Fresno Heart and Surgical Hospital Organization

Well, I finally had my consult on 8-13-03. I was sooo pleasently suprised at what a nice, and funny man he is! I know they say that surgeons usually don't have much of a personality but Dr. Higa was definitly the exception. The office staff was friendly and time efficient for the most part. They took my early and i was out of there pretty quick. He really answered most of my questions. And i never felt once like he was in a rush to get out of there. I did leave without a good idea of my post-op diet issues. But he assures me before i leave the hospital i will have more than enough info on that. overall I think i am very grateful to have him as my surgeon. And would reccomend him to anyone.

Have consult with Dr. Higa on 4/11/03. I have heard only wonderful thigns about him and all other surgeons with VSS.
I cant say enough wonderful things about Dr. Higa. I felt like he "was there for me" throughout this whole process. I wsa totally comfortable and secure that my life was in his hands. He has a wonderful sense of humor and bedside manner. I would recommend him to anyone! Youa re lucky if Dr. Higa is your surgeon!

I have a consult with Dr. Higa on June 9, 2003. I have heard nothing but good things about him and I am very confident that I am going to be in the best of care. I trust that the Lord has made this choice in surgeons for me and look forward to meeting him. I will do a more complete evaluation of him as time goes on. God Bless :)......June 14, 2003 UPDATE...Met with Alice and Dr. Higa on June 9th and all I can say is that once I met them both I knew that I am in safe hands. I know the everything is going to be ok. The office staff is VERY busy but my appointment was at 10:30 and I was seen by 10:50 and was out of there by 11:30 so it was not problem at all. Dr. Higa and Alice are the best choice I could have ever made. I am truly confident and blessed to have them doing my surgery. They made the risks very clear and were very upfront and did not sugar coat anything. I believe that the bedside manner and patient understanding is the best I have ever seen in any doctor or practitioner I have ever met. I know they want you to put the negative out there too, however I can honestly and humbily say that I have nothing negative to say about either Alice or Dr. Higa. So, it is WELL worth the wait to have Dr. Higa do your surgery. God Bless :) July 18, 2003...I have a date with Dr. Higa...Aug 5, 2003 at Clovis Community...weeeehooooweeee God Bless

I have only met Dr. Higa via a videotaped seminar. My consultation was with Alice Jackson, NP. I was excited when I left there, but then she called a week later to tell me I needed to lose 50 lbs. before they would proceed. Everyone advised me to find another Dr., due to my particular circumstances that keep me from losing weight. However, she called back again the following week and said if I would have the sleep study test for sleep apnea, they would proceed. I am anxious to personally interact with Dr. Higa himself and to have my surgery soon.

My first impression of Dr. Higa was that he is a very quite man. I wasn't really sure what to expect. He is friendly and informative. But he is really low key. Alice is Nurse Pratiotioner is awesome. I have actually seen her more often then I have Dr. Higa. I felt very lucky to have Dr. Higa as a surgeon though, because his reputation is awesome. I don't care how talkative someone is if they are going to be cutting me open I want them to know their stuff.

When I went into the operating room he asked me what kind of music I liked - Heck I thought. I am gonna be sleeping- I asked him- "what kind of music do you like!!!" whatever made him happy was fine with me!!!

After surgery he went out and talked to my hubby and family and let them know I was ok. And then again in my room he came in to check on me. Very nice man.

He didn't really address risks of surgery, cause I didn't really need him to cover much of anything. I have been reseearching wls forever and knew exacting what I wwas getting myself into.

I guess his surgical competence is better than his bedside manner. But I wasn't looking for someone to sit and read me a bedtime story or hold my hand. I wanted someone to perform surgery on me and have no complications. So far I haven't had any problems!!!

I would rate Dr. Higa and his staff as awesome. I know they will be there if I need them . He always has someone on call in his office and the other Dr's he works with are great also. I feel very lucky to have gotten to use him. He is my hero!!!

- I don't want to seem unbelieveable here but I did not have anything negative to say about my surgeon or his office. I think the only time I was ever close to being upset is once when I was in the waiting room and had to wait a long time. Turns out someone had a emergency though. Not their fault.

When I first met Dr. Boone, I thought he was really nice on the eyes. I didn't really get to form an opinion of him. He was the speaker at the seminar, and was very thorough. He went through everything step by step, and answered questions along the way.

Over time I have seen how professional he is. He is strict, but not to the point where you get intimidated. He explains things very well.

His office staff is great. They are all so nice and sweet, but not to the point where it is phoney.
I think patients should know that Dr. Boone is very open to questions. Sometimes he just explains the very basic things. If you have other questions you should ask him, he wont hesitate to answer.
As far as structured aftercare program he only lacks somewhat in that department, IF you are wanting your surgeon to be there for your every move. He tells you what to do and it's up to you to do it, not up to him to remind you over and over again.

He addresses the risks of surgery head on. Overall I would rate him an 11.

I chose Dr. Keith Boone after much long research and my best friend's recommendation. She had lap RNY surgery with him 2 1/2 years ago and thinks he's the best. So after failing to find a local surgeon that I felt as confident with, I decided that I would travel out of state to have the surgery with Dr. Boone.
I flew down to Fresno for my consultation last November. I found Dr. Boone to be just as he was described by friends and other's on this site. He seems soft-spoken, gentle and caring. He carefully explained the surgery and patiently answered all of my questions. I feel completely comfortable with him and very confident in my choice of surgeon. So far I would highly recommend Dr. Boone to anyone.

DOCTOR HIGA IS VERY KIND, FUNNY, AND EXTEMELY KNOWLEDGEABLE IN BARIATRIC SURGERY. HIS SURGICAL STAFF ARE VERY KIND AND GENIUNELY NICE PEOPLE. THEY WALKED ME THROUGH STEP BY STEP PRE-OP AND POST-OP. I DON'T THINK I COULD HAVE GONE THROUGH WITH THE SURGERY IF I DIDN'T THINK HE WAS COMPETANT.

Dr.Boone was very quiet but friendly. He went over the information of WLS and answered any questions I had. He was thorough in requesting necessary tests to insure that I have a safe surgery and also consulted with other specialists whose care I am under. I feel confident that I am in good hands.

Dr. Boone learns a lot from listening. He answered all of my nervous sometimes unclear questions with the patience of a man who is only seeing me that day.

His nurse a WLS person herself was very kind.

A few snags with my paperwork. It got sent to the wrong department and if I hadn't called frequently to check on it I believe my surgery would have been delayed. But stuff happens. Just stay on it. I hope Olga never figures out who I am...she'd probably like to hit me with a stick! LOL

Dr. Boone seems very focused on aftercare. I appreciate his philosophy that he doesn't tell you what to do and what not to do....he encourages caution and promote you to understand and apply reason to yourself.

He's not bad on the eyes either!