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Rebecca Glasser
"Dr. Glasser did a spectacular job on my tummy tuck. I am very pleased with the result and with her as well. Great surgeon and wonderful person."

David Sooriash
"August 18, 2004***I have updated my original comments about Dr. Sooriash...at the bottom of this post you will see my first and second impression of him. However, at the beginning, you will see my thoughts after my revision and recovery and my current impression. There are many patients who think Dr. Sooriash was and is the answer to their prayers. I used to be one of those people, that is, I WAS one of those people until I came to the end of my rope. My complications are no fault of my own, and I believe had an experienced, seasoned bariatric surgeon been consulted about my case I would have fared far better than I have. I bless those of you who have had a great experience with Dr. Sooriash with no complications---I am happy for you. For those of us who have not, we have to be honest and post accurate information for pre-ops. Pre-ops have to educate themselves about all aspects of this surgery and the surgeons who perform it. I hope and pray that the majority have had no complications, and I do realize that many patients have had just that---a wonderful and blessed experience. Everyone deserves the right to choose the things that are best for themselves, and my no means do my comments nor my experience imply or outright state that any pre-ops who use or are considering to use or post-ops who have used Dr. Sooriash as their surgeon will have or have had a negative experience. This surgery is like a crap shoot, and there is no way possible to know what the outcome will be---no matter who your surgeon is, or how it is performed. There are high risks involved with this surgery--remember that. Still the same old stuff going on here...I continue to take the meds and still cannot eat soft-solids without it. I still have the joint pain, the headaches, and now I am experiencing a numbness in my middle and index fingers on my right hand. I have been checked a few times in the past for carpal tunnel---I used to do office work, and that kind of thing goes along with that type of job. I haven't had any problems with my fingers before though. I have had wrist pain, but not in years---and never any numbness in my fingers. I hope this isn't something that has to do with all the medication I have been on for over a year and a half +++. I hope there isn't any permanent damage anywhere from taking all those meds. My fingers are NUMB. Something new to worry about---one more symptom to add to the list. There have been a handful of people who have emailed me with questions about Dr. Sooriash and how I am doing. The following is taken from an email I sent out to one of those individuals, and please, anyone who still would like to email me about it or with questions, I am here for anyone who does, and I will answer truthfully and honestly. "I am going to shoot straight for you...If there is anyway you can afford it, and if he is willing to see you out of network (if your insurance will approve going out of network) please, please, please see Dr. Yaserabi. He is the only expert here in JAX for gastric by-pass surgery, and I believe that you would have the best chance for no complications and the greatest chance for success with Dr. Yaserabi as your surgeon. Dr. Sooriash, on a personal level, is a wonderful, caring man. He loves his family very much, and his wife is wonderful. His staff are very warm and I didn't have a problem with any of them or Dr. Sooriash on a personal basis. I am not the type of person that goes around verbally slandering someone, and I have not done that yet. I don't want Dr. Sooriash to close up shop and go away, but I do think he shouldn't be doing the gastric by-pass surgery until he receives more training for it. Did you know that there are no required classes or certifications for surgeons to have in order to perform gastric by-pass? This is a major operation, and the surgeon with the most surgeries under their belt are actually the best ones for this job. Quantity does mean quality, and with that in mind, Dr. Sooriash is still practicing this surgery every time he does it---he has not done enough gastric bypass surgeries to reduce the risk of complications. My husband did some research, and a surgeon has to do over 100 gastric bypass surgeries before the complication risk goes down. I believe I made the wrong choice---I made a drastic, desperate, and quick decision when I decided to listen to Aetna US Healthcare and allowed them to choose my surgeon for me. My life and my family's life has been reduced from a "normal" existence to ruin. Financially, emotionally, physically---my family has suffered through all of this along with me. There has been no area of my life that remains intact or untouched by my decision. As an obese woman, I let society and peer pressure help me to decide that I couldn't wait, that I had to have the surgery as quickly as possible. I wish I had done my homework and researched all the surgeons in this area before I made the final choice. I implore you to see if your insurance co. will allow you to go out of network to see Dr. Yaserabi. If you can't afford the higher co-pay, then wait and save until you have all the money together to pay the higher fees. I continue to hear terrible, tragic things about patients that chose Dr. Sooriash, surgeries performed both a year ago and recently. I have talked with several of his former patients who have had complications. Two had their surgeries either a month before or a month after mine, and one had their's at the end of 2003. Three of these people received revision surgery by Dr. Sooriash, and still are having problems. One of these was sent to Dr. Yaserabi, by their primary care physician, and he did revision surgery and corrected the problem. I am not a candidate for a 3rd surgery. Dr. Yaserabi has told me that a 3rd surgery may not change things for me, and that I needed to allow time for the healing process. It has been a year and two months almost since my revision surgery was done by Dr. Sooriash, and I still cannot eat solid foods. No chicken, pork, or beef---I eat foods that are mushy and soft--like baby food consistency--and there is little hope for the future to bring any change. Dr. Yaserabi took me off phenergen--long term side effects from it can actually cause muscle rigidity--and I am on Dramamine--both chewable and regular. If I want to eat a "meal" which consists of a portion of a baked potato and maybe some overcooked mushy veggies I have to take a Darvocet, four regular Dramamines, and three chewable Dramamines. I then have to wait about a half hour to forty-five minutes and then I can eat a little bit. I do this at least twice a day now, so I can at least maintain my weight, and so I won't starve to death. I am affected greatly by the medication--I am sleepy, irritable, and my personality is totally opposite from my "unmedicated" self. I thank God that I have been able to keep my faith through all of this. There are people who read my profile and email me, to let me know they are praying for me as well, and it gives me a little hope---I can get through this with God's help. I would love to talk with you--I really feel that if you need someone to talk to about the bad side of this surgery, I would be willing to do that. You still have time for a second opinion, and if you cannot see Dr. Yaserabi please see Dr. Overcash in Ocala or Dr. Webb here in JAX. Ask for information about every patient that has had any complications from mild to severe to death. Take notes, and if you don't get the answers to your questions, that means you need to ask again. You have a right to the best medical care you can find, and that is why you pay the insurance co. those high premiums. You can demand 2nd opinions and to see any doctor out of network." Anyone considering this surgery, please do not make the same mistake that I made. No one needs to rush the decision making process in choosing a surgeon---find one you are comfortable with and get all the answers from. It has taken me many, many months to get to this point---to be honest and up front. I don't know why, but somehow I feel I am betraying all the people who have had a good experience with Dr. Sooriash. There are some wonderful women whom I came in contact with, who called, emailed, and came to see me in the hospital. I miss being a part of that peer group. I am not an obese woman anymore, so I am not in the pre-op group. My surgery had terrible complications, so I am not in the successful post-op group. I cannot go to Dr. Sooriash's support group meetings, because of obvious reasons, and at Dr. Yaserabi's meetings, I don't feel comfortable because I wasn't operated on by him---what can I say when I meet people there? After my first visit, my impression of Dr. Sooriash was that he was a professional individual with genuine concern towards the commitment of his patients. At first I was taken aback by his direct attitude and abrupt way of speaking, but I can definitely understand why he only wants to consider the serious individual for surgery. Why would he take on a patient who will not commit to a lifestyle change and will potentially gain back their weight in time? I would rather have a surgeon who requires something from patients than one who requires nothing and will operate on anyone. The office staff was very friendly and helpful, offering their assistance for any future needs I may have. Nina is awesome! We did not go into any questions about aftercare, but I was impressed by Dr. Sooriash's serious and frank statements about myself and my problem. I appreciated his honesty about his expectations. I will update this again after my second visit, scheduled for next month. During that visit I am supposed to bring my husband with me to discuss the surgery with Dr. Sooriash and also to discuss aftercare. August 21, 2002 Well, my second visit with Dr. Sooriash went so much better than the first. My husband came with me, and I was able to ask each and every question I had on my list. I received honest and genuine answers for each one. My husband had a couple of questions of his own, which Dr. Sooriash addressed as well. I am very pleased and feel my second visit was a success, even if I only lost three pounds since my first appt. three weeks earlier. Dr. Sooriash makes it very easy to understand his criteria for surgery and also the reasons why he is so strict. He requires his patients to be at a healthy weight, and also to exercise every day. I am proud to say I have lost seven pounds since Aug. 8th, so now I am down to 328. I will confirm that weight on Dr. S's scales this afternoon or tomorrow, but my goal is closer and closer all the time! I just received a call from Nina in Dr. Sooriash's office asking me if I wanted to be part of a support group list, and of course, I said yes! I think Dr. Sooriash needs a support group started for his patients, and this is the first step towards that end. Anyone who has any questions about Dr. Sooriash or just wants some information, please feel free to email me. I am so looking forward to Sept. 20! Keep me in your prayers!"

Memorial Hospital (COE)
"Overall, good. But I have to wonder if maybe they weren't a little short staffed on the fifth floor during my stay, and maybe that is why it took so long for the pain meds to get to me that first day."

John Kalam
"Dr. Kalam and his staff are very professional, but yet sincere in their patients' health problems. They are very good at answering all questions very throughly. Jennifer, his nurse, is great!"
About Me
Saint Johns, FL
Location
49.9
BMI
VBG
Surgery
09/02/2002
Surgery Date
Jun 19, 2002
Member Since
Before & After
rollover to see after photo
This is me just before I went to see Dr. Sooriash for my consultation
338lbs
This is me at the beginning of March 2003, just before being put in the hospital for malnutrition and when they discovered my
220lbs
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