Dr. El-Ghazzawy operated on my father (colostomy). He insisted on discharging him from the hospital on Friday against the family's strong protests (we felt something was very wrong); two days later, my father's colon at the site of the surgery had undergone complete necrosis and liquefied, with feces dislodging in his abdomen. Thankfully, a timely ER visit and an emergency surgery by another surgeon saved his life; but this was a close call!
A surgeon friend of mine told me that this does happen in rare cases even to the best doctors; for some reason, the tiny blood vessels in the colon are not contrast and invisible to a surgeon, so it's a hit or miss, very easy for a surgeon to miss a blood vessel and accidentally deprive the tissue of vital blood supply; so it's entirely possible no wrongdoing has happened on the side of Dr. El-Ghazzawy. Still, how many stars can I give him in good faith, after what's happened? I am just thinking that, while one such case is OK (I guess), someone should probably keep track of such cases; and, in the absence of a better venue, Yelp is as good for this purpose as any other.
Also, I wish Dr. El-Ghazzawy was a bit more empathetic, if not apologetic. As it was, he seemed pretty defensive and impersonal, as if it was all about him, his comfort and his busy schedule.
At the follow-up, he informed us that Swedish hospital now has the technology that does make blood vessels contrast. It is my understanding that, had we gone to Swedish instead of Overlake, this would not have happened. Or maybe the technology is brand new.. in any case, if you are reading this because you are considering colon surgery, I recommend Swedish. read more