Kaiser Surgeons
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May 2009
Our daughter has been referred for surgery at Kaiser Oakland with Dr.
Olagire - has anyone had experience with this doctor, or with pediatric
surgery at Kaiser that can share your thoughts?
also curious about ANY pediatric surgery experiences (particularly with
ped. anesthesiologists) at Kaiser Oakland or Santa Clara...thank you!
I had a great experience with pediatric surgery at Kaiser
Oakland. My so (who is now 10 months) needed surgery at 8
weeks old. He has a kidney/bladder abnormality which Kaiser
caught at my 20 week ultrasound. They monitored it
throughout my pregnancy and did a number of tests on my son
after he was born. They determined that he needed surgery at
about 4 weeks but advised that we wait until he was 6 weeks+
because of the risk involved with anesthesia. My husband
and I were nervous of course - I've never had to deal with
anything like this with our first born. But we felt
confident in our surgeon (Dr. Krishnan - pediatric
urologist).
I was beyond tense the days leading up to the surgery but
Kaiser is great about making you feel comfortable. They
answered all our questions, make drawings so we could discuss
with family. They were great - the day of surgery went off
without a hitch (except it took longer than expected and each
minute felt like an hour). But he recovered well, no
complications. And now he is a fat and happy 10 month old.
If you want to talk feel free to send me an email.
brenda
There are two pediatric Surgeons at Oakland Kaiser Tertiary
Care Center. Dr Odouw and Dr Kim are both surgeons at
Oakland Childrens Hospital and are the exclusive pediatric
surgeons at Oakland Kaiser on contract for the last three
years. There are at least six or eight pediatric
anesthesiologists at Oakland Kaiser who mostly trained at top
universities with large Children Hospitals. The new director
of the PICU at Oakland Kaiser is the former PICU director at
Oakland Childrens.
Hope this helps
Hi, I want to highly recommend the pediatric surgical staff
at Oakland Kaiser. Of course, the environment was a strange
one. But the nurses were caring, sweet, helpful and
understanding with both my son and I. It was difficult for me
to see my child drugged, but in the end I was so glad for the
kind of experience we had there. I would not hesitate to go
there again if the need arises.
Been There
Feb 2009
My teenage daughter smashed into a wall last summer and requires surgery to fix her now
deviated septum. We are Kaiser members but since the Oakland branch is a teaching
hospital, I worry (and have heard one horror story) about a resident practicing on my
daughter's face.
Has anyone out there had experience with a good Head and Neck surgeon in the Kaiser
system. Or any warnings, help or guidance you can offer??
Worried Mom
Dr. Joshua Gottschall at Kaiser Oakland saved our son's life. Here is his
bio from the Kaiser website:
http://www.permanente.net/homepage/doctor/joshuagottschall/ I could not
say enough wonderful things about him. I am sorry to hear about your
daughter and wish her the best of luck in her recovery.
Grateful Mom
Nov 2008
I'm severely hard of hearing and considering getting a cochlear
implant at Kaiser, where I have an individual insurance plan.
I'm interested in the experiences of anyone else who has had
this operation done at Kaiser. How much did you have to pay out
of pocket, including post-op rehab? Did you have a hard time
getting approval for the operation? Did you fear you might be
dropped for your coverage entirely by requesting this expensive
operation? Were you satisfied with the care? How is the implant
working for you? How long was the rehabilitation period? And
were you given the option of binaural implants (in both ears)?
Any advice on dealing with Kaiser on this issue would be much
appreciated. Thanks!
I had a cochlear implant at Kaiser in Oakland. I am profoundly
deaf. If you have regular insurance with them, they cover the
majority of the costs, including hearing and speech therapy you
will need after the operation. I only had to pay co-payments.
Before I could get the implant, I had to be approved by an
audiologist there. The audiologist determines whether or not you
would benefit from the implant. I was never dropped from the
coverage afterwards as a result from the implant. I was very
satisfied with the care. You stay at the hospital only a few hours
after the operation. I was given very clear instructions for the
post-op care. The recovery period is approximately one month, to
give your implant a chance to settle in before it is turned on. If
the audiologist determines that you qualify for binaural implants,
you could get both. Good luck. If you have more questions, please
write me at arojob -at- gmail.com.
An implantee
A friend of ours had a Cochlar implant done through Kaiser for their
daughter, They have been very happy.
Anon
Nov 2007
My husband is having surgery to remove a chordoma (cancer)
tumor from his spine on 11/07. Dr. Granelli will be performing
the surgery. Anyone have any experiences good or bad to share?
At this point we have lost faith in the Kaiser system due to
several errors in judgement on their part leading up to this
surgery. We are uncomfortable at best. Unfortunately, can't
afford to pay out of pocket to go anywhere else. Any info would
be greatly appreciated.
Should have gone with a PPO
I can't respond to Dr. Granelli's surgical skill because
fortunately my breast cysts did not require surgery. However, I
saw him for an aspiration procedure and for several follow ups
and can atest to his kind, gentle manner. My friends thought I
was nuts, but I actually looked forward to seeing him for follow
ups because of his patience, kindness, and un-rushed manner.
Best of luck you your family.
Debbie
My experience with Dr. Granelli has been outstanding. He is
expert in what he does, is very knowledgeable and has an
outstanding reputation and is highly respected in his field.
He performed major surgery on me with a successful
outcome. He was kind and caring to my family during our trying
time. (They think he's great!)
He has followed my recovery and my progress conscientiously and
judiciously. I trust him implicitly.
I can totally understand how very worrisome it is for you to be
faced with a serious medical situation. You are very wise to
research information about the surgeon who will be performing the
surgery. I can wholeheartedly recommend Dr. Granneli.
Wishing you a successful and speedy recovery.
Barbara
May 2007
My 8 month old daughter was just diangnosed with tethered spinal cord
syndrome which our pediatrician noticed as a crooked butt crack. We are
seeking a second opinion. The doctor recommends the surgery, based on an
MRI that shows a ''defect'', but it is still our decision. Has anyone have
experience with this syndrome and had surgery at Kaiser. We have seen one
of the pediatric nuerosurgeon. Any recommendations on pediatric
nuerosurgeons? thanks
anxious mom
Hi worried mom, I feel you on how scary it can be to put your daugther/son through
neurosurgery to release a tethered spinal cord. We went through this experience
when our son was 1 years old. It was done at Kaiser Oakland; Dr. Zovickian and Dr.
Peng operated on my son. The good news is that surgery went well, he was up and
moving around 5 days later, and six months later we had an MRI that confirmed his
cord is free and there shoud be no further complications related to the issue. He
is now a two-year old active toddler, and we have put this experience behind us.
Believe or not, it is a ''routine'' procedure and according to the doctors, there
are minimal complications associated with the surgery (mostly related to
undergoing back surgery). Kaiser made us feel confident in their team and they
treated us really well. There were some downsides: our surgery date was changed
twice to make room for urgent surgeries, the doctors were scant with information
and the appointments felt rushed, the wound on our son's back did not heal
properly (I think the stiches were too tight, their explanation was that his body
reacted to the stiches causing the wound dehiscence), and there was scarring. All
in all, we are relieved that it is all over, that we corrected the issue, and it
is no longer a looming unresolved thing. Hope this is helpful. Blessings to you
and your family.
nico
We recently went through the same thing at Kaiser Oakland.
At about 4 months our son's pediatrician saw a strange ''cleft'' at
the top of his bottom crack. We did ultra sound and MRI. Nothing conclusive but
definitely abnormal. They said his chance
of developing problems was about 50%, but if problems did
develop, they were difficult if not impossible to treat. We felt
the surgery was a must. Neurosurgery (Dr. Pang and PA Smith)
were good. Pang is supposed to be the best (literally), but he
is an odd guy. Had 2 surgery dates cancelled because of
emergencies, and this surgery is not considered emergent. You'll
have pre-op and pre surgery appts and blood work. My best advice
is to try to be patient. When our appointments were canceled, we
were very disappointed because we were ''prepared'' but we were
ultimately grateful that our situation was not an emergency. Our
son spent 2 days in the PICU - not fun. Nurses and staff are
great, but being in the hospital is never fun. It took about 2
more weeks at home for him to be back to normal, but he's doing
great now. I would be very willing to talk to you or email you
more info about any of it. Good luck!
lisa
First - I'm sorry to hear that you're in this situation, & good
for you for getting a second opinion. I know how scary the
tethered cord diagnosis is (the surgery sounds scary, but the
potential for permanent damage without the surgery sounds scary
too!). We just spent the last two years with a ''maybe'' diagnosis
for our now 2-year old daughter, who also has a crooked
butt-crack. She was closely followed by her Kaiser pedi-neuro
team (Dr. Zovickian & Dawn) from age 6-mos to 24-mos. I felt that
Dr. Z was great - he showed us her MRIs & explained what he was
looking for. No symptoms presented, and the 24-mos MRI satisfied
the team that no tethering was present. Perhaps our situation can
reassure you that Kaiser doesn't always rush into recommending
surgery? That said, I do hope you get some feedback from a parent
who has actually gone through the surgery at Kaiser, since that's
likely what you are facing.
Also, a parent posted a question about their 2 year old child's
tethered cord in the April 6th Advice Wanted newsletter and there
were several nice responses in the April 13th Advice Given
newsletter, including at least one from a Kaiser patient who's
child had the surgery.
-good luck!
sofia
There is a wonderful group of poems by Doreen Gildroy in the
current May/June issue of the American Poetry Reveiw, about her
experiences and her baby's experiences in the hospital for
surgery to untether her daughter's spinal cord. Carol
March 2005
My 16-year-old son apparently has a jaw anomoly that his orthodontist is
recommending major jaw surgery to correct. After 3.5 years in braces, the
orthodontist removed them after realizing that he could not correct the
problem with orthodonture. My understanding is that the lower jaw is
continuing to grow while the upper jaw is not, and also that one side is
growing faster than the other. This apparently will cause ongoing bite
problems unless it is somehow corrected. I am wondering if anyone else has
had experience with this, and I'm looking for recommendations about where to
go for help. The ortho recommended Michael Doucet, DDS (the same surgeon
that removed my son's wisdom teeth earlier). The problem is that our
insurance coverage is with Kaiser (only medical, not dental). The ortho thinks
Kaiser should cover it, since it is a medical problem, not a dental one. I am
wondering if anyone has had experience with this type of surgery with Kaiser,
and are there any doctors you would recommend (or ones to avoid!). I'd also
love to hear about any alternative therapies we should investigate. Any advice
you have would be much appreciated.
Diane
My husband had lower jaw surgery through Kaiser last year. Dr.
Felice O'Ryan was his doctor and we were very happy with her. We
felt very confident of her abilities and liked her bedside
manner. Kaiser Oakland performs the maxillofacial surgeries for
all of Northern California so it's likely that they'll be very
experienced with the type of surgery your son requires. The
flip side is that it may take awhile for the surgery to occur.
I think my husband's surgery was scheduled six months in
advance. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.
Paula
Feb 2004
I'm scheduled to have a breast biopsy performed at Kaiser by Dr.
Granelli. I'm just wondering if anyone has had any experience
with him, positive or negative.
I saw Dr. Granelli for follow appointments after a cyst
aspiration. I found his ''bedside manner'' to be wonderful. He
was reassuring, but also completely informative. He also
promised to do re-exams according to my comfort level, and never
made me feel like I was overdoing it. I highly recommend him.
I can't personally speak to his surgical skill, because it was
not necessary in my case, but I remember being told by one of
the staff that I had ''the best.'' Good luck to you.
Debbie
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Last updated: Jun 20, 2009
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