Kelly Francis Bariatric Surgeon M.D.

Dr.Francis saved my life!!

I originally was banded by Dr.Francis in 2007.

(Since then until now (2017), I moved to the Las Vegas area).

In Jan.2017, I consulted w/a local bariatric surgeon, after much research I decided to go with Blossom Bariatrics due to this particular surgeons experience in revision weight loss surgery.

In March 2017, BB (Blossom Bariatrics) MD, performed a EGD on me.

I was then diagnosed with a slipped lap-band, hiatal hernia, esophageal erosion, GERD/severe chronic & acute acid reflux disease, & colitis.

This Bariatric surgeon had a duty to me to order further testing such as a upper GI with a barium swallow and suggest or recommend surgery for removal of my slipped lap-band immediatley!

Instead, my slipped lap-band knowledge was abandoned.... Completely.

In July 2017, I became frustrated for several legit reasons with where I was with things (at a standstill) & still suffering from complications of a slipped lap-band, (Blood in my mouth whenever brushing back of tongue, food getting caught more often, fear of aspirating, choking mid-sentence, waking up from a dead sleep gasping for air, etc)..

So I made the decision to go back to my original surgeon, Dr.Kelly Francis whom originally banded me 11 years prior.

During my consult w/Dr.Francis on July 25th 2017, she did not like hearing about one of my complaints, the one where I told her there would be blood in my mouth after brushing the back of my tongue.
She told me that this tells her my lap-band has slipped.

Not wanting to go off of a diagnosed slipped-band from an EGD, Dr.Francis ordered a STAT fasting upper GI w/barium swallow immediately the next morning along with fasting blood work.

When the radiologist confirmed my lap band slipped, Dr.Francis studied the images & cleared her morning cases the very next day and put me in emergency surgery to remove my lap- band immediately due to the restriction of blood flow to my stomach, I was now at serious risk for having my entire blood flow to my stomach completely cut off including the serious risk of my stomach perforating.

Within 3 days I consulted, had the right test performed, had emergent surgery for complete lap-band and its components removed!

Dr.Francis's quick response to my life-threatening slipped lap-band totally saved my life!

She was very informative about EVERYTHING relating to all of my bariatric needs, she puts patient safety first, but most importantly, she does the RIGHT THING FOR THE PATIENT!!

I really appreciated the lengthy time she spends with her patients, (so if you have to wait in her waiting room a little bit longer than average, trust me when I say to you she's worth the wait)!!!

She answered all my questions regarding my situation including discussing a revision surgery for me.

Dr Francis put my best interest first due to my experiences with her.
She is smart, experienced, has excellent bedside manner, listens to you, educates you on your subject, & I never felt rushed by her...

I trust her with my life.

I had the WLS done on February 2, 2006. I lost 130 pounds in less than a year. I started out at 421 lbs the day of the surgery and today weigh 316 lbs. I started putting a bit of the weight back on a couple of years ago so I changed my eating habits and added more fruits and vegetables and cut out all white flour type carbs. I am in the process of slowly loosing the weight I regained. I have not had any of the 'usual' complications my diabetes was in remission until last year and my blood pressure and cholestrol numbers are within normal limits. I have some questions about protein requirements because I am changing my diet to a more vegetarian type of diet. I had a wonderful experience with Dr. Francis and her team!

First Impression:She was so friendly and she made jokes and laughed like any other human being.
Office Staff:They were very nice and helpful
Least:Nothing
She is very much for follow ups and concerned with weather you can make the life changes.
Risk of surgery:She was very strait forward about what can happen.
Overall:She has been a ten
Both surgical competence and bedside manner were wonderful.She came to see me every day even after she said that it would most likely be a P.A. on the weekend.

When I met Dr. Francis, she was very nice and accommodating to me. The office staff were great and made sure I was informed. She alleviated my concerns about lap band versus bypass and encouraged me because losing weight slower is safer. My surgery was pretty straightforward (no additional risks involved) and so my consultation was pretty quick. When she visited me right before surgery, she told me that if she couldn't do the surgery laparoscopically, she would not do it because my BMI was high. This was the first I was hearing of this and would have appreciated hearing this before the morning of surgery. Other than that, I would highly recommend her.

I don't really know Dr. Francis all that well. Unfortunately, I met her one time before my surgery date and then saw her again the morning of my surgery. I saw her 2 weeks ago for my follow-up appointment and she was very pleasant and answered all of my questions. Don't get me wrong, I went through their program for months and met lots of wonderful people. They don't, however, give you time with a surgeon until you have completed the program and been approved by your insurance. As I do get to know Dr. Francis, I like her. As for the office staff, I like most of them as well. I have had a couple of occasions where I needed help or a question answered (by the office staff) and was given the run around or completely ignored. I've also asked to have some post-surgery material sent to me and that request has been ignored as well.

Dr. Francis is very professional and open to any questions. She has lots of experience and I'm so grateful she did my RNY.

She was very caring and compassionate and really helped with my problems post op of irritation around the band and swelling, causing me to vomit everything I put in my stomach. Her staff has been greatly helpful with every process of the procedure before and after the surgery

She is a kind, wonderful and compassionate person. I feel very comfortable with her and I TRUST HER!

Dr. Francis performed my lapband surgery on 5/20 at Fountain Valley hospital. rnrnMy first impression of her and my impression today is that she is a very committed and competent physician. rnrnShe works in a very busy group, as I am sure most bariatric groups are, so appointment times and schedules are precious.rnrnThe office staff was quite good. I came from out of state for my procedure which required a lot of co-ordination of tests. As a team effort we pulled it off...it takes great dedication from the patient and the staff.rnrnThere is a structured aftercare program and Dr. Francis is very specific about following the guidelines and staying on point with my goal in mind.rnrnRisks of surgery were addressed...and I had done a good deal of research as well. rnrnI really did not experience Dr. Francis' bedside manner because only in overnight. I 'remember' seeing her about 6pm the night of surgery because I had developed a substantial hematoma...but as groggy as I was, it is possible she came by more than once.rn

We loved Dr Ali! and Dr Francis! rnrnThis office is full of well qualified Dr's and i would recommend any of them to do this type of surgery.