Specialists in Unnecessary Pain, Hazard, Negligence, and Miscommunication
I have read a number of positive reviews here and they all have one thing in common: everything about their procedure went right the first time. To be honest, my experience with AA Urology was initially very similar to what these reviewers described. No one was rude to me or had a poor bedside manner. Yes, everyone on staff did a great job of setting up my consultation and then getting me into the operating room. But what if there were complications after the procedure? Here's a first-hand account and it's not for the squeamish.
I went in for a UroLift implant - a simple, minimally invasive procedure. Everything seemed fine afterwards, so the doctor saw no need to prescribe any pain medication or to leave a catheter in. He sent me home with two pages of discharge instructions, including phone numbers to call if I encountered any problems during or after business hours.
The first day after the procedure I experienced a tremendous amount of burning pain so I called the first number. The lady who answered - after I navigated an overly-complicated list of phone prompts - asked me to describe and rate the pain on scale of 1 to 10. I answered 9.5 and she said she would contact the doctor and get back to me. I never got a call back. Turns out my doctor was on call that afternoon. So does that mean all of his patients are out of luck during those hours? Actually, no. The request should have gone to his nurse practitioner instead but the lady forgot to do that. And two or three hours later, she went home for the day, apparently unaware that no one got my request. Really? They do keep a log of all calls. Does nobody check it before they leave for the day? It's more likely that a patient who is out of sight is out of mind.
That night the pain had gotten even worse so I called the off-hours number. The answering service paged the on-call doctor and he did call me back. He pulled my chart and said he would send a prescription to my pharmacy. I also told him that I was very concerned because my stream had slowed down considerably during the past few hours. "Probably just some inflammation," he said. So nothing to worry about? Well, you're the doctor.
I woke up the next morning around 5:30 with an incredible urge to go - but couldn't. The pain was unimaginable. I called the after-hours number again. The operator said someone should call me back within 20 minutes. It didn't happen. Despite being told not to make any important decisions during the first 24 hours after receiving general anesthesia, I decided to forego giving the unresponsive AA Urology team another chance and went straight to the nearest Emergency Room. I gave the staff my details quickly and said I needed a catheter. I already knew this, not because of how comprehensive my consultation or discharge instructions from AA Urology were, but because I had read up on the procedure. They got my information quickly and efficiently, took my vitals, and rushed me to the nearest available operating room. As I waited for the nurse to return and begin treatment, the pain escalated. I couldn't stop myself from howling in pain, terrified that I was about to suffer permanent organ damage. The nurse, a doctor, and an EMT team arrived within minutes and got to work. Within about 15 or 20 minutes, they had drained 1100 ml of urine from my bladder. Believe me, you never want to know what that feels like.
Then they left me for a short while to recover and I heard my phone ring. I couldn't reach my phone from the hospital bed but I found out later it was the overnight physician on call finally getting back an hour-and-a-half too late. He didn't even leave a message! About an hour later, AA Urology opened and a staffer called. By this time I had managed to get out of bed and get my phone. "How are you?" the lady asked. "I'm in the Emergency Room!" Of course, they were really sorry. And they had a meeting about it.
I had to wear the catheter for about a week, which was very uncomfortable and kept me out of work much, much longer than I had expected. I was scheduled to visit a different doctor at a different AA Urology clinic on Monday the 5th for a "Void Trial" in the morning and then a bladder scan in the afternoon. When I showed up they said, "Oh, we have you scheduled for the 12th." Impossible! I didn't need a catheter for two weeks (probably should have removed it after two days). Efficiency did not improve after the apology and the meeting. Later I got an email asking me to confirm my appointment on the 12th. I clicked "Cancel" but I doubt their system recorded it. I strongly urge anyone who is reading this: never let your family jewels get within a country mile of any AA Urology office. And if you won't take my advice, then at least have a thorough "Plan B" worked out ahead of time - because they definitely won't! Now I'm hoping they won't add insult to injury by screwing up the billing too. read more