"I am an American in Paris…I was driving home one day & felt an olive sized lump in my neck. I panicked & went to a doctor here in France and was told it was my parotid gland and that I needed surgery. Through other tests I had, I was told I had 2 tumors in/on my parotid gland and that the surgery was a delicate surgery because there are many facial nerves in that area. Not being too familiar with the French medical system & the language, I decided to research it more and get more opinions in the USA for this surgery, so…. armed with the info I had, I set off in finding a doctor in the States that could help me. The 1st ENT doctor I met said he had done this surgery once and “sweated thru it” and that he would not do another one. He told me to look for an ENT, who specializes in Head & Neck issues, one that does this particular surgery often.
So off I was again, online, searching for an ENT doctor… I found a few to choose from but began w/Alpha Surgical in Beverly Hills. This website stood out to me because the site had details of each doctor and even mentioned the parotid gland and gave great information. This website had a “contact us” tab and so I did…a few days later I received an email from Dr Larian, himself, who advised me that he could help me and that he had never seen 2 tumors in the Parotid gland at the same time. He requested that I send him all my results and they would get back to me. What impressed me here was that he did not as me about insurance, how I would pay for this review of information or anything regarding fees. I never said I was going to have surgery there for sure but he asked me to send it anyway. I can say I truly thought this kind doctor was trying to help me because I was asking about something that he truly had an expertise in and he could sense I needed help & advise from afar.
I soon received an email from Dr Larian, who advised me that he had reviewed my results with a Radiologist/Colleague and believed that I had only 1 tumor & 1 enlarged lymph gland in 2 different parts of the parotid gland. He confirmed that he could do the surgery, had done many other surgeries just like it and advised me to contact Shaye, his able assistant to set it all up.
So I contacted Shaye, explained my situation, and she did everything to set up my surgery. All I had to do was show up in LA. My fiancé made the trip with me and we decided to make it a “make surgery fun” trip and I planned to recover in Las Vegas as it was only 5 hours away from LA.
I arrived in LA, had all my appointments lined up that Shaye had arranged for me. All went smoothly and Dr Larian was great, explained everything to me in detail and confirmed that I should be OK after the surgery. The day of surgery, I met the anesthesiologist and the OR nurse, who were both very nice. Dr Larian came by & said hello and to relax & off we went to the OR. After surgery, when I awoke, Dr Larian visited and reassured me all went great & everything looked good. All facial nerves were tested & all were functioning normally. Even thought I was half conscience, I still understood it as great news. I immediately started thinking about Vegas & when I could get out of the hospital. I was released from Cedars the next day, still with some draining tubes, for the incision was still draining, but that is sometimes what is to be expected.
My fiancé & I relaxed and enjoyed our time in Vegas, tubes & all. The only discomfort I had was after chewing so I chose soft food & used some pain medicine when needed. The recovery in Vegas was fun & relaxing, which is what we were aiming for. The following Monday, I had a post op visit w/Dr Larian, who removed the drain and said everything was looking great. He explained in detail what the healing process would entail for the next 2 to 6 months and that the area & shape of my incision would constantly be changing. Since that time, that is exactly what has happened. Everyone who sees me now can’t believe I had surgery.
All in all I would rate this whole experience as flawless from start to finish. Considering I planned this all from Europe, it went perfectly and as planned. For anyone who needs to travel for surgery, this is the way to do it.
To summarize my testimonial, I will simply say this: If you need to be in a hospital, choose Cedar Sinai. If you need a Head & Neck surgeon, choose Dr Babak Larian and his wonderful team. They cared about me from the moment I contacted them & I was blessed to have found them. The least I can do is spread that blessing to you who may read this."
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