Edward Phillips Bariatric Surgeon M.D.,F.A.C.S.

It has been almost ten years since the review above and hindsight is 20/20.

Dr. Phillips ignored the likelihood that I would develop problems. I ended up going inpatient for an eating disorder and he fought me on it, saying that if I starved myself and threw up for the rest of my life, it was fine.

My last visits with a surgeon were too long ago and I'm looking to re-engage, but I have a fair amount of fear given my last interactions with him.

I'm looking for a new doctor.

I didn't get to meet my doctor until after all of the test were completed. I met with his fellow who was very knowledgeable and I felt like I got all of the information I needed. When I finally met Dr. Phillips, he spent his time speaking to me and thoroughly going over everything with me. He suggested that I change my plan from lap band to rny, which I did. I feel and from the beginning have felt that Dr. Phillips is everything I want in a surgeon. The staff in his office is really great. I had no problems getting through to them and I felt like they cared about me. They also recommended and have followed up with me post op.rnAs far as insurance goes, Dr. Phillips is out of network for all insurance, so I paid a bit extra out of pocket. I feel like it was worth it to have the best.rnrn

Dr. Phillips has a HUGE reputation for being the best of the best surgeons around. He is a very nice man with a great bedside manner. After hearing from many doctors about what a great doctor he is, I feel very comfortable in his care.
He explained everything in detail and definitely did not minimize the risks of the surgery. He talked very truthful and honest about any situation that could occur. He spent time answering any questions that were asked.

My sister had the surgery March 2005, and is doing great. She has lost 30lbs. in 4 weeks.

Dr. Phillips and his staff of doctors are wonderful. The only negative thing I have to say is that his office staff is very unorganized.

Very good doctor! Very caring, kind & nice. Very experience, top in his field. I felt very safe in his hands.

Dr. Phillips was caring, and informative. I felt very comfortable with him and his staff.
My impression remains the same
His staff is busy and helpful
He emphasizes aftercare a great deal, and insists we attend weekly support group meetings.
He explained all the risks of surgery, not minimizing them at all.
I would rate him a 10 on the scale of 1-10.
He is a skilled surgeon and has very kind bedside manner. Very informative. However his office is micro-managed, and that can be confusing, as to whom to talk to for what.

1/10/02 My surgeon, Dr. Ed Phillips, is head of the Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery at
Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. He is a wonderful person and
has an outstanding reputation for doing laporoscopic RNY surgery. Everyone who works with him is
also very caring. Initially, for my first meeting there, I was a bit put off because I had wanted to meet with Dr. Phillips on the first
visit, and that isn't how they do it. Initially, I met with his associate, Dr. Khalili , who was very nice but I really had wanted to meet
the person to whom I had been referred. As it happened, I did meet Dr. Phillips at the end of my visit there just by chance. I also
asked Elaine Kahaku, Dr. Phillips main nurse, to see whether she could move my surgery to an earlier time. Initially, she was a bit
off-putting, but as I got to know her, she became easier for me to deal with. She has a big job
juggling also got my ultrasound and endoscopy done very quickly. I told her I would take
care of my responsibilities as quickly as possible and I did.

When my husband and I met with Dr. Phillips a few weeks later, he spent enough time with my husband and me to answer all of our
questions and make us feel comfortable. Cedars has
a whole nutritional component that is part of this procedure and I also
met with the nutritionist , Cindy Wong. The follow-up nutrition program is 12 weekly classes followed by 9 monthly ones.

A very close friend of mine has seen Dr. Phillips for many years for
other matters and thinks he is fantastic. So I feel as though I'm in very
good hands. It was actually my internist who recommended him to
me. I would have never thought of this on my own.

My surgery is scheduled for March 4, 2002, and I am looking forward
to having this behind me and my recovery on its way.

2/28/02 I met with Dr. Phillips and his other team members for a pre-
op dialog. He went over everything related to the surgery, mainly
the kinds of problems which may occur. I was not the least bit nervous
about them because he has a very easy way of explaining everything,
I had read all the information on my own, and he was quick to say
that he has almost never had any of these complications occur with any
of his patients. He said that there is a "bell curve" connected to how people
respond to each aspect of the surgery. For some, they're in pain afterwards and there is a whole Drug Group who monitor self
administered Delaudid, Morphine, or whatever other narcotics a patient may need.
Then, he said, there are many who experience no discomfort from laporoscopic RNX proximal surgery. I have total confidence in
him, I
think he has a wonderful way of supporting his patients, and I am
anxious to have my surgery on Monday.

He also encourages every patient to talk openly about anything that they're feeling after surgery. He wants to know all the stuff that
a patient
may consider unimportant, because to him, it might be important.
Small problems, when left unattended or undisclosed, may be become
more serious and he doesn't want that to happen. I think surgical competence would be more important to me than bedside
manner but I
honestly feel that Dr. Phillips is "the best of both worlds", providing great
bedside manner and exceeding competence. I couldn't ask for more
going into this surgery. I trust that my experience will be as positive
as he and I can jointly make it.


3/8/02 I am four days post-op and I must say, the experience was excellent. I think my surgeon did a great job with my lap RNY, he and his
team were attentive to my needs and visited me twice a day in the hospital, they provided me with materials to go home with in terms of the
liquid diet to follow, their bedside manner was great and I am satisfied
with the results, thus far.

I have an appointment next week for a post-op check-up, so we'll see how I
do with that. I was very gassy initially because I had to have a cat scan
with some liquid called contrast solution that produced gas and diarrhea, but it seems to be over now. They thought I might have a hernia but I didn't.

The main thing to know about Dr. Phillips' office is that he is a really busy
and sought after surgeon. He has the Center for Minimally Invasive
Surgery and a separate general surgery office, is away a lot on speaking
tours, so he's not totally accessible. But the times that I've seen him, he's
very sweet, very competent, thorough in his explanations, and I think it is
the goal of his entire staff to do a good job for the patients. I think they
all know that this is a tough road for people, so they're all pretty thoughtful in terms of how they talk to patients.

His assistant Marci got a big uppity with me one day when I was in the
hospital and I didn't appreciate that at all. They like things done in a
certain way, like rules respected and followed, and when you're in the
hospital w/ questions, your behavior isn't always impeccable as all would
expect.