presentation. Not only did he give information about national stats on WLS but he gave is stats as well. I was also impressed that he discussed taking care of the patient for life rather that just during surgery. Plan on making an appointment to see him for a consultation.

1st Consultation - 2/22/10 - Saw Dr. Boone in his office. While I think his office staff could use a lot of customer skills improvement (sigh), he was great. He has a huge practice so maybe that speaks to his staff being very short and busy. Dr. Boone discussed the surgery with me, what I should be doing, what I will be doing, explained the surgery with pictures and diagrams. I also received a WLS workbook to go through and I have to take a test prior to having surgery. Smart! He said I was a great candidate for surgery and we are moving forward with the next steps. I enjoyed his demeanor and his professionalism.

Pre Op Appointment - 4/12/10 - Met with Dr. Boone's associate and went over pre op instructions and prep for surgery. Prep was only clear liquids the day before surgery and nothing to eat after midnight. Such an easy preop - I'm lucky. All set for surgery!

Surgery Day - 4/16/10 - Met with Dr. Boone in Pre Op department. All ready for surgery and Dr. Boone was ready to go. Very relaxed.
Moved to surgery suite, put to sleep, game on. After surgery, recovery was difficult but not unusual. Say Dr. Boone on Saturday (day after surgery) - he was very supportive and gave me instructions for discharge. Very pleased with Dr. Boone - loved that he saved my life!