Kate O’hanlan, MD

This brilliant doctor saved my mom’s life. What more can I say? I thank God for her every day.

My sister was referred to this surgeon following being diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer. The surgery seemed to have gone well, as far as all visible tumors being removed. It was an invasive surgery as you may know if you’re familiar with Stage 3 Ovarian cancer. After 10 miserable days of recovery, my sister was sent home. Why was it miserable? Well, have the time she was there, she did not check on my sister. She was in a lot of pain the entire time. We’d ask the nurse to page the doctor and we wouldn’t see a doctor for a couple days. We’d get messages that she was «fine». After 10 days my sister was released. Did I mentioned we lived 3 hours away. The day after we got home, my sister was more swollen than when we got out of surgery. We called O’Hanlan’s office; we were reassured by an office person, not O’Hanlan, that, that was normal. Fast forward to the next day, my sister ended up in Emergency surgery (at local hospital), due to an abcess. We almost lost her because she lost so much blood. I attempted to reach O’Hanlan to keep her updated on what was happening. While my sister was in emergency surgery, I received a phone call from O’Hanlan telling me to:
«Never call her again, because she was paged while she was in surgery. I should not have called the number I called. I should call some other number.»
Wow, that’s good to know. My sister’s surgeon that probably performed a botched surgery, also is full of herself.
You may guess, that we never went back to see her.

I have had SIX surgeries and by far this surgery was the most easy on my body, yet it definitely reaped the most rewards. I feel like a brand new person. And I have Dr. O’ Harlan to thank for giving me my life back. Before getting a hysterectomy, I joined a support group on Facebook, just to hear other experiences. Because most of the people that post are having problems, it certainly freaked me out a bit. But I was told by an admin that the majority of the thousands of members in that group don’t comment because their hysterectomy went well, so they no longer have a need for a support group. Even after my surgery, I’ve kept up with the group, just to tell them how amazing I feel just three weeks post op, to give them hope. I’m also twice as educated about the procedure than many other group members, because of Dr. O’hanlan’s amazingly helpful handout. I’ve sent it to so many people, and I’m shocked at what little they know about the procedure, even after seeing their surgeon, and I can’t tell you how many group members have found that same handout anxiety reducing, as it certainly helps to know exactly what to expect pre op, during op, and post op. It certainly wasn’t an easy surgery to have, being 29 years old and having no kids, but I was not living a productive life. I was covered in scar tissue from my first surgery (bowel resection) going terribly wrong, the doctor there was extremely negligent, refused to listen to my pain, and I had to convulse and flat line before he finally admitted I was septic. My journey from that surgery in 2004 to now has been a difficult one. I’ve had to accept disability at 25 years old, and I’ve been mostly housebound for the better part of the last year because I was so incredibly sick. First, no one really knew what was wrong. But they did see I had gallstones, so they decided to remove my gallbladder. During this operation (much more painful to recover from than my hysterectomy) the surgeon (NOT Dr. O’hanlan) was so shocked at the amount of scar tissue he saw, he took pictures. Once we had pictures to show that I was covered in scar tissue, so much so that my liver had bent over my gallbladder and a 45 minute outpatient procedure took two and a half hours and a week of recovery in the hospital, and even more time recovering at home, we at least knew what we were fighting. After that surgery I was healthy for a bit, but then I started getting INTENSE pain during my period, and even during ovulation. Knowing this I was referred to an OBGYN who did a transvaginal ultrasound and couldn’t believe what she was seeing. My ovaries were literally encased in scar tissue, my uterus and my bowel were connected and twisted, and free fluid that we all have, was just stuck in between scar tissue, unable to move around, putting added pressure and causing me even more pain. Once my OBGYN saw this, she knew exactly who to go to, Dr. O’Hanlan. I’m three weeks post op and I have more energy than I’ve had in a long time, in fact I really feel like, if everything heals well, I’ll actually be able to go to work. I’m so thankful Dr. O’hanlan did my surgery. For the person that went to a different surgeon simply because of the receptionist, I think you missed out on having a literal pioneer in her field, someone who has done over 2000 of these procedures with less than a 3% complication rate, and none of the complications were anywhere near being deadly. I hope your surgery went well, but if you want to ensure it will go smoothly, go with the best in the business. In this area, it’s Dr. O’hanlan, hands down.

Have you ever met someone who gives you the thing you secretly wished for but never expected to get? Ever meet someone who is so excruciatingly honest with you that you feel totally safe? Ever feel like one person is actually an army, ready to defend you? No? Well I guess you haven’t met Kate.
It would be unfair not to include her staff in this review. Exceptional! Absolutely, Exceptional! Nothing less.

I haven’t gone here yet, but my phone experience with the receptionist (I will not mention who) was so terrible that I will not be going to see Dr. O’hanlan. The receptionist was so insensitive and so rude that I was so taken back. I have never been insulted in my life for how she talked to me. She was not helpful, she was rude for no reason. She was rushing me off the phone, not helping me with what I need. It was almost, «hey, you do not have the proper insurance, I cannot help you.» I told her that I was referred to the doctor, and I have all the paperwork, but she was so rude and insensitive.

In all my life, I have never been more impressed with a doctor. When I was referred to Dr. O’Hanlan because my OB/​GYN had discovered a large mass, my countless questions were almost completely addressed by sizeable packet she sent to me, explaining the causes and risks my condition, what was happening to my body as a result, and what I could expect from the process of addressing it, from detailed pre-​op and post-​op procedures, normal symptoms during the various stages of recovery, and potential complications and how we could work together to address them. When I spoke with Dr. O’Hanlan on the phone and in person prior to the surgery, she was both empathetic and candid. She treated me as a whole person, rather than a diagnosis, and because of all the information she had given me before the surgery, no matter what I encountered I knew whether it was normative, unusual but not harmful, or something to cause alarm. (Consequently, nothing caused alarm.) When I came home, she checked on me again to ensure all was well, that I was getting proper rest and exercise, and up-​to-​speed on future expectations. Once again, she answered all my questions and made me feel completely at ease.
Dr. O’Hanlan has distinguished herself as an expert in her field, not only as a practitioner, but as a researching scholar who is dedicated to empower others in the field to glean from her expertise. She has committed herself to focusing on minimizing the recovery time for patients following their surgeries, and her patients reap the benefits from what she has learned. I have been comparing notes with many friends who have also needed hysterectomies (from other doctors here in CA and in other states), and by far my experience seems to be the most positive.
One final word to consider: Nobody goes to someone like Dr. O’Hanlan because their insides look like the pictures. We end up there because we have something wrong. These conditions tend to affect the configuration of our organs: tumors can grow, pushing organs into funky configurations or anchoring onto the organs themselves. So additional risks will always exist with the types of surgeries that Dr. O’Hanlan performs. She is clear about this; complications may require additional surgery. As she says herself, «Complications only happen in 4% of my cases, but if you are in the 4%, I understand that is 100% of you!» Bottom line, even in the worst case scenario, Dr. O’Hanlan will still be the best person you can go to, and will still be your best bet in the fastest possible recovery.
Dr. O’Hanlan is the perfect balance of compassionate/​holistic, and hard core focused, working incredibly hard to make sure her patients rock their experience. I personally think she deserves a cape.
THANK YOU, Dr. O’Hanlan.

I had laparoscopic surgery at end of February and was back at work two weeks later. Dr. Kate was my third opinion as the two previous doctors said I wasn’t a candidate for laparoscopic surgery.

Dr. O’Hanlan is the best! She performed laprscopic surgery on me at Sequoia Hospital.
Her office staff and NP are efficient, friendly, and kind.
Dr. O’Hanlan herself puts you right at ease and answers questions and concerns honestly. I felt like I was in expert hands.
My surgery went very well, and I had personal follow-​ups with Dr. O’Hanlan.
She knows what she’s doing and I’d trust her 100%.