Has anyone used Dr. Reza Movahed in St. Louis?

[GiantMB]

Hi everyone,

Long-time lurker, first-time poster.

Any experiences with Dr. Reza Movahed in St. Louis, MO?

I'm considering him for MMA (bimax advancement), double jaw surgery for sleep apnea. Before my consultation, I didn't think he would be a viable choice compared to my last consultation (Kasey Li). But major surgery without second opinions is a terrible idea so off I went...

And he really seemed great. Spent two hours talking with me about everything and anything I asked. Surprisingly experienced with apnea cases - he said it's about 70% of his practice, and though I didn't get an exact number out of him, he's done at least a few hundred MMAs for sleep apnea. Does CCW rotations. He also seems like a genuinely nice person who just is brilliant and has tons of energy and loves his job (I don't get the egomaniacal vibe from him that some surgeons display).

But I'm a little hesitant because unlike more famous surgeons, it's hard to find any former patients of his online!

I'm also hesitant because his stated success rate seems absurdly high - he said 90+% success rate. And he said most of those end up with scores below 5 on both AHI AND RDI! (RDI is the more inclusive score that tends to be higher!). Now maybe he's just overconfident (that's fine). Or maybe he really is that good (he does seem to be very sophisticated and up-to-date in his techniques, and his mentor Dr. Wolford has said that he's fantastic).

Thanks for reading and for your advice!

[GiantMB]

Hey tall person,

I don't specifically know of a jaw surgeon in NYC, but I have two tips:

One, Google Dr. Steven Park. He's an ENT in New York who seems to have a great holistic understanding of sleep apnea, and himself performs some of the soft tissue procedures (eg, UP3). At least, he or his office would probably know of any good oral surgeons (e.g., performing MMAs) in New York.

Two, Google "sleepnet non-cpap options forum". This is a very old-school forum that was active from the early 2000s until a year or two ago. TONS of people on that forum got the MMA procedure for sleep apnea. Maybe you can find some posts about surgeons in New York.

Good luck!

[molestrip]

Success rate is traditionally defined as 50% reduction in AHI so that success rate sounds about right. Some have reported cure rates up there too, it just comes down to patient selection. I would say that in patients with skeletal causes whose not overweight or very old, cure rate in the high 90s is reasonable. I've seen some surgeons who will cite published rates, not their own, and cherry pick the highest number they've read. Doesn't sound like Dr Movahed is one of those though.

[Joi Goodbread]

Dr. Movahed did my bilateral custom jaw replacement and sleep apnea surgery on July 15, 2016.  Prior to surgery I was no longer able to chew food and the pain was a 15 on a scale of 1-10.  I have scleroderma which complicated the entire process.  The scleroderma had attacked my lungs, GI system and Kidneys as well as my circulation.  I had no jaw joints left as a result.  In addition, I was on oxygen and a c-pap.  I won't kid you, the pain immediately following surgery for about the first 2 weeks made me question my judgement HOWEVER, I was off my oxygen while still in the hospital.  After 2 weeks every day I felt much better, still didn't need oxygen and was starting to eat soft foods.  At 8 weeks I traveled on behalf of the Scleroderma Foundation for an Advocacy event in DC by myself without oxygen.  I was on solid food and taking half the pain meds I had been on for my scleroderma.

For me Dr. Movahed gave me a miracle and my life back.  I am now 8 months post op and doing wonderful.  I look a little different, in a positive way and feel better than I did 20 years ago when first diagnosed with scleroderma.

Adding to this I had had 7 jaw surgeries 18-24 years ago and the problems were never corrected prior to Dr. Movahed. 

I have no jaw pain, more energy, you can't see the scars and a much happier, healthier life after the 9-1/2 hour surgery. 

Dr. Movahed is an excellent surgeon and a doctor who cares a great deal about his patients.  If you want the best, he is the doctor.  I have heard from others that his surgical touch is even better than his mentor.