Dr. Michael Feiz - Dr. Feiz' office....? Anyone have any info to share?

[Dr. MichaelFeiz 0]

Dear KLisa,

First and foremost, let me reassure you that if something is amiss, my staff and I will not stop caring for you until your weight loss journey is successful and complete.

That said, let me try to address some of your concerns.

Firstly, I did slow down my surgeries as a result of elbow tendonitis. I am well and back to 100%.

I’m glad to hear that you’ve had a good experience with my partner, Dr. Misra. I am blessed to have a partner as kind and gifted a surgeon as Dr. Misra. She and I have had the same surgical training culminating in a specialized Fellowship training at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. Except that she is better looking than I am, we are interchangeable and do everything exactly the same.

Rather than delay your surgery, we thought it best to continue with Dr. Misra on the day of your surgery. It is our policy to notify patients as soon as these types of emergencies arise. I am sorry if my office did not notify you sooner. I will look into this and make every effort to prevent this in the future. Our mission is to provide the best compassionate healthcare possible. I appreciate this chance to better my practice.

In regards to inconsistent office visits, please accept my apologies. I hope you understand that surgery is not completely predictable. Some surgeries take longer, some are more complicated than anticipated, and emergency surgeries deffinatly throws a wrench in everyone’s plans.

The concerns you have about your progress are very common with both the LAPBAND and the Realize Band. In fact, there is almost no difference with the bands, except that our anecdotal experience has shown that patients with the Realize band sense restriction a little later. We think this is because the Realize band is slightly softer and holds a little more saline. This may explain why we may have assumed that you have the Realize band. The aftercare is the same for both bands. Regardless, please don’t rush to think that there is a defect with the system. It commonly takes up to five (some times even more) adjustments before patients find their sweet spot.

My email address is DrFeiz@DrFeiz.com. Please reach out to me so that I can arrange a visit. I’m in Thousand Oaks every Monday. Again, be reassured that we will not stop supporting you until your weight loss is successful.

Dr. Feiz

[Klisa 0]

Thank you for your reply, Dr Feiz.

I'm glad to hear that you normally do notify patients when there is a last minute switch in surgeons. I was very surprised to have seen Misra's name on my wrist band that morning. Thankfully I found her to be warm & compassionate and hard to not adore, but I felt uneasy about selecting one surgeon and ending up with another...I was half way kicking myself for accepting the unexpected switch just because I 'liked' the physician. If one selected a plastic surgeon because they liked the work that they had seen and liked what they had found after researching a doctor, it would alarm them to realize that they were going to be going under the knife of someone who they did not select...that's what stayed in the back of my mind...

I do understand that there are last minute emergencies or surgeries that complicate schedules. I don't suspect this has been the case with each of my appts though. The last time around I had been told one time and then when I rec'd the confirmation call I was quoted a different time as though that had been what I was originally scheduled for. It worked out OK, but I had to scramble a bit to make the switch. When I called today (because I had a feeling there would be an issue) it sounded like my TO appt had not been scheduled at all and that they were trying to schedule me in Oxnard. There just seems to be a lot of confusion or miscommunication. When I spoke with Lupe today she did seem a little hesitant, so perhaps the schedule just looked weird and I AM scheduled for something in TO tomorrow...I don't know. I will call Susy tomorrow to discuss and reschedule for Monday if needed. If I am not able to get the Monday appt for some reason then I will contact you to make a more concrete arrangement.

I've been doing a little research this evening on the Realize Band vs the Lap Band and what you have said is what I am finding, so either way the end result should be the same...I must just be one of those people who needs a number of fills to feel any real difference.

[Dr. MichaelFeiz 0]

Dear KLisa,

First and foremost, let me reassure you that if something is amiss, my staff and I will not stop caring for you until your weight loss journey is successful and complete.

That said, let me try to address some of your concerns.

Firstly, I did slow down my surgeries as a result of elbow tendonitis. I am well and back to 100%.

I’m glad to hear that you’ve had a good experience with my partner, Dr. Misra. I am blessed to have a partner as kind and gifted a surgeon as Dr. Misra. She and I have had the same surgical training culminating in a specialized Fellowship training at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. Except that she is better looking than I am, we are interchangeable and do everything exactly the same.

Rather than delay your surgery, we thought it best to continue with Dr. Misra on the day of your surgery. It is our policy to notify patients as soon as these types of emergencies arise. I am sorry if my office did not notify you sooner. I will look into this and make every effort to prevent this in the future. Our mission is to provide the best compassionate healthcare possible. I appreciate this chance to better my practice.

In regards to inconsistent office visits, please accept my apologies. I hope you understand that surgery is not completely predictable. Some surgeries take longer, some are more complicated than anticipated, and emergency surgeries deffinatly throws a wrench in everyone’s plans.

The concerns you have about your progress are very common with both the LAPBAND and the Realize Band. In fact, there is almost no difference with the bands, except that our anecdotal experience has shown that patients with the Realize band sense restriction a little later. We think this is because the Realize band is slightly softer and holds a little more saline. This may explain why we may have assumed that you have the Realize band. The aftercare is the same for both bands. Regardless, please don’t rush to think that there is a defect with the system. It commonly takes up to five (some times even more) adjustments before patients find their sweet spot.

My email address is DrFeiz@DrFeiz.com. Please reach out to me so that I can arrange a visit. I’m in Thousand Oaks every Monday. Again, be reassured that we will not stop supporting you until your weight loss is successful.

Dr. Feiz

[Dr. MichaelFeiz 0]

We will strive to improve. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. Thursday in Thousand Oaks should be fine, Dr. Misra will be there. I would like to see you myself on Monday if possible. What ever is best for you. Thank you again.

[Dr. MichaelFeiz 0]

Sorry for the repeat post.

[Klisa 0]

Hi Dr Feiz,

I just spoke with Susy and she said that she did have me down for today at noon in TO, so there must have just been some confusion when Lupe checked the schedule yesterday. I let Susy know that you indicated you would prefer to see me personally on Monday so we switched my appt to Monday, 10/18, at 12:30 in TO.

I can very much appreciate that you monitor this site and address any concerns that patients have. That's good for both you and your patients. I feel better & folks following up on this post will see that you address issues quickly and personally, which I suspect is rather unusual for a surgeon.

I will see you on Monday.

[lowbmi 0]

Thank you for your post. I have decided to go to Doctor Ortiz in Mexico to get the Lap-Band. My BMI is low and in the US not many surgeons are allowed to do that.

[Klisa 0]

I ended up seeing Dr Feiz on 10/18...I was curious to see if I would get to meet with him since I knew he had surgery that day and Larry was in the office. Larry usually does my fills. I was pleasantly surprised. Not only did Dr Feiz attend to me, but he spend about 40 mins or so with me, going over my concerns with the band, what to expect in the future, etc. He did tell me that although I have not reached a point where he thinks there is anything wrong with my band, he would bank the info I provided and keep watch for something wrong. It was simply too soon to tell, I suppose.

In any case, I had my 4th fill that day and I am pleased to say that I do finally have SOME restriction. I haven't found my sweet spot yet, but I am having to eat slower and in turn am eating less, so that is by far a step in the right direction.

Dr Feiz told me that if ever I have any questions/concerns, I can email him directly at drfeiz@drfeiz.com or post to the bulletin board here since he frequently checks both for feedback from patients.

I was impressed by his quick response and his attentiveness once he knew that I had concerns.

Looking forward to the future.

[Nurseapryl 0]

Well, I am getting EXTREMELY frustrated with Dr. Feiz's office. I had my first meeting with Larry on August 20th and I have gotten no where since then! I was initially going to go with another doctor, but after my visit to Dr. Feiz's office, I felt confident and decided to switch over. I have yet to actually meet Dr. Feiz, but I read so many great reviews about him that I figured he was the right doctor for me! Unfortunately, his office staff is not on top of things. I have to call them at least once a week to light a fire under them. I am constantly having to remind them of why I'm calling and they tell me they will check into it and call me right back (of course, they NEVER call me back). This is so discouraging because 3 months have passed and I thought I would have had my surgery by now! It turns out, they haven't even submitted anything to my insurance company yet! To make matters worse, I was told that there would be no out of pocket costs to me for the preliminary testing. Now, I got a bill in the mail for $489 from the lab after having my endoscopy done! I called the office yesterday and today to inquire about it and, of course, they didn't call me back! I hope I haven't made a mistake by choosing Dr. Feiz. I hope I can have the same wonderful experience that everyone else is talking about.

[Evichi 0]

I wrote my experience thoroughly if u guys want to read under "very disappointed".

Not happy at all

[Pamers 2]

Have you had your surgery yet? I am having my surgery on Wednesday December 14 with Dr. Feiz. I met him on Friday. He really spent a lot of time with me explaining 3 surgeries, Lap Band, Sleve and bypass. I am having the Realize band.

[franjozay 0]

Hi pamers....I had my surgery nov. Of 09. With Dr. Feiz. Best decision I ever made. He is great. To this day haven't had any complications.

[joeventura 0]

Someone should write him a review here

http://www.lapbandsurgeonreview.com/farzin-m-feizbakhsh/

[Linaka 92]

Dr. Feiz seems like a very nice, very busy doctor. I met him for ten second right before they took me in for surgery. He never came out and told my husband how it went and I never saw him again. His staff provides very little support, fails to return calls and is somewhat unfriendly. I felt like nothing more than a line item on his list that day and I felt terrible for my husband who waited over three hours before going up and asking if I was OK. During my hospital stay I saw a staff doctor. Overall I felt ill prepared for both the surgery and for my life afterward.

[Linaka 92]

My journey with the business of Dr, Feiz began at a "seminar" after which I was moved in to the process (assembly line) of procedures and appointments. After a seminar, a consult, a sleep study, an endoscopy I still hadn't met Dr. Feiz and when my approval from insurance came through, no one called me.I finally called them and they just dropped the ball. I'd been moved from one location to another and gotten lost in the process. I was assigned a consultant "Lupe" who was mostly not available and when she was, she was impatient and curt. I soldiered on. Surgery day arrived and before they wheeled me in I met Dr. Feiz, ten seconds, nice guy. My husband waited anxiously for the procedure to be complete and the doctor to come out and talk to him. I was also having a hernia repaired. one hour, two hours, three hours. Nothing. He went up to the window and was told the doctor had another patient waiting and did not have time to speak to him. During my stay at the hospital I saw the doctor on call, again no doctor Feiz. How did my surgery go? The doctor said "fine" he had no idea. Finally one week later I go to my follow up appointment, no Doctor Feiz. So, while I am sure Dr. Feiz and his associate Dr. Rim are perfectly competent (I am alive) if you want any sort of compassionate, personalized care, if you want your doctor to see you as a person not a paycheck I highly recommend that you find another doctor.