Hi there. I had my double jaw surgery done at Kaiser Oakland with their chief surgeon, Felice O'Ryan. You can read a run down of my Kaiser experience here:
http://jawsurgeryforums.com/index.php/topic,4481.0.html in another post. There is also a link to my blog there if you want to really get in to the nitty gritty through the whole experience. I too had an orthodontist who swore up and down to me that I needed to get Kaiser because this was the best place to get this surgery done, and that Dr. O'Ryan was the best surgeon for my case. I was hesitant to pick up Kaiser because I had heard so many horror stories from friends and co workers. I actually know two people who have family members who were grossly disabled through a Kaiser mistake and now Kaiser is paying for long term care for the rest of their lives. Both had to go through a lawsuit to get that though. But I digress.... please read my experience in the other thread.
Everybody needs to take in what info they can and make their own decision, but if you are choosing between Kaiser and other surgical outlets, go get opinions from all of them. See what the care is like at other places. It's hard to compare it to Kaiser because you can't consult with them unless you are a member, which was my problem to begin with. I took my orthodontists word and moved forward with Kaiser. I didn't have anything to compare it to since I've never been in a hospital before and didn't really go on any other consults. I wish I had, because I didn't know what I didn't know. After Dr. O'Ryan grossly put my jaws together infinitely worse than what I went in to fix, and after her and Kaiser screwed me over and over again during my post op care period, I started to see 4 or 5 other surgeons for consult to try and get fixed. It was then that I realized how different the care is. It's totally night and day compared to my Kaiser experience. My new team of treating doctors actually care. I am not just a number to them. Yes, Kaiser is famous for covering jaw patients without question. But, you get what you pay for in my opinion. You're just a number in the factory line; treat em' and street em', and if there is a mistake, good luck getting them to give you the time of day no matter how understanding you are. Kaiser holds their doctors to a lower standard just due to the pure volume of patients they get through there. My care was so far below the standard of care, and to them that was OK. I just see the care and attention to detail I am getting now from my new team, and really kicking myself for not having had that through my first surgery with Kaiser. If I had, maybe I wouldn't be in the position I am in now with having to have a revision to fix severely twisted, crooked, canted, twisted jaws thanks to the mistakes of Kaiser and Dr. O'Ryan.
For what it's worth, I have not consulted with anybody at UCSF, but I hear that is another good place in the Bay Area for max/fac. I did consult with Kasey Li, who was not my cup of tea, but supposedly is one of the better surgeons across the country. I went down and saw Dr. Gunson, who obviously is absolutely fantastic and known as one of the best. I ended up choosing a local surgeon in Walnut Creek after much thought. His name is Nestor Karas if you would like to check him out. So far my care has been amazing with him along with the help of my new orthodontist and prosthodontist. So far they've made a great team and I appreciate them taking me on as such a difficult case for revision.
Feel free to PM me with any questions. I wish you the best of luck!
