Dr. Mona Orady

Hi! I ended up going with Dr. Orady in San Francisco. She is fantastic and I’ve had fantastic results, but I’ve also been dealing with billing issues for over a year now. Her office is very disorganized, which is a nightmare. 10/10 for surgery, 0/10 for the administrative nightmare :(

Yes, I have stage 2 endo. No chocolate cyst but I’m sure she’s seen them before. Orady is the director of SLS fellowship in menstrual disorders, endometriosis, and minimally invasive gyn surgery. She basically wrote the book on the mini lap procedure, which is what I had done. It’s is verrrry minimally invasive and aimed at protecting fertility. i dont even know if i want kids, and she made sure to protect my fertility as much as possible. I felt like I was in a plastic surgery office at Dr. Nezhat’s office. His bedside manner felt rehearsed and he didn’t work with my insurance. It just felt like a business and not a doctor/patient relationship. Didn’t end up seeing the third doc, once I met Orady I knew she was my gal.

You might want to talk to Dr Mona Orady if you’re in the Bay Area.  She does her own bowel resections and feels very comfortable doing them on her own.  I asked her if she would have a bowel specialist on her team and she said she’s done it before but now she is so skilled she usually just does bowel resection while the other surgeon observes.  They just don’t even end up doing anything.  She also excised my diaphragm endo on her own, if I had anyone else I would have been closed up and referred to thoracic surgery.  Bring your MRI scans. 

Surgery for me was 4.5 hours which was long.  I was estimated for 3-4 hours, but Orady said there was just a lot of it everywhere.  Recovery was tough because it was such a long surgery, also it aggravated my interstitial cystitis so I needed to be referred to urology.  I’m three months out and finally not feeling much pain, just really tired. She does surgery on Monday/Weds/Friday and sees patients on Tuesday/Thursday.  I think if you can bring MRI scans it would expedite the process.  Also if you can get your CA 19-9 and CA 125 tested she will want that.  Just a heads up, sometimes the admin side is a little crazy— they just don’t always have enough staff and have too many patients.  Lately it’s been better, I think because she hired more people but there’s only one surgeon so if a patient has complications you might be waiting around in her office while she deals with it.  But I felt the quality of care was better than if I had gone with UCSF, and in general the wait times were si

Mine was outpatient, I think I stayed maybe 5 hours for recovery.  They said I could have stayed longer but I wanted to go home.  Orady operates at different hospitals so you might have a slightly different experience based on where you are.  I was at Alta Bates in Berkeley.  I thought Dr. Orady and Grace Banks (her NP) did a good job of advocating for me while I was in the hospital, they came to check on me multiple times and told the recovery nurses to be easy on me because my surgery was a tough one.  That helped a lot.  I know Orady tracks her patient outcomes so she knows her actual recurrence rates and they are significantly lower than average.  I would ask her point blank how many bowel resections she’s done and if she has data on the outcomes.  Honestly I would talk to both Orady and Stuparich before making a decision.  Your surgery seems complex and you want to feel confident that you made the right decision.  I don’t think UnitedHealthcare would give you a stink about consu

Bay Area, CA.  I put myself on the waitlist for surgery with UCSF in February 2024, was shopping around for other surgeons for several months.  Some doctors told me they didn’t excise endo or they wouldn’t use the robot.   Started having bad nonstop pain late April 2024.  I was referred to Dr. Orady in May 2024 and she got me into surgery on June 19.  UCSF told me on May 1 that I would have to schedule surgery in October at the earliest.   So with Dr. Orady I only waited 5-6 weeks, but with UCSF I would have had to wait 8 months.   I was able to speed things up because I was able to get my PCP to order blood tests and MRI prior to seeing Dr. Orady.  I also flew last minute to Portland to have an HSG prior to my pre surgical appointment because there is only one location in the entire Bay Area that does HSGs and they don’t have availability that would have worked with my surgery schedule.  The flight there and back was miserable. 

Oh no. I am so sorry you are going through this! How upsetting to have to deal with all it having answers when you’re healing from surgery and your case was so extensive. Thank you so much for sharing your experience. For what it’s worth, I really liked Dr. Orady in Walnut Creek. But she stopped taking PPOs and her office has been a nightmare to deal with for getting reimbursed (my insurance company sent the reimbursement to her office instead of me). She has great yelp reviews for her surgical skills though and I will say that communicating with her has been fine (or office/billing department is an entirely different story though). 

Have you worked with her on this? Your office has been extremely frustrating to deal with. I had two appointments with her, paid out of pocket, submitted reimbursement myself, but the insurance company still has her listed as in network and sent the reimbursement to her. Her office is telling me they have no record of this. I’ve spent at least three hours on the phone and am exhausted. Can’t imagine what I’d have to go through to get reimbursed for surgery. 

Hi! I have surgery scheduled with her in late July of this year. While she has her own practice and office space, surgery is performed either at Sutter in Oakland or Aspen Surgery Center in Walnut Creek. I requested Sutter because I want a colorectal surgeon available in case they find extensive endo on my bowels that requires a resection. Dr. Orady doesn't suspect severe bowel endo but I'd rather be at a hospital with on-call surgeons in the event there's a surprise. I found Dr. Orady via the Endo Summit like another commenter, and am relieved to have found someone with so much knowledge and experience. Grace and Dr Orady have both answered my many questions thoroughly. I'll circle back once I'm on the other side of surgery. The one con so far has been my insurance (Anthem). There's a lot of miscommunication between the clinic and my insurance and all my appts so far keep showing as "out of network" claims though I've been assured by both parties that the clinic is "in network". Lot

There's SO much to say. TL;DR all went very well, and I'm happy with my outcome and experience with Dr. Orady. Endo, adeno, polyps, fibroid confirmed and all removed except for adeno. I went into surgery already knowing I had endometriosis, adenomyosis, and polyps because Dr. Orady was thorough in talking through my history, doing a pelvic exam, and doing an ultrasound herself, where she identified all the previously mentioned issues during our first in-office appointment. The one surprise during surgery was a fibroid that was removed. I also had her remove my appendix, as that is the most common emergency surgery, and I never wanted to worry whether any future abdominal pain might be appendicitis. She checked my tubes as I didn't want to do an HSG without sedation prior, and she checked my bladder in addition to doing a full survey of my pelvis hunting for endo. For adhesion prevention, they did an ovarian suspension and filled my abdomen with a fluid called adept. Once we cut the ov

She did address my adenomyosis by prescribing hormonal birth control after surgery. Mine is diffuse, so a hysterectomy was the only available surgical option, and I wasn't ready for that. The vast majority of my period pain now is from adenomyosis. The pain is very focalized to my uterus, whereas before excision I had pain in other areas as well as a long list of other extreme symptoms that have now gone away. I had to stop BC after trialing a few different ones due to mental health effects so I do cycle every month and my pain peaks at 6/10.

I was very worried about pain management after surgery as well. Dr. Orady prescribed hydrocodone, which I only needed to take for 1 or 2 days post-surgery. She doesn't keep you overnight in the hospital unless there are complications. I stayed in a hotel the first night and drove 2 hours home the next day.

There was some endo on the mesentery of the sigmoid colon and DIE in the posterior cul-de-sac. Right after surgery, she told my husband and parents she removed everything she found. A few months after surgery I had a lot of tailbone pain and did a pelvic MRI ordered by my primary. The MRI showed evidence of Stage 4 endo in the posterior cul-de-sac, but we don't know if that was just leftover evidence of endo being removed, adhesions, that it had grown back, or was microscopic at the time of surgery and wasn't all removed. Pelvic PT helped with the tailbone pain, and I don't get butt lightning during my periods like I did prior to surgery, so I think the MRI was showing evidence of what was removed. Hope that helps.

Fibroid/endometriosis: Dr Nezhat and Dr Orady Hey everyone! I’m in my early 30s and based in San Francisco. I’ve been diagnosed with fibroids and possibly endometriosis, and I’m struggling to choose the right surgeon. So far, I’ve consulted with Dr. Camran Nezhat and Dr. Mona Orady, and here are my thoughts: Dr. Camran Nezhat: He performed a quick ultrasound and immediately diagnosed me with endometriosis, even though I don’t have typical symptoms. He ordered an MRI, which did not confirm endometriosis, yet he still insisted I have it and recommended surgery with him to improve my chances of a successful pregnancy. Surprisingly, he didn’t even review my MRI images! While he is highly renowned, I wasn’t particularly impressed. I’m also unsure if he accurately interpreted the ultrasound results and measured accurately! He is 77! He is quite experienced and has performed many surgeries, which is definitely a factor to consider, but I have some doubts about his approach. Dr. Mona Orady: She conducted a much more thorough evaluation—she reviewed my MRI, asked detailed questions, and ordered lab tests along with an HSG to check if my tubes are open. She also suspected endometriosis but took a more data-driven approach before recommending surgery. However, she isn’t as well-known as Dr. Nezhat, and I couldn’t find confirmation of whether she completed a fellowship (does she?). In contrast, Dr. Nezhat has a fellowship in infertility and is a pioneer in laparoscopic surgery. Has anyone had any experience with either of them? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Also, if you know of any top specialists in endometriosis or fibroid surgery anywhere in the U.S., please share. I’m open to traveling for the right doctor. Thanks!

Btw, what did you like about Dr Atashroo? I also found Dr Orady rough at pelvis exam and maybe she did not allocate enough time to answer my questions. But liked her approach in that she ordered some lab test and also HSG to make sure my fallopian tubes are open, and also offered a histerscopy to make sure there is no issue inside uterine cavity. It was all to save me time so if there is any issue, I know sooner than later and fix it if I want to TTC without surgery.

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience! Happy to hear you had a good surgery experience with her. Can you please share more info about your case? Did you have endo? May I know what stage, and whether you had chocolate cyst in your ovaries? Was fertility your concern? I have two intramural fibroids, 7cm and 3.5cm. But when met Dr Nezhat and Orady, they both guessed I have endo! I was also very happy with Dr Orady approach and how accurate she was doing the checkup. But my only concern is that I don’t see she holds fellowship (in Laprascopy or fertility). Dr Nezhat seemed less accurate in the checkup, I am not sure if he was really caring reading the numbers and measure accurately when he was doing ultrasound, but he is pretty famous and also hold fellowship in infertility! If you can also share your opinion about each of the three doctors, it would be great. I need to make a final decision soon, and fertility is my main concern as I have no kid yet.

Omg! I just had a virtual consultation with her and will have an in person examination next week. I got such a good feeling from her. I had the same situation as you it sounds like. My first lap was in October with a fertility surgeon and he basically opened me up and was like NOPE. I got referred to Dr. Orady after that. I’m so happy to read that others have already had great experiences with her. If it helps give you peace of mind, I also had a personal contact that went through endometriosis surgery with Dr. Orady years ago and they were extremely happy with their results. I’m crossing my fingers for you that your surgery is successful and you have a great recovery.

She’s fitting my in person examination within a week of my virtual. I’m starting IVF stims next week though and she said she needed to see me before that started because the stims are going to cause a lot of inflammation. It sounds like she made an exception to see me sooner in my case.

Hopefully. She’s asking me to pull all of that for her as well and still wants to do the in person exam on top of it all. The distance is tough though so maybe she’ll understand that. I’m 2 hours away from her so I still have to take a whole day off work but it’s close enough I suppose. I wonder if you could plan for your in person exam a day before surgery or something so you only have to make one trip out there?

I had a surgery in St Francis Memorial hospital. I think she opened her own practice last year, don’t think she operates there, it’s just a small private practice, not a hospital setting. Last I heard she does surgeries in Alta Bates now. I had general anestehsia, I don’t think local is possible with laparoscopy. I was nervous too, but everything went well and I had easy recovery. You’ll be in good hands!

Dr. Mona Orady Alternatives Hi all—I’ve had septate uterus surgery with Dr. Orady in Northern California, but she has stopped accepting Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance, and she’s moving away from San Francisco (to Walnut Creek). She herself is great, but I find her office staff/billing department very disorganized. Does anyone have recommended/suggested alternative endometriosis specialists in the Bay Area? Note: my suspected endometriosis is likely mild.

I can’t decide if it’s going to be better or worse now that she’s not taking my insurance. Pros: don’t have to deal with the billing dept, Cons: ALL out of pocket now 😭. I’m honestly shopping around for a new endo doc because my experience dealing with her office has been a nightmare

I'm in the East Bay so rather local to her, yes. She discovered and excised endo on my left ureter, did a total D&C for fibroids among a few other bits and pieces. I was taken very good care of and was home from surgery that evening with a prescription for Norco and ibuprofen. I recovered beautifully, she is an expert in her field.

I also cancelled my surgery with him. Something felt so off about my consult w him. He said that the MRI was optional and I could just go straight to surgery. I ended up scheduling a consult with Orady and the consult was night and day from Nezhat. She was super thorough during the ultrasound and recorded verbal notes so she could go back to them. We went thru my mri together and she pointed out all the areas where she could see endo. Turns out I had stage 4. I’m 2 weeks post-op and I can’t recommend her enough. Side note though, her office is not very organized and can be frustrating to deal with.