"I met Dr. Hajudczek through Coastal Center for Obesity in San Pedro, CA. He was a nice guy and seemed very knowledgable. He was very quiet or should I say soft spoken. I felt very comfortable with him. The staff was always very nice. I didnt have much of a wait when I went there for an appt. I have to say Dr. H did an amazing job on my surgery....he repaired adhesions I had from my prior c-section and I didnt even require a drain post Op. I felt good enough not to take the morphine the day after surgery. I went home 2 days post op. He was definitely up front about the risks and lifestyle changes involved with the surgery. He didnt make me feel bad about my weight and put me at ease, I never felt rushed when speaking to him. I definitely feel surgical competence and a good bedside manner are important and he had both. I would recommend Dr. Hajduczek for anyone researching WLS."
"Well since this hospital misdiagnosed me in 1997 I was a little wary. Everyone said it was a top 20 hospital so I gave them the benefit of the doubt. I have to say I had a horrible time over there. They put me in a room that was either freezing or outright hot. My mom had to wear a pea coat and gloves while she visited me....and she was still cold. She also covered me up to my ears so I wouldnt catch pnemonia. The maintance staff was called several times which they never came to fix the problems. I almost cried when I pulled the string to shut the light off and the whole string and chain broke off! The lady next door to me checked herself out due to the freezing temps of the room. She also told my mom that she had her gallbladder taken out a while ago and was there because she was still having pains. The hospital told her "it was all in her head". The scary part is in '97 I went there several times with stomach pain and they even did an ultrasound. They said I was "crying wolf" and I was having "panic attacks". They said it was all in my head too. The next day I went to Saint Johns in Santa Monica, had an ultrasound and was told I had numerous gall stones and how could have Torrance not seen that. I was so upset but I was 17 and didnt know all my rights at the time. Anyways back to my stay for WLS at Torrance, all the other rooms were fine temperature wise and they finally moved me to a room that was comfortable. The nurses rarely changed the urine hat that I had to pee into, they didnt give me any information on how much I was supposed to drink "they said "til I was full", and they woke me up constantly! At one point they came in 3 times in 35 minutes all before 8am! Many of the nurses had attitudes or were completely incompetant. I spoke to the lead nurse who was very nice to complain. I had to fight about pretty much everything. Thanks god for my surgeon Dr. Hajduczek....he's great. I couldnt wait to finally be discharged. Top 20 my a$$. I will never go to that hospital again and will be writing a letter to the head of the hospital. Saint Johns of SM and Santa Monica hospital blow this place out of the water in everyway. If you can go to another hospital, I would highly recommend it. "
