“9 years after creating Aesthetic Foot Surgery, I am still humbled by patients traveling to Los Angeles from all around the world trusting us to correct their foot problems. That’s why I decided to create an introductory video that brings the experience of what makes Beverly Hills Aesthetic Foot Surgery different.

…Thank you for visiting our site, I hope you enjoy our presentation and look forward to meeting you in person.”

Dr. Ali Sadrieh

There’s no denying that you’ve heard about it… The iPad is here, and we are proud to announce that we are the first medical practice in the country to have fully integrated this remarkable device into our day to day operations.  As most of our patients have already experienced, we are a green practice with a completely paperless data system, solar powered computers, digital x-rays and lot’s of other cool technology.  But there was always that final step of getting rid of what I call “the unavoidable pieces of paper”.

Whether it’s the magazines that our patients read during their short waiting room experience, or the consent forms they sign that give us permission to perform surgery, paper is a difficult item to remove from the day to day operations of a medical office.

4 iPads Ready for Action!

That’s why in anticipation of the iPad, we invested numerous hours preparing our data system for the full integration of this revolutionary tablet computer, the moment it was released.  And on Monday morning, April 5th, 2010 it is!

Now when a new patient comes to the office, they are greeted with an iPad that they will use to complete their initial patient forms, their initial history and physical forms and all other registration documents.  This happens thanks to some pretty nifty software written by my friends over at MacPractice in Nebraska.  This further saves time since the information is automatically integrated into our database the moment the patient clicks the “done” button.  Less time filling out papers means, more time with the doctor, another important reason that patients should expect their doctors to technologically advance their practices.

Lot's of apps for you to test and play with

Once you have filled out your documents however you don’t have to give up this svelte, futuristic tablet computer.  You can hold on to it to browse the internet on our complimentary T1 WiFi or read the numerous magazines we have purchased for you to enjoy right on the iPad you are holding.  Everything form Popular Science, Outdoor Magazine, Time Magazine and other periodicals as they are released.  We even purchased programs that give you ideas on where to go for dinner, or which wines to choose from.  If you need to catch up on news, we have BBC News, The New York Times, AP News, NPR News, and more.  We’ve even purchased books that you can read, bookmark and come back to on your follow up visits.

We did this because we respect your time, and having free internet, access to your email or reading the news is something we think you should be able to do during those brief moments you wait for your appointment.  If you’re worried about learning how to use one, don’t.  You can go to this link and watch easy videos on the basic operation of an iPad: http://www.apple.com/ipad/guided-tours/

The iPad is also used throughout the back end of our operations.  The device is used to collect and input data during surgery.  The tablet is the perfect solution for our inventory management.  Starting in May 2010, patients will be given an iPad to watch custom made Surgical Consent Videos designed, and created specifically for my practice, by myself.  This will give you another dimension to understand in detail what procedure you are being consented for… and a well educated patient, is a successful-result patient.  A copy of the video will be made available to you after surgery online so you can refer to it as you like before surgery.

This is the part I love… I even get to use one!  Quality medicine is not just about the procedures we perform.  It’s about the patient experience and the interaction between the patient and the doctor.  Almost every doctor patient interaction is done from a distance with your doctor lecturing you while they interpret the x-rays for you.  The iPad changes all this.  Now you and your doctor can sit next to each other looking at your digital x-rays on the HD display of the iPad.  This close, personal interaction is what develops the kind of patient doctor interaction that our current medical system needs more of.

In conclusion, it gives me great pleasure to add one more facet to the already exceptional experience you will have at our practice.

The 1st iPad Doc!

This post however wouldn’t be complete without a special thank you to the fantastic team of visionary and dedicated employees at the Apple Store in Sherman Oaks.  Mark, Jeremy, Evan, Suzi, Adrian and Veen.  These are the kind of people that invest in relationships with their clients, much like how we run our practice.  Because of their hard work, and commitment to our operation, we can provide you with the cutting edge technology that Apple develops.  Thank you team… you all deserve special recognition from your company for the excellence you bring to your store!

Dr. Ali Sadrieh

I’ve always considered myself to be very fortunate to have immigrated to America as a child.  I have been quoted by saying that as Americans, we can be looked at as the lottery winners of the human race.  There are so many things that the average American has at their disposal that people of the World (even from the civilized world) want.

Access to experiences like the one I recently had are what makes us part of the fortunate few who can expand our knowledge and our experience in life relatively easily.  Since I was a little boy, I dreamed (like many boys) of joining the US Air Force and becoming a fighter pilot in hopes of someday becoming an Astronaut.  I remember having in-depth conversations with my best friend Michael Wright about how we would become the best fighter pilots the United States had so that we could make our country proud and fly future shuttle missions to Mars.

As you can see, we had vivid imaginations.  It’s now 2010 and we still haven’t expanded our reach to Mars, and the Moon still waits for homo sapien and our possible colonization.  Experiencing Zero Gravity was a once in a lifetime thing for me.  It fulfilled my childhood dream of being in space and feeling what the great men and women of NASA experience when they travel outside of the Earth’s atmosphere.

But reflecting on the experience after the fact, I came to terms with what incredible beings we are and how far our technology and engineering has come in such a relatively short time. To think that we have figured out the mathematics to create machines that fly us outside of our planet and bring us back safely is truly remarkable.  This defines our species’ dominant role on this planet, but it also creates a secondary, and what I consider more important secondary responsibility.  We are ultimately the custodians of this marvelous place we call Earth and the species that inhabit it with us.  This responsibility extends to our neighbors as well.  Having the fortune to live in a country where almost anything you want and every opportunity is easily accessible, we have to duty to give back and take care of one another.

Observing this principle should serve to broaden our sense of charity and stewardship.  One of the principles that I try to bring to the daily duties of my practice is giving back.  Education is ultimately what got me to a place where I could take a Zero Gravity flight.  Understanding the critical role education plays in shaping a persons life, I decided to start  a non-profit organization that is funded entirely by the practice.  This organization will devote resources to our local community and it’s underprivileged children and provide resources that our education system fails to.

The first project we will implement is called Lil’Farmers and will focus on education in food.  Food is one of the issues that our country has fallen behind in.  Educating children about food and it’s impact on their health as well as their planet is going to be at the forefront of issues we need to deal with for a healthy and prosperous future.  A recent talk at one of my favorite conferences T.E.D. was given by Jamie Oliver, an English chef known for his growing list of food-focused television shows, his more recent roles in campaigning against the use of processed foods in national schools, and his campaign to change unhealthy diets and poor cooking habits for the better across the UK. Let’s hope that we heed this message and work together by giving back to our communities and changing the direction of food for our children so that they too can pursue their dreams and someday walk on the surface of a distant planet.  Stay posted for updates on our first Lil’Farmers project in Los Angeles… there will be a link on the Giving Back page in the next week.

I really appreciate you visiting our site, and reading my blog.  I know that if we harness that great power of being good neighbors and just plain being good to one another, we can achieve really great things.

[View with PicLens]

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Like most American’s, I spent Thanksgiving weekend with my family, taking time to appreciate the relationships that make our lives special.  During this time of year, I feel that I have a lot to be thankful for.  Having the opportunity to do what I do is truly a privilege.  But what makes my career even more rewarding are the relationships I have built over the years with my patients and staff.  I consider myself blessed to have a practice that can focus on providing the highest quality of care so there is time to connect with my patients and get to know “the person attached to the feet” I work on.  This is something rare in medicine today.

When I decided to venture into the realm of innovation and creating new procedures, I couldn’t imagine that we would be where we are today.  I was humbled to see an episode of The Doctor’s Show over Thanksgiving weekend “The Most Dramatic Surgeries and Procedures”, and notice that a segment that we did back in November of 2008 was selected as one of the 5 surgeries for this show.

This was particularly humbling since the show featured surgeries that saved the lives of children by taking congenital heart deformities and correcting them, surgically correcting massive tumors from a little girls face, and blood transfusions that helped a little boy walk.  The Doctor’s Show has become the number one resource for people all across America to refer to for up-to-date information on cutting edge medicine with objective, trustworthy reports.  To be placed among the great surgeons who performed such remarkable procedures on this episode is an honor and a privilege.

The impetus behind creating the Perfect 10! Aesthetic Toe Shortening procedure was not just vanity.  To dismiss the functional effects of this procedure would be unfair to the thousands of women we have helped around the world.  The concept behind this remarkable procedure was simply to acknowledge the realities of the world we live in today and create a safe, reliable procedure that gives women an option to relieve pain and correct the structural problem of having toes that are too long and on their way to becoming hammered (if they weren’t already).

The fact is that women deal with the imposition of fashion if they function in the professional world.  The shoes that a professional woman has to wear are not the best for your feet or the most comfortable.  So instead or pretending that this massive problem is going to go away, I decided to create a procedure that treats the problem with the toe structure so that we could prevent future deformity and unnecessary pain or discomfort.

It would have been much easier to huddle in the safety of the “standard of care” mentality and stick with traditional techniques such as K-Wire fixation, or making incisions on the top of the toes (which is how 99% of toe surgeries are performed in the country), and waiting to do surgery only when there is pain is considered an ethical decision (when pain is usually associated with a degenerative or arthritic joint, a sign of having waited too long to correct the problem).  This just wasn’t good enough… so I created a new procedure.

Five years has gone by and we have had the pleasure of treating thousands of women and men from all over the world for this often painful and limiting condition.

Once again, I am humbled.

Since the beginning of this journey, the philosophy of my practice has been to provide the best foot surgery has to offer.  Using the most advanced techniques, investing in the most current technology, and keeping our practice focused on quality, not volume.  My commitment to our past, present and future patients will never change, “the practice of foot surgery at the highest level without compromise in personal attention, technological advancement, or procedural innovation”.

Dr. Ali Sadrieh

It’s hard to say goodbye to your first home, and our move isn’t any easier.  When I first came up with the idea of creating a new sub-specialty in Podiatric Surgery, i decided that the concept should be first deployed in Beverly Hills.  The reason was simple… this was the center for aesthetic and plastic surgery.

My colleagues and friends, a team of highly skilled plastic surgeons opened up their offices to us and we were able to create the first ever Aesthetic Foot Surgery practice.  Now it’s been over 5 years and the time has come to move.  This move will be excellent since our new location will mirror the advancements our newest flagship office in Studio Office offers to our patients, but it does not come without sadness.  I will miss the place we first started providing patients with really great surgery.

This is "not" our moving van

I am thankful to my colleagues for their generosity and support.  I am also humbled by our patient’s who have grown to cover the entire United States and now from around the world.  This concept would have never been a reality had it not been for your commitment and decision to choose quality over your “in-network” surgeon. Ultimately I hope what we do on a day to day basis serves as a model for the future of health care in our great country.

Quality is a value that cannot be compromised.  At my practice our  core values are based on the fact that every single patient deserves the highest quality of care.

Over the next few weeks we will be moving our Beverly Hills office to the new location, so we apologize for the mess.  I thank you in advance for your accommodations in scheduling and promise that the transition will be worth it.  If you have needs that are urgent please contact our practice administrator Shu Shu [ ] and she will be happy to assist to.

I look forward to providing you with the same level of care you have become accustomed to in our Studio City offices in our original home of Beverly Hills, California.

Cheers,

Dr. Ali Sadrieh

Taking care of our environment should be just as a much a priority as taking care of ourselves.  That is why I have always held my practice to the highest standards when it comes to the environmental footprint it leaves with our day-to-day operations.

When I built our concept office in Studio City, I made sure that every detail was looked at, and improved, to reduce it’s environmental impact.  We documented this process and I named it the Environmentally Proactive Practice (EPP).  This algorithm would serve as a the blueprint for other doctors to modernize their practices and reduce their waste and effect on our planet.

It is important to clarify that taking care of the environment does not require a compromise in luxury.  That has and always will be the premise of my practice.  Our patients deserve the best that medicine and technology has to offer, without the guilt of participating in the irresponsible littering of the ecosphere  That is why we invested thousands of dollars and took our entire computer system off the grid with solar panels.

Our New Patient Courtesy Transport 2009 Biodiesel Mercedes-Benz R320

And, for the next step, it gives me great pleasure to introduce a new concept and service I have implemented to improve the quality of care, and experience our patients receive… the Biodiesel Luxury Patient Limo Service.

This service is a first in medicine and in luxury transportation.  In early November 2009, all of our surgical patients will be picked up and taken home from their surgery by our in-house Mercedes Benz R320 BlueTec Diesel.  This is no ordinary diesel however.  We all remember diesel cars as being smelly, noisy and slow.  BlueTec technology has changed all that.

As many of us know, diesel engines are more fuel efficient, and provide more miles per gallon (MPG) than standard gasoline engines.  More miles on one take of gas, means less emissions into our atmosphere.  But, Mercedes BlueTec technology has taken it one step further.  BlueTec is the name Mercedes Benz has given their new clean Diesel engines.  This system removes Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) from the exhaust before they are released into our air.  In the presence of sunlight, NOx molecules react with Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) to create smog.  Children, people with lung diseases such as asthma, and people who work or exercise outside are susceptible to adverse effects of smog such as damage to lung tissue and reduction in lung function.  From the manufacturer, this car is one of the greenest cars on the road; reduced emissions via fuel efficiency and the clean exhaust system.

BlueTec Techonolgy means 700 miles on 1 tank of fuel

But for us, that still wasn’t good enough…

Our car runs on biodiesel.  Biodiesel is diesel fuel made from organic oil (vegetable oil).  When made correctly (not using fossil-fuels, rather pre-used organic oils instead) biodiesel is the cleanest and greenest fuel available.  What this means is Biodiesel can be made with oils obtained from vegetables, algae, or even coffee.

As we begin, we will use one of three local biodiesel stations to fuel our car, but in the near future we will have out own biodiesel refinement unit and will be able to make our own biodiesel from waste vegetable oil that is donated from local restaurants.

This model eliminates 75% of the footprint involved in procuring, refining, transporting and selling fuel.  It also eliminates our dependancy on oil since the base ingredient in our fuel is used vegetable oil which is currently taken away and disposed of after use by almost every restaurant in Los Angeles.

Luxurious, Green and Safe.

Our car is clean, green and luxurious.  The R class is a low slung hybrid sedan.  It’s a cross between an SUV and a sedan, providing our patients with plenty of room to stretch and relax after their surgical experience.  Built in WiFi will provide you with access to the internet on the go, so that our professional, or out-of-state patients can connect and conduct their internet sensitive tasks.  Our cars will be outfitted with the finest amenities and filtered water in Kleen Kanteen flasks that are available for purchase so that you can have your own BPA free reusable water bottle.  Locally made organic treats made by Ingredients™ will nourish you on your trip back from your surgery.

But environmentally sensitive luxury is meaningless if safety is compromised.  That is why we chose Mercedes Benz, a well known car company with an impeccable track record of building the safest cars on the road.  All of our drivers are CPR certified and every car will have an on board AED (Automated Electronic Defibrillator) in case of an unexpected emergency.

I am confident that this new service that we provide to all of our surgical patients will raise the bar in medicine and pamper you with another responsible yet luxurious service from Beverly Hills Aesthetic Foot Surgery.

* a special thank you to Chris Chong and George Bik at Mercedes Benz of Encino.  These fine gentlemen help procure the first in our fleet of Biodiesel Patient Transport Limos.

For years now, women have been subjected to wearing shoes that aren’t necessarily the best for their feet. History has shown with customs like chinese foot binding, that the well being of a woman’s foot has taken second priority to social norms and beauty.  When I first started practice, I dealt with this contradiction in philosophy.  As a foot surgeon, correcting deformities that cause pain was the basis of my training.  But as time went on, I realized that advising women not to wear high heeled shoes, was unrealistic.  This is because in the modern world, professional or formal attire requires a woman to wear high heeled shoes due to social norms and pressures.  This is unfortunate but true.

Rather than isolate my practice form the realities of what women endure in the professional world, I decided to create a procedure that addresses the problems that women face when wearing high heeled shoes.  One such problem is a wide foot.  Bunions and Tailor’s Bunions (smaller bunion on the outside of the foot) are often the cause of pain and constant grief for women that have to wear these kinds of shoes.

The Cinderella Procedure addresses this issue with a modern, pain free, and short recovery procedure. Like my Aesthetic Bunion Correction, the Cinderella Procedure allows most patients to walk right after the procedure and be ambulatory during the post-operative period. In most cases, patients are able to be back into high heels in 4 weeks. This is a remarkable improvement form the traditional method of correcting this problem that leaves patients non-weightbearing for up to 2 months in some instances!

This procedure was recently highlighted on the CBS show “The Doctors”.  You can watch a clip of the show here: http://www.thedoctorstv.com/main/procedure_list/133

Here is a before and after Xray of the patient from the show demonstrating the procedure at just 13 days post-op!

Cinderella Before Surgery

Cinderella After Surgery

I often post articles about amazing patients.  This will be an interesting story since the article is not about the patient, but his son… Luis.

4 years ago, I had a fortune of meeting Carlos.  He was a diabetic patient who was going to lose his foot if immediate attention wasn’t given to the infected wounds.  There were many barriers we broke before we healed his foot, definitely too many to list here.  Let’s just say that if it weren’t for his son, Carlos would have lost his foot.

Over the next year, Luis worked extra hours at his fathers trailer repair business since his dad was sick.  The truly remarkable thing that Luis did however, was that he learned as much as he could about diabetic wound care and what was needed to provide excellent home health care to his dad.  With Luis’ help, we healed Carlos’ foot and he is now active, and healthy.

The story doesn’t end here however.  During the time that Luis was helping do home health care and dressing changes, he showed a particular interest in medicine.  He would brief me on the condition of Carlos’ wound every week with accurate detail.

I saw something special in Luis, so one day I offered him a challenge.  I asked Luis to consider completing his education and consider becoming a Certified Surgical Technologist and ultimately a Certified First Assistant.  This would require him to study subjects he has never learned before like Human Anatomy, Physiology, Pharmacology and a whole slew of difficult names.  I promised Luis that if he completed his education, I would hire him to serve as my First Assistant CST.

It gives me great pleasure to introduce Luis Mendez, CST as the newest member of our team at Beverly Hills Aesthetic Foot Surgery.  Luis is a remarkable and highly intelligent young man.  Not only did he complete his education, but he was top of his class.  He passed his National Board Exam on the first try, and now is pursuing completing his CFA.  He also continues to contribute to the education of others by serving a position on the Board of the new West Covina campus of Northwest College.

In the years that I have been in practice, I have worked with hundreds of Surgical Techs in different surgery centers an hospitals throughout Los Angeles.  Luis is the finest and most skilled assistant I have worked with to date.  His attention to detail and compassion for the patient rivals most surgeons.

Since he joined our team, he has been instrumental in making our OR the most advanced in Los Angeles.  I am proud to have him as my assistant and I am confident that you will experience the quality and impeccable attention to detail that he will bring to your surgery.

Luis’ story inspirational and proves that there is always room to learn and grow in life.  All we need is a little motivation and some hard work and you can be anything you want.  Congratulations Luis.

As part of our continued commitment to making your experience the finest foot surgery has to offer, our patients now have access to Free WiFi.

Many of us are plugged in, and in our electronic-centric society, access to the internet is a vital part of what keeps the wheels of business turning.  Whether you’re a busy professional who needs access to emails, or a junior high school student who is doing research for a paper while your parent is getting surgery; you can access the net in our office via 6 MBps dedicated T1 internet access.

When you check in for your appointment, ask the front office staff for the Wireless Password to the Patient Internet Access WiFi hotspot and you’ll have unlimited access to the our high speed 802.11b/g/n wireless network.

As a continued effort to make our site “The” destination for patients and prospective patients to meet and talk about foot conditions and other related discussions, I have developed a forum that will serve as a place for questions and answers about my surgical procedures, as well as a resource for people across the country to share their experiences and have discussion.

Please visit the forum with the link on the top right side of the home page, or by linking here: Forum.  Thank you for your comments and support of our efforts to make Foot Surgery the best it can be.

The Coliseum, an early forum in the Roman Empire.