Fresno Heart and Surgical Hospital Organization

I have only met Dr Higa once, at my initial consultation. He put me at ease right away. My wife and I both liked him. He has a fine reputation for his skill as well as the quality of his follow up care. My family doctor hasn't met him either, but has observed the care with which he watched his patients after surgery. Office staff at Valley Surgical seems spread pretty thin, but always have been courteous and helpful. So far I am comfortable with my choice of surgeon, time will tell if that impression lasts.

7/28/02 After surgery I still have great confidence in Dr Higa. He personally came to the waiting room after my surgery to let my wife know that it went well. While his visits to my room the next few days were brief, he came 2-3 times a day and never left before I was through talking or asking questions. I will see him again Wednesday.

11/13/02 Dr Higa still gets high marks in my book. He is following me closely with my family doctor. From what I have observed, his patients seem to recover with less discomfort and complications than patients of many other surgeons. He and his associates seem to have this procedure really nailed down. When I was sick at the end of August, he was on vacation and sadly the others in that office were not too helpful, to the surprise of my doctor and me. Our faith was restored when his nurse-practitioner(right-hand woman) Alice called and showed great concern and Dr Higa himself called the local dr and my wife to check on my progress.

5 days Post-Op:

Dr. Boone came across as a very professional individual, who obviously knew the business of the bariatric stomach surgery. I knew this because, I wrote an argumentive essay on the surgery and was pleasantly surprised to find Valley Surgical Specialist' article in our student database. He was very thorough (I knew this right away when he asked me how could I have two real births but have three children, which I answered-surprised-that I adopted on of my children - I knew then that he had taken some real time to study my chart), detail-orientated and brisk with my initial appointment and also during the visits at the Fresno Surgery Center where I had the surgery.

Also, two of the nurses on staff at the surgery center had stated that Boone and their group were one of the best in the area, this was based on the extra medication (salt water that flushes the pain medication through the body from the IV) that their group orders for their patients.

There was nothing that I disliked about Dr. Boone or their office. Everything was handled very professional. The only problem is the long wait to get into a seminar and from the seminar to the initial consultation visit. Other than that, Dr. Boone is an admirable doctor and first rate, as far as I'm concerned.

Michelle Harris
Riverbank, CA

I had my first consultation with Dr. Boone on 11/11/99. He answered my many questions without talking over my head. I understood everything he explained to me. I like the fact that he has a monthly support group. I attended the October seminar and was very impresed with the way both he and his partner, Dr. Higa, handled the seminar. I learned quite a bit there and would highly recommend this to anyone considering this surgery.
His staff was helpful and friendly and everyone there seemed to have a great sense of humor while still being professional. The only negative thing I have to say is about the length of time I had to wait to get an appointment. But I feel it was worth the wait. Dr. Boone was knowledgable, friendly, professional and he likes NASCAR. What more could you ask for in a surgeon?

2/18/00
My surgery date is now set for March 13, 2000. I'm excited and nervous all at once. My insurance approved me in 10 days on the first try. I have Blue Cross Prudent Buyer. The only negative thing I have to say about the entire process so far is that it's sometimes ahrd to get Dr. Boone's staff to return my calls. I called several times to ask one question and when I finally reached Laurie and spoke to her on the phone she answered my insurance question quickly and accurately. Everything else about Valley surgical and Dr. Boone has been great!

3/30/00 I had Lap RNY on 3/16/00 and feel great! Tired, but pain free. I went back to work after 12 days full time. I worked from my home for a few days befor that. Dr. Boone was wonderful. I saw him before my surgery and twice a day after. St. Agnes Hospital is a great place if you have to be in a hospital. The car I recieved was great! And best of all, I lost 16 pounds in one week!

11/16/00 It's been 8 months today! The time has flown by. I've gone from a size 28 to a size 16 and feel wonderful. I've lost 98 pounds. I can't begin to tell you how my life has changed. All for the better. I can fit in seats now, go up and down stairs without getting out of breath and so much more. If I went back in time and had to do this surgery again, I would!

10/14/02I thought I should give a quick update on myself since it's been 2 years and 7 months since my surgery. I FEEL GREAT! I ended up losing about 130 pounds and then did a small gain of 10 pounds. I've maintained my current weight for about 1 1/2 years now. I went from a size 28 to a 14 and my health is fantastic!!! I eat protein first and try to stay away from sweets, altough I have to admit that I still love chocolate. If you have any questions, feel free to E-mail me.

Dr. Boone is a very professional and kind individual. He is very informative, and very experienced.

We still believe Dr will meet our expectations about the surgical procedure.

All office staff we have dealt with, has been very bad. Especially his schedulling department. The receptionist and scheduller are rude, and they seemed annoyed by calls received by them reguarding surgery dates.
One of his staff members, however(Lori) has always been attentive and courteous.

Dr Boone does have a structured aftercare program. (post surgery visits)along with meal and excercise planning.

He addressed the risks of surgery "Just like any other major surgical procedure, there are high risks, depending on the patients tolerances and present health condition".

We would rate Dr Boone as an EXCELLENT Surgeon. Very qualified and courteous.

Dr. Higa was very caring and I felt that he cared. As I was wheeled into surgery and was very aware of all the lights, instruments, I could of used a some words of support from someone, anyone in there, didn't get any, but was out of it soon enough. I don't remeber seeing Dr. Higa right after surgery but he did come by first thing next morning for about 60 seconds, better than nothing. He came back again later that afternoon for a little longer and was really concerned for me. The office staff is very busy, I agree with others that they are spread to thin, but have always returned my calls, maybe not as soon as I would like. I had complications and had called the office numerous times about my nausea and had asked to talk to Dr. or his nurse Alice and only got one of the assistants, finally went back to Fresno, sick as a dog to see him first and then to go get a scope to see what was wrong, I was in tears with Alice and the Dr. peeked in for just a minute, considering I was having such sickness I would of liked to see him spend a little more time with me, and when I went back after my scope he never did come in to talk to me to reassure me that they found the problem and that the medicine would help, it still took two weeks for it to work and was on my own for that time, though Alice had people calling and checking on me, which I really needed. Though I do feel very alone and didnt get much aftercare information or not enough, I didnt know what I was to do there for a while. I rate Dr. Higa as a surgeon a 10, I had no surgery complications and was pretty painless. I rate his bedside manner WHEN he did talk to you as a 10 also, I realize he is very busy, just felt I needed a little more attention, but if it wasnt for this man I wouldn't be losing weight and for that I will forever be grateful. He is the one of the best in his field. I am going back for a post op check up on 8-7-02, hopefully I will get to see him this time. The office is very good about getting my prescriptions called or faxed in for me and fitting me in when I needed to come in.

8/7/02 I went to see Dr. Higa for a follow up and I actually got to see him and he was very pleased with my progress and very nice and answered a lot of my questions, I like him even more now and like I said he is my hero for helping me lose weight. I see him again in Nov, will keep updating.

When I first me Dr Higa, I felt uncomfortable because he is a smaller man, and my first thought was "what would he know about being fat?" and with having a lifetime of experience in dealing with fat prejudice doctors, I was afraid Dr Higa was looking at me the same way they did. All of those feeling were soon put to rest. First I met Dr Higa's right hand woman, Alice. Alice is wonderful, very knowledgeable and very straight forward. She spent almost an hour with me talking about what I wanted to gain from this, my reasons for doing it, my fears, my expectations and finally the pros and cons of the surgery. My meeting with Dr Higa was brief, but I liked him immediately. I felt 100% comfortable trusting him with my life. I would recommend Dr Higa and his entire staff to anyone...in fact, I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to perform my surgery.

I first met Dr. Boone at the mandatory seminar he gives before you can schedule a consultation with him. The seminar was very informative, complete with a power point presentation, and lots of good info. I met with him again in June for my Consult. He was very calm, and pleasant, and seemed interested in all of my questions. He answered everything, and said he would be seeing me in a few months for my pre-op for surgery. The staff appears somewhat unsensitive about the process. I've heard many of them have had the surgery themselves, but as for their attitudes, you would never know. I heard he is one of the best in California, and elsewhere, so I think he is worth the wait.

My first impression of Dr. Keith Boone is that he is very professional, a bit shy and soft spoken, and to the point. He is with Valley Surgical Specialists in Fresno...the surgery group has an excellent reputation according to what I've read online. It took 2 1/2 months to get a consultation and I don't have a surgery date yet and after speaking with Ulga (the coordinator) it will probably be 5 months or so to get a date...not very encouraging. I haven't been that impressed with Dr. Boones office staff. They haven't been clear about insurance procedures or letters needed from my psychologist, etc. I've learned more from this site than I did from them.

I met Dr.Higa on 7/10/02 for the first time. He was very warm and friendly. He answered all my questions and even threw some humor in the mix, which is always good for me. My husband with me and I feel that he was noticeably more comfortable with the procedure after he met Dr. Higa. I liked that he gave me my perscriptions ahead of time to have ready, and that he chit-chatted with me in the office while I was getting all my pre-registration stuff from Blanca, the scheduler. The whole staff there is very friendly and seem to really care about you. They were like a personal cheerleading section! I have my surgery tomorrow and I am confident I have the best doctors in the country. He said that there is a lot of follow up after the surgery of which I will definitely take advantage.

I had my consultation appointment with Dr. Boone after viewing a video of the informational seminar. They allowed me to view the video and have my consultation appointment on the same day, since I live approximately 4 hours away in Davis.

I was very pleased with Dr. Boone and I am certain I made the right choice in him for my surgeon. He reviewed the details of the operation and various other items presented on the video and answered my questions. He reviewed my diet history and health status and gave me a brief examination. Upon completion of this he stated that he was sure I would qualify for the surgery with my insurance company and there shouldn't be any problems in getting it approved.

My entire experience with Dr. Boone and the rest of the staff at Valley Surgical Specialists was very positive. My sister went with me and was able to view the video and sit in on the consultation. They are located in a very nice building, which was easy to get to. They had seating accommodations friendly for the morbidly obese, which was much appreciated by me with my double-wide derriere! The staff was pleasant and attentive, and I did not have a long wait for either the video, my appointment with Dr. Boone, or the follow-up with the staff for further scheduling.