MMA conversation with Dr. Kasey Li

Below is a link to a conversation titled "The Surprising Truth About Maxillomandibular Advancement Surgery" The event was hosted by Dr. Steven Park and his guest was well known MMA surgon Dr. Kasey Li

I realize that this is a CPAP forum but I still think a lot of members will find the content interesting.

http://sypark.audioacrobat.com/download ... 49f272.mp3

The audio is about 60 minutes in length.

James, you sounded great!! (James asked the first question, toward the end of the interview.)

I registered to listen to the interview live, but forgot...

So thank you VERY much for the link. Downloaded it and listened to it. I had submitted a question at the time I registered, and Dr. Park did read the question to Dr. Li. I had to laugh, because I realllllly didn't expect Dr. Li to name names (hoped he would, but didn't expect it) and he didn't. I was hoping to glean some names for YOU, James.

My question really was putting Dr. Li on a bit of a spot, which was why I wasn't surprised that he didn't mention specific names of surgeons or of medical centers. In fact, I thought there was a good chance the question would be tossed and not even used. Chuckled when I heard it being read.

The question I had submitted was, "If you (Dr. Li) had OSA and were a good candidate for MMA, but could not go to Stanford for the surgery, what are the names of several surgeons you'd go to yourself for the procedure?" Dr. Park paraphrased it a bit, but did ask it.

No one wants to offend colleagues in their field, so Dr. Li didn't offer any names. He just talked about finding a major medical center in one's area. He referred back to an answer he had given when Dr. Park asked Dr. Li what a person should ask a doctor whom the person was considering for MMA surgery. In the previous answer, Dr. Li stressed finding out about experience... said to ask out how often the surgeon did MMA surgery, and mentioned that the surgeon should be one who is performing MMAs twice a month at a MINIMUM. Dr. Li, himself, does MMA surgeries three or four times a week.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again... Dr. Li is who I'd go to, if I were you, James.

Easy for me to say, and easier said than done -- they spoke of MMA costing $40,000 to $80,000. Whew.

There were many interesting things brought out in the interview. A few that stood out to me:

People with UARS and "mild" sleep apnea could also be candidates for MMA. It's not just a last resort (short of a trach) for moderate to severe OSA.

MMA doesn't have to be the last of several stages of other surgeries (like being required to try UPPP first...ugh.) Can be a first procedure.

All in all, a very interesting interview. Thanks again for the link, James!

That's great.
However, its not even in the realm of possibility for me, even if I am a candidate.
If the cost were, $7500, I'd still have to think hard, let alone the $75,000 price tag.
But thanks anyway,
Jay

I'm sorry that I missed that live, but I did download it and listened to it. Thanks for the link, James. Very interesting stuff.

Bev

rested gal wrote:I've said it before, and I'll say it again... Dr. Li is who I'd go to, if I were you, James.

I agree. If I could afford it believe me I would get it done at Stanford. What I have decided that I will consider doing is going to see Dr. Li just to confirm what my surgeon plans to do here in Canada. (5mm jaw + 5mm chin)

rested gal wrote:they spoke of MMA costing $40,000 to $80,000.

As broken as the Canadian health care system is at least this operation will not cost me anything otherwise I would be hard pressed to come up with that money.

rested gal wrote:There were many interesting things brought out in the interview. :

I agree. I thought it was interesting that Dr. Li seems to understand that the severity of apnea as measured by AHI doesn't really translate into the severity of symptoms for the patient. As I have said before I believe AHI is a poor measure for sleep disordered breathing as it over looks important variables (such as length of each apnea and total sleep time). "Someday science will catch up to what I'm saying..."

This is not about MMA, but here is a post that I appreciated that was written by Dr. Park.

http://www.sleepguide.com/profiles/blog ... ry-the-fox

nataliya wrote:Is it too late for me to start training to become an MMA fighter? I'm 15 years old, I did karate for 2 years from 12-14 yrs old and I've wrestled for about half a year now. I am planning on starting brazilian jiu jitsu and muay thai very soon. Is it too late for me to have a good future in MMA?

No. It is never too late. My wife gave me gift certificate for beginner's training on my sixtieth birthday. I am learning rapidly and have won my first three fights.

Here I am at weigh-in for my first fight.

Hi James,

I'm a fellow Canadian with UARS and considering an MMA. Did you end up getting the MMA? If so, how long did you wait and what were your results?

Thanks!
Justin

jskinner wrote:

rested gal wrote:I've said it before, and I'll say it again... Dr. Li is who I'd go to, if I were you, James.

I agree. If I could afford it believe me I would get it done at Stanford. What I have decided that I will consider doing is going to see Dr. Li just to confirm what my surgeon plans to do here in Canada. (5mm jaw + 5mm chin)

rested gal wrote:they spoke of MMA costing $40,000 to $80,000.

As broken as the Canadian health care system is at least this operation will not cost me anything otherwise I would be hard pressed to come up with that money.

rested gal wrote:There were many interesting things brought out in the interview. :

I agree. I thought it was interesting that Dr. Li seems to understand that the severity of apnea as measured by AHI doesn't really translate into the severity of symptoms for the patient. As I have said before I believe AHI is a poor measure for sleep disordered breathing as it over looks important variables (such as length of each apnea and total sleep time). "Someday science will catch up to what I'm saying..."

This thread is 4 yrs old - I don't think James is on the forum any more.